The 6 Levels of Wealth and How to Reach Them

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You've heard the advice that to build wealth, you need to earn more, spend less, and invest consistently. But what if there was a clearer way to understand exactly where you stand financially — and what steps you should take to reach the next level? My guest, Nick Maggiulli, offers just such a framework. Nick is the creator of the Of Dollars And Data blog, the Chief Operating Officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management, and the author of The Wealth Ladder. Today on the show, he unpacks the Wealth Ladder concept, taking the complex, often overwhelming concept of personal finance and distilling it into six easy-to-understand wealth levels, each tied to specific net-worth milestones and financial freedoms. Nick walks us through each rung of the Wealth Ladder, from getting out of financial instability to achieving restaurant and travel freedom, and eventually reaching upper levels of significant financial independence. We discuss the distinct strategies you should utilize on each rung to make the most of that level and move on to the next. And we get into why your spending decisions should be based on your net worth rather than your income, how wealth allocation changes dramatically as you climb the ladder, and why increasing your earning potential becomes more important than penny-pinching as you progress. Whether you're just getting started or well on your financial journey, this episode provides actionable insights and practical wisdom for climbing the Wealth Ladder and securing a life of greater freedom and fulfillment.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.
0:11.4	You've heard the advice that to build wealth, you need to earn more, spend less, and invest
0:15.7	consistently. But what if there was a clear way to understand exactly where you stand financially
0:19.9	and what
0:20.8	steps you should take to reach the next level?
0:23.0	My guest, Nick Majuli, offers just such a framework.
0:26.5	Nick is the creator of the of dollars and data blog, the chief operating officer at
0:30.4	Ritt Holtz Wealth Management, and the author of The Wealth Ladder.
0:33.9	Today on the show, he impacts his wealth ladder concept, taking the complex, often overwhelming
0:38.5	realm of personal finance and distilling it into six easy-to-understand wealth levels, each
0:43.4	tied to specific net worth milestones and financial freedoms. Nick walks us through each rung of
0:48.2	the wealth ladder, from getting out of financial instability to achieving restaurant and travel
0:52.2	freedom, and eventually reaching upper levels of significant financial independence.
0:56.4	We discussed the distinct strategies you should utilize on each rung to make the most of that level and move on to the next.
1:01.8	And we get into why your spending decisions should be based on your net worth rather than your income,
1:06.1	how wealth allocation changes dramatically as you climb the ladder, and why increasing your earning potential becomes more important than penny pinching as you progress. Whether you're just getting started or
1:14.2	well in your financial journey, this episode provides actual insights and practical wisdom for
1:18.2	climbing the wealth ladder and securing a life of greater freedom and fulfillment. After
1:22.4	shows over, check out our show notes at aOM.is slash wealth ladder.
1:40.4	All right, Nick Majoulie, welcome back to the show.
1:41.8	Thanks for having me on. I'm Brett.
1:41.9	I appreciate it.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Art of Manliness, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Art of Manliness and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.