{"id":259,"date":"2026-06-07T13:51:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T11:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/?p=259"},"modified":"2026-06-07T13:51:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T11:51:48","slug":"community-wealth-the-wealth-we-forgot-to-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/community-wealth-the-wealth-we-forgot-to-measure\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wealth We Forgot to Measure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/d1roxjdvg6aguv.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/06\/IMG_0761-rotated.jpeg\" alt=\"Community wealth starts with local relationships and belonging\" class=\"wp-image-260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d1roxjdvg6aguv.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/06\/IMG_0761-rotated.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/d1roxjdvg6aguv.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/06\/IMG_0761-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#the-wealth-we-measure\">The Wealth We Measure<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#what-we-teach-people-to-value\">What We Teach People to Value<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-hidden-cost-of-independence\">The Hidden Cost of Independence<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#community-wealth-in-an-independent-world\">Community Wealth in an Independent World<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-wealth-we-measure\">The Wealth We Measure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Judging by the occasional cold-call I get from a random financial advisor and their quick spiel about how important it is to safeguard wealth and know exactly where we stand relative to our age, we measure wealth in very standardised ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A salary covers rent, house repayments, groceries, insurances, entertainment, holidays and transport. Pretty basic. The more we earn, the more we can spend. Or save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The value of our house matters because it gives us a sense of security for retirement. The ideal being that by the time you hit 65, the kids have flown the nest, you&#8217;ve done enough gardening and spring cleaning, and you&#8217;re ready to downsize into a more affluent part of town where you can sip barista-made coffees every Tuesday morning before yoga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pensions are tracked. Investments are tracked. If you&#8217;ve had enough money, wit and opportunity during your working life, those investments might pay dividends that add to the retirement kitty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What I&#8217;ve never been asked by my financial planner (yes, we have one and have followed his excellent advice for two decades) is how I measure the strength of my relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Odd, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Actually, it&#8217;s fairly simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take the ten closest relationships in your life. Give them a score out of ten. Could you walk into your number 9&#8217;s kitchen, open the cupboard, grab a glass, pour yourself a wine from their fridge and tell them \u2014 without a prior bloody Teams invite \u2014 how shitty your day has been?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can&#8217;t, it&#8217;s not a 10 out of 10 relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, we don&#8217;t measure local knowledge. Not just historical, geographical or environmental knowledge, but the humming energy underneath a community. Which neighbour is still annoyed about something that happened in 1983 and somehow involved their parents, yet has become part of family folklore?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we rarely measure belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not just locally. I don&#8217;t always want to belong locally either. But I do want to know how I feel in the places that matter. At work. In my immediate family. In the wider family. Among friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do I shrink?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or am I comfortable?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-we-teach-people-to-value\">What We Teach People to Value<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our family consists of five children who are all adulting now, doing their own thing and being fabulous humans. Am I biased? Of course I am. But where I am leading this argument we have room for a bit of rose-coloured-glasses syndrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I followed our children&#8217;s official educational paths fairly closely. None of the helicopter parenting current parents are accused of, but definitely pre-helicopter phase. Keeping a tight eye on what was being fed into the brains of the little humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Comprehension of concepts is something that can be measured. If you ask an eight-year-old to explain what money can do for him, he&#8217;ll likely tell you it buys a certain amount of lollies. Nice. The concept of exchanging money for goods is making sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you ask a twelve-year-old to allocate her weekly earnings into meaningful pots, she should be able to identify the most important categories and distribute her money accordingly. She might allocate far too much into the clothes and awesome nails pot, but she understands that multiple life events need funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The seventeen-year-old leaving school should understand long-term savings, credit card debt and how bloody difficult it is to save for a house deposit. The education system touches on these topics at roughly the appropriate age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What it doesn&#8217;t consciously teach is the value of community beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am absolutely sure schools work hard to ensure children feel safe, included and supported. They are taught to look out for each other and understand that bullying is unacceptable. Inside that bubble, children generally grow into decent humans. When home life reflects those values, we are on a good track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then school ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The structure of community is ripped away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some continue through university, campus life and organised activities that keep fostering belonging. But by and large, the rest enter the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At best, someone organises a cake and a singalong when it&#8217;s your birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your sense of belonging disappears and suddenly you&#8217;re standing in the world, sometimes in a new town, surrounded by people you&#8217;ve never met before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Years later a school reunion arrives and the comparisons begin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What do you do?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Where do you live?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Own house?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wife and kids?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Still into four-wheel drives?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All you hear is value, value, value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The questions rarely sound like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Are you well integrated into your community?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the things that move you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is your home so large that maintaining it has become overwhelming?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These values are rarely taught and they are largely absent from how we prepare young people for life beyond school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-hidden-cost-of-independence\">The Hidden Cost of Independence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When belonging becomes optional and we stop consciously measuring it, independence naturally becomes the dominant value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The strapping 22-year-old trying to impress his new girlfriend by putting up picture hooks doesn&#8217;t think to knock on the 65-year-old neighbour&#8217;s door. The neighbour who was a carpenter, who would love to help and would bring along his well-maintained drill set to get the job done properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, the neighbour remains unknown and his skills stay in the cupboard. The young man buys his own tools. The wall gets damaged in a way he&#8217;ll regret when they move out, but for now his independence feels worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When your job requires you to move frequently or work remotely, maintaining belonging requires conscious effort. Increasingly, our connections travel through a WiFi router rather than through the pub, the sports club or the local community hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As belonging slowly erodes and gets dressed up as independence, your financial advisor may nod approvingly as your wealth grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What they aren&#8217;t measuring is your disconnect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not at 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not at 35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And certainly not at 65.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The assumption that monetary wealth alone will carry us through every storm feels based on something fundamentally incomplete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"community-wealth-in-an-independent-world\"><strong>Community Wealth in an Independent World<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The next time I open my Finance App, I&#8217;d love to see a ledger that tracks things we don&#8217;t currently measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many ways, fitness apps are already ahead of us. They don&#8217;t just ask for exercise data and calorie counts. They ask how you&#8217;re feeling. Whether you slept well. Whether you&#8217;re getting sick. Whether something is affecting your performance beyond the obvious numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Community wealth should be measured in much the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not through an annual reminder to check on your ageing grandmother, but through practical indicators of connection:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Who would check in on me if I were sick?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whose cat could I feed while they are on holiday?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who nearby might need a lift to the shops so they can stay independent for longer?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whose mower could I borrow in return for helping maintain their garden?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe we&#8217;ve ignored a whole category of wealth. I think of it as community wealth \u2014 the value created through trusted relationships, shared knowledge and local connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve become increasingly interested in what makes a life less fragile. Not just financially, but practically, emotionally and socially. <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1vZ-WZPjgW5_BpwDk-79JjVRI5WPONJEX\/view?usp=drive_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Quiet Width Starter<\/a> began as a way of exploring some of those questions from the income side of the equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why do I think community might become the new wealth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because as society becomes more fragmented, expensive and individualised, community stops being a sentimental idea and starts becoming a practical advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1975 most people relied on each other far more than they do today. Resources were shared. Most households had one car and one income. Entertainment happened outside the home and communities were woven into daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By 1995 the shift was underway. Two incomes became common. Houses grew. Technology connected us to a broader world. Independence became a marker of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today we are the kings and queens of independence. We shop from our lounges, work remotely, stream entertainment endlessly and carry powerful computers in our pockets. Yet every layer of independence seems to come with a hidden cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not just financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Psychologically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve spent some time playing with the idea of a neighbourhood app built around contribution rather than consumption. A place where people share skills, resources, knowledge and time. The funny thing is that when I started looking, I discovered versions of these ideas already exist. Which forced me to become more curious and less outraged. I wrote recently about <a href=\"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/curiosity-returns\/\">what happens when curiosity returns<\/a> and life starts expanding beyond immediate problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps that is the real lesson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe wealth in the future won&#8217;t just be measured by what we own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe it will also be measured by what we can access through trusted relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Wealth We Measure Judging by the occasional cold-call I get from a random financial advisor and their quick spiel about how important it is to safeguard wealth and know exactly where we stand relative to our age, we measure&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262,"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/badassnetwork.com\/quietrevolution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}