Money is only one kind of wealth (and why its usually the least interesting)
I’m sure you're familiar with the term and idea of Financial Capital. And yeah it's important especially in modern society and through out history, but did you know there are 7 more kinds of capital, that you are probably investing in on a weekly basis that you aren’t even aware of?
And while our money has roughly the same idea of how to use, save and invest our money. The 7 other capitals can be fairly unique, a 5 year old, a 15 year old, a 25 year old and 50 year old will all invest differently. Based on your worldview, and priorities.
The Eight forms of Capital are
Financial Capital
Material Capital
Living Capital (aka Natural Capital)
Social Capital
Intellectual Capital
Cultural Capital
Spiritual Capital
Experiential Capital
I think the best part of the other 7 forms of capital you can invest in multiple forms of capital at a time, and it doesn’t matter how old you are, or even what your financial situation (most the time.)
I’ll give you an example, I recently purchased my own vehicle. (I have very amazing parents that have let me drive my dad’s old hunting truck while I have grown my photography business and looked for a vehicle in my price range.) But back to my new to me vehicle, I invested Financial Capital and financial debt in exchange for Material Capital- A vehicle I plan on driving for years, as well as social capital and intellectual capital.
Let me explain, my vehicle being material capital, that’s pretty self explanatory, but I’m investing social capital, because love it or hate it our material capital investments usually impact our social status (thus social capital) Also this vehicle isn’t running yet, so I will be fixing it up with my dad, his best friend, and my grandma, (Mimi) and lastly I'm investing in intellectual capital when I learn how to maintain, repair and restore my new to me vehicle. So by the time my Bronco is running I'll have invested financial capital, material capital, social capital, and intellectual capital.
But this idea doesn’t just apply to material investments, I’m working on another idea that combines social capital, cultural capital, and intellectual capital. I want to create a program where women from all walks of life can get together, and prepare freezer meal and swap recipes. The goals of the program are to create community, teach younger women how to cook (especially those who didn’t have someone to teach them) and make it easier for retired and senior women can have home cooked meals ready in the freezer.
The 8 forms of Capital can be applied to almost anything, which is my plan for 2026 goals I want to see how much I can invest in each form of capital in the next 12 months or so.
I didn’t come up with these 8 forms of capital, The concept of the 8 Forms of Capital were originally developed by Ethan Roland (now Ethan Solviev) and Gregory Landua in a publication from Appleseed Permaculture in 2011. I first heard about the concept from School of Traditional Skills, and Nicholas Burner and School of Permaculture. Link to original article.
But the concept has really helped me frame what I was thinking because it really changed how I viewed wealth. My wealth wasn’t just what was in my bank account, and there are more ways to invest in wealth than stocks, bonds or precious metals.
Follow along while I explore these 8 forms of capital, learn how ti invest save and I’ll document everything here and on social media @master_of_none