Back in 2003, when I began my career as a young sales manager in the hospitality industry, I earned an annual salary of $26,000. Little did I know at the time that my human capital – as in, the present value of my expected future income throughout my working lifetime – would be worth nearly $3,000,000!

I did some back-of-the-napkin calculations and was surprised to learn I’ve already earned a million dollars over my 15-year career. I find that incredible, given that I’ve never earned a six-figure salary and, in fact, my wages have been stagnant for the past four years.

Projecting my income forward using a modest 3 per cent annual growth rate reveals the potential to earn another $2 million by the time I turn 55.

Human Capital vs. Financial Capital

Put in different terms, however, and you can see that my human capital is shrinking each year. That’s because the value of my human capital peaked the day I started my career (back in 2003) with my entire lifetime of earnings ahead of me. Since then I’ve steadily used up my earning power and the value of my human capital has gradually declined.

The idea of eroding capital doesn’t sit well with me, but that’s where the second form of wealth building – your financial capital – comes into play. See, I’ve been a diligent saver for most of my career, which means converting my human capital (earnings) into financial capital (investments). Continue Reading…