Measured by virtually any yardstick, we are - whether or not we know it - wealthy.

Yes, we must work, but not as our grandparents did to eke out survival minimums. We still work to eat, but it's for food we desire, not the minimum calories needed to survive. Our choices are vast, from fresh organic vegetables and exotic fruits from around the world to prepared microwavable meals. We also eat out. We now spend almost as much money dining out as we spend eating at home.

We still work for clothes, but not simply to cover our naked bodies. We want to wear the right clothes, whether they are from Nine West, or The Warehouse. We don't buy basic shoes; we buy Nike Air Jordans, Timberland boots, or Gucci loafers. We want new, stylish wardrobes every year, and most of us discard clothes well before they're worn out.

We still work for shelter, but more for nesting in houses that we own. We work to live in taller high-rises with views, prettier suburbs with better schools, or luxury condominiums with health clubs. We work to renovate or add on, to decorate and redecorate.

Perhaps most importantly, we work to entertain ourselves when we're not working. We work to buy Sony's largest and flattest television, theater tickets, the best movie packages, BMX bikes, and X-Boxes. We work to sun at the beach, fish at the lake, take a cruise, or maybe sightsee in Europe. Many work not to own just any car, but to buy a second or even third car, ot to upgrade to the latest Lexus.

This is the new definition of wealth: freedom. Freedom from hunger, disease, short lives, illiteracy, debilitating physical labor, poor housing, shabby clothing, and boredom.

Money changes everything.