When I went to Wall Street in 2002, I was surrounded by brokers boasting how great they were, how they had it all. They would walk around the office showing their paystubs.

At first, I thought it was a hoax but later realized the earnings were legit. They would give me rides in their leased Mercedes, take me out for expensive steak dinners, and invite me to their million-dollar homes.

I didn't even own a watch.

At the time, I thought expensive material things were for people that can afford them because they were wealthy. I later learned that expensive material things are for those who choose to pay for them, rich or poor.

High income doesn't mean rich.

As I developed and learned about financial planning and behavioral finance, I realized the behavior mentioned above was reckless and uncharacteristic of those who had wealth.

High income means you have a large amount of money that enters your bank account regularly. How you choose to spend that money is entirely up to you. If you spend it all, it doesn't matter how much you earn.

Few people I run into want to spend everything they earn each paycheck, have nothing saved at the end of the month and keep working like a hamster for life.

Most people I encounter want to be wealthy, which could mean financial independence, security, happiness, or at least on your way.

A good barometer to determine if you are at least on track to becoming wealthy comes from Thomas Stanley's "The Millionaire Next Door."

"Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except for inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be. To be well-positioned, you should be worth twice the level of wealth expected." Thomas Stanley, "The Millionaire Next Door" (pages 13-14)

Are You Wealthy?

The general idea is that you should be saving a portion of your earnings regularly. Eventually, by doing so, your savings may be sufficient to support your lifestyle without being forced to work.

If you find your number below Stanley's simple rule of thumb, It's never too late to optimize what you have and change.