Everyone's got a different take on what makes you rich. Flashy vacations, high-end restaurants, that shiny new car sitting in your driveway—yeah, these paint a certain picture. Social media loves it. But here's the thing: that lifestyle flex doesn't actually equal wealth.

Real wealth? It's way more boring. It comes down to one number—your net worth. Strip away all the noise and it's straightforward: take everything you own, subtract everything you owe, and that's your actual financial position. That gap between assets and liabilities is where the truth lives.

People spend their whole lives chasing the appearance of success when they should be building the substance of it.