Everyone wants to be rich.

It’s easy to see a flashy sports car and fancy house and dream of owning those same things one day. To carry designer purses and wear the latest fashions, to travel the world and fly first class—that’s the goal, right?

Or is it?

What you perceive as “rich” might just be an illusion. Truth is, so many of the people you see with the “finer things” — those friends who “see it, want it, got it” like Ariana Grande — are actually not rich. In fact, they’re barely making ends meet. They have a dirty little secret. They are actually POOR and absolutely drowning in credit card debt.

Turns out for Gen Z, the new rich, the rich you really want to be, isn’t showy. It’s security. We’re talking about building real wealth.

wealth = assets - debt

Example:

$12,500 cash in the bank
– $27,000 in credit card debt (all those designer clothes and luxe trips)
= –$14,500

Your flashy “role models” may look good in their expensive lifestyle, but they’re financially ugly. They spend more money than they make. People who are truly rich are that way because they don’t spend their money. They spend less than they make. Focus on building up your savings account, not your follower count.

Why are you trying to keep up with the Joneses?

According to a recent Bankrate survey, “76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck with little to no emergency savings.”

The reality is, the Joneses might be one emergency away from financial ruin.

A BETTER MEASUREMENT

Instead of worrying about appearing “rich,” change your mindset and metrics to calculating “net worth.”

Net worth is the value of everything you own, minus everything you owe in monthly expenses, credit card balances and loans.

“I would say that discipline counts the most,” says Jeff Standridge Ph.D., of Jeff Standridge Innovation Partners. “The discipline to delay gratification, to live within your means and to diligently pay down debt and pay for retirement, is more beneficial than having extensive financial knowledge.”