Spending Must Align With Goals

One of the keys to being rich is having goals, said Michael Kay, president of Financial Life Focus and author of "The Feel Rich Project."

"They know what they care about," he said. "Maybe it's passing wealth to another generation, maybe it's attaining a particular lifestyle. They are mindful of not wasting resources on things that have no value."

According to Kay, the wealthy only seem to spend money on things that they care about. The rest of us can learn from this by setting our own goals and then monitoring our spending to see if it aligns with those goals.

"Are you really spending in accordance with what you value?" asked Kay. "Do the beliefs and realities jive?"