My line of work has given me inside access to the financial habits of many, many people. From starving college students to the rich and famous, I have had the opportunity to peer into what money habits really look like for a wide cross section of society.

If I could distill all that into just one observation, it would be that no one is doing as well as you think. I’m thinking specifically of a couple of very rich people I’ve met over the course of the past two years or so. Both worked in high finance. One was a former hedge fund manager.

Both of these guys were in serious financial trouble. They weren’t going to make it through the recession unscathed. They were looking at a major restructuring of their lifestyle. One was facing foreclosure. Think the job market is tough for ex-factory workers? Try being an ex-hedge fund manager.

Many people can’t distinguish between income and wealth. During the height of their careers, both of these men had a very high income. But they were spending everything that came in. They hadn’t accumulated a large nest egg or a diversified portfolio of investments that they could draw from in times of crisis.

You can be income-rich and wealth-poor; and both of these guys were. Real wealth is born from a combination of a mindset and good habits. The two mutually reinforce each other–the mindset generates the habits, and the habits reinforce the mindset.

This is a hard lesson for people to learn, especially when they really are struggling financially. Everyone seems to think that additional income will solve their money problems. But if you don’t have the right mindset and habits, you will always be living paycheck to paycheck–no matter how big that paycheck gets.

Waiting for a “bailout” in the form of more income becomes an excuse for people not to save. I’ll start saving money as soon as I get that promotion, as soon as I have my car paid off, as soon as I win the lottery, as soon as…whatever. Speaking of the lottery, this is exactly why lottery winners end up broke a few years after they win. Their mindset and habits are guaranteed to produce poverty. It’s only a matter of time.

Crossing the border from net spender to net saver is the most important step you can take in your financial life. The net saver has the correct mindset and habits to accumulate savings and investment, which will make him wealthy in the long run. The net spender’s mindset and habits cause him to accumulate debt, which will cause him to be impoverished in the long run. Eventually, the net spender must either change his ways, face complete financial ruin, or die and leave his debts to his heirs. That’s not where you want to end up.

And that is why saving anything at all on a regular basis, even just $50 per month, will make you more wealthy than a hedge fund manager who is living paycheck to paycheck.

I know many of you think that this doesn’t apply to you, that you alone have a unique circumstance that makes it more realistic for you to start saving just as soon as circumstances change. But the truth is that the lower your income, the more important it is to save. And just like building any other good habit, taking the first step is always the hardest.

Force yourself to start saving, even if you think the money isn’t there. In the event of a real emergency, you can always take money out of savings. But you must start now. Log into your online banking and set up a monthly automatic transfer into savings starting with your next paycheck–even if it’s just $10 per month. You can figure out how to make it work later on, but there is literally nothing more important than taking this first step.

Looking back on one’s life, no one has ever said to himself “I sure wish I had saved less money when I was younger.” You and I both know you’re going to regret it if you don’t start saving now. And the benefits will start to accrue even faster. It will provide a sense of hope and confidence to see yourself actually accumulating savings every month. And it goes without saying that 20, 30, or 40 years down the line the payoffs will be gigantic.

What’s the best way to build a habit? Start now, and don’t stop.

So go start.