The manicured yards in our neighborhood are truly a sight to behold, and I enjoy them a lot. Surely with all of this obvious prosperity my neighbors are doing alright. Wealth is owning lots of nice things. There is a difference in wealth and income. Wealth is what would be left if we paid off all debts.
Income is cash flow available to support debts.
Income requires that you keep earning it or you have none. Lose your job and suddenly you have no income. You still have all of your debts, just no income to pay the notes with. Wealth, on the other hand, does not require job security to sustain it. Wealth generates cash flow rather than consuming it.