4. They know they can't spend whatever they want, whenever they want.

Adam Carriker, back when he was part of the St. Louis Rams. Dilip Vishwanat / Stringer / Getty Images

Sullivan characterizes wealthy spenders into three types:

Dissipators get rich young through something like a professional sports contract or the sale of a company and will never earn that much again.

Accumulators "amass a pile of money doing something that is intellectually interesting or challenging but wait until much later to spend it on something they are passionate about."

Make-and-spenders let money come in and go out as they make what they need and buy what they want.

But the ones who remain wealthy are the ones who recognize their wealth is limited.

In a chapter called "Spending Tips From People Who Spend a Lot But Aren't Broke," Sullivan speaks to Adam Carriker, a former defensive end for the St. Louis Rams.

After getting a five-year, $14.5 million contract in 2007, Carriker missed a season because of injury and was then traded to another team across the country, having to sell his local home at a loss.

"The best line I've heard was, 'Don't live like a king for a little bit, live like a prince forever,'" he told Sullivan. "Once they've lived like a king, it's gone."