Nearly every post so far is rah-rah pep, and while I agree with most of the sentiment I’m going to offer some different advice. Before 30 I hustled a lot to ma

Nearly every post so far is rah-rah pep, and while I agree with most of the sentiment I’m going to offer some different advice. Before 30 I hustled a lot to make enough to have roomates and live a fairly frugal life. I had family obligations that kept me from some personal goals. But largely I was saving money and even though I worked 2 jobs I enjoyed life. 30 was when I started working as a dev, making substantially more money. And while I was hoping to sock away 50% of my gross income for a couple years, so I could pursue some entrepreneurial ideas, it logistically got harder at 30. Friends were starting to have kids or just move in with their significant others. Just finding a cheap room with people I wanted to live with got significantly harder. At the same time it was harder to be that guy socially who would show up to a potluck without a significant contribution and have a real reputation for being a mooch from people who know your earning potential based on general skill sets. On top of that life happened. I moved in with my girlfriend. I had got married. I got a herniated disk. I had a kid. I bought a house. I had another kid (surprise! twins!). And now, at 41, I can almost breath again. I am very grateful for having stable income during the rollercoaster that was my 30s, I’m not sure how I would have survived. I certainly didn’t have the energy or time to focus on building much of anything during that time (though I did try some projects, one of which might be worth something if I hadn’t burned out on it). So I will tell you this. You can put off certain things until early 30s. But if you think you want kids, or even just a good relationship with someone else, 30 is starting to be a time to think about earning solid money instead of trying to build something that will still consume your attention after 5pm. The pick up the torch again in your 40s or even 50s if you want to build something. With any luck you’ll have more capital to work with which will make things easier. Keep in mind, I’m not telling you to give up. Or that you need to catch up with anyone. Only that there is no shame in putting off some things, to build some reserves and focus on other things that can’t wait. And if you have no desire for kids (and kids are a pain in the ass, and I’m not sure when they’re finally worth it), then really there’s really no reason to stop trying until other obligations (say a girl/boyfriend) force you to. edit: I didn’t mean to imply significant others would ever force you to stop (ones who did would probably not be healthy to stay in a relationship with). Only that some obligations are worth putting some things on hold for a year, or a decade...