I’ve been deep in this for about 5 years. A couple of thoughts and anecdotes that may apply. * You can probably trim your budget by 20%. I’ve talked with a cou

I’ve been deep in this for about 5 years. A couple of thoughts and anecdotes that may apply. * You can probably trim your budget by 20%. I’ve talked with a couple folks who do this just by switching from a credit card to a debit card. Screw the rewards. * Budgeting is the only way. It’s not near as terrible as people think. Just cut crap you won’t miss not having anyway. Be very disciplined. * Track net worth and savings rate. There are lots of tools for this. I made https://fiers.co https://fiers.co for myself - others use it too :). Personal capital is great if you are okay giving access to financial data. * Avoid debt like the plague. Mortgages are okay but the bigger it is the longer you’ll be tied to a particular income. * The value of time increases as you get older with a sharp uptick around 40. Given it takes 10-15 years of diligence to decouple your lifestyle and income - get started in your early 30s. * It will take 10-15 years before you have financial independence. This doesn’t mean you will quit your job…but it does mean you have the freedom to do things that like that which aren’t so tied to you earning income to meet your goals. * Shortcuts will just distract you and make your journey take longer.