> live well below your means for decades I know a few who have pulled this off, and they all follow the same plan: - Right out of high school start a 3/4 year

> live well below your means for decades I know a few who have pulled this off, and they all follow the same plan: - Right out of high school start a 3/4 year, low-debt, in-demand college/university program. Finish on time, don't change major halfway. - Standard white collar desk job - find a partner, live with them but don't have kids. NOTE: critical that the partner share the same mindset so that you can encourage each other rather than create conflict. - no(or cheap) car(based on job salary, commute cost, housing price) - no eating out - buy cheap house or find rent-controlled housing - learn DIY renovation skills - take care of your health/physical condition - no overseas vacations - buy ETFs Low spend is highly levered because it both increases your saving rate and also decreases your burn rate post-retirement. Very doable to retire pre-40 even in the current clusterf** of an economy. Absolutely not for everyone though! It reminds me of people who can run ultra-marathons: it takes incredible patience and determination as you watch everyone around you jump off the cliff like a herd of bison, or get swallowed by one of the many once-in-a-lifetime economic busts that have impacted this generation. I imagine it will be pretty surreal to be retiring when most people your age will still be $N00,000 in debt. I'm not at all one of these people, but I really enjoy knowing them(I know 3-4 couples going down this path at varying stages). They've taught me a lot, and I'm really rooting for them to succeed.