The early part of my career was spent chasing everything, and ironically, it was when I had the least amount of money. In 1998 I got my first job and immediatel

The early part of my career was spent chasing everything, and ironically, it was when I had the least amount of money. In 1998 I got my first job and immediately got a nice apartment in which to live and a decent car to get around. Even with these somewhat reasonable purchases I was already butting up against what I could afford. And by afford, I mean how much money I had. Soon enough the credit card debt slipped in and I was trapped. Trapped by my debt and all of the obligations that went with it. This cycle did not stop until I was making a bit more money and finally got serious about saving and investing. When this happened my other priorities shifted dramatically. I was no longer obsessed about getting the newest / best thing or what have you. I paid off my debts and vowed to from then on always live well beneath my means, which I have. Since that time I’ve never felt trapped. I’m disciplined about long term saving and having at least six months of normal living expenses in the bank. I’ve quit jobs that I simply did not like and later found other jobs that I did. I only regret that I did not do this sooner.