That every dollar you spend directly translates into pushing your financial independence further into the future.
I hadn't really reflected on becoming financially independent as a real possibility, but now I'm mentally bookkeeping spending against being locked into needing to work longer. The real revelation was when I realized that this "save 20% of your income for retirement" advice that's thrown around is totally backwards. Your income is not the yardstick, your spending is. Rather than scaling your spending to your income, spend what you need and save the rest. If you have a tech salary, that likely means you'll be financially independent much, much, earlier than traditional retirement age.
I lived like a student when I was a student and did not change much of my lifestyle and could not be happier. I usually save 2/3 of my salary and do not miss anything. My runway today is about 15 years.
I hadn't really reflected on becoming financially independent as a real possibility, but now I'm mentally bookkeeping spending against being locked into needing to work longer. The real revelation was when I realized that this "save 20% of your income for retirement" advice that's thrown around is totally backwards. Your income is not the yardstick, your spending is. Rather than scaling your spending to your income, spend what you need and save the rest. If you have a tech salary, that likely means you'll be financially independent much, much, earlier than traditional retirement age.