Some good insights in this thread - I can relate to both sides of the argument, having gone between periods in my 20s of working ridiculously hard and then burning out and saying fuck it I need to have a life too, putting work on the back burner. One year I had no holidays at all, worked weeks straight on my own business and barely saw friends/family - quite a big sacrifice when you're 21/22 and I missed out on a lot of things, did the same a bit later too but not as drastic.
My friends thought I was crazy/boring/whatever although now at 28 I'm in a position where I can do/buy things my friends can't dream of - not just because of money (some of them earn more) but also because they have no freedom and only 28 days off a year. The best combination for me would be 70% work 30% play, if you can gauge it somehow. You don't need to sacrifice a whole decade but definitely a year or 2 now will pay off big time in the future.
I know there's a separate poll on the forum but what sort of figures (income/savings) are you guys aiming for? I used to think I want a huge house here in England, fancy cars, boats etc. and started off aiming for that type of lifestyle - £200k+/year semi-passive income was a rough target and huge savings £1m+. I've come to realise that I don't need anything near that to have a great lifestyle where I'm free to do more or less whatever I want. Not being tied down with a family or kids obviously helps and I'd need more money for that in the future, although that's a long way away in my head.
Right now my target is £5k/month net income (semi-passive) which is much more realistic, would give me a really good lifestyle in most major cities outside of London and NY. Savings wise I'd be comfortable with around £100k and a decent amount of equity in property. The first target would probably take me til 40 to achieve and I don't think would make me any happier/my life better. The second is doable by 30 so it's a no brainer for me.
My friends thought I was crazy/boring/whatever although now at 28 I'm in a position where I can do/buy things my friends can't dream of - not just because of money (some of them earn more) but also because they have no freedom and only 28 days off a year. The best combination for me would be 70% work 30% play, if you can gauge it somehow. You don't need to sacrifice a whole decade but definitely a year or 2 now will pay off big time in the future.
I know there's a separate poll on the forum but what sort of figures (income/savings) are you guys aiming for? I used to think I want a huge house here in England, fancy cars, boats etc. and started off aiming for that type of lifestyle - £200k+/year semi-passive income was a rough target and huge savings £1m+. I've come to realise that I don't need anything near that to have a great lifestyle where I'm free to do more or less whatever I want. Not being tied down with a family or kids obviously helps and I'd need more money for that in the future, although that's a long way away in my head.
Right now my target is £5k/month net income (semi-passive) which is much more realistic, would give me a really good lifestyle in most major cities outside of London and NY. Savings wise I'd be comfortable with around £100k and a decent amount of equity in property. The first target would probably take me til 40 to achieve and I don't think would make me any happier/my life better. The second is doable by 30 so it's a no brainer for me.