Very good advice, Rebecca. I've heard a few people participating in this prompt bring up the point that you should make an effort to be happy at whatever stage of your life you're in. That makes a whole lot of sense.

I did my best to educate myself about finance and investment starting in my early 20's. I put myself through college, paying as I went, and saved 12% of my salary for most of my career and funneled it into a 401k and Roth IRA. What I learned was even that amount of sacrifice wasn't enough. I left that job at 46 with 23 years of service and only had about $130k in my 401k (and that was much better than most people my age). When I looked at what they said my rate of return was, the math just didn't work out, then I learned about all of the hidden fees that had been siphoned off for years. These fees are all shrouded in overly complex language. Most investors just focus on that rate of return and this is how a lot of people end up with less than they planned on in retirement.

It was a smoke and mirrors type situation that did nothing but provide a false sense of security. I often think about all the things I sacrificed to save large chunk of my salary and would be lying if I said I didn't have some regret about it. The realization I came to was our traditional financial system makes it tough (nearly impossible) for most people to achieve financial independence at any age. Even if we're a responsible citizen, stay out of debt, and save more than recommended it doesn't guarantee you'll meet your goals. I would have been lucky to grow that 401k investment 4x before I retired at 60 or 62 ($520k). The traditional system is designed to keep working people distracted with trying to survive and lulling them into believing a false narrative. I'm so glad I escaped and I see a lot of others doing it now too.