[USER]

I’m 34, and I spent what feels like my entire younger years focusing on making money, chasing financial independence as hard as I could.

My goal was to retire by 45, but here I am, sitting with roughly $350K in assets, plus a house worth about $200K.

Not bad, but not enough to feel like I can actually live the life I envisioned.

The worst part? I sacrificed so much for this—friendships, experiences, time. Now, I don’t have real friends, no one to reach out to, nowhere to go.

My life is just wake up, work, sleep, and repeat. The friends I had either got tired of me being the “cheap friend” or couldn’t stand me constantly preaching about financial independence or giving them copies of the ChooseFI book.

Looking back, it feels like I wasted my life on all the wrong things.

Sure, I have some financial security, but at what cost? I’ve missed out on the connections and experiences that truly make life worth living.

If I could go back, I’d tell my younger self to find a better balance. Yes, money is important, but so is living—so is friendship.

Don’t get so focused on the future that you forget to actually live your life in the present.

[Author]

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