(throwaway due to tax reasons)
I just turned 40 and hit the 1.2 MM in assets a couple yrs. ago. I have >600K € in cash and a 600K € house which I owe upright. I have no debts, and I live in a huge house with sea views in one of the most beautiful and expensive islands in Europe in the Mediterranean. I guess you could say I am living "the dream".
How did you do it? I landed a job straight out of college at a large multinational company that pays me around 80K€/yr. I STILL work for them and work from home approx 15 hrs a week (even though I am supposed to work 40). It´s the most boring job in the world, but the pay is good, and the social benefits are awesome (medical, dental, life...etc for the whole family). I did not quit the job and am still working for them. I was so bored at my job that I actually started and bootstrappped several companies on the side while I was working for them. Two companies failed, but 1 did reasonably well: I created an online business which has paid me 100k€/yr. in profits for the past few years. Unfortunately that business is now dying and will probably have to close it in the next couple yrs. The last company I started 2 yrs ago (an e-commerce) pays me around 150K€/yr in profits, however it´s still very recent. The growth rate is amazing though so I guess I will probably sell it in the next year.
With this setup I have been able to buy a house which I am renting and is already paid off and worth about 600K . Also I managed to save enough to have 500K€ in the bank.
Additionally, I am going to inherit >500K€ in cash very soon,and my young kids will inherit 250K€ each. My needs and the needs of my kids are taken care of, so in theory I don´t really need to work any more for the rest of my life.
I am now married and have kids. I hate my wife but love my kids, which is the reason why I don´t divorce her. I have never felt so alone and depressed in my life. Even though I did not have much money, during my 20s and early 30s I always had dreams, hobbies and many friends. Now that I just hit the 40s, I have lost all of the above. I traded everything just to build wealth and have money. I keep working on "auto-pilot" just to gather more money to leave it to my kids. It feels like I was "programmed" to build wealth, and it´s the only thing I have been doing for the past years.
I have come up to the realization that don´t NEED money. I don´t appreciate the things money can buy me. Recently I bought a boat, but I have no one to share it with so it´s just sitting there. I dress cheap; I very seldom buy clothes, and when I do it´s at the cheapest place and wear it till it has holes in it. I eat at very cheap places, and I try to mingle with working class people. I am afraid to have money in my wallet, and I am always paranoid that someone will find out I have money and will try to rip me off. The wealthier I got the more afraid I became that things were overpriced. Even though I sometimes splurged and spent 200€ on a dinner with my wife, I canot enjoy "special moments" because I feel I am being ripped off.
Do I have any regrets? I am now a fat, sad man that drinks too much and has no friends and no hobbies left. All in the name of chasing a dream of being financially independent and not have to worry about money. I achieved not having to worry about money, but now I have to work on getting my life back.
A word of advice: This is a marathon, not a sprint. Don´t do the same mistake I did of giving "all in" and focusing only and 100% on making money while forgetting about everything else. Sacrifice work hrs. to nurture your relationships and health. Maintain your health, family, friends and hobbies during your journey.