It's possible if you are diligent. I'm 29, my wife is 28, and our investable net worth is $265k at the moment, with another $150k in our home equity. 7 years ago I had $5k in the bank.

We did this by putting savings before anything else, it was a priority. We agreed to put off kids until at least 30, put off vacations until we had met our saving goal each year, etc.

In 2009 I was a bank teller earning less than $30k per year and my wife was working a low level marketing job trying to work her way into advertising. She made $25k per year. We saved as much as possible because of the recent market downturn, we lived on a $35k budget that year.

2010 we were making a combined $70k, living on a $50k budget. We bought our first home for under $190k.

2011 our income increased as I started my own business. She also got a new job. Combined $90k, living on about 60k. We invested everything we could.

2012 combined was $120k. Budget of about $80k. Main goal this year was to save for a down payment to upgrade while rates were low.

2013 and 2014 combined income was about $155k. Maintained a loose budget. Saved up enough for the down payment we wanted and bought a house for around $350k. Note, we were approved for up to $600k and were told that would be reasonable for our income...

In 2015 we both made strides in our careers. We ditched the budget and focused on a savings goal. Income this year was about $220k combined.

Our goal was to save a minimum of $20k per year no matter what. In many ways we were very lucky with our career growth, but even when we both made less than $30k per year we focused on savings. My goal is $4 million saved. The day I hit that is the day I can retire.

Don't buy a home you can't afford, don't buy cars you can't afford, save first. After you hit your savings goals, then you can splurge.

Planning on having kids soon... So I'll probably be broke in 18 years.