I saved up money contracting before I took the plunge. This definitely wouldn't have been possible otherwise! But also, if you don't have a family, serious debt, or health issues, it's pretty easy to be resourceful and live cheaply, even in an expensive city like San Francisco.

Ah that makes sense! You sound better at living affordably than I am ... doing very similarly with the sidehustle and still pretty far from going full time.

Sounds like your good with money. Wealth has offense and defense, earning a lot is helpful, but spending less than you earn is key.

A lot of people are full time on $0 a month

One year I decided I wanted to save as much as I could. I went for the greater part of the year on under 2k per month. Saved a ton load of money, like 80% of my take home earnings.

Live like that for 10 years and you can retire like that for the rest of your life.

When I try to be even remotely frugal my girlfriend calls me cheap and annoying. It's quite annoying.