I live in a high cost of livi area with friends and family who live a high debt high consumption lifestyle. Given that, I don't really have a place to share some things that have happened so here it goes.
Last year I switched to a better school district (I was a teacher) for a 33% pay increase and a shorter school day. This led to maxing out my 403b and 457 accounts along with my pension deductions. All told, I sent away 48k to tax advantages accounts. The downside was that I absolutely hated where I was working.
Any rate, summer came along and I ended up working on a few teaching / curriculum side hustles that have netted just under 20k. Not bad considering most of the projects were for fun. My latest side hustle was for a district office that was impressed with my work and offered me a full time position. The position is perfect both for my career, has a strong office culture, and comes with a 12% salary bump.
Now, while things are going really well with my career, I have always wanted to be a doctor. In a few years I plan on applying to medical schools in a low tuition state. After this next year, I will have saved enough to pay for it completely out of pocket without student loans. In three years, when I plan on applying, I will be able to pay for it out of pocket and have around 200k saved for retirement. I have been feeling pretty good about this but I can't really share it with others...