Oh boy, I've written a ton about this in the past, so here's a shortened version. I had cancer in my very early twenties. I always wanted to be at least FI after that. I was never a high wage earner, and I've lived in a HCOLA my whole life. I was also single until 54. The cancer I had was rare, but had a propensity to recur.
I knew I needed to balance the Now Me's needs with the hopefully Future Me's needs. No way in hell was I going to get to the end, whenever it was, with regrets for not doing [fill in the blank].
I figured out how to do all the things, one by one. I saved, I spent, I traveled, I bought a home, and another one. I volunteered in my community, I went to the theater. I ate out. I have a weakness for nice hotels. I also like pretty clothes. Have I mentioned travel? Lots of it. Most of the 50 states (47, I think?) and several continents. I never managed to save even 25% of my salary for any length of time, yet I managed to get to FIRE, albeit not especially early (54).
Figure out what you want, then figure out how to do it inexpensively. Part of the fun is looking like you spend it all, but still saving a healthy amount. If I die tomorrow, the only thing I'll regret is that I didn't have more years with my beloved DH. Our fifth anniversary is approaching soon, and I hope we get to celebrate many, many more anniversaries together.
And the RE part? Amazing. Worth every bit of the effort.