In 1999 I met with a financial advisor. I was 29 and told him that I wanted to retire at 45 making my then salary of $65k/yr, so he showed me the math. I was so excited that it was possible, I ran home and shared it with my future ex wife. She and my parents convinced me that it was a pipe dream and that I would be denying me and my family a nice life. I went on to finance many new cars, too big of a house, two divorces, and a 3% savings rate. At 35, I swore off debt and had everything except the house paid off, but was still blowing tons of cash. I found the MMM site at 45 and have since rediscovered the math that I should have never abandoned all those years ago.