Solid advice. Nobody is going to hand anyone anything. You gotta grind and work for it. While all our friends were living up to their means and beyond (and still are) in the McMansions, buying new everything and taking vacations we were socking more than 30% of our salary away and living well below our means in a modest home we owned outright. About a year ago we closed on a 4BR/3bath home on 2 acres. We both retired and are now living the dream.