Just a heads up, I know what you mean by 'financially independent' but most people on this subreddit use that term to mean that you have so much money you don't have to work a job, just own businesses/get interest from investments. It might be confusing to not understand that so that's why I'm letting you know.

The obvious answer to your question would be owning a house for yourself. If you've done that, then I don't think you want to be a landlord unless you really want to Be A Landlord and deal with all the headache of that, and the responsibility to your tenants, it's a part time job at least.

In reality, the next step is what we call the 'boring middle'. It's the part where you are basically doing everything you can at your income level and you just need to work on your career and your life and not screw up for about 40 years, then retire comfortably. If your goal is to retire early (and have a fixed income while all your friends still work) or join the ownership class and be a boss of businesses and a landlord of tenants (you probably dont make enough to do this and it's quite a lot of work and responsibility, it isn't 'personal finance') then you're all good and you and your friends can keep each other accountable.