I know one guy that managed to retire before 40 (he's now 45), following the boring route. Roughly, it went like this
- He chose to go to trade school, and become an electrician
- He chose to live in his small rural town
- He worked overtime whenever he could, but not at the cost of his social or family life.
- He saved around +/- $30k every year, for almost 20 years, and invested it all on index funds.
- He didn't splurge on excessive travel, electronics, cars, etc. lived a modest life.
After he "retired", he enrolled community college to study Electrical Engineering, and now does smaller contracting work that he finds interesting.
- He chose to go to trade school, and become an electrician
- He chose to live in his small rural town
- He worked overtime whenever he could, but not at the cost of his social or family life.
- He saved around +/- $30k every year, for almost 20 years, and invested it all on index funds.
- He didn't splurge on excessive travel, electronics, cars, etc. lived a modest life.
After he "retired", he enrolled community college to study Electrical Engineering, and now does smaller contracting work that he finds interesting.