I have been a practitioner of FI for a long time.

Stems from bad childhood experiences.

Basically there are a few principles to follow on this, here are mine :-

1) Have a clear goal in mind and always begin with the end in mind.

2) Be smart, be prudent, be somewhat secretive, be careful of false prophets  and be kind especially to yourself.

3) Don't be an arse, don't be naive, don't be boastful and finally  don't be too proud to ask for directions.

4) There is a BIG BIG difference between a need and a want, needs must be met wants does not need to be met. A venti latte at Starbucks isn't a need, an iPhone XR isn't a need, an outing at an Instagram cafe isn't a need if you can't claim the meal on your boss, eating out isn't a need and a Honda City/Toyota Vios isn't a need when you can get a car that is RM20k cheaper bare minimum and does the same job. Shelter is a need but having a nicely renovated landed house isn't a need.

5) No such thing as a shortcut to riches. No such thing as a free lunch. If a deal exist that is too good to be true then it most definitely is.

My goal of financial independence isn't really to retire early but to stop doing a job because I need the money but because it is what I enjoy doing.

I've had many turning points in life. I've had many challenges in life and if you think your life was difficult you clearly never walked a day in my shoes.

I've had parents that essentially said I'm not their kid from as far back as I was 10 when they went their separate ways.

Never had pocket money for school, went from 1 relative to another and when the going got tough I was passed on to someone else. Involved in gangsters became a norm, became a "loan shark" at 13 and you name the trouble in school I had it too from fighting to fucking in school I had it all before 16 years old. Oh yeah becoming a loan shark was my first taste of financial independence, used the ang pow money I had as capital. 50sen on Monday = 55sen on Friday.

Contrary to popular believe, despite coming from a wealthier background I haven't really been a beneficiary of that wealth because in my young days I've always opted for my road and my way. Stubbornness I suppose? Oh yes, I'm not really any smarter than any of you, for the record I mostly failed my UPSR and SRP and wasn't even offered a place for Form 4 in a SMK.

Only reason why I managed to continue school? I had a grandfather that in his retirement went on to become a Christian missionary and he used his influence to get me a place in an international school. This was where I had a turning point in life. Was among people that cared and guided me well.

I went on to Birmingham where I read engineering. During my time in England I picked up several jobs, one being a milkman and the other pulling pints at a pub. I bought myself a Morris Minor then because without it I could not get to work.

When I did my sandwich year, despite the new found income I still kept to my cheap ole student digs and made do with that Fiesta.

When I returned to Malaysia at the age of 23, I kept to it, what I have after savings was what I could live and spend on. That meant living at home in mum's house in exchange for paying the electric bill and some groceries. It meant no buying a Toyota Vios on 9 year loans, in fact there was no buying a Waja or any new car for that matter, instead I made do with a 1983 Volvo 244. Paid RM3000 cash for it. Fixed a couple of things on it on my own and it ran for 3 years. Guaranteed I was spending less per month on motoring than anyone else in the office at CyberJaya, because I had no car repayments and insurance was next to nothing. Meals? I used tupperwares to get leftovers from home or previous night's chapfan dinner I would take 1 or 2 extra dishes and ate it the next day.

Bought 1st house and 4 years later there was a major turning point. I lose absolutely everything, ex-wife decided she wanted out, she locked me out of the house and that was the end, savings, all the bonuses from previous years, everything gone. Only thing I had? A suitcase of dirty clothes and whatever I had on me plus that month's salary. Was 28 then.

I started over from scratch. I took a taxi to office, stayed at the office without anyone suspecting for a week that I was homeless. Looked for a room that was nearby, office was in Mid Valley, I rented a room at the low cost flats nearby. Walked to work everyday.

No issues with that, when asked why I did not drive I told them it was faster for me to walk, when I needed to go somewhere usually a distributor was more than happy to pick me up and give me a lift. Food? If boss paying then I go out, if can claim I would go out, else I would have a slice of bread with ham and hit the gym.
It was 5 months later when my mum finally asked where was I as she had driven to my former house to find I was no longer there. She asked me to let her help me I told her I did not need her help as I had everything I needed. It wasn't long before my dad found out I was living in a rented room in a low cost flat, he insisted I move to his house which was only a few km away, I declined as well.

A year later, my late grandfather left a house to 2 cousins and me, I borrowed money from my father to buy out the other 2 of them. Was originally going to live in a room but it turned out I saved more money by continuing to live in the rented room so I continued to live there. Rented it out whole and rental more than covered everything I needed to cover as well as make a profit.

When my financial situation improved, I got a mortgage to pay off my father for the balance of what I owed on the house, then I took some money to put as a deposit on a townhouse, a cheap one as it needed some work and there were issues with the strata title. After that as I collected enough I bought another unit and bought 4 within 2 years as there were many being let go on the cheap as no one wanted to buy one due to various reasons. In 2006 it cost less than RM120k to get a unit. Could rent for around RM1200 per month.

Then around 3 years later a new turning point came along, I started a new job that paid 30% more and while doing that job my uncle started selling off the late grandfather's properties and their businesses started failing and failing badly because of windfall money, gambling and poor business acumen. I saw a lifetime of an old man go gone with the wind within 6 months. I took the opportunity to buy up a property at a bargain, corner house for the price of an intermediate.

These days I keep a mantra of save 40% of your nett income. I also remarried and have a baby, the one thing that all the experiences made me realise, I can pass on every single one of my properties to my kid but without education it will be the same story.

Investing is important, how do I invest? 70% of my investments are in real estate. I pay 30-50% deposit, rentals pays off the 25 year loan. Profits? It goes back to reduce the principal. I don't really give a toss when people tell me there are better investments than real estate, you aren't walking in my shoes and I don't walk in yours.