Step one for the journey to financial retirement is having an income.
Yep sounds basic, and still it needs to be said and repeated.
You start with an income.
Does not matter how it’s made, all that matters is that’s there’s money coming end at a somewhat regular pace to cover the general living expenses and a bit more to save and invest for the future.
Living at home with parents or family definitely helps covering expenses leaving more to save and invest.
In my early stages of investing as a student I did many odd jobs for family and friends. Just about anything they wanted done which was often low skilled labour such as sweeping floors, cleaning, carrying bricks, wood, rocks to teaching wannabe ham radio licensees basic electronics to pass their test. Helping out friends and family in the building trades on and on and on.
After finishing school I don’t remember ever having only one job or one source of income. I had at least two or three different income sources from odd jobs other than my full time work.
Fortunately I also started doing gigs as a musician which kept me busy during the weekends and I also made a small amount of money as well.
So to get started on your journey to financial freedom and early retirement make sure you have a reasonably stable income, and supplement if you can with other side hustles or jobs.
And start saving as much as you can. Get used to having money around and not spending it.
It does take some discipline and it’s a learned skill.