Great post, Zimi. I definitely agree with you that having that cash on hand when an opportunity arises is your best shot at eventually getting far enough ahead to gain full control over your life (i.e. exiting the rat race). I have been auto-saving 12% of my salary since graduating, and although I am not about to be rich anytime soon, it's nice to know that I am slowly building something, and that next week I will be slightly ahead of where I currently am, and so on. I agree with you that trading time for money 1 for 1 is an absolute disaster. Although it is surely ideal to create passive income through an investment or business of some sort, I think there is also another important thing to be said here: whatever your day job is, you should only be trading your time for money AND additional skills. If you are not leaving your workplace every week having learned or improved some skills that increase your future value as a worker (your human capital, so to speak), then you need to find a new job. Great post, I hope it will get more views :)