I'm 36, and I've struggled for a long time with saving money despite having a relatively successful career working in cybersecurity. But after a recent round of being unemployed for 8 months at the end of 2024 going into 2025 (rip my old 401k), I made it a point to get serious about saving money and building a portfolio when I started my current job back in April.
It took until August to finally be caught up enough with bills and debt enough that i could start setting aside some savings and start building an emergency fund. Since then I've been aggressively saving as much as Ive been able to, so that now I'm getting an extra ~$10 a month just for existing!
And i know that isn't a lot, but i feel like it's completely shifted how I think about saving money. Before now I basically just had a regular checking account and was also trapped in a cycle of revolving credit card debt and never really thought about saving money.
But now it feels like every dollar I save and every dollar I invest is essentially buying myself an annual raise, and when I think of it in those terms it feels so fun and exhilarating!
Anyways, onwards and upwards to $100 a month in dividends!