I Attribute My Investment Success To...

[heyyou]

I RE in spite of my spotted record as an investor. FI from saving steadily by choosing not to spend. Made that choice often on small amounts. Always had an aversion to paying interest from being raised by Depression era parents. Early in career, almost lost first house in a layoff. Made a lot of investing mistakes, but just kept saving. Found a life style that I liked in the 80's, then saved further pay raises, overtime, and 90% of tax refunds. At some point (financial maturity?) the saving felt better than whatever the money could buy. Maxing 401k and IRAs was a yearlong contest. Eventually, I could say "I can't afford that" to anyone--that was freedom from the influence of peers and advertising. My coworkers knew how to squander money, so I could see the path to avoid. Had a job that paid a no-COLA pension and health care after 30 years.
Joe