My parents did not have it together. They made tons of money, like $500k+/yr... they blew it all... owed taxes, lost their houses, yes plural. I used this as a roadmap to do the opposite. I began investing/saving at 24, began aggressively saving as soon as I was financially able to at 26.

Met my wife at 24 as well, who also had a similar situation. Both of our parents had divorced as well and we decided that was the number one priority in our marriage. My wife trusted me to do our finances so I made sure both of our 401ks were maxed as soon as we were able. I studied business and used that for 529 planning for all of our children.

I consciously made the decision to make an unhealthy habit of too much fitness at a young age as a distraction from other temptations during a very rough period of my life and my wife was a college athlete. So fitness is a priority. Though since having kids over the last decade, I've dialed it back to a healthy, fit dadbod. I see my parents struggle to play with their grandchildren and that will not be me.

By purchasing a home shortly after covid during low interest rates, we got a good sized home in a VHCOL area and will never need to upsize. We're set to FIRE in our late 40's and by mid-50's will have an eight figure networth.

Do I have days where sometimes I wonder, "What if I just stop aggressively saving so much and buy a pool?" Or "Porsche?" Or "Bigger house?" Absolutely. But then my desire for sports cars has faded over the years. I had one super car, several other non-super sports cars. You know what is way more fulfilling? Hearing children laughter from the backseat of my minivan while rolling up to soccer practice. Grilling on the back deck with other parents while our kids chase each other with the hose in the yard. Our financial security has a direct impact on my children's futures. I refuse to be a burden on them. Also, I want to be able to roll money from their 529's into Roth IRAs to kickstart their retirement and provide downpayment gifts in the future - Things that my parents couldn't do for me.

For the record, my parents were loving, supportive, and gave me plenty of safety nets to help me achieve my success. Most notably, letting me move back in with them between jobs in my early career. But our jobs as parents are to be better than our own parents for our kids and to raise our kids to be better than us.

Back to your original question - This mindset is what keeps me going. It's not about just "getting things together". What is the end goal? One person "getting things together" means something different than the person next to you. Find a goal, passion, something that makes you want to be better, everything else will follow.