Anyone here in their 40s, not married and don’t have kids

100%. My partner and I hate kids.

Here, single without children. Living a free life without debt and expectations.

How come you're not using debt?

That's the beauty and freedom that comes with being single and childfree. Having established your career before the 2007 crash helps too. I do really feel for the plight of young people starting out today.

How's it beautiful not to use debt?

Surely just a bit naive/dumb not to use any leverage as part of building your financial assets.

It doesn't mean that we were never in debt. It just means that we have it pretty much paid off and don't really need to rely on it anymore. I still use credit cards for the reward points and suchlike, but I pay them off every month, so I am not indebted. That is a freedom for which I am truly grateful.

2/3
Got married a few years back for the tax break

Very very happy. Especially when I see how friends and colleagues my age with kids are struggling financially and with free time.

Here, single without children. Living a free life without debt and expectations.

Was being without a mortgage on your house (assuming you don't rent) really a smart move over investing the cash over the last 15 years? Compound returns are a thing of beauty.

Who is the 'we' of which you speak? I thought you were single.

The royal 'we' is my fellow cohort who are in a similar position.

You seem dead set against the idea of being satisfied with what you have. You do you. However, considering that the value of my home is worth so much more than it was in the nineties, it was a worthwhile investment. I worked my arse off in the early days and had the mortgage paid off in 6 years. It is also not my only investment, because I am free to use my disposable income exactly as I please.

I also get to focus on my work-life balance now, as I reap the rewards of all that hard graft. How is that not a thing of beauty? I am happier in my forties than I have ever been. Happiness is about more than just money. Sure, it helps, but when I was younger, I was working 60 hour weeks and struggled to find the time to enjoy life. I was always exhausted and one of my colleagues called me out on it one morning. Apparently the first thing I always said when I staggered into the office every morning was "I am so tired".

You need to find a balance between money, work, playtime and relaxation, otherwise you will burn out. I am glad that I got myself on a good footing before quitting the rat race and starting my own business. That on its own was a lot of hard work, but it all paid off in the end. Why would I want to change that now, or risk my entire portfolio on overly risky investments? I took more risks early on, but not anymore. Now it is about protecting and preserving what I have so that I can enjoy my retirement.

Thankfully I've never worked in a job which has demanded more than 40hr weeks, of course sometimes I opted for overtime at times to see a project through, but not had such burn out.

Hopefully I'll be happier yet in my forties when I get there. I intend on maintaining a mortgage as otherwise I'll lose the flexibility and freedom of having the £300k offset savings on hand.

Perhaps we had it easier. It took me three years to fully offset my first mortgage. With my partner and my second mortgage its taken less than a year.

I wasn't suggesting risky investments. I was suggesting it has been as difficult as sleeping to outperform debt interest since the 2007 you quoted.