In order to get ahead financially, your cost of living should be below your income or it will be almost impossible to reach your financial goal. You should aim to widen the difference between your income and expenses as much as possible in order to have something to put in investment regularly.
There are two ways to achieve this, one is to reduce your expenses and the second is to increase your income. There’s a limit to cutting your expenses and you will eventually get to a point where you no longer have anything you can reduce or remove from your expenses. There is more room in increasing your income, so after cutting down on your expenses, focus more of your energy on finding ways to increase your income.
Once you have positive net income then you are able to invest which will eventually earn you more income which you can then add to your investment. It’s a cycle that you should sustain until the time comes when your investment income is already comparable or even larger than what you are earning from working.
Of course, don’t go extreme on both sides of the spectrum. Don’t cut your expenses or try to earn as much to the point that you are already sacrificing your health (both physical and mental), and your time with people you care about. Have a goal but don’t get too fixated on it and find ways to enjoy your journey towards it.