23 y/o building a real financial system — want advice from people further along the FIRE path

Hey everyone, I’m 23 and two months into taking my finances seriously. I’ve been building out a full “CFO dashboard” for myself—tracking income, expenses, net worth, goals, automation, etc. I’m also reading through foundational finance books (Psychology of Money, Simple Path to Wealth, Bogleheads Guide, Tax-Free Wealth, etc.) to lock in the fundamentals.

My goal is straightforward: Build enough financial discipline and structure now so I can reach financial independence around age 45.

Here’s where I am right now: • ~$4.5k/month income • $3.5k/month expenses • HYSA emergency fund started (750$ monthly) • Roth IRA contributions automated(100$ monthly) • 401k contributions automated(getting company match, doing 10% of paycheck) • No credit card balances (pay in full monthly) • Small fitness coaching side business ($400/mo) • Working on sticking to a real budget for the first time • Tracking every transaction and doing monthly variance checks • Reading and studying 5–6 days a week • Trying to completely stabilize spending over the next 6 months

Where I’m unsure and want advice: 1. What habits or systems made the biggest difference for you in your early 20s? 2. What mistakes should I avoid before hitting Phase 2 (tax optimization / entity structure / multi-account strategy)? 3. How aggressive should I be with investing while still building my emergency fund? 4. Anyone else here start FIRE early with a side business? What helped you scale it without wrecking your personal finances? 5. Anything you wish you’d known at 23 that would’ve accelerated your path?

I’m here to learn and tighten my approach. Any advice from people ahead of me would be huge. Thanks in advance.