[gwbas1c]

> I'm not sure young people can take financial risks, unless they're already rich.

It's a lot easier to take a financial risk when you have no dependents and no mortgage.

I quit my job to start a business in my late 20s, when I was single and had no kids. I will say that another reply's statement is very true: "If I think back to the person I was in my mid-20s, I would not have had the dedication, confidence, people skills, or even the technical know-how to pull off anything approaching a successful business."

In my case, I just wanted to be in charge of my own destiny for awhile, with the freedom to screw up. (And I did screw up.) Although I wish I did things differently, the experience itself was worthwhile. Our modern upbringings are so structured that "starting our own business" really just turns into an outlet for avoiding authority for awhile.

[Agathos]

During my 20s, I was in graduate school and I had no money. Now I'm in my 30s making good developer money, and while I have a mortgage I also have enough saved to pay it for a long time.

I also have no dependents, which is obviously the big difference maker.

[jcadam]

> I also have no dependents, which is obviously the big difference maker.

Yep. Just try to build significant savings with a wife and 3 kids. I'll probably never have more than a couple of months' pay sitting in savings. I realize if I lived alone I could easily live on 1/3 of my current salary. Ah well, life choices and all that...