Sometimes people don't get it. You make a choice to leave, find your place, and stick to what works. Thailand changed the game for me.

Not talking five-star hotels here. A 150 baht room—basically a side quest hideout with one fan and one mattress. But that setup? It taught me something most people miss: you don't need much to feel like you're building something real.

One dollar for chicken rice that tasted like fine dining when you're living intentional. That's the shift. When you're not drowning in lifestyle inflation, every meal becomes a choice, not a habit.

And this is where the DCA mentality hits different. While I'm living lean here, I'm stacking positions consistently. Every meal I buy is a deliberate decision. Every dollar matters. That discipline compounds when it spills into your investment strategy. You start seeing asset accumulation the same way—steady, unglamorous, but absolutely unstoppable over time.

The locals get it. The minimalists get it. But the ones caught in the constant upgrade cycle? They probably never will. And that's okay.