Great advice. While I live mostly how the title of this implies, I did it much differently.
I've never had much money or material wealth and grew up on the streets. While I live comfortably, I've done this through learning to do so with less and teaching myself the skills, so money is not needed.
I'll continue to divest from the system until I've done so fully, but my next move is to use my coming inheritance to invest. Hopefully I'll have done my homework, learning what I need to to make this strategy work. If not, I'm content with living without a monetary back up.
Good luck to all those attempting to gain more independence through hardwork, rather than trying to make a quick buck.