Wedding photographer here. I do fairly well financially because I have a solid business shooting weddings every year and keep a part time photography/design job with a local newspaper.

Last year was the most successful year of my career financially (All told I took home just under six figures) but I worked FAR too much and drove myself well past the point of exhaustion.

I’m scaling back a lot this year and prioritizing my mental health. I’m 38 now. My business is solid but not something I can do forever physically or mentally so the next five years are about building a foundation and safety net and then looking at long terms passive income possibilities (investing, real estate, etc.)

For someone who grew up with nothing, was the first in my family to go to college and up until ten years ago didn’t really have a direction in life, I’m proud of the things I’ve accomplished but still feel like I have a long way to go.