As a millennial, I dream big and everything I do is intentional and serves a purpose. I wasn’t always this way. It took years of professional success, financial distress and low personal satisfaction to get to where I am today. I am more mindful of the decisions I make and understand the implications my financial knowledge has had in my ability to live my dream lifestyle.

We are a purposeful bunch and we care a lot about social impact. We also understand the importance of financial freedom in order to do things of significant importance. However, many millennials are straddled with student loan debt, low wages compared to cost of living in the cities they reside, and difficulty in finding affordable housing.

Here are six money mindset lessons that truly resonated with the millennials we met around the country:

A few years ago I found myself wondering why I was buying the things I bought. Why did I need to own two cars, a motorcycle, live in an expensive apartment, or have a walk-in-closet filled with clothes with tags still on them? Why did I need a new phone each year or get the latest tech gadget? Did I really need to spend $40 per night on dinner or go out for a weekend bar crawl and spend $200-300?

I was living life and enjoying it but I also felt unsatisfied. Something was missing and I was trying to fill it with things such as an $1800 watch and weekend retreats. I was making money but I was also spending it. I didn’t have a plan aside from stashing money into my 401(k), buying stock through my company’s ESPP (employee stock purchase program) and holding onto debt. I also held onto debt because it became a purpose for me to work.

We often hear the words time is money. The truth is time is worth more than money. Money can be made after you’ve spent it. However, time once spent cannot be made back.

If only I made more money is usually how a sentence starts when someone is trying to figure out how others have mastered their finances. But if you asked money-savvy people what their secret to financial bliss is, they’ll have a simple answer that typically has little to do with one’s income.

The answer is that financial independence is based on three simple practices. Without these habits in place, reaching financial wellness is a difficult and seemingly unattainable goal.

Let’s start by going over some character traits of money-savvy people. Do you have these traits?