Maxing your retirement account before you earn real money is the slowest path to rich
Everyone tells you to max the retirement account the second you get a paycheck. Nobody tells you that a long compounding curve on a small salary still lands you at a small number.
Money is made on the income line long before it is made on the return line. Raise the salary. Build a skill that is annoying to replace. Then let the accounts do their boring thing in the background.
You cannot budget your way to real money. You can only earn it and then be extremely boring with it. Fight me in the replies.