There are a lot of good advice in the comments. I will just add for a great "build a startup to generate enough income to live on" model, I'd listen to Pieter Levels talks on YouTube and his first appearance on the Indie Hackers podcast. Then I'd spend $30US and buy his book 'Make'. It's the blueprint of how he built over 75 projects, monetized the successful ones, and makes almost $3m per year as a solo founder.

I know a lot of people might be haters, and I DEFINITELY know his methods might not be repeatable everytime by everyone, but the tenets are sound:

1. Find a problem you want to solve that others have, 2. Build a tool to solve the problem, 3. tell people about the tool, 4a. Monetize the tool if it gains traction, OR 4b. No traction? Go back to #1. 5. Invest the profits from your product(s) in an S&P500 index mirroring ETF

Keep building until you find something that gives #4a.

End of the day, you need to work hard at something long enough to earn more money than you spend and save then invest that money over a long period of time. Selling products you build allows you to earn more money than some salaries.

DISCLAIMER this is NOT financial advice. You need to work for what you want in a way that works for you and your situation. Good luck.