As far as I understand that money is not a must for a person to be independent. I think it depends on where you come from. If you are from a rich family, and you want to be independent, probably the most important thing is how much money you will have after you leave the family. This is understandable becuase you are used to spending money. WIthout it, you can not do anything, and this seems to me that the person is not independent at all. As people from a poor family, he might think ottherwise, he will make sure he will make the money for himself to be independent. So, the tool you will need for you to be independent is your skills, experiences, etc... but for sure it is not money.