I am 70 years old and live more comfortably now than I did during my working careers and raising a family.
That's because I saved my money, didn't put it all in the gambling stock market, worked hard at whatever job I had to do and learned to not live beyond my means.
No big, expensive, fancy cars. No big, fancy extravagant houses. No fancy, expensive toys. Paced myself and my lifestyle, knowing I would need to live on some of my money in later life.
To your point about bad choices, the only former classmates of mine from high school in 1966 who are down on their luck nowadays, are those who wasted their money on drugs, drank heavily, partied their money away, wasted money every week on lottery tickets, and went on luxury vacations with nothing to show for it. Bad choices. Now they bitch that someone needs to help them. They couldn't even help themselves when they were able to.
If you didn't plan ahead, life's a bitch when you run out of options.
How did John Wayne put it? "Life's tough but it's even tougher if you're stupid."
You are one of the few on here that understood my post. You worked, saved your money and made smart choices. That was what I was talking about.