I am amazed at how financially illiterate many people are. Saving early is the key. When I left my first job after college 30 years ago I had $4K in 401K and $4K in IRA that I have kept separate from other savings as my own little experiment. My annual rate of return average over 30 years is just a bit over 12% annually and that $8K is now worth $300K.
The only time I didn’t save was when I was out of work. Recently I have upped my savings rate to about 20%.
The stock market is one of the only ways to wealth. People need to get used to the ups and downs of the market, or else stick with CD’s which pay .0005% interest. Good luck with that strategy.