"Don't date or get married either, live in a studio apartment and eat nothing but oatmeal."
Probably the one thing that the journalist didn't write is that these people use every discount coupon that comes their way. My wife cuts our food bill by an easy 40% every month using them.....steaks and prime rib aren't uncommon in our home either. Rundown neighborhoods weren't our style, but neither are the classy ones.
I bought used everything (except bed mattresses) when we were married 26 years ago. I still do but now they're called antiques. LOL
Last month I bought two used, one year old, SUV's, value 60k for 40k, cash. Our crerdit card balances are zero every month. Neither of us ever earned more than $25hr. We always took homemade luches to work. We sent two daughters to college and managed to retire ten years ahead of schedule. Both of us dress reasonably well, no need to look like hobos.
I've never tried to keep up with anyone else's ideas of what good living involves. We always lived within about the 80% level of our take home income and kept the rest invested.
Believe in yourself, not the other guy and you'll be a winner.
First of all, an essential way to be in a fine financial position in your fifties (when the tire starts to hit the pavement and retirement may be hitting the horizon!) is to marry well and avoid divorce. This was not mentioned, and IMO is very important. The people I know in bad shape managed their lives pretty well except for losing big in divorces.
I'm glad your kids are out of college--have you seen how tuition has gone up recently? When I was in college, many people worked their way through and emerged debt-free. That's not within reach these days. The hikes in tuition, are, IMO also, a huge fraud.
And the academics I know have good insurance and other nice bennies--one reason why everyone wants to be a professor.