Originally Posted by TiHabanero

My dad instilled in us kids (8 of us) the necessity of saving, saving, saving and living according to our means. All of us kids (now older adults) are able to retire without fear of going broke.
I personally worked in the bike industry at the retail level for far too many years. It is notorious for substandard pay, yet I lived very frugally with my wife and our children which allowed us to save a small amount from every paycheck. Over time this small amount has grown into a substantial amount. Had I not been saving since I was a 15 year old kid, this would not have been possible.
Debt is your enemy, pretending to be something you are not will drain the pocket book quickly. Learn to be a saver early in life and teach it to your children. Take responsibility for your future and live on less than you earn and have a plan to reach a minimum of 1 million in savings by the time you are old and want to retire.