More joy in heaven over a sinner who repents
Most of the respondents so far indicate they always were savers. I would have been one, too, but I got married right out of college, which changed everything. DW brought the twin gifts of college debt and astonishing fertility; any plans I might have had regarding saving/investing went right out the window.
On one income, we didn't live extravagantly. I remember powerful feelings of envy over the slick new cars, killer stereos and exotic vacations that my single and DINK friends enjoyed but were beyond my budget. All our income was spoken for by the needs of our five nestlings. My own wants just had to go on the back burner.
Of course, we didn't go hungry or naked or sick, either. We supported our kids' activities; everybody got housed and fed and dressed and all that. We lived an unremarkable middle class lifestyle, neither rich nor poor.
OTOH, we didn't borrow to keep up with our prosperous friends. Our cars were old and we put in a ton of DIY hours. We did borrow early on for mortgages, and when the kids entered college we borrowed for that, too. I contend it's very much an individual decision to do so, and I don't judge.
For twenty years, any thoughts about providing for retirement got elbowed aside by the daily grind of work, grad school, and tending the needs of my family. The result was that after two decades of wage-slaving, my net worth was zero. It wasn't until about age 42 that I "got religion" savings-wise and took positive action to sock away some dough for my golden years. That was the turning point.
It was painful for about a year, during which we adapted as necessary. It's nearing another twenty years, but now we've managed to build at least some reasonable financial security. If I can eke out another couple of years then I can retire - certainly not early by the standards of this forum, but a bit earlier than most Americans.
My path is clearly a minority one among ER types, but I bet it's a lot more representative of the population at large. People who will be entirely reliant on their SS probably didn't intend for it to be that way. They probably didn't intend anything at all; it's just that living for today sort of crowded out the long term. I'm not any better than those folks, although I am gratified that I was able to act for my own future in time for it to make a difference.