This makes me so angry. From what kind of privileged perch are you spouting this nonsense? Millions of people have no room to make any decisions. They pay their rent or mortgage, they pay their utilities and they buy their rice and beans. That's about all they can do. Some of us have read all the financial advice (and written some of it, too) but don't have enough money to do any of the things we would like to do. Instead, we are paying for a car repair, or a medical bill, or a leaky roof, or dental bill. About half of Americans are living under the poverty line or are within spitting distance of it. Millions of us are are well aware of the virtues of index funds, the concept of paying oneself first, the power of compound interest and all the rest. The information is readily available and we are not stupid people. We have little or no discretionary income. If the system worked for most people, it would be reasonable to blame the individuals who are too dumb to figure out how to get ahead. But the system doesn't work for about half of us. Stop blaming individuals. You think we lack information, but many of us don't. We lack cash. The median U.S. income is just over $30K. That is not enough money to pay basic living costs. Such a person already can't cover all their needs; they probably let things go like dangerously worn tires, toothaches, annual medial exams, etc. If they can't cover their basic living expenses, they sure can't tuck away any percent of their money into any kind of savings. I have zero interest in reading your worthless content.