Too many people thought if you had a 401k it didn't matter because "stocks always go up." Too many people thought if you bought a house it didn't matter because "housing always goes up."

You have to take responsibility for your own investment decisions. This means not buying a McMansion and trying to keep up with the Joneses. This means not buying multiple huge SUVs and living in the suburbs and spending thousands on gas every year. This means not trusting some financial planner when they tell you that you should put 100% of your retirement in the stock market.

People need to think for themselves and take charge of their own financial future. The greatest generation did this - they grew up during the great depression and they understood that you had to save and not trust Wall Street. They understood that housing doesn't always go up. Their kids partied at Woodstock and forgot everything their parents told them.