Just saw on the news-trough an article - pictured, of course, was a boomer couple - complete with smug facial expressions.

The article went on as to how they made themselves a nice retIrement nestegg.  Yeah, the article had featured some history of previous financial struggles.  House and car payments, and the husband's child support.  Well, they tightened their belts over some years...ya know, packed lunches, cooked meals, and over time had paid off their loans.  Yay them, for bootstrapping themselves out of that drama.

But guess what!  Several years back, the couple had received a leg-up - an inheritance of forty thousand.  The article went on about their investing in the stock market.  They evidently knew what they were doing, and were financially woke enough to be able to sleep with one eye open, and walk around with an open (third?) eye in back of their heads.  

Don't know beans about the stock market, but i know that you can lose bigtime if you're not careful.  And that playing the market on your own, instead of paying a broker, can leave you broke.