This serves as yet another reminder that regardless of how much money you make, you should never grow comfortable with it and neglect to plan for your later years all because you believe that the money will always be there.
This is exactly how your uncle felt when he was young and active in duty. He thinks that since he was able to support his family, and nothing would ever change that's why he keeps feeling bittered each time he remembered his past life missed opportunities he would have utilize on when on service to prepare for old age
We do have to take heed of the story the OP told about his uncle having few regrets at this point. as a result he did not prepare himself for old age since he was young. We all certainly want to have a comfortable life when we are old. but preparing since young is also not as easy as said. but yeah we have to try as much as possible to always be able to set aside our money to save or invest for the long term.
Maybe a few years back when the Covid-19 pandemic attacked us all. then we all end up spending more than we make. even my savings at that time were almost gone. but the current economic conditions have gradually recovered. even the inflation rate in America has also decreased in recent months. and this is an opportunity for us to restart our financial planning for old age.
When we were young, we worked not only for ourselves but also for our family, children, and parents…a hundred things to take care of in this tumultuous life. It can be said that getting some old age savings is not an easy thing.
I also admit that starting building for old age according to plan is difficult, but we should not give up because when we get old, we will suffer a hundred times more than now. Life is very difficult these days, but we have health and time, and if we try our best, there is still a chance for us. When we get old, we will not regret it because sometimes in life, trying is not necessarily successful, but not trying is even more regretful.