Long term planning and getting ready for retirement is the way to go and will always make you richer than trying to get rich quick. The method where people try to make money NOW, so they can be rich right away and live a great life, usually ends up with %90+ of the people making a loss, because most people don't know what they are doing. Whereas, long term doesn't require knowledge, or strategy, or even luck because if you do end up buying a lot then it means that we are going to end up getting richer and richer every year, and in a few decades we will retire with enough money to never worry about financial issues.