financial wisdom from decades of experience for young

for 30 years without fail i have set aside minimum $10 every week or $500 a year. i invest this money in mutual funds rather than individual stocks. i prefer american funds group. i too have suffered many setbacks over these decades and since 2015 am no longer able to save anything. i now have $300,000 and it is still growing due to dividends, compound interest and capital gains. i will not be on verge of homelessness like so many i know depending solely on govt social security. hope this will encourage someone to do the same