How do you do it?

I won't say how much I earned before I retired at 38; as many on here wouldn't believe me. Or I would be accused of bragging etc.
But I saved enough after 20 years of hard work to buy my apartment with my savings.
I don't have any kids, so I blew around 30% of my wages on; fast cars, drugs, drink, holidays, and my watch collection.
Now I am on the dole and have fk all to be honest with you. OK I own my apartment and am retired at 39. I drive an 11 year old car; and gave up the drink and drugs binges. I still have my watches as that is the one vice I cannot give up.
But I learned this; and I say it as a man on the dole. It's not what you earn, but what you spend.
This may amaze you, but I actually have more disposable income now on the dole than when I worked. Reason being, I am not spending like I used to.
For example, I don't have a TV. So no TV licence, no 56" TV purchase, no Netflix/Sky subscription; and no electric bill for running said 56" TV. In total that is over 2K per year of disposable income straight away. Think of it as a 2K pay rise. And that is just the saving one makes by not having a TV.
I won't give the same example with my car, as its obvious running an A4 is cheaper than running a 911 etc. You get the point, less pay out means more pay in.
Another thing I realised is one is never rich no matter how much one earns; 25K, 50K, 75K, etc.
Reason being is this, one always spends more.
I have a collection of 20 watches for example. When I landed my first career job, I treated myself to my first Rolex Submariner.
But it's never enough, you go from one Rolex to 5 Rolex's. More money, more spend. Now I have 20 I had to stop myself, as I can only wear one per day anyway.
The thing is, had I not collected the 20 watches I could have bought a second apartment. More sensible.
So you may not think it possible to save on a basic of 25K but it is possible if you cut back on something simple like a TV and Sky etc.
At 39 don't end up like me; I sniffed a house, and drank a house, in my 20 years of work hard play harder.
My advice to you is, save as much as you can. Spend as little as you can.
And I say all this as someone who sniffed cocaine, drove 911's, and bought Rolex's. None of that matters in the end, savings matter.
What I do now may sound simple or stupid to some, but every week I buy 25 Euro (the minimum 4) Prize Bonds in the post office every week.
Its a good way of saving, and you can get the money back within 7 days (if they are 3 months old). Its a steady way of saving one can't be tempted to blow that 25 Euro in pub or bookies etc.
It works for me anyway, as the interest rates in savings accounts are poor now.
Think about it, 25 per week means 1300 per year saved. That is 1.3K you could have p.issed up the wall on 13 nights out at 100 per night easy.
So you see its easy to save say 1.3K of your 25K basic with some self control like that.

Actually, this thread is making me think more about my own spending habits.
I think I will sell my car and have done with it. Insurance, tax, petrol, NCT, servicing; I reckon I would save say 2K per year easy. A nice holiday for 2 weeks, or more Prize Bonds. Either way, that 2K would be put to better use. A man could get a lot of buses and taxi's for 2K per year. My car is my biggest spend/waste of money at the moment. I think not owning a car is probably the single fastest way to save money these days.