I'm also 52, had both a morning and an afternoon paper route at 11-12, worked on a dairy farm (shoveling shit, milking cows, doing hay, etc) throughout high school, and have worked my ass off in increasingly higher paying jobs since then (currently working at USPS). I have savings, a retirement, and while I don't currently own a house, I live in one with my best friend who does. I own 3 paid off vehicles, including the 1968 Camaro pictured in my bio.
Make better choices, and it'll happen. Or do what Elon did, and build up several multi-billion dollar businesses.