Retirement planning lessons from my parents

My teacher parents didn't save anything for retirement outside of their pension contributions when I lived with them. They played the lottery, and I grow up dreaming of being able to have stuff. They never won the lottery, and they aren't thrilled about their retirement prospects. Makes one think they never thought they'd be old one day. I believe they still play PowerBall.

One major pitfall of my being unemployed is that I'm not saving for retirement.
I've had three 401(k) plans which have been rolled into a Fidelity IRA. I track the ups and downs of the markets and the effects on mutual funds.
Nothing looks to be great enough to merit the Dow's current level. Constant ups and downs has been  normal. It's tempting to try and time the market, but I've no money to invest since all the money I have tied up is pre-taxed and it's confusing to add taxed dollars to an existing account.

There are studies that suggest that retiring a millionaire is rather simple if you start early enough, at least that's what Clark Howard has posted on his website.