My cousin works 2 days a week as a waiter and gets by on government benefits. I now question why I’m working 50 hours a week

I am a 31M. My whole life I’ve thought I was doing everything right. I went to school, got a masters in engineering. Sacrificed a lot to become debt free as early as possible and also invest a solid amount at an early age.

With how crazy the economy has become and how unaffordable basic life necessities are, I’m glad I did what I did and have hope to retire in my 60s shall I live that long. However, the fact remains that I spend 5/7ths of my week glued to an office chair on calls or typing away on my computer. The other 2/7ths are spent taking care of life admin or trying to relax and enjoy life.

I know some people my age, including my cousin, who do next to nothing. They are parents of multiple children who have a part time job that’s 2 days a week. They allegedly can afford an apartment, bills, and food for themselves on one part time income along with government benefits.

I genuinely wonder why I work so hard sometimes. I’m working for the hope that one day I can quit and won’t have to stress about money anymore. I have no girlfriend and probably never will. I’m getting sick of my hobbies. Life is by and large, uninteresting, and I don’t have the time to “explore” because I’m always working.

I basically threw my 20s away filling exchange for a career and solid financial foundation, I probably still have 30-35 years of work to go anyways. In the end, it feels like it doesn’t even matter.

TLDR; realizing that I probably fucked up big time worrying about work and money so much.