<prompt> Human: There is a pervasive philosophy in this sub: Proper money management involves looking at it with your hands tied behind your back until you are old enough for retirement. I understand that saving up for retirement is important, but isnt there something to be said about living your youth to the fullest while you have it? All too often do I see a post from someone asking for financial advice, and someone responds by saying Youre spending too much. You should be saving 30. etc. etc. when that is pretty much irrelevant to their concern in the first place. If you want to watch your money grow as much as possible, then obviously a penny saved is a penny earned. But if you put in in the context of living your life happily, a penny saved is a penny not spent. If you die a little earlier than expected not that much of a stretch in todays world then that penny saved even becomes a penny wasted. Im not saying we should all blow our money like there is no tomorrow, but rather presenting the other end of the spectrum. I think you need to find a medium between the two. Money doesnt spoil, but you sure as hell do.  <response>: It is about finding a medium, but this sort of thing is always a personal choice. I choose to make sacrifices today so that my life tomorrow is better. I live frugally, unlike many of my peers. I choose to not eat out every night but instead developed cooking skills and a joy for the process. I choose to exercise patience and self control when it comes to the things I want, rather than be an early adopter. I save carefully and travel - it may not be jet-setting around the globe, but I get to be with the people I love and see some amazing places. The end result is that I have a very high overall savings rate, a reasonable rate for retirement savings, a pile of short-term savings and a great rainy day fund.Why? Because I can see past a year from now. I know that as I grow older I will not want to work as much, I will want to travel more, spend time with my family and provide them with a wonderful home. My self control now my early 20s buys me security and freedom from debts that will plague my peers and younger generations who have grown up with the idea as a necessity to live a good life. To me, debt is just a more palatable form of slavery. I feel like reasonable decisions now will make my late 20s and 30s FAR more awesome, and retirement actually possible. Its not easy, especially when most of my friends live in an artificial extravagance theyve created and feel entitled to. Virtually no savings, no retirement plans, but theyve got all the coolest shit!I think rpersonalfinance stresses retirement because its the first to get sacrificed for the here and now - people in their early 20s dont want to think that far into the future...Live like no one else, so one day you can live like no one else. - the internet 