<prompt> Human: Im 24 and fortunate enough to have a well paying job where Im able to live comfortably while maxing my 401K, have no debt, and have most of my investments in an index fund. However, I feel like this is too much of a retire with your significant other somewhere quiet while your children bring you grandchildren kind of planning. I have no plans on getting married or having children and yet I feel like Im putting all of this money into a retirement account that I probably wont live long enough to see and will just give the money to my sibling beneficiary when I die. I feel like Im building this giant nest egg and hoarding a great sum of this money for 40-50 years from now. Ill dont mean halting all contributions to my retirement accounts, but perhaps lowering contributions, even though I am able to max them, to fit my goals and future plans. This would grant a larger paycheck so that I feel less inclined to save money wherever possible. Maybe I have an incorrect view on retirement accounts but I strictly see that as money locked away for decades even though I know I can always access with taxes of course. What is the retirement advice for someone who has a live fast die young kind of mentality or someone who doesnt want the grow old with the wife and kids lifestyle?  <response>: A 401k is just a tax advantaged way to save for retirement. Nobody said your retirement savings has to be tax optimized. 