<prompt> Human: The quoted text above somewhat echoes an attitude I regularly have toward saving. Lets say I want to save energy, by unplugging after every plugs usage, that I want to reduce my water usage; how can I know that in the long run its going to benefit me? What I mean is, I could spend the money saved here unwittingly splurging on some eat-out, or pair of shoes. With this in mind, how do I know that saving is worth it? How do I gauge how much Im saving, and how to use those savings smartly?Im 21, without any big responsabilities, so that might influence my outlook here. Assistant: Think about the oldest people you know and answer this question:Can they do the same kind of work that a 21 year old could, and earn lots of money? The answer is probably no. While you might be able to earn tons of money from your 40 hour work week, an 80 year old simply wouldnt be able to do that due to old age. You need to look at savings as your younger self taking care of your older self.Hope that helps!Human: Id never taken this in account; it makes total sense. But, given how remote that time seems, how do u motivate yourself to save? And do you save purely to pave the way for retirement?  <response>: The motivation should be simple enough. If you dont save you may find yourself becoming one of the elderly greeters at Walmart when your old, or even potentially homeless. If thats not something you want, then you need to save your money.No you dont need to save purely for retirement. You can save for a car, for a home down payment, for a rainy day, for vacations, ect... The more you save in general, the better off you will probably be down the road. 