<prompt> Human: Universal wisdom on rpersonalfinance is that early, consistent, and high levels of retirement savings are important in order take advantage of compound interest. Similarly, a common sentiment here is to avoid lifestyle creep, being cautious of frivolous increases in spending as income grows.What Im trying to grapple with is how to think about the balance between lifestyle spending and non-retirement savings--having fun, versus putting away funds for medium-term expenses graduate school, marriage, etc. In general, I have very sound finances, and am on a very good footing for my age mid-20s, but I want to ensure that I dont make any foolish mistakes.Heres my basic situation: Zero debt 20 of gross salary going into tax-advantaged retirement accounts 10 in 401k and 10 in Roth IRA 3 month emergency fund minimal spending on transportation no car, no gas, minimal public transportation costs. I walk nearly everywhere Every month, after my expenses and retirement contributions, I have approximately 400-500 leftover.That leftover money is what makes me very uncertain. I could continue to plunge it into my emergency fund, making it more robust. I could stick it in a savings account in order to save for expenses that are 5 or more years away such as a wedding. Or--I could spend that money on a variety of fun things that would have little strategic purpose except enjoyment. Examples of that would be: concerts, cooking classes, hiking gear, road race registrations, new clothing.I dont want to be a pennypincher, and look back at my 20s with regret. But I also dont want to spend that extra money frivolously, and realize in a decade that Im unprepared for new expenses.Any words of wisdom?  <response>: I was also in a similar situation to you. I was well paid with low overhead and no debt right out of college. I put around 10 of my income into 401k and Roth and went buck wild with the rest. I decided at the time to enjoy my time being free and single and I dont regret it. I visited friends regularly all over the country, dined out frequently, got my pilots license and generally had a great time. When I left that job I had 0 in the bank but 4 years of great experiences and memories.When I started my next job at 26, I was engaged to my current wife and already thinking about the future. We toned down our lifestyle and made more responsible decisions. I have been lucky in that Ive had a successful career subsequently and have made up for the lost time and we now own a house and have a nice EF and are building retirement accounts while still managing to live fairly comfortably. Basically what I am saying is that I took a risk in my early 20s banking on the fact that my income would grow over the years and that the money I didnt save in the beginning would be outweighed by the experiences. It may not have been the wisest move but you only have your 20s once and you have the rest of your life to save for retirement. 