<prompt> Human: I am currently a graduate student making 30K a year, but I have the means to put away a few hundred dollars every month. Ive considered saving the money, but I expect my salary to jump to 80-90K in three years, and then for it to rise steadily up to 150K-200K in the six years or so after that. Since my salary will be rising so significantly, any amount of money I could feasibly save now probably 5-10K seems trivial. People are telling me to save my money, but I would rather spend the money to make my current living more comfortable minus a reasonable rainy day fund. Are there any reasons this mentality is flawed?  <response>: What field is your PhD in that relatively guarantees 200k six years after graduation?Just curious since the overall mood of the PhD job market is definitely depressed.Aside from that... I would say build up an emergency fund, and then after that just spend your money reasonably. Your PhD stipend is is not really designed for you to make money. Its just there to pay expenses really.EDIT: Changed is to is not. 