<prompt> Human: A couple of situations lately got me thinking about saving for the sake of saving. Earlier today on rfrugal, there was a conversation in which a number of posters claimed that one should not save money just for the sake of saving money--you cant take it with you, saving for the sake of saving is just hoarding, et cetera. A couple days ago, a friend of mine was talking a big game about how he was going to lease a luxury SUV once he graduated from our program. After showing him that this single choice has an opportunity cost of over a million dollars by the time hes ready to retire, he and a number of really smart guys all backed him up by making very similar claims about how they dont need to worry about saving, you cant take it with you--basically the same arguments as Ive read here and on rFrugal before.I understand that there is an important difference between a young 20-something guy leasing a luxury SUV and a group of posters on rpersonalfinance or elsewhere claiming that all money saved should have a purpose. That said, some combination of this argument seems to be the predominant view on rpersonalfinance.That said, why dont more people think about saving as a means to becoming wealthy? My friend that was talking about leasing a luxury SUV would be able to buy a new luxury SUV nearly every year 30 years from now if he just saved the amount hes going to spend now. Setting aside the fact that it will cost him nearly half his net income and hes an irresponsible young guy, I dont see anyone anywhere making that argument. If you really, genuinely care about buying high end items, why not save as much as you can while youre young to build the wealth that can finance that kind of lifestyle?My friend is clearly an extreme example the opportunity cost of his choice will be about 3.3 million in nominal terms by the time hes 65, but I see people around me of much more modest means making that same choice all the time. From parents to friends to teachers, no one ever says that theyre saving so that they can spend more later--not so that they can take all of it and spend it on a nice car, but so that the dividends, interest, rent, and royalties from their investments can themselves pay for a nice car.Theres no doubt that a lot of people are in positions where setting aside 10 or more of their take home every year and not touching it would be impossible. That said, I also have a hard time believing that Im the sole crazy person who is choosing to be very frugal in order to be really well off later on. Am I coming at this the wrong way?And for what its worth, some friends of mine have compared me to a dragon guarding a hoard of gold--so dont worry. I have a pretty thick skin.  <response>: I think there is a huge amount of youth-worship and youth-bias in our culture, or at least the one I live in. I cant even remember the number of people Ive known in high school and college - some of them close friends! - who say that their aim is to live hard and die at 30 or 40, or kill themselves if it doesnt happen on its own. 30! Thirty years old. To me that has always been extremely young and it seems even more so as I approach it and have more friends that age and older. People are very scared of getting older because to them it means responsibilities like kids, settling down, and other things like lack of energy, physical decline, etc. Old age is a reviled and terrifying thing and you very seldom hear about its upsides like wealth and wisdom. So there is this huge urgency to live your life when youre young because you basically wont have one when you get older.Of course for anyone who is over 30 or 40 or knows people who are, thats pretty insane. Your mind doesnt decline, your spirit doesnt decline, and your body doesnt REALLY start declining for a few decades later for most individuals. Its a subconscious excuse to live harder when youre young and impulsive. Theres a fair point there that you never know what will happen - but statistically, what will happen is that you grow up, get older, and will want to continue to do cool stuff and buy things. Its always seemed preposterous to me personally but I think its a very prevalent attitude and a big explanation for the carefree consumer culture so many people seem to buy in whole heartedly. 