Personally, I like to save up some money specifically to blow on stuff I don't need. That way I can save for the future but still feel like I'm being irresponsible, albeit only sometimes.

"I knew people who died young... The best thing to do could be charge my credit cards to the max and enjoy life as best I can"

This argument relies on the assumption that 'getting nice things' yields 'enjoy[ing] life as best I can now'

This isn't necessarily true. Some people, myself included, feel much more satisfied living below our means. Above a base level, I don't think 'stuff' really makes us happier, and the security of having savings gives me peace of mind that is much more valuable and happiness-inducing than, say, an expensive car.

I know exactly what you mean. I've been slowly moving towards a "Mr. Money Mustache" style of frugal living, but I still wonder whether I'm doing the "right" thing. Maybe I'm missing out on all sorts of opportunities to enjoy life and grow as a person.

I do, however, look at friends who make significantly more than me and see that their lifestyle has grown proportionately with their income. Many of them could probably retire early if they embarked on 5-10 years of MMM-style extreme frugality, which to me seems like a missed opportunity.

> Many of them could probably retire early if they embarked on 5-10 years of MMM-style extreme frugality

Depends on where the wealth comes from, and if it's related to the spending of money (networking in expensive bars, for example).

There's another argument: what is retirement? Time spend on 100% leisure? But in this case we live frugally (100% work) in order to get that retirement. the reason we take so long to retire if we don't live frugally, is that we split time among work and leisure - i.e. we are partly doing what we'd do if we retired anyway.

Exactly what I've been saying.

I actually enjoy working. I don't see myself not working when I retire. It will probably be more casual work at my own pace, but I'd still like to be useful.

Many of the "retire early" people I've interacted with on /r/personalfinance are doing it because they hate their jobs and want to spend their life travelling or otherwise not working. To do that, they spend as little as possible (and save as much as possible).

Many people are okay with that. I'm not. I tried simulating that again for the first few years out of college to pay down some student loan debt. I stopped the minute I was able to refinance all of my existing debt into one with lower interest.

I think I dislike living frugally so much because I grew up poor and being poor sucked.

I understand what you mean. For me "retirement" would be about having enough FU money to provide a basic income, so that I could choose to work on things I find fulfilling.

Then again if you already find your work fulfilling and expect to continue to do so, I understand that there wouldn't be the same urgency to retire (with the caveat that everyone should save something for retirement as well as having an emergency fund).

My only advice is don't go overboard with it, but keep sticking to your plan. Spending more money doesn't automatically bring you more happiness, even if a large part of society makes it seem so. Buying a new car seems fun, and it may be for a couple of days, but the fun wears out after a while. Eating out at a restaurant can be a great experience, unless you do it everyday and it becomes a routine.

Yeah, I can relate to restaurants. We started going to them more often (not really sure why laziness?) and they not only became routine it became somewhere of a chore to leave the house when you're hungry. We cut back a lot and when we went out again last Saturday it was literally one of the most fun I've had in quite a while.

Your savings wouldn't be wasted if you left them to a cause/person that you believe in.