... not really. savings is a percent, you can set it wherever you want. the math works out just the same only over more/less time. you don't have to be a fruga

... not really. savings is a percent, you can set it wherever you want. the math works out just the same only over more/less time. you don't have to be a frugal miser, and you don't have to spend like it's burning a hole in your pocket. saving a responsible amount isn't going to dull your curiosity for decades. whether you consider it intentionally or not, when you choose how much to save you're also _directly_ setting your future wealth. the most prudent thing to do is optimize _both_. how 'well' do you want to live vs how much wealth do you want and by when. what actually costs you your life is spending unnecessarily in your youth, which implicitly sets your future wealth nearer to zero and burns the time to fix it.