> What's wrong with people saving for their future and not spending beyond their means? Because there's a difference between saving money by putting it in a sa

> What's wrong with people saving for their future and not spending beyond their means? Because there's a difference between saving money by putting it in a savings account and 'saving' money by hoarding currency and storing it under your mattress. The problem is that people are overloading the term "saving". In economics, savings == investment (this is an identity[0]). When you "save" by putting money in the bank, the identity self-adjusts in different ways from when you "save" by hoarding currency. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_identity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_identity