I think this is bad advice for a number of reason. Previous commenters hit several of the main ones, but to add:
If you have enough money that saving for longer term goals (10+ years) is not a large burden, then it’s likely that what you can buy in the near term instead just won’t have overly much impact on your well being.
Even in the near term, the difference between “going through life with plenty of savings” vs. not having savings makes a huge difference to psychological well being. Large unplanned expense or emergency comes up? Much less of a problem than if you had to go into debt or do without as a result. Sudden bout of inflation or increase in taxes? Not a big deal if you’re used to living on 80% of your salary and can (temporarily) reduce your savings rate.
Retirement savings (in the US) are often tax advantaged, plus many employers provide matching contributions. Me not saving in my 401k would mean I’m taking a pay cut by not receiving the match. And the savings grow tax-free until I withdraw them. Me not investing in a Roth IRA means my savings grow slower because I’m paying taxes on earnings, plus I’m still allowed to withdraw the contributions without penalty if I need to. And in a real emergency you can borrow against tax-advantaged retirement savings, or withdraw early, and pay the penalty.
I think this is bad advice for a number of reason. Previous commenters hit several of the main ones, but to add:
If you have enough money that saving for longer term goals (10+ years) is not a large burden, then it’s likely that what you can buy in the near term instead just won’t have overly much impact on your well being.
Even in the near term, the difference between “going through life with plenty of savings” vs. not having savings makes a huge difference to psychological well being. Large unplanned expense or emergency comes up? Much less of a problem than if you had to go into debt or do without as a result. Sudden bout of inflation or increase in taxes? Not a big deal if you’re used to living on 80% of your salary and can (temporarily) reduce your savings rate.
Retirement savings (in the US) are often tax advantaged, plus many employers provide matching contributions. Me not saving in my 401k would mean I’m taking a pay cut by not receiving the match. And the savings grow tax-free until I withdraw them. Me not investing in a Roth IRA means my savings grow slower because I’m paying taxes on earnings, plus I’m still allowed to withdraw the contributions without penalty if I need to. And in a real emergency you can borrow against tax-advantaged retirement savings, or withdraw early, and pay the penalty.