I came across this quote on Portfolio.com that i find particular interesting. What happens is the writer talks about promoting financial wellness in his retirement advice to twenty somethings. This is a response from a reader Bryan Keller:

The whole act of saving money is one they relies heavily on actions that run contrary to people’s emotional and psychological makeup. And to effectively encourage someone NOT to begin establishing precisely the habits and behaviors that creates, and ultimately leads to, financial wellness, confuses me.

I think the bottom line is really this: the act of saving is habitual and needs to be nurtured from a young age. The expectation that we can encourage people not to save in their twenties, and then expect them to just flip a switch once they hit they’re (insert proper age here), is naive.

Our society needs to be weened off of our unsustainable consumption habits, and to a more balanced approach that nets out to savings accumulation. Our culture’s current financial awareness is not such that we can discourage any form of saving, even at a young age.

I think the reader brought up a very good argument, and i tend to agree with him. In my case, its the exact opposite where i was brought up to save and would have a hard time telling myself to spend more money. That’s why i set virtual accounts up so that i can force myself to spend on things that will really add value to me and my family.

What do you guys think of the reply?