Great post. I will highlight this as my Carnival of Personal Finance pick.

As I have discussed with Golbguru, I would rather err on the side of over saving tnan under saving. The solution to over saving is to spend more in later in retirement. I can do that However, the consequences of under saving can be very painful.

As for sacrifice, saving always involves some level of sacrifice – i.e. delaying immediate gratification for a benefit in the future. Each person has to make their own decision on balance in this area. While I wouldn’t give up going out to dinner occasionally, I am happy to give up cable TV. I know that others would make a different choice.

I agree with you on “Don’t sacrifice your present at the expense of your future.” Often times, when talking about retirement, many get scared as, not just the financial industry, but mainstream media tend to paint a gloomy picture based on various assumptions and predictions. Retirement is personal, and how to prepare it is also personal. A realistic expectation is all we need, not just follow blindly what a calculator tells us. And, what’s the point a giving up life now in order to enjoy it in the future?

Of course, you should save for retirement…but you should save reasonably. Consider some reasonable factor of safety and save for it. People shouldn’t just pull numbers out of somewhere and start following them blindly.

Sometime in the past, I had a post that said “stop worrying too much about retirement”…by that I meant exactly what you say in your last paragraph: stop putting retirement above your current financial priorities. Of course, you need money for retirement, but that shouldn’t come from compromising your financial obligations in the present.

The value of money comes from whether you spend/give/use it at the right time.

Good post!