I remember going to the bank with my mom when I was young to open my first account. In those days, it was all done manually. I received my passbook with my initial deposit, a whole $10. 

It was official. I had now entered the world of money. 

My mom looked me in the eye and told me I needed to learn how to save money. 

Is the advice of saving money really good advice? Is saving money the same as managing money? 

The assumption most financial experts make is that the only way a person can retire is to save their way to retirement. There are so many things wrong with this advice. 

First, it would take an awful lot of savings. Given your current standard of living, how much would you need to save each month to achieve that for 30 years of retirement? 

Second, inflation. What does inflation mean? It means that your favorite brand of shoes or jeans will cost you many more dollars (euros, yen, pesos, etc.) in the future than they do today. If you take the money from my first example above, it won’t actually stretch as far in the estimated 30 years of retirement because things will cost more. 

Manage your money, manage your life,