I agree that living super-frugally to be able to retire in your 30s is a bad deal. You're sacrificing all current enjoyment for the hope of more fun in 10-20 years.

But nobody promises us tomorrow, let alone next decade or two. Heaven forbid, you could have a stroke at age 35, just before it's time to "retire" and enjoy the promised leisure.

Having said that, there's nothing wrong with driving an old reliable car, if driving something newer doesn't bring you any special joy.

The point is to balance spending for current enjoyment, saving for emergencies or planned large expenses, and investing for the future.

You mentioned Ramit Sethi. His advice is to spend no more than 50-60% on non-discretionary things, save 5-10% for emergencies and planned one-time expenses, invest 10-20% for the future, and have 20-30% for guilt-free spending on whatever brings you joy (whether that's a fancy car, fancy vacations, fancy clothes and accessories, or somethingb completely different.

You're free to change those percentages to fit your personal preferences, but it's a way of balancing that should help you maximize current enjoyment and future security.