I don't think OP is being chided. She needs to be in an independent living environment to understand truly how much she can save. When I was her age, I spent about 400 a month. Then when I was married and doing graduate school, we spent about 30k a year. I thought if I made a 60k after tax, we will be saving comfortably. That turned out to be untrue.

While I can live a pauper's life, I can't expect my wife, kids, and our parents to live like this (and I don't want to). I want to make sure they are as comfortable they can and trust me, it is not cheap.

That said, it is a good habit to save. My advice to you is that you save so that besides giving yourself options, you can be generous too. I have seen families broken apart because of money issues, where couples live more like two singletons than a family unit concerning finances.