Saving is like dieting. IMHO it comes down to a psychological way of ignoring excess and focusing on getting by on less.
Marketing is the culprit. As we are tempted into eating things bad for us, the commercials are relentless, the sight of juicy burgers or a rack of ribs, the sound of a coke getting poured into a glass of ice, a famous actor drinking premium liquor. it is marketing and we are subliminally drawn to brands, foods, cars, homes.
Lifestyle and spending, the big house, car vacation and Facebook adds to that. We're drawn to big pretty expensive lives of the rich and famous. Granted not everyone buys into this, especially on this forum but I see it all the time. The bigger problem is easy credit to buy all these things.