Abstract
How and why consumers and investors save, has remained as a puzzle since modern economists approached the question. Clearly, we save because we have to, but we rarely ever want to save as an end in and of itself. Current the leading models present this dilemma as a struggle between two personal selves: a present self who wishes to consume and a future self who relies on prior savings. This paper will attempt to survey various approaches that attempt to reconcile this dual-self dilemma, explain what causes us to save, and discuss why it is becoming increasingly important to start taking saving seriously.
