Loss aversion kicks in when it comes to savings. … Mentally and emotionally and intuitively, [I] frame savings as a loss because I have to cut my spending.

Benartzi is applying the behavioral-economics principle of loss aversion to personal saving. Even though saving increases future security and wealth, many people experience the act of setting money aside as an immediate “loss” because it reduces present-day consumption. The quote highlights a psychological framing problem: the pain of giving up spending now can loom larger than the abstract benefit of having more later. This helps explain why people procrastinate on saving or under-save despite good intentions, and it points toward solutions that change the frame—such as automatic enrollment, default contribution increases, or “save more tomorrow” plans that raise saving when pay rises so it feels less like a cut.