Everytime someone asks people in their 40's and 50's what they wish they did differently when they were young, they say 'Save money." and they mean it in a very literal, put aside money into bank account type of way, not just couponing, deals etc. The problem is, I'm 21! I have a few thousand dollars of (Still deferred) loans, I'm going to be adding to that for the next two years at least, and I'm working on paying off my first credit card! ($500 max, maxed it in 2 months, almost done paying it back) With all of the complications in modern financial law, I don't see an incentive to have cash in an account somewhere because when I graduate or my loans come out of deferment, it could be counted as an asset and used against me! I understand how compound interest works, and that, If I had a way to make a live able (meager) income, i could save x dollars per year and have a million at 65, but as a college student it just doesn't make sense!
tl;dr how are college students supposed to save for their future when we're already deep in the hole?
All you need to worry about is math. Nothing else. Don't worry about saving just because it feels good. For example, if you assume an average rate of return of 7% (which isn't unreasonable when growth and dividends are accounted for; in fact, it may be a bit modest), then if you don't start saving until you are 30, start with nothing, put $1200 aside each month after that, and retire at 65, you will have $2.1M in assets. I think one can retire on that, especially when combined with social security, assuming it still exists when you are retirement age. The point is, don't rely on moralisms or shame when it comes to money; rely only on mathematics.