Seconding. I too always ended RPG games with inventory full of stuff I opted to save for actual emergency and not just some final boss. But it didn't translate to real life - I'm not exactly an impulsive buyer, but not all that savvy with money either (my current personal finance strategy is ensuring I spend less than I earn, and trying to increase how much I earn). In the past, I've experienced running out of money while being so burned out I could barely hold a job, and I vowed to never live through it again.

I think games are too different than life. Having saves changes a lot; e.g. I can refrain from using a powerful healing item in a fight and try to micro or luck my way out instead, because if I fail, I can reload and try again. I've noticed that in roguelikes, I'm more likely to use items - those games are harder and have permadeath. Also, in modern games I'm also more eager to use collected items, because the experience these days is so streamlined that I can rely on the game to provide me another powerful item just in time.

Life, unfortunately, doesn't have saves, and is not balanced.