Todd Kunsman started preparing for retirement in 2011, only a year out of college, but he didn’t take it seriously until three years later.

He had been contributing to a 401(k) plan, but not enough for a match. He’s moved companies twice since then, and has rolled his assets into an individual retirement account. At his current job, a startup, he doesn’t have a defined-contribution plan, but he maxes out a Roth IRA. “For me, a Roth IRA of $6,000 a year is really not enough,” he said.

Kunsman, who is the blogger behind Invested Wallet in addition to his full-time job in marketing, is saving about 60% of his income and working a side hustle. His goal is to retire in his 40s, if he chooses to by then. He’s had to overcome numerous hurdles first, including paying down student loans, increasing his income, learning more about investing and putting away retirement savings while also living on his own and paying off his car. “I left money on the table without realizing it because of my financial illiteracy at the time,” he said.

Not all Americans may be as focused on retirement savings as Kunsman, though they might agree it’s imperative.

Americans say having enough saved for the future is just as important as good health, but not all act like it.

Almost eight in 10 Americans said putting away $250 in savings was more rewarding than losing 5 pounds, getting all their chores done on a Saturday morning or getting a good deal on a purchase, according to a PurePoint Financial survey of 6,000 U.S. adults. But they also opt for convenience over savings, including spending more on transportation or food to save 20 minutes, and rather making a quick buck than seeing greater returns in the long run.

Four in 10 identify themselves as “aggressive short-term savers,” where they excel at putting money aside for a specific purpose, like a trip or wedding, but aren’t consistently setting aside money for the future.

See:How to use mental tricks to save more for retirement

How people manage their finances, and actually save, will naturally translate into how much they eventually have in retirement.

“Unless you’re approaching retirement, you are not thinking about it,” said Pierre Habis, president of PurePoint. “You’re probably thinking it will take care of itself.” Part of the problem lies in habits — a third of survey participants said they’d rather take $1,000 now than $3,000 in a year (especially among millennials) and fewer Americans are saving with a direct deposit.

The PurePoint Financial research also found Americans don’t shop around before parking their savings in a bank. Almost half chose the same institution where their checking account was, and 73% said they are not actively looking for the best rates for their savings. More participants also reported physically saving money in their homes in 2018 than in 2017. Either of these options result in weaker earnings potential, from investment returns or low interest rates, which could cost them thousands of dollars saved for retirement.

Unfortunately, not all Americans can afford to save for retirement, let alone shorter-term goals. Some American households postpone saving for retirement until they have an emergency account, yet more than half of households said they didn’t have enough to cover three months of expenses, according to a Government Accountability Report. Low-income households with access to a retirement account had significantly smaller balances than their wealthier counterparts. Women and minorities were more likely to have less saved because they have lower incomes than their male or white peers, the GAO report found.

When a MarketWatch story about 30-somethings saving for retirement went viral because of a suggestion that 35-year-olds have twice their salary saved for retirement, many millennials argued it was impossible to save even a fraction of that, because of crippling student loans, high rents or mortgages, low wages and numerous other financial obligations in the present day.

Not all workers have access to a retirement plan, either. Only 14% of employers offer plans like a 401(k), according to U.S. Census Bureau researchers, and they’re likely larger companies. Some states have stepped in to help employees without retirement account options, by offering small businesses individual retirement accounts they can provide employees (and in some cases, mandating it).

Also see: This is the best way to save for retirement, spend less and lighten your tax load all in 1 fell swoop

Americans are increasingly responsible for their own retirement, as the country’s private-sector employers have shifted away from pensions to defined-contribution plans, like 401(K) accounts. One in three retirees are very confident they’ll have enough saved for retirement, but that’s based on how they perceive their financial status with no clear indication that it’s true, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute. More than two-thirds of workers without retirement plans had less than $1,000 saved in 2018, whereas 29% of those with plans had $250,000 or more, EBRI found.

Feb. 25 through March 2 marks America Saves Week, where banks, financial institutions, government and nonprofit organizations aim to motivate Americans to save more. Resources include creating savings goals, setting up automatic deposits and establishing emergency and retirement accounts.

Actually planning to save for the future has significant consequences, financially but also emotionally — more than 54% of people who had not thought much about retirement rated their retirement years as “not good,” according to a 2015 research report by Annamaria Lusardi, an economics and accountancy professor at the George Washington School of Business. A majority of respondents (68%) who did think a lot about retirement rated their retirement as satisfying.