One problem is embedded in the uncertainties of life: no one really knows how much saving is really needed for retirement, even if you knew exactly what you wanted to buy in retirement, and how much they would always cost.  So people chase money for security.

Money in the economy provides many benefits, including making division of labor possible, giving individuals the flexibility to make all kinds of personal tradeoffs, etc.

The real problem is that modern money isn't really market-based but centrally planned.  This central planning is advertised to stabilize the economy but is really designed to benefit the elites who receive "free" wealth and power by issuing money and related assets, and using state power to prop up their values artificially.  When the over-valued assets eventually crash, economic pain goes to everyone, and central planning is further justified as the only way to stimulate the economy and save everyone's jobs.

For this system to sustain itself, the elites must somehow make money valuable, for most people (or they would derive little power from issuing money and debt.)  This is a major side effect of the system and seems to be what you're mostly talking about.  The fundamental mechanism for "achieving" this was already noted by Thomas Jefferson, who said that, with a central bank in place, the elites would be able to exploit the public through both inflation *and* deflation.