I got into reloading because I was under 21 and so couldn't buy 30 Carbine ammunition (it was considered a pistol cartridge), but there were no restrictions on me buying all the components I wanted.
The cost savings - which in the 1970's were greater than they are today - was just an added benefit.
If someone is going to make a meaningful comparison between their reloaded ammunition and factory ammunition, then it only makes sense to use the applicable cost accounting standards and compute the cost of the reloaded ammunition on a "full absorption" basis. This would take into account not only the purchase price of the components, but sales taxes, shipping, the cost of equipment and the value of the operator's time. For most of us, once the cost of the components and depreciation on the equipment was considered most of us would not realize any cost savings at all. For the remainder, the cost savings would be so small as to leave the reloader envious of the wage paid to a child chained to a sewing machine in a Bangladeshi garment factory.
If I considered the "value" of my time at my normal billing rate, a box of 50 cartridges would be "worth" about $125. But, I don't reload to try and save a penny here or a nickel there. I shoot to support my reloading habit, so as far as I am concerned, reloading - and the peace of mind it brings - is an end unto itself which the brass, bullets, primers and powder are all purchased in order to achieve.