What does "waste not, want not" mean? [closed]

I would like it to be explained, if it has a single meaning, it's confusing me, I see it could mean "please don't waste whatever you don't want", or just the opposite, i.e. "There is nothing without a waste".

EDIT

The source of confusion are phrases like "no pain no gain" which are inversely arranged, I mean, the negation, "no" is before the Verb, like if "no Verb" were equal to "Verb not"

Want in this proverb = need or lack.

So, the meaning is that if you don't waste X, you can avoid lacking or needing X. It is advising against waste because you might want it in the future.

It was allegedly first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier willful waste makes woeful want version recorded in 1576.

"Waste not, want not" is an idiom that has a specific meaning, but it is neither of the two meanings you suggested.

What it does mean, basically, is that if you do not waste that which you have (waste not), you will not later want that which you have wasted (want not).

The saying is meant to encourage those who waste resources not to do so, so that later when they look for resources, they will still have the unwasted resources at their disposal.

Edit: The confusion from the phrase "No pain, no gain" stems from the idea that the phrase "no pain, no gain" is negating both pain and gain. It is not. Both phrases mean that a lack of one thing leads to a lack of another. "No pain", as in if you do not suffer pain, "No gain" you will not gain anything. "Waste not" if you do not waste anything, "want not" you will not want anything.

The possible source for this confusion is the fact that the second half of the phrase, 'want not', implies having that which you need. But the phrase is "want not", meaning a lack of want (or need) for anything.