Retroarch won't retain save file data

Whenever I try to play a game that has a save feature(or adds a .sav file whenever you save), turn off/close out of Retroarch, come back to the game I was playing(ex: Pokemon, Super Mario World, Kirby’s Adventure, etc.), the save is nonexistent.

All the logged amount of time I had put in is not retained. Even when I use save states, and want to load where I left off, it will not take me back to where I left off.

Tested on NESC through Retroarch 1.7.7

Is there something I am missing or do I need a specific folder to store it all in?

Default destination: /var/cache/retroarch

I need to save my games instead of going back to square one.