All of us have needs, but not all that we have or possess are things we actually need.
If you have time, you can check your closet, your kitchen covers, your washroom, or maybe all areas of your house and list all things that you have that you really need. I think you will have a long list of things that are not really needed. Things that maybe just laying around your house collecting dust, or just waiting to be donated to thrift stores.
How many clothes you have, shoes, toys, gadgets, different kinds of hair products and many other things? We have so much things that we don’t really need. Things that we bought with our hard earn money. But was purchased because of the advertisements or impulse or just for convenience.
Most people are being attracted with buying products “on sale” because of the big saving. But if you don’t need the product and you just buy it because you want it, then you did not save at all. How many things did you buy “on sale” that are just sitting around your house waiting to be use.
We are bombarded each day with advertisements around us, in media, internet and almost everywhere persuading us to spend our money. Appealing to our wants, telling us that we need this and that.
Let’s differentiate what’s a “need” and what’s a “want”.
WANT VS. NEED
WHAT IS A NEED? A “need” is something you absolutely cannot live without. You need a roof over your head, food, water, electricity, phone, internet (for job or school work).
WHAT IS A WANT? A “want” is something you’d like, but could probably live without . It is something you very well may be able to afford, but don’t actually need to get by.
If we wanted to learn how to spend wisely we need to know how to separate needs from wants.
There’s nothing wrong with spending your money on wants, after you spend on your needs first. And there is nothing wrong with wants, its part of our life. We want things in life, things that we don’t necessarily need but we wanted for our enjoyment and convenience.
But spending on wants becomes a problem when we don’t prioritize the needs first. And when a need arise, we don’t have enough to spend. And when we don’t have enough, we get into deeper trouble when we borrow money.
SEPERATE YOUR NEEDS AND YOUR WANTS
Every time you need to buy something, ask yourself if it fits on your budget. Then determine if its a need or a want. If you need it then you can buy it.
If you are not sure if something is a need or a want, do without it for a period of time. If after that time you truly can’t live without it, then it is a need.
When you have spent money on all the “needs”. You can buy other things that you want if you have extra money for it.
Almost all things that we buy involves a want vs. need determination, but in the end it is your choice that will determine if your spending wisely or not.
