Wants Vs. Needs

Wants. We all have them. That new speaker system you want for your vehicle? That would be a want. That big bag of popcorn? That's definitely a want. Where am I going with this? Read on to find out.

Needs. There are certain things we must buy that are beyond our control. Like gas, oil changes, milk, fruit, etc.

Every human has a set of wants and needs. Once you are able to learn how to separate the wants from the needs, you'll be on your way to living a better life financially.

Examples of both

Wants
- Chips
- Beer
- Coffee
- Pop
- Candy
- Cable TV (Unless it's your only source for news)

Needs
- Gas
- Hand Creme (for people like me who constantly get dry skin)
- Razor (Unless you want to start looking like Zach Galifianakis)
- Clothing (underwear, sweaters, etc.)
- Internet (If you can live without it, then your okay, but for the most part it is becoming a huge part of life)
- Fruit & Vegetables

Try this when shopping for anything. Ask yourself, is this item a want or a need?

"Do I need this umbrella? or is it just an impulsive buy?"
[Starts raining]
"Oh look at that, yup, I'll be taking that now"

"Do I really need this chocolate? I could live without the sugar. It's bad for you anyways."

"Do I really need this Laptop? What will this purchase bring back to me in return?"

Also ask yourself this, will this item benefit me later on in life. Is this really a good investment?

For laptops, I'm not sure what boat your in, but there are many reasons most people want a laptop whether its for college (word documents, Auto Cad, video editing, etc.) or just for gaming...or all of the above. If it's only for the sure sake of gaming, then I'm sure you can hold off longer before buying this computer with money that you don't have.

If you have a healthy lifestyle then you can hold off for a bit before you splurge your savings on junk food. Sure they're good to eat once in a while but if your buying candy or something sugary all the time, it will eat your money away fast. Not to mention it will also screw up your healthy lifestyle as well

Beer. Something very debatable for everyone. There are people who just can't live without beer. Those people are known as Alcoholics. I don't mind beer at all, but I find that buying it in packs just to drink to yourself over that time is wasteful financially. I've become a social drinker for this very reason.

I used to buy a 24 pack of beer about once a month. It usually takes me a while to get through it, sometimes even longer than a month because I'm generally the only person drinking that beer. I've noticed how much of a difference it is by categorizing this as a want. As a result I've stopped buying beer. Doesn't mean I won't have one once in a while, just means I've stopped buying beer in packs. Plus doing that will save money in the long run.


Wants and needs are different with everyone but with a little common sense and budgeting, you'll save even more that you ever thought you would.

Happy Saving!