Getting to know what is a want between a need is an important fact to learn about money. Hoping this will give you a clearer eyes and see where you can cut down on the wants to have more money saved. Rather than spend on frivolous things.
You and me, we all have wants and needs. Sometimes, lines can be blurry between a want and a need. It’s pretty simple once you understand how much utility you can get out of an item.
What is a Need?
Abraham Maslow established a pretty good idea on what is considered a need. There are a total of 5 level in the pyramid from the most basic need for survival to reaching a full potential of one’s self. When you have covered that first 2 level you are basically good.
Rather than looking at the chart, you could as yourself simple question to see whether certain thing is a need or a want. Use the question below to explore.
“How often do I need it and is it essential to me?”
A simple example will be food. We all need food to survive. But not an Apple Macbook Pro, it is not a need. You will do fine without it.
It’s the basic things we need as a human like water, foods, shelter, clothing, etc. These essential item for survival and continual existence. Absent of food and water and you will starve to death. Having a non-existent shelter will be a danger to your safety. Lacking of clothing will expose you to the brutal elements around you.
There is an instance, where ‘something’ will become a need because you need it to finish a specific job. For instance, you need a laptop for school work. Yes, you could use the college computer lab to finish up your homework or assignment but that will not be efficient and could be troublesome too.
What is a want?
A want is usually something that I categorized as nice-to-have but can do without. Advertisement and marketing have done their job well to tempt us. Changing what should be a want into a need.
People casually buy coffee on-the-go without much thought. You don’t need that handcrafted nice brew of coffee from a branded shop like Starbucks. Sure, you might think that $4 dollar coffee doesn’t cost much but when you look at it from a month or even a year. You are spending a lots just on coffee.
You can save that amount and get your own equipment and coffee to make. Best thing is that you could learn and immerse yourself into the coffeeverse as you go along.
If you says that you aren’t a coffee nut but drink it for the caffeine. Then, you could easily buy instant coffee, premix packaged coffee or grind coffee and make it yourself with little hassle. I usually take this option and I can save a ton.
Coming back to determining what is a want. It’s pretty easy to know. If you know you can survive without have that thing or item. Then, you know it is a want which you can determine whether it’s something that you might need.
If it’s something you think that can provide more value in a long run then you can consider on how you can afford it.
Human have an interesting way to rationalize thing. Just look at history and you will see all the good and bad example unfold. So, don’t fall into the trap of thinking something that is a want to become a need.