Budgeting is an ultimate balancing skill that helps people sustain themselves on a monthly level and reach their financial goals. Let’s face it, some things are a must, like a roof over your head, food in your fridge, and water and electricity in your home. Books, movie tickets, lavish dinners, and other things are details that you want but aren’t essential.
If you worry whether you pursue the right monetary strategy, we can help you make them both fit in your budget. You can even set money aside for a rainy day. However, remember that what makes needs and wishes different is highly subjective. Below, we’ve attempted to pinpoint the main differences between wants and needs.
What is the difference between needs and wants?
Managing money the right way is an art that helps many remain on the positive side of the balance. People should generally spend about 50% of their income on needs and approximately 30% on desires. The remaining part, or about 20%, should be devoted to savings. Yet, this approach might not apply to everyone, and you may establish your adapted division of monthly revenue.
Distinguishing between basic wants and needs may not always be straightforward because people need and desire different things. Before anything, needs are essentials that you cannot survive without for a long time. Wants, on the other hand, include aspects that enhance your life, but you can exclude them and still live decently.
It would help if you had a different attitude towards these things. For instance, you shouldn’t apply for a short-term loan to get a jacket you don’t necessarily need. In contrast, if you’re struggling with rent money, then getting a small loan is a reasonable step.
What are ‘want’ expenses?
Striving to live more comfortably and affording yourself some leisure and fun leads to incurring want expenses. The basic definition of wants lies in the non-essential nature of things we wish to possess or do. Undoubtedly, you can function without them, but the quality of life improves the more wants you to manage to turn into reality.
The most reliable example is with food as it’s a basic need of every human being. However, eating out at fancy restaurants is clearly a desire and isn’t crucial for survival. Other expenses include traveling, going away for weekends, and enjoying frequent summer and winter holidays. Then, designer clothing is undoubtedly a personal desire, as well as various gym and pool memberships.
Going out at bars and coffee houses increases the amount of money you spend on all wants each month, too. Finally, entertainment that involves going to theaters, cinemas, concerts, and adventure parks gets listed on the want side.
Where ‘need’ expenses?
Spending money on financial needs is related to pure survival. You need to procure certain items to live decently and be able to work. Most financial expenses are recurring and, in fact, take up a significant portion of your paycheck. Everyone needs housing, and whether you have a mortgage to settle or a rent to pay, this takes up a major monetary chunk.
Transportation is also essential if you attempt to lead an ordinary life. Therefore, filling up your tank with gas and regularly maintaining your vehicle is an absolute need. Insurance and healthcare is part of the need group, too, though some people may opt for a cheaper policy or even skip healthcare.
Utilities like gas, electricity, and water are another aspect that contemporary families can’t have a good life without. Last, food takes up an enormous part of each family’s income and is an immensely versatile category. In short, food can cost a fortune over time if you buy expensive and certified products.
How to tell the difference between a need vs. want?
We all tend to prioritize things we need to buy to survive the month. Any remaining cash can get used to cover wants. Even better, it is financially wise to set paycheck leftovers aside in the savings envelope. Differentiating whether an item is a need or a want usually depends on your general attitudes and personal finance.
We highly suggest you make a wants vs. needs chart and start visualizing your monthly spending. Plus, you’ll see how you can get your expenses categorized and whether you pursue the right budgeting strategy. Go a step further and split both wishes and needs into products and services listed high and low in each of the primary two categories.
Wants definition isn’t equally valid for everyone. What may be a dream for one man can be another person’s need, such as medical insurance, for instance. Still, you have rights reserved to stand behind your beliefs and decisions as long as you’re on the plus side.
Final Thoughts
If you intend to classify wants and needs correctly, objectivity and soberness are crucial. Many American citizens spend a whole treasure on what seems like necessities believing that those items are inherent needs. The good news is that there’s no one-fits-all solution, and you get to adjust spending to your monthly revenue.
The best approach is to regularly review your expenses and check whether you allocate monthly revenues in a budget-healthy way. Please keep coming back to us for more sound advice on how to balance your personal finance. Subscribe to our newsletter and share with us your thoughts on wants and needs.
We tend to spend our money unwisely, but however bills and household expenses are the most important. To have some quality living we have to have some expenses for coffee with friends or for a fancy dinner in the restaurants. These things are not necessary but it makes a quality living. Holidays spent in the nice hotels and on the beach are burdening our budget too but however we need sometimes to “charge our batteries” and to escape our everyday life and monotony. So sometimes these our desires are more on the need side.
Buying branded clothes is a preference. However we need clothes. Cheap or expensive it depends what we think is the right choice. Usually I buy branded clothes because it has quality and I can wear it longer than cheap clothes that usually can not get you through the season. And I buy it rarely or if I spend this month on a nice jacket, I will not need another jacket for at least next two years.
Great article, thank you. Usually we can not set our priorities. It is smart to plan your monthly budget in advance and to know where your income goes.
I don’t think that someone will get some loan to buy clothes, but you are right, we have to spend our money only on necessities and always have some savings. Unexpected situations come very easily and it good to have some money to get through. On the other hand savings can be easily spend on some desires or wants and we have to make sure that this will not happen.
My opinion is that in this modern era living more than 70% of our income goes on needs. We are lucky if our salary covers our basic needs because everything is so expensive and everything is necessity. Smart budgeting yes you are right, we all have to do this but not to save money but to get through the month.
When it comes to monthly budgeting you have to think about all the expenses like gas, electricity and everything. If you have loans or credit card payments they should be covered too. Another essential thing is food. If you have kids then you should think about their wardrobe and school supplies. Everything else is in the desire part. But if you have kids you should take them on a picnic or restaurant or somewhere to spend some time with them. So it is not always clear what is need or desire. Their allowance too. They need some money to buy some things, don’t you think. There are some cheap solutions like watching movie at home or play games, but sometimes you need to take them somewhere. Other way you are surviving nor living. That is my opinion.
I am very bad when it comes to planning money. I tend to spend some money on unnecessary things that I never use or on clothes that I never wear. They are not that expensive but when you calculate the monthly amount it is more than 20% of my salary. So I am not able to save a dime.
Talking about money and monthly budgeting we have to have some savings because with this situation we never know when we will stay out of work. So careful planning is essential.
Being on the verge of survival in the situation with pandemic and everything I think that this kind of articles are necessary and we should all think about monthly budgeting. Most of the companies are collapsing and the world economy too.
You are very right, sometimes we don’t know the difference between needs and wants. Although this is individual matter, I sometimes buy things that I think I will need and in the end it turns that I don’t need them and they just stay and are not useful.
We are always careful on what we spend our money. But sometimes you have to indulge yourself with a meal in a nice restaurant or weekend in a nice hotel. At the end that why we work don’t we?