The following is a guest post from Kate Carpenter of enuffstuff.info. Enjoy!
If you really want to take complete control of your spending, you must have a very clear understanding of the difference between needs and wants. I suspect you’ve heard this before, and perhaps you already understand the difference, at least on a technical level. But I’ll bet that if you could hear a perpetual recording of yourself, you would find yourself saying “I need fill-in-the-blank” — (something that isn’t a real need at all) — at least once a day.
Listen to the people around you, because you will hear them making this mistake all the time, too. Last week a friend told me she needed a bookcase. “No,” I told her, “You WANT a bookcase.” “NO!” she exclaimed. “I NEED a bookcase! My books are stacked up on the floor!”
So? It might be nice for you to have a bookcase, but your life will go on without one. And you, my friend, will be richer, because that bookcase money will stay in the bank.
If you are reading this, you have absolutely everything you need. You have enough food and water to keep you alive, clothing to keep you socially acceptable, and a safe haven from bitter cold and wolves. (In fact, you seem to have Internet access, too!)
Everything else — except maybe medical help and medicine — that you have spent a lifetime of earnings on was almost certainly optional.
I’m sure this sounds extreme, but think about it. There are people all over the planet who live with little more than what they need to survive. They would surely be happier with at least a little more … but they probably wouldn’t lust after an electric cheese grater or a SpotBot®.
In the summer of 1990, Margaret Lazier wrote an article for IN CONTEXT titled, “Salt, Sugar, Soap, and BINGO.” Here is an excerpt:
“I was living with my family in a village in the bush of south central Africa. Difficulties arose in living without sugar, salt and soap. The quantity of natural sugar available through fruits was insufficient to energize people, without sufficient salt the body loses its capacity to self- regulate its fluids, [and] no soap means no soap — no laundry detergent, no agents for disinfecting. The unavailability of this resource was psychologically devastating. My father was also working for an international voluntary organization and [he had] the opportunity to travel through Zambia. He wired to ask what he might bring us. I wired back: SOAP!! When he arrived to visit, the opening of the spare suitcase was Christmas itself. He had collected hotel and motel soaps by the dozens. But there was also a Bingo game. We staged a county fair with singing and popcorn (also imported) and Bingo. Every Bingo won a bar of soap.”
Here in the USA, this sort of deprivation is unthinkable to most of us. But the truth is, we’ve become so used to having so much more than just what we truly need that we still have a rather blurry definition of what real “need” is.
Here’s another, maybe more relatable, example of needs versus wants. “Great Depression Cooking with Clara” is a popular YouTube cooking show and book created by Clara’s grandson, Christopher Cannucciari. In each episode, the now 90+-year-old Clara prepares recipes that her mother made during the Great Depression, sharing stories and wisdom as she shows you how to make simple, inexpensive, and delicious meals such as lentils and rice, pasta with peas, and chicken noodle soup.
In her YouTube episode of cooking peppers and eggs, she said: “I never use a cutting board – we didn’t have all the conveniences — a cutting board and stuff.”
Now here’s a rare woman without a clutter problem! And I’m willing to bet that whatever income Clara has coming in (which may be millions now that she’s an Internet sensation), she still regards a cutting board as a “luxury.” And I’ll bet that even before she became famous, she had a nice little nest egg built up in the bank. Clara wouldn’t buy anything without first asking herself, “Is this something I really need?”
~*~
About Kate: I became a big fan of simple living and minimalism in college (1972) when I read Living Poor with Style by Ernest Callenbach and it has influenced my entire life. I started writing about it in 1998 and left the rat race to write full time in 2010. My goal every day is to make something simpler, smaller, or more clearly understood. Life doesn’t have to be so hard! I also have a blog now, so I hope you’ll visit me on www.enuffstuff.info!
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I think the definition of “need” that we use on a day-to-day basis roughly translates to “first-world need”.
The interesting thing with the bookcase scenario is that it’s an example of stuff creating the need/desire for more stuff.
Once you have the books, I completely agree that they should be somewhere other than piled up on the floor (due to the propensity of piles on the floor to attract other clutter!).
But that’s just it – “once you have the books”. If you didn’t have the books, you wouldn’t even be thinking about the bookshelf.
This goes for a lot of things. If you didn’t have a riding lawnmower, you wouldn’t need a new shed to store it in. If you didn’t have eighty little jars of spices, you wouldn’t need an organizational system to store them. If you didn’t have two dozen pairs of shoes, you wouldn’t need the fancy 48-pocket over-the-door shoe holder.
“Maybe what you need is less books”.
None of this is to say that “less books” is always the answer – but it’s an interesting commentary on our culture that the question typically doesn’t even occur to us.
Best of luck with your new blog Kate!
Excellent point Robert – you’re obviously part of the minority that gets it! You also wouldn’t have the big mortgage on that McMansion that you need to hold it all!
Great post, Kate. I could survive without most of what I own. I choose to own more than I actually need because I derive value from it – it somehow enriches my life. But I don’t really need most of it.
I like that you noted clothing as a “need” only for the purpose of social conformity (rather than functional necessity — though in cold climates I suppose it might be an actual need).
Well, we have emotional needs, too. And while they’re not vital for survival, they sure can make it more bearable! I own more than I need as well. But I DO ask myself the needs versus wants question all the time – and it often sways my decisions. I hope this will help some others with that decision, too.
Oh gosh I struggle with needs and wants so so bad… and then add to the mix ‘deserving’ and my inner notion of ‘I work hard, I deserve it’ rather then I work hard and should save it. I feel so far from where I would like to be financially and unable to learn from mistakes.
There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself well and rewarding yourself for hard work. Just remember that every dime you earn is wanted by about a billion other people out there who want to get THEIR hand in YOUR pocket. Full pockets can make you a lot happier than a full house.
Ditto…
oops…
the ditto was for: “Oh gosh I struggle with needs and wants so so bad… and then add to the mix ‘deserving’ and my inner notion of ‘I work hard, I deserve it’ rather then I work hard and should save it. I feel so far from where I would like to be financially and unable to learn from mistakes.”
Great post! I do ponder the shelter question a little more – I bought, I could have bought for less, elsewhere. It is small (66sqm), but the benefit is that this week I’ve spent $13 on transport (one cab, one train fare, the rest was walking). So while the area I bought was a want (proximity to places) and the shelter is a need – I’m left with a lot of money to pay for this hybrid want/need.
The bookcase example speaks to me, after an hour browsing Ikea (i had time to kill and a return to make). I loved their styled homes/rooms, but I realised that I didn’t need any more storage. Why get storage, then I’ll fill it, and really, I don’t want more stuff! I felt a little high and mighty (though that’s not the best feeling), but I’m glad I’ve realised this – the pull of nice stuff is lesser on me (not totally gone I admit!)
Getting to grocery stores and other essential trips (like a job?) could actually be considered a need, and transport to and from home could be considered part of housing costs. There are side benefits, too – exercise, small carbon footprint – that make your home purchase seem like a very wise one to me!
And good job in Ikea. Sometimes I see something in a store that I admire and I think “I’ll just leave that here and visit it once in a while – like a museum!”
Hahaha I love the museum idea! I have been overseas and visited ikea, with the same sort of ‘museum’ idea (and it was warm!).
I like the idea of rolling transport costs into a need – I’m also lucky to have a grocery store, butcher x3, baker x 3 within a block. It’s insanely lucky! (travel to work is paid by work, so whilst it’s a need, it doesn’t come into my consideration as it’s not (yet) a $$ arrangement).
Well, I have been in a situation where I had internet access, but I didn’t have food or anything but one outfit. My family and I lived in a room together, in a house with many other people who paid for cable and internet. Sometimes they would even have to feed my brother and I because we literally had nothing. Because of these experiences, I am pretty good at seeing the difference between needing something, and wanting something.
Now that times are better, you’re probably very happy with a lot less than most people who still think they “need” it all. I’m sorry you had to go through that, but it seems to have taught you the meaning of “enough” – so maybe that’s a silver lining.
The need vs. want question is the easiest way to filter out those things, which we do not really need. It is okay to want, we just need to be aware of the difference.
I liked you interview with Midway Simplicy by the way. I am a huge fan of living debt free and simply. Keeping life simple has been a big stress reliever for our family. You just do not worry as much.
Keep up the great work.
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