It’s so easy to get caught up in the cycle of retail therapy. You watch an ad, see how fabulous that mom on TV looks with those amazing wedge shoes and think “I need those shoes to be a fabulous mom, I have to have them.” I need those shoes because they will make all my outfits complete. I’ll look put-together and I’ll be a better mom! I need them!
Okay. So maybe that’s just me. Whatever. 😉 I’ll admit it. At times I have trouble identifying wants vs. needs. I have a tendency to make my wants into needs and screw up my budget. And I know I’m not the only one!
This is our list of needs:
- Food
- Shelter & household goods
- Healthcare/medications
- Basic clothing (don’t get crazy)
- Utilities
- Payment for van and gas money
- Haircuts (for my husband) he won’t let me try youtubing a hair cut for him, I really don’t blame him since he works outside the home. 🙂
We need to have those items in order to eat, live safely and comfortably, and get to work/school. I know that if I use the money on things we want and don’t pay these first- we will be in trouble. So I always pay these items first on my budget.
Wants are different. They are things we can go without.
For our family “wants” are extras like going to the movies, cable tv, eating out (especially fast food) and toys and games. This doesn’t mean we never get our “wants” but it does mean that we save for them and we don’t choose our “wants” over paying bills or other important things like giving and saving. It also means that when we get something from our “want” list, it’s a lot more special and we are a lot more grateful.
Need 6 simple ideas on how to save money starting now? Check out this post right here.
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We ditched cable tv years ago, put up an antenna, cook most meals at home from single ingredients. Shop at good will, buy meats on sale, have a chest freezer where we freeze meats, bread and pesto. Do a garden each year, can food and drink water from the tap, coffee at home in thermal cup, no donut shop.
My husband cuts and colors my hair as well as doing my children’s haircuts. I work with the public, so I can’t do the salon route or trainee hackers, I have to look good, so him doing my hair not only saves me thousands, but keeps me looking good, I get stopped and asked who does my color, and friends have stopped by to have him show them how to do the boys haircuts. They hint they want theirs cut, but my rule is he cuts and colors MINE only, I don’t want my home turned into a walk in salon.
Cheryl I love your input! We don’t have a chest freezer yet so I am not able to buy extra meat. I need to start looking for an affordable freezer soon! I wish I could do a garden. I feel like I have a black thumb–any suggestions on what is easiest to grow?
Wow about your husband!! He sounds talented! My hubby does my son’s hair cuts at home but now I feel like he should be youtubing on how to do mine too 🙂
I would suggest that you try garlic and kale, as they are quite easy to grow and kale is a solid producer for months. I love picking the fresh tomatoes eating them directly, and you can even plant them in pots. We plant herbs in pots and take them in during the winter months, fresh basil, Rosemary, thyme and oregano for cooking.
Having your husband trim your hair is a great idea, I enjoy the bonding time when my husband trims my hair, it is very relaxing. Make sure you get a high quality pair of hair shears and keep them sharp. My husband uses the hair clips, sections my hair with a rat tail comb and trims each layer. I see some blogs where they put their hair in a ponytail and hack away at it, that makes me cringe. Here is a good tutorial on how to properly trim long hair to keep it well groomed and reduce splitting and damage. This is how my husband does mine. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7ixwCfku3fY
Hahaha, I would make you cringe– I was so sick of my dead ends I was begging my husband and sister’s to just chop off part of my pony tail, lol, they refused and I ended up paying for haircut. I’ll check out that video. And I’ve already have gone through pinterest and saved some pins on growing kale and garlic. I think we may start our cherry tomatoes up again this year. So exciting! Thanks for the motivation!
Interesting article. I living minimalism, and everything that is not a needs I don’t have.
Thanks for reading Marko! I am kinda that way. If it’s not a need I have a hard time buying it.
Love it. By cutting back on your wants and only focusing on your needs, that is a great way way to save money
Thanks Lilith! I have to admit at times it is hard to only focus on needs.
Great post 🙂 my rule of thumb is if I want something I have to wait a month before I can go buy it and then, when the month is up I have to then decided which I would rather have, the cash it costs to buy that item in my hand or the item itself. 9 times out of 10 I forget about it before the month is up! If I haven’t forgot about it I usually end up picking the cash lol
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Sounds simple, but good reminder to all of us to see the difference, Crystal! Thanks for sharing with us over at #HomeMattersParty
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This post really resonated with me. I see my co-workers with all the newest pocketbooks & shoes (my favorite) and until my daughter graduates College, I’m on a strict budget and the newest MK bag isn’t in the budget! I tell myself once she graduates I can splurge once in a while-until then I shop with my Kohl’s cash & coupons and still rock it, lol! #HomeMattersParty
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Great reminde that we don’t need instant gratification. Thanks for sharing #HomeMattersParty
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