Recently, I stumbled upon a post which discusses some interesting recent findings by the Pew Research Center. Apparently, Pew found that the number of Americans who consider cable or satellite TV, flat screen TV, air conditioning and microwave ovens to be “necessities” has dropped since 2006.
Wow. I can not begin to tell you the mixture of emotions this makes me feel. While I was first very happy to see that the numbers had dropped, I am saddened that it took a global financial crisis to help people figure out the difference between a want and a need.
Unless your flat screen television is connected to your pacemaker, and the staged fights on “Rock of Love” or “Charm School” are helping to keep your pacemaker beating, it is absolutely not a necessity. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love flat screens and I have one myself...okay two--but I haven’t recently lost a job, I don’t have kids to put through college, and I don’t have massive debt eating a hole in my stomach via stress and ulcers.
Here are a few tips to help you really decide what constitutes a need or a want:
1. Does it keep you alive?
2. Does it prevent you from losing digits to frostbite?
3. Without it, would you lose your job?
If you can’t answer yes to at least one of those questions, chances are you are looking at a want. Think of your perfect, balanced budget as Mothra. Think of excessive want buying as Godzilla. If Godzilla kills Mothra, we're going to be facing floods and meteors and all kinds of catastrophes--and Godzilla's not going to do a darn thing about it. But if you get rid of Godzilla, you leave your future in Mothra's hands and she deflects meteors and keeps the weather balanced. Cars, televisions, microwaves--even ovens aren’t really needs. Food, shelter, heat and some kind of minimal amount of clothing to help you avoid loincloth chic is all you really need. You can add a microwave and stove in because they offer you convenience and tasty food, but a $500 purse is really just going to keep you in debt and prevent you from having savings to address emergency needs.
Yo
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