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Advertising makes you feel like you need one of everything! The key to controlling your money is knowing the difference between need and want. Use these tricks to tell the difference and watch your money grow!

I read a chapter from Little House on the Prairie to my daughter like we do most nights, when there’s a little extra time before bed.  

The other night, we read that Pa was recovering from malaria.  

Since he couldn’t get out to work, he decided to hand make a rocking chair for Ma.  It was just a fun side project for the Ingalls family.

Aside from the fact that Pa’s skills were pretty amazing, I’m often struck by the stark contrast between wants and needs in the “Laura books”.  

I mean, most of us stop by the store if we run out of salad dressing.  

Pa didn’t even go when he ran out of nails for building the house!  He just made pegs from wood and worked a little slower.  On their shelter.  

Even the most frugal people I know would put “shelter” on their short list of needs.

Their definition of wants and needs looked different from ours.  But just because we have more chances to spend doesn’t mean we always should.

How to Tell the Difference Between Need and Want

Want to know how to stop spending money? When you have a spending problem, here's what to do. Learn the right money saving tips and ideas so you can live a better life with less stress about money.

If you’re in a hurry and just need something to help you sort everything out quickly, check out Personal Capital for quick help at the right price (FREE).

But read on for some interesting ideas that have helped my family in a big way when it comes to becoming a saver.

Determining wants vs needs isn’t always simple (like food and water). 

So when you’re trying to decide if this object is something that a person needs, try to see it from many angles.

Saving money tips for spenders! Learn the difference between needs and wants for adults.

The Good Ol’ Days

Sometimes I like to think about “whatever is on my wish list” the way my great grandma would see it. 

Would my relatives from the depression era think it was frivolous spending?  Would my immigrant ancestors find it ridiculous to buy something they could make themselves instead?

Life in the Now 

Then I have to think about how life looks different today.

Not only is life different now, but I have to be honest about my own capabilities.

If it’s food that I can cook myself, that’s one thing. But I probably won’t be hand building a rocking chair any time soon.

Then there are things like the internet.  Between work and school, the internet leans more towards a need for us these days.

Until the cost outweighs the advantages of a paycheck, it’s something I’ll purchase despite the fact that it would baffle my great great grandparents.

giant metal chicken
I guess a giant metal rooster isn’t exactly a “need”…right?

Know Your Stuff

Frankly, most of us don’t even know what we’re spending our money on.

Let’s be honest…the thought of sorting through everything you’ve bought for the past year to build an accurate budget is overwhelming (to say the least) for most of us.

But especially for spenders!

For me, Personal Capital made a big difference in figuring out where my money was going.

It’s a free app/website that will basically take all of your spending and chunk it into categories for you.

There’s nothing more eye opening than realizing you spent $700 on fast food in just a few months time.  (True story.  Yikes.)

But the good news is that once you know it’s happening, you can take control over it! 

That’s so much better than letting your spending sneak up on you, leaving you sobbing in your pillow with no money left to wash the pillow slip when you’re done. sigh

Get started with Personal Capital (for free) by clicking this link right here.

Sleep On It

It’s common advice, but it’s still good advice

Our #yearofno meant sleeping on a lot of purchases.  We’ve practiced not buying for a long time now, and it’s something we’re getting better at all the time.

I won’t tell you that I don’t have a list of things I’m ready to buy once we make the last debt payment.  

But it’s surprising how many things you can do without for a long time.

In fact, I totally forget that I even wanted [insert thing I desperately wanted for 12 hours] until it comes back to mind several months later.  

Then I have to chuckle at the thought that I wanted something so badly…yet managed to forget all about.

Get Creative

Let’s be honest, here.  Most of us already have far too much.  Why do you want to buy more?

Orderly Organization

Are you trying to organize what you already own?  I’ve seen some beautiful ways to display or cover up a collection of items.

But after a while, I realized that most of the things I wanted to put into a drawer or on a shelf were actually just clutter.  I didn’t use them often, if at all.

In fact, some of the organizing ideas I saw made me feel like I needed to own MORE things so I could display them neatly on a shelf.  

Why does a family need an entire binder system to keep it together?  You can probably store most of that in one binder…or even keep digital copies with a back up in the cloud.

And if your situation feels completely hopeless, this free challenge is EXACTLY what you need to get your house back in control.

Mostly we overestimate the joy we'll get out of buying things.

Time Savers

Does this gadget really make life easier?  Some kitchen items take more time to clean than they saved you in cooking.  Is that a good trade off?

I’ve decluttered at least half of my kitchen items over the past 3 years.  Even while feeding a family of 8, I don’t miss any of it.  

In fact, I love spending time in the kitchen now more than ever!  It’s less stressful without extra things you don’t need.

Life Improvement

If you find something that honestly improves your quality of life (and you can afford to pay cash!), I say go for it!  

I didn’t own a smartphone until about a year ago when I decided it would help me as a blogger to own one.  

Even then, I didn’t see any reason to invest in a top of the line model (that will be outdated in a few months anyway).

Learn the difference between needs and wants and you'll be rich! These activities for teens and adults will make your budget happy. With quotes and ideas for deciding what's best for you.
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What’s The Difference Between A Want and A Need?  Your Financial Well Being

Mostly, we overestimate the joy we’ll get out of buying things.

If you routinely buy things you don’t really need, the thrill will fade and you’ll have to buy more and more to get the same excitement.

Besides, how much time do you want to spend cleaning and organizing?

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When you discover the truth about things you genuinely need versus want, you’ll be rich. 

Whether that’s because you’ve regained time (which is priceless) or because (in a more literal way) you invest the money you didn’t spend on more stuff, you won’t believe what a difference this can make in your life.

When you want to buy something, give it some time.

Just in the past couple of months, I’ve avoided or put off until later buying a dresser, shoes, sheets, pillows, and lots more!  Give it a try and see how much you save.

These crazy ideas helped us learn how to get out of debt fast!

How To Get Out of Debt Fast: 40 Crazy Things We've Done

How do you decide which things you don’t need?

Want to know how to stop spending money? When you have a spending problem, here's what to do. Learn the right money saving tips and ideas so you can live a better life with less stress about money.