Needs vs. Wants

There is not much I can teach anyone about money!  I would not even try because obviously, I have failed at it!  But when I say "failed" at it, what am I saying exactly?  After all, I did figure out a way to buy a business and a building worth quite much.  I was able to run a business with very little capital.  I was able to run a household (for awhile) on very little money.  I was able to really do much with very little!  If I failed at anything is was the ability to keep it.

But with all that said, the most important thing I was able to do is sort and separate that which I WANT compared to that which I NEED!  I know that it sounds so simple because most people do not really have to discipline themselves between the two.  However, when you are in a financial crisis/ruin, in order to survive you must be excellent at this!  When there is barely enough money to get by, you have to put yourself in the mode of concentrating only on what you NEED and taking care of that.

This is very painful at first.  You stomp your foot, roll your eyes and just really resist the fact that this is the way it is!  It is like taking a toddler to the store with you and all he does is whine and beg for everything he sees and thinks he wants!  You do not want to give up anything especially the ability to buy what you WANT!  This is especially true if you lived a portion of your life with the ability to buy based on what you WANT.  But it is so necessary to get past this.

As I have stated before, we all have the same basic needs.  They are shelter, clothing, insurance, transportation, utilities and food.  These are the areas that you need to focus on when money is very tight.  Each of these areas should also be examined to see if anything is spent that is an excess amount of money.  As an example, this is not the time in your life where you spend a ton of money on designer clothes.  Instead, you go through your clothes and accept what you already have.  Clothing is a need, expensive or designer clothes are not!

It is very important to constantly ask yourself if this is something you NEED or WANT and then not feel bad that right now you are just taking care of your needs only.  Believe it or not, you will feel good about this once you recognize and accept that every situation in your life is just temporary.  Just because it is this way now does not mean it will be like this forever.  In life though, it is good to peel back the layers at times and discover how simple life really can be when it is not cluttered with a house full of WANTS!