Needs vs. Wants

     Spending money is so easy to do.  There are many stores, restaurants, and websites eager to take your money and they spend billions every year advertising all their wares.  They even enlist psychologists to find the best way to market their product to you.  In biblical times, they went to a simple open air market when they needed something and they often made what they needed themselves.  It was a simpler time and yet the Bible often counsels about money.  God asks us to be good stewards of our money.  Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.  

     In today's society advertising is everywhere, on billboards, in our magazines and newspapers, on television, You can't go on the internet without being bombarded with advertising.  I often think of how cutthroat the advertising industry is and wonder if is led by Satan.  Advertisers try to convince us that bigger is better, that we can't possibly live another day without the latest and greatest.  The strongest presence of Satan in advertising is in the alcohol, tobacco and pornography industry.  We're led to believe that if we smoke a certain brand of cigarette we'll be stronger and able to take on the world, if men drink certain brands of alcohol women will flock to them and the videos of nearly naked women - well, they're just having fun.  

     Our needs are different now than they were 2,000 years ago.  Kids need so many things for school, we need things for work and many of us live in a climate that changes seasonally, so two changes of clothes just wouldn't cut it.  The challenge is determining the difference between needs and wants.  Advertising tells us everything is a need, from shampoo to laser hair removal.  Keep in mind their goal is to get us to spend money much like Satan's goal is lead us astray.  Twelve years ago, I didn't see a need for a mobile phone.  I had a phone at home and at work which was about 6 blocks from my home.  There were hundreds of apartments in between so if there was real emergency, I could pound on a door if all else failed.  A few months later my husband and got married and were living in different cities initially.  I would call and let him know when I was leaving to start the two hour commute for the weekend.  I was late by more than hour - twice.  The next time I saw him after that he handed me my very first mobile phone.  He didn't want to worry.  I still didn't see the need for a phone, but he had a greater need not to worry.  I then discovered the convenience of it.  It was much easier to break up a mundane drive chatting with a girlfriend, so the time I had spent chatting with her from home could now be spent with my husband.  Now I wanted my cell phone.  I didn't need it to chat with my friends, I needed it for emergencies.  I wanted it for the social interaction it brought to me.  That's when self control comes in.  You have to prioritize when to use it and not just run up a bill because it's more convenient.  Eating out became a big problem for use in the beginning of our marriage.  We were both going to school.  My husband was working an 8-5 job full time and taking night classes 2-3 nights a week and I was going to school full time and working evenings and weekends 3/4 time.  We lived in the middle and each commuted an hour in the opposite direction.  I had classes back to back from 7:30am until 5:20pm and I took along a few snacks, but the climate and space in my backpack wasn't conducive to taking my lunch.  There was a McDonald's across the street from several of my classes so I would get 2-3 items from their value menu.  In this case eating out was satisfying a need.  On the weekends I didn't feel like cooking when I was off work - partly because I worked in a restaurant, so we often ate out and full service sit down dinners.  It was a want.  I convinced my husband that eating out wasn't much more expensive than if I cooked and we could spend more quality time together talking.  I just didn't want to cook, but what if we had prepared dinner together?  That would have been great quality time and we would have saved money.  
          Realizing the difference between a need and a want is the first step in managing your money better.  Your child needs jeans, but do they need designer jeans that they will outgrow quickly?  Your children want to see the new Disney movie.  You can pay over $40 to take 2 children to see it once and share a popcorn and drink or wait until the DVD comes out spend $40 on the DVD, a 6 pack box of microwave popcorn, 3 boxes of movie candy, 3 two liters of soda and watch the movie as many times as you want or reserve such outings as a reward for making the honor roll or another accomplishment.  You don't have to give up the things you want, just prioritize them and keep them in moderation.