With a recession forecasted this 2023 (in Canada), it's become even more important to differentiate our wants vs. needs so that we can save as much money as we can, where we can. Food, housing and transportation have become increasingly expensive in recent years, to the point that many households are researching and applying any ways that they can save both time and money.
How do you differentiate between your wants and needs? Below are some tips and tricks, I've used over the years to differentiate wants vs. needs so that at the end of the day, I'm left with more money in my pocket as opposed to spending hard-earned money in a non-strategic way.
1. Sleep on it.
Give it 48 hours before you decide on whether an item is a want or a need. Giving this 48-hour buffer will help give pause rather than impulsively making a purchase and realizing after-the-fact that the item purchased was truly a want vs. a need.
2. Use the cash budget system.
Using cash also gives way to pause, reflect and be more intentional with our hard-earned money. Seeing the cash we physically have left can lead us to realizing that something we were wanting is a want and not a true need.
3. Unsubscribe to store emails and text messages.
Have you ever heard the saying "out of sight, out of mind"? This applies to this money-saving tip because if you don't see advertisements for your favourite stores on a regular basis, you will be less tempted to spend at these said stores. This is also another trick into realizing that what we were surfing the net for, or shopping for is truly a want vs. a need.
4. Make a list.
Make a list of what you're truly needing in and around the house. This list will make you realize what you truly need whether it be grocery items, clothes, etc.
Here are 4 quick tips in helping to decipher a want vs. a need. This will help to save money, exercise discipline in spending/saving and live more intentionally overall. Do you have more quick tips and tricks in how to save during a recession? Please let me know in the comments below. We'd love to know. Signed, Filipina Budget Girl.
Discipline is the strongest form of self-love. It's ignoring current pleasures for bigger rewards to come. It's loving yourself enough to do whatever you need to do, to give yourself everything you've ever wanted. It's giving up the good, for the great. -Ariel Carr, Entrepreneur
