Comments on: 12 Necessities or Wants?

By: Carnival of 20-Something Finances, Brazil-Carnival Style! | Weak Wallet

Carnival of 20-Something Finances, Brazil-Carnival Style! | Weak Wallet — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:41:55 +0000

[...] By Age Is Meaningless posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Livingalmostlarge presents 12 Necessities or Wants? posted at LivingAlmostLarge, saying, “What is necessary and what is not?” Helen [...]

By: Dollar Frugal » Blog Archive » Carnival of 20-Something Finances, Brazil-Carnival Style!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:45:50 +0000

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:53:17 +0000

You’ve just hit upon my biggest pet peeve with the “cut your budget” lists that are all over the place- for the most part none of the things are in my budget to begin with. I can’t give up weekly starbucks- because I don’t drink coffee, and if I did- I would never have paid those prices anyhow. Whenever my husband wants to buy something expensive we joke about how he should start smoking, then quit to save all that money.

(The only things on this list that I really think are in most peoples budgets are cable and clothes. I do spend some money on clothes, but not much- and I have neither subscription TV nor netflix)

By: K.Rae

K.Rae — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:22:27 +0000

The Yahoo! article definitely seems like it was aimed towards the living-beyond-their-means, middle-aged, suburban household. Except for that demographic, I would change the second car thing to getting rid of the third car.

This list is a good warning of what traps not to fall into. Botox and weekly manicures are such a drain on the wallet. Better never to start.

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:31:03 +0000

It does seem a bit skewed. I think most people commit to two to four of these, well aware that at least one of them is a bit of a luxury. That seems pretty reasonable to me. After all, unless you’re in way over your head, personal finance is all about finding the balance between needs and wants.

By: Livingalmostlarge

Livingalmostlarge — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:21:20 +0000

I think transporation and cell phone too can be necessities. And potentially private school depending on where you live.

But clothes if you have growing kids could definitely be necessary. Kids grow fast.

By: Meg

Meg — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:17:26 +0000

Hmmm, I think it’s a random list as well, but with the exception of Botox I do know lots of people who make room for these items in their monthly budgets.

I do think that in today’s world transportation (which means a car in many areas) and communication (i.e. a phone, even a mobile) can be argued to be necessities. Education too is a necessity, and if the local public school system is intolerable, then I would argue private school a necessity as well.

I also know many who consider bi-monthly lawn care and nail care (and daily coffee and water) to be necessities, and it is true you can slash these expenses by taking care of those things yourself. And there is certainly no excuse for monthly clothing purchases, which I also know many to make.

By: Joy Smith

Joy Smith — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:24:37 +0000

I don’t have any of the above nor do I consider them to be necessities. Great article.