What's your difference between need and want?

VestanPance

There is very little in life you need. All you need is what sustains you food, water, shelter, basic clothing. Anything else is a want no matter how you much you think you need it.

Living off all you need would be a pretty meagre existence, but there is certainly a fine line between having goods to make your life comfortable and enjoyable and buying the next new thing as you think it will bring happiness.

The unhappiest folk I've encountered are the ones who think once I get item x then I'll be happy. That tends to last all of five minutes and then it's the next thing they think will bring happiness.

victory

TheConways wrote: »

I find the question re: wants and needs really interesting. 100 years ago, nobody really wore deodorant. Then advertising campaigns tried to create demand for deodorant, telling ladies that they might not be aware that they smell... No woman wants that! Now, fast forward 100 years, and almost everyone wears deodorant - it's gone from a "want" to a "need". You wouldn't think twice about picking some up in the supermarket if you were running low.

And because you want something that you may not need - this isn't a bad thing! This is how the economy works. Now you have companies employing people to make, market, and sell deodorant to cater for a variety of customer needs. It's how the economy grows.

If I think now about things I "need", it's quite a different list from what my grandmother had. My (now deceased) grandmother's mother used to throw her school books in the fire, telling her "you don't need those, you'll work with your hands" (this was back in the 1920s). It's a great shame - and no-one will ever tell me that books are not on the "need" list now!

Good point, some things we use without actually thinking about them, then comes in the marketing, eg a shampoo is a shampoo but oh no it has to be the luxe shampoo that you cannot possible live without and yet in years go by we did, managing just fine:D

OrkneyStar

victory wrote: »

Nothing goes to waste, always used but just seems a lot of stuff:D

Well, as I said, if you have space and it is fairly organised, then that would be ok with me .

victory

VestanPance wrote: »

There is very little in life you need. All you need is what sustains you food, water, shelter, basic clothing. Anything else is a want no matter how you much you think you need it.

Living off all you need would be a pretty meagre existence, but there is certainly a fine line between having goods to make your life comfortable and enjoyable and buying the next new thing as you think it will bring happiness.

The unhappiest folk I've encountered are the ones who think once I get item x then I'll be happy. That tends to last all of five minutes and then it's the next thing they think will bring happiness.

commercialism at its best?:D

Gillyx

What do I need and want? SLEEP. It's evading me at the moment! I think I both need and want it for my own sanity

fluffnutter

TheConways wrote: »

I find the question re: wants and needs really interesting. 100 years ago, nobody really wore deodorant. Then advertising campaigns tried to create demand for deodorant, telling ladies that they might not be aware that they smell... No woman wants that! Now, fast forward 100 years, and almost everyone wears deodorant - it's gone from a "want" to a "need". You wouldn't think twice about picking some up in the supermarket if you were running low.

And because you want something that you may not need - this isn't a bad thing! This is how the economy works. Now you have companies employing people to make, market, and sell deodorant to cater for a variety of customer needs. It's how the economy grows.

If I think now about things I "need", it's quite a different list from what my grandmother had. My (now deceased) grandmother's mother used to throw her school books in the fire, telling her "you don't need those, you'll work with your hands" (this was back in the 1920s). It's a great shame - and no-one will ever tell me that books are not on the "need" list now!

Where does it end? I couldn't help thinking of my own signature when reading your comment (above in bold)

redwasp

A really interesting question; something you need is whatever you can't survive without having, whether its clothes, food, car if you work an have to drive to get there, etc.

Want is just something that you would like to have, but if you didn't have it you wouldn't be unable to survive. Needs are few, and wants are many, unfortunately!

System

The unhappiest folk I've encountered are the ones who think once I get item x then I'll be happy. That tends to last all of five minutes and then it's the next thing they think will bring happiness.

The amount of times ive bought something that i really wanted to have it sit in the carrier for days on end until i get round to putting it away.

Makeup is the biggest buzz for me. I'm into grey eyeshadow at the moment. I find one that i particularly like the look of only to take it home to find ive got a few more or less the same.

Goldiegirl

My needs are the things to allow me to survive in the world of today.

My house and food are the main needs. Utilities such as gas, electricity and water. Adequate clothing as well. My car, couldn't get to work without it. Also, I think TV is needed as a source of information and entertainment. It's also got to the point where the internet is needed for information, entertainment, social interaction and to manage my life, e.g internet banking, bill payment etc.

Wants - they are the things that are nice to have. Like clothes when the ones you have aren't worn out, and holidays, theatre and cinema trips.

Afterthought, my Kindle is a need, I couldn't survive without reading

moneyistooshorttomention

That's a question and a half...

I can only speak for my own personal definition for me - that boils down basically I guess to "How long have I been craving for it?" and if the answer is "forever" then I count it as a need (ie a CD or item of clothing that I am craving probably counts as on my mind for hours or days - whereas something rather bigger that I have been waiting for the chance for for years and it will be a real loss in my life if I don't have it counts as a need - even if it wouldnt to other people).

My other way of defining need rather than want (for myself personally) is if the thing I crave is very much the norm for the vast majority of people I know in my age group (who arent wealthy by any manner of means).

So - I decide that something is a need rather than want then:

- if I've been craving for it for years and will obviously never stop craving for it until I get it
AND
- the vast majority of people I know in my own age group (not wealthy - as already explained) treat it as the norm to have it.

Hence I do regard "need" as a somewhat subjective thing - and not just down to "As long as you have some sort of food to eat, some sort of roof over your head, etc". I know opinions on that will vary - but that's just my take on it personally.