Wants vs Needs

[m3racer]

How many of you struggle to curb your desire to make a big purchase? Especially, knowing that this purchase is unnecessary. Personally, I've been dying to buy a newer car. I know I can afford it but it's completely just a want and not a need. Am I torturing myself needlessly?

[disneysteve]

Nope. I think you are being responsible and rational rather than giving in to instant gratification. I drive a 1998 Camry with over 100,000 miles. Would I like to have a shiny new car? Absolutely. Can I afford one? Absolutely. Am I planning on buying one anytime soon? Not a chance. Not until the current car dies or becomes undependable.

Of course, that's not to say that one should never spend on Wants. We do that often enough - dining out, vacations, new clothes, etc. We just try and do it within reason so that we don't feel deprived or "poor" while still saving plenty for the future.

[maat55]

I have learned to prioritize my wants and needs. My first want-need was a to be debtfree, then have a 10,000 EF and now to invest monthly. These came before any other financial purchase. Next is to put 400 a month in savings for auto's, which are doing now and then figure out how we are going to buy a big screen tv.

We just got back from the grocery store, and while buying our pop I thought, how much am I paying for pop a year. Pop is a luxury and is not that important to me when you look at it on a yearly cost basis.

Like you, I used to salivate over the electronics or car adds, but now I have no interest in them. I hope thats a good thing.

[m3racer]

Good point maat55. Maybe I should start thinking that paying off my student loans is a want.

[Snave]

You really have got to look at the wants and then prioritize them. I am with Steve on a nice new car. Would I like one? Yes. Is it that big of a deal for me? No. It is a want and if I had an endless supply of money or felt very financially secure, then I would get a new one. I just have different wants for the financial situation I am in. It is all a trade-off. However, I am not that much of a car guy. Now, I won't pay for the new car, but will pay that much for my golf membersip each month. That is a want that I won't do without. Oh, and as maat55 mentioned about pop; diet coke would be considered a NEED for me. Some people drink coffee, but I take my caffeine cold.

[creditcardfree]

We've recently curbed our desire for a newer van. It was a tough decision. We can afford a newer one and our current van is 11 years old and does need work from time to time. I think we realized it was more of a want than an absolute necessity. We really need to pay off our home equity loan. It will put us in a better place financially when we need to move again in about two years.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Same here. Everything is a want, not a need right now.

[Campfrugal]

I have been wanting a newer vehicle also. I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 95,000 miles on it. It is in really great condition, but I was thinking of upgrading to maybe a 2005-07, but when I looked at the price, I was Wowed. I don't want to pay that much, just upgrade. So I decided that I would get a really good car cleaning inside and out and new tires and keep it for a couple more years. But it was good to look. And, then what happens, two of my very close friends went out and bought newer vehicles. Oh, don't tempt me. Nope, I am going to stick to mine.

[responduser]

Originally Posted by m3racer

How many of you struggle to curb your desire to make a big purchase? Especially, knowing that this purchase is unnecessary. Personally, I've been dying to buy a newer car. I know I can afford it but it's completely just a want and not a need. Am I torturing myself needlessly?

Not exactly.

Many times we do something that we don't need but we may want to have that because of our passion or liking.

[InDebtInDC]

Originally Posted by m3racer

How many of you struggle to curb your desire to make a big purchase?

I would venture to say that everyone struggle with this problem. Well, at least the sane people do.

Originally Posted by m3racer

Especially, knowing that this purchase is unnecessary. Personally, I've been dying to buy a newer car. I know I can afford it but it's completely just a want and not a need. Am I torturing myself needlessly?

Buying a new car in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. If your current car is dying, then it may be a good idea. If you can get a new one at a good deal, it may be a good idea. If you don't have a car at all, then you don't have a choice.

What car do you have now and what car do you want?

[Pitman]

At the moment:

Need:
4 New Tires

Want:
PlayStation 3
GTA 4

[InDebtInDC]

Originally Posted by Pitman

Need:
4 New Tires

How do you know if you need new tyres?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I know I need new tires when I can see the tread is getting low and the tires also spin when trying to accelerate from a stop on a wet street. That is scary to me, as I figure they will just as easily lose traction on a turn or stop on wet roads. How about that old Lincoln's head on a penny trick? Is that a decent way to judge the condition of tires? I want and need good tires!!

[m3racer]

Originally Posted by InDebtInDC

What car do you have now and what car do you want?

I drive a convertible.....in a snowy state!!! I moved from a warm state that never had snow. It was an unexpected move due to work. So now I drive in zero degree weather with snow in my rear wheel drive vert. I would like to get a used coupe because its more practical (ie. trunk space). I'd probably have to fork out another 25k to do it, however.

[maat55]

Originally Posted by creditcardfree

We've recently curbed our desire for a newer van. It was a tough decision. We can afford a newer one and our current van is 11 years old and does need work from time to time. I think we realized it was more of a want than an absolute necessity. We really need to pay off our home equity loan. It will put us in a better place financially when we need to move again in about two years.

I was a twice a week golfer for the last 15 years, but quit this year because it was getting in the way of my financial security plan. When I get where I want to be, i'm going to go back to it.

[InDebtInDC]

Originally Posted by m3racer

I drive a m3 convertible.....in a snowy state!!! I moved from a warm state that never had snow. It was an unexpected move due to work. So now I drive in zero degree weather with snow in my rear wheel drive vert. I would like to get a used M3 coupe because its more practical (ie. trunk space). I'd probably have to fork out another 25k to do it, however.

I would personally recommend a beater truck. How is a coupe going to be an improvement over what you have now?

At least you have another summer to think about it.

[Pitman]

Originally Posted by InDebtInDC

How do you know if you need new tyres?

My tires have little to no grip on them, and threads are very low. It rained pretty heavy on Monday, so I was doing about 15mph just to avoid slipping, and sliding.

[InDebtInDC]

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

I know I need new tires when I can see the tread is getting low

I addressed this issue in the auto repair thread in the frugral forum.

Generally, just because the tread is low doesn't necessarily mean that the tyre is no good. Each individual tyre is designed to operate with different levels of tread. It depends on the particular design you have. There are literally over millions of types of tread compounds and tread designs. It depends on what your tyre was designed to do.

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

the tires also spin when trying to accelerate from a stop on a wet street

This is not a good way to test tyres. Even the best all-season tyres in the best operating conditions will lose traction when accelerating on wet pavement.

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

I figure they will just as easily lose traction on a turn or stop on wet roads

Not necessarily true. It is extremely easy to spin tyres when accelerating, especially on front wheel drive vehicles like most passenger cars and mini vans. It doesn't nessarily mean that the tyre has no traction for conering or stopping.

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

How about that old Lincoln's head on a penny trick?

The penny trick is an easy way to measure to see if your tread is at least 2/32". The best way is to use a tread depth gauge.

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

Is that a decent way to judge the condition of tires?

It's a good test to prepare for state inspection, but to determine if the tread level is appropriate for the tyre design, you need to contact the manufacturer.

Also keep in mind that the manufacturer has incentives for you to buy new tyres, so even if a tyre is perfectly fine, a rep may tell you to buy new ones to make money and to avoid legal liability.

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

I want and need good tires!!

I'm sorry but there's no simple answer. When in doubt, invest in a good set of all-season tyres in the same size that is recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer.

[ceejay74]

Luckily I don't want a car. I may have to get one in a couple years if I have a baby, but I'm not looking forward to it and may do some research on blogs, etc., to see if it's doable to be a carless parent in my city.

My nonfrugal wants are to travel, to dine out and to buy stylish clothes. I'm going to try and swing two trips per year for me and my family and hope that keeps the travel bug at bay. I dine out about once a month using pocket money and that seems to keep that part of me satisfied (just barely). And I do an Old Navy/Target/H&M trip about twice a year to get a couple hundred dollars' worth of clothes.

My frugal wants are much more important to me these days, so they get much more money and attention than my nonfrugal ones! First one: getting rid of credit card debt and thereby increasing net worth.

[SnoopyCool]

Originally Posted by InDebtInDC

I would personally recommend a beater truck. How is a coupe going to be an improvement over what you have now?

At least you have another summer to think about it.

If you live in a snowy state in a truck, at least in my past experiences, you'll have to weight the bed down with something so you can keep traction on a snowy or icy road.

In my opinion, a sedan with front wheel drive is the best way to go. Makes for fun fishtailing!