I often hear people talking about determining your needs and wants. I don’t really have a hard time defining what’s a true want, and many things that are true needs, but I feel that I have a lot of options that fall in the middle, in some sort of nebulous category that no one every really talks about. I think that it’s because there’s a bit of difference between bare bones life needs and other needs. Sometimes there’s a basic need but how I fill it might depend on my wants. For example, I need shelter, but buying a big house is a want. The same thing goes for food, transportation, and other life necessities. I need to eat, but I don’t have to eat expensive, fancy food. I need to get back and forth to my employment source, but I can walk, bike, carpool, etc. So perhaps how you fill a basic necessity determines whether or not it’s a need.  True wants are a bit easier for me to define. I know that there are things in my life that are purely wants even if I have a clear use for them. For example, buying scrapbook supplies or a extra swimsuit are definite wants; they don’t contribute to anything that I need for life.

One of the things that I am struggling with are the items that are in the middle: in this category are things that aren’t basic life needs, but make a marked improvement in comfort. Here’s an example: I [blank] a vacuum. Now, I can live without a vacuum, but life is much better with one. I had one in my last locale, but it wasn’t very good. I ended up borrowing one from my neighbors when I needed a really good one; and since I’ve moved I’ve been employing the same strategy. However, this is not a very good long-term solution. While I don’t have a lot of carpet in my current apartment, I do have some carpet. Now you’re probably thinking – ‘girl you need to go and get yourself a vacuum’. Yes, Yes I will, but the problem really is that it’s hard to prioritize all the little things that fall in between basic needs and material wants. Then there’s a category of expectations for your job, social clubs, etc. For example, I am expected to become a member of certain professional organizations as this results in a great discount on conference memberships. Trying to live on a limited spending budget and balancing all these things is hard. While the professional organizations aren’t basic life needs, there are pretty much considered requirements for my position. And a vacuum is easily justifiable, since it makes it much more pleasant to breathe, especially when it’s hot and my dog is shedding like mad. Though there are ways to get around some of these issues (my book fund is enough to cover the cost of organization memberships), I’m finding that defining what you need and what you want, especially when there are certain external requirements and expectations, isn’t always as easy as it seems.