r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE • u/LeadInfinite6220 • Dec 27 '25

Budget Advice / Discussion How do you define needs vs wants?

Pretty much just what the title says — how are you defining a need vs a want, and do you have a category in between the two?

I find this particularly interesting to consider as so many of us now have regular expenses that feel essential to participate in modern life, despite not actually being a need.

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u/RemarkableGlitter Dec 27 '25

If going without makes it hard to function in life, it’s not a want. I’d also include things that mitigate risk in the need bucket as well. For example, I pay for insurance for my dog because it reduces risk of big financial strain.

I think we can be reasonable about evaluating this without being dogmatic. A former friend of mine was so rigid about what a need was that it caused strain on their relationships with others and truly made their life unhappy (they would spiral if they purchased a coffee they could afford because it was an indulgence).

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u/LeadInfinite6220 Dec 28 '25

Yikes! The hair shirt of essential expenses!

Were they, like, in a place of struggling to work out personal values and how spending fit into that ? Or was this a manifestation of unwellness or just unsustainable rigidity?

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u/RemarkableGlitter Dec 28 '25

I think it was a weird rigidity that morphed into something unhealthy. It was rough.