Name Parsa Sedaghat

Class________________________________
Date9/23/2018

COMPARE: Needs vs. Wants

Although online resources and financial gurus will tell you that it’s pretty clear cut for what qualifies as a need versus a
want, in real life it’s often not that clear. For example, if you decide to live in Cleveland, while your family lives in
Phoenix, and visiting them is a priority for you, then you might consider 4 flights a year a necessity. On the other hand,
your extreme love of scuba diving might make 4 flights a year to Hawaii or Florida seem like a need, when it’s possibly
more of a want.

Part I: Consider this example

Maxine graduated from college and got an intro-level job in human resources at a large company in Washington, DC.
Leftover from college, she has one nice suit, a few business appropriate dresses and blouses, and one professional pair of
shoes. Her job requires her to be in business attire every day for work.

1. Would you consider upgrading Maxine’s wardrobe a need or a want? Explain why you feel as you do.
I would consider a need. This is because in order for her to go to work, she needs to have the proper attire or
she will not be allowed to go. So needing the right wardrobe would be considered a need.

2. Assume that Maxine decides that she needs a wardrobe update. What would you feel is an appropriate amount
of business clothing for Maxine to own in order to succeed at her job?
I think that four suits will be good for her. This way she has something different to wear for most of the week
and does not have to wear the same thing twice.

3. What should be Maxine’s approach to purchasing her wardrobe updates?

Her approach should be buying something is well-priced something that is business casual.

Part II: Assess your values around purchases

Review the list below, putting a:

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 ● 1 next to those that are needs for you,
● a 2 next to high priority wants, and
● a 3 next to low priority wants.
● You can leave some blank if they don’t fit into your lifestyle at all.
● Fill in the two empty boxes with items we haven’t included.

# ITEM # ITEM

3 In-style clothing or the latest trends 2 Personal hobbies (membership or entry fees,
equipment, uniforms, etc)

2 Non-essential beauty/hygiene or grooming 2 Professional expenses (books, resources,

items/services subscriptions, membership fees, conference
attendance, etc)

1 Subscriptions (Netflix, Hulu, magazines, Holiday and other gift giving

newspapers, etc)

1 Cable television Charitable donations

3 Vacations, travel Vehicle upgrades

1 Electronics (tv, stereo, video games, phones, 3 At-home entertainment (books, movie rental, music
etc) purchases, hosting friends, etc)

3 Out-of-home entertainment (amusement parks, 3 Eating out

movies, bowling, etc)

3 Premium or pay-per-view cable content 1 Gym membership

3 School materials 3 New video games

Part III: Plan Your Discretionary Spending

Reflect on the priorities you’ve set above, and consider your likely budget once employed full-time. Use this information
to create a budget for the wants you’d like to be able to fulfill each month, while still keeping a responsible spending
plan. In the space below, answer the following:

4. How much do you plan to spend each month on wants or discretionary spending?

I would spend 1500 dollars on my personal wants each month.

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 5. What considerations did you take into account to come up with that figure?
I brought into figure my electronics fee, gym fees, and entertainments fees.

6. What types of items will your discretionary spending cover?

Games, movies, restaurants, and gym.

7. Which of those items would be easiest to give up, if your life circumstances forced you to?
Movies would be the easiest since I do not need it to survive.

8. Which items would be hardest to give up? Why?

The gym would be the hardest because staying in shape is the most important thing for me.

9. How do your values inform your spending decisions in this category?

My values affect what I assume is necessary and what would be considered a want. My values also affect and
teach me about what things are important to spend money on and what does not require a lot of spending
on.

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