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Conversation Starters on Balancing Needs and Wants
- What is the difference between a need and a want?
- How do you know if something is a want or need?
- Are everyone’s wants or needs the same?
- Do you spend your money on things you want or things you need?
- How might your values affect whether an item is a need or a want?
- Can something be a want and a need at the same time?
- Do your parents spend money on things they need or things they want?
- What influences your decisions to purchase something? Family, friends, TV, society?
Conversation Tips on Balancing Needs and Wants
- Explain to your kids that needs are the essential things you need to survive—like
food, water, clothing and shelter. Wants are the things that increase the quality
of your life, such as going out to eat, seeing movies, toys, etc.
- Discuss the differences between wants and needs so that your kids clearly understand
what they are. Use examples that are relevant to their lives.
- Let your kids see that most of our needs are the same, however, everyone has different
wants and that’s okay. Help them to understand that people often define their
needs and wants based on the values, beliefs and life practices that are important
to them as individuals.
- The next time your kids say they really, really “need” something, ask
them if it is a need or a want. If it’s a want, ask them if it is really something
they really want to spend their money on now, or if they would they rather save
their money for something better later.
- Explain that it’s okay to have wants, but that we need to
plan and save
for them.
- Explain that it is unrealistic to think we have to have all the things we want whenever
we want them.
- Explain “delayed gratification” and why this is important.
Additional Resources:
Financial Literacy
National Endowment for Financial Education
JumpStart Coalition for Personal
Financial Literacy
National Association of Federal Credit Unions
Moonjar
National Credit Union Administration
Credit Scores and Credit Usage
www.annualcreditreport.com
www.myFICO.com
Investor Education
National Association of Securities Dealers
Saving for College and Financial Aid
www.finaid.org
Savings Bond Interest Rates
www.treasurydirect.gov
Financial Calculators
TopLine Investment
Services
Books
The Millionaire Next Door
By Thomas Stanley and William Danko
Practical information on how other millionaires made their money.
The Richest Man in Babylon
By George S. Clason
Common sense ideas on the concept of paying yourself first.
A Chair for my Mother
By Vera B. Williams
Family picture book that shares a story about saving.
Content on this page may contain information from, and is used with permission by,
the National Endowment for Financial Education, the National Association of Federal
Credit Unions, Moonjar, and the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.
Links to additional resources are provided for information purposes only and are
not endorsed by TopLine Federal Credit Union.
© 2007 TopLine Federal Credit Union. All rights reserved.
® Registered trademark of TopLine Federal Credit Union
Servicemark of TopLine Federal Credit Union.
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