How do you differentiate wants and needs?

Hi, this is easy, I have one way to do it, without it , you can' t live,so it's need, and without, you can still live , so it's want.~~ A wonderful answer, right?

[i]Wants is just a whim. It can pass by. A fleeting like. While needs really means necessary. You need it everyday. It is very important to you. That is needs.[/i]

Wants and needs, when you here them they may sound the same. But if you think about it, you will realize that its two different words. If you want somthing that means that you just want them and can live without having them like your computers, cellphones and other things that just satisfies our wants. But if you needs then these are the things that we need in our life and sometimes we can't live without them like water, food, clothing etc...

Hi my friend Your mom is a very smart person in teaching you what wants and needs are. Like I've always told my son, if it is something that you want that you can't live without, it is a need. Examples are food, shelter, water, clothes (within reason) If it is something you can live without, it is a want. Examples are a new TV, a new CD or DVD, expensive clothes, Ipod etc. I think you get the picture! lol Have a great day, Char

To be precise, I refer your question to Oxford dictionary. "Want" means to have a desire or wish for. While "need" means you want it or you must have it. So if you are shopping in supermarket, when you select a product, always ask yourself first, "Do I want or need this?". By doing so you will be able to spend you money wisely.

Well definitely sweetbarbie22, "wants" and "needs" are different in many ways.. For example, a person might want to be a software professional but for that he must need a degree for himself to get into a software company... When you consider "want", its limitless and not mandatory.. we wish to have infinite number of things that we want but when you consider "need", its limited and mandatory, like a person needs basic things like dress,home,food.... hence "want" and "need" both are different... So don't confuse yourself... hope you got your answer... Have a great day, sweetbarbie22... CHEERS!!!!

Really very very difficult to differentiate in todays world. We are in a pure materialistic age and the definations of wants and needs have chanhed. Some 10 years before a mobile phone in delhi (India) was a want and now its a need. The things keep changing and so we have to change as per that. A need can be a want only and a want can be need as per situation.

If I need it to survive then it is a need if I can live with out it then it is a want. It's just that simple for me.

As per my Economics studies, wants means humans desires to live comfortably. And needs are the basic necessities of life, for example food and water. Wants can be TV, DVD, Laptops, etc.

As i know there is a very thin line between need and want. want is something of our choice, just an extra added to our life. In short its just the desire. you can lead life without all your wants. but need is something that you require for your activities. for eg. I need a good pair of shoes. thats a need but I want a Reebok shoe, now thats a want. any shoe which is of a less cost will serve my purpose( meet my requirement) but a reebok shoe becomes a luxury. This is what I feel.

A NEED is something you HAVE TO HAVE... like a roof over your head, electricity, groceries...a WANT is a luxury item... like name brand clothes and expensive makeup, and expensive purses.... I am sure you know what your mother is talking about...lol, you are just like the rest of us... you don't want it to be true :) especially in times like these! :)

i think wants are for luxury only while needs are necessity people cannot live without it like water. Sometimes they sound alike but when you read on the economics book they are really different

yaa offcourse wants and needs are most important in our daily life first we have to prefer for important needs what we need in our daily life after fulfilment of important needs then we should go for wants. wants is nothing but our's fullfilment of desire so we can go for further also but i gave importance for my money and needs first

Needs are those which are required to lead us a normal life. Needs are the basic amenities. We need shelter, we need food, we need clothings. These are our basic necessities. If we pay for a cup of tea, to get a cup of tea is our need. Wants are something extra. We want a separate home though we are living comfortably with our parents. And with my previous example, the want in the case of cup of tea is that we want the salesman to hand it over promptly.

it is true that both of them are just different .need is what is needed at this point to survive. want is something taht we crave for. if we try to fulfill the craves, we can't do it ever.

When I was a kid, I somehow knew their differences but, being a kid after all, patience is something that has to be worked up on so I end up buying anything that interests me. Now that I have grown, I can actually decide on buying things that are important and things that are not so important at all. Wants would be things that would interest us but would eventually lose its purpose as time goes on. If it were a hobby, it'll be a different story since hobbies would often include collecting things and even though things collected would not do anything much but to occupy space, such things can still satisfy individuals whom are interested with such things. Needs, as the word implies, are things that we just have to acquire and would benefit us even later on. Then again, some would argue that since food is obviously among those that we need, it would then be probable to have delicious ones than the typical ones that are available. Also goes along with clothing when it comes to those that are branded and those that aren't really among designer labels. When it comes to money matters, being with the things that we buy, either it being things that we need or things that we want, being practical would often be a good way to do it.

I need something if it fulfills a basic need-to keep me warm or cool, feed me, or help me to sleep. I want it if it doesn't contribute to my basic physical needs, if it's not essential. Sometimes, a want is a need. If you've spent your money wisely for months and denied yourself any impulse spending it's time for a treat and so a want becomes a need to keep you going and encourage you to keep spending wisely. About a month ago I did this. I got a $70 pair of marcasite earrings for $15! A nice reward for handling my money well and quite a bargain, too.

To a fish, water and food are what it needs; clean water, delicious food and companions may be what it wants. To a bird, air and food are what it needs; fresh air, nice food, companions, and flying into the sky may be what it wants. To our humen, food, water, air, clothes, housing and communications are what we need; knowledge, practice and beautiful things are what we want.

Wants can be very general like you can want what you need but not all you want is actually what you need. You want a new mobile phone because it has great color, nice ring tone or form but you may not need it because your old mobile phone is still good and functioning. Need, on the other hand, for me is the basics for the human survival like food, clothing and home. Without food, you'll grow hungry and you'll eventually die. Walking around public places without clothing will send you to the mental hospital or you'll get raped. Without a home, you'll die of the cold etc etc.