There's this popular saying from Plato about necessity being the mother of invention. Anything that is deemed neccesary brings about a sense of urgency that taps into our creative imagination to find ways of accomplishing it.
However, it seems that in some cases like in health or finance, neccesities tend to be overlooked for insatiable wants that are so easy to fantasize about but quite hard to attain.
Sometimes, it's only when we're compel by external influence to fix our gaze on our needs do we go all in on them and forget about our wants temporarily.
My rent may be due for this month. And instead of taking care of it, I'll be out there playing the status game trying to attract all the attention I can get.
But when the eviction notice is pasted on my door, I frantically search my closet to put on that 'hustler's cap' and make the payment before the stated date of eviction.
What was necessary all along became super necessary when an external factor was introduced. Now, how will things be when the external factor is removed? Will things go back being the same like before, wants over needs?
Many of us at some point in time had to confront basic financial neccesities, usually for the lack of it. I see basic financial neccesities as the basic financial level needed to survive or relatively attain financial stability.
Of course, money isn't neccesary to survive at nature oriented places like a village. But for city dwellers, money is fairly needed to survive.
Generally, a basic financial level entails having money to put food on the table, a roof over our head, some clothes on our back and a respectable amount of funds saved up for unforeseen events. It could differ on an individual level based on individual circumstances.
Housing is a need for everyone. But the type and cost of housing could vary depending on where one lives or how many people one lives with.
A need is something that we must have to survive or function. On the other hand, a want is something that we desire or enjoy but can live without.
I find Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a great way to rank our financial needs in the form of a pyramid, starting at the bottom on psychological needs and going all the way to the top on transcendence.
Although Maslow's hierarchy of needs primarily deals with human motivation. We can put it on a financial context to get insights on basic financial neccesities.
On the bottom of the pyramid starts the most basic needs. They're psychological then safety and then belonging and love. These are usually deficiency needs in that a lack of them creates a sense of missing bits/pieces in us.
On a financial viewpoint, not having our basic financial neccesities met often creates a sort of deficiency in us.
However, unlike the main driving force being the will for survival or attaining financial stability. Seeing it from maslow's hierarchy of needs pushes it beyond that.
This means that fulfilling our basic financial needs is not just crucial for survival. But also for achieving happiness and satisfaction in life.
Another way of saying it is that it is 10x more beneficial to solve for our financial needs than wants. Yet, we somehow get stuck on the loop of chasing wants that get us nowhere.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.
