We need an SUV for our family. No – you want and SUV, larger families survived in sedans for decades.
We need air conditioning. No – you want to have air conditioning during hot months.
We need an annual vacation to somewhere warm. No – you want a vacation somewhere warm.
Our kids need an iPad to keep them occupied. No – you want to give them an iPad because it requires less effort to manage them.
(FYI screens have an unreported danger for kids where they can suck imagination out of them via the LCD nipple.)
In our modern world it is easy to confuse needs and wants. Must haves, versus nice to haves.
One of my favourite must haves, is the amount of money people say they need before they could get out of the system. Silicon Valley like to call it FU Money. I hear numbers like $5, $10 and $20 million from people who are regular salary earners. Yet just a 5% return on 5 million would generate $250,000 per annum. A very good living indeed, much more than most people live on, and certainly more than most people I speak to giving me these large figures as their ‘get out number’. And just $1.5 million in investments would generate the average income in Australia without getting out of bed in the morning.
The bench mark of financial freedom is not nearly as high as we think. If you want to get to your ‘freedom money’ quota, the first step should be understanding the difference between needs and wants, when we do this the quota gets even lower. Another option is to stop chasing dollars doing what you hate, to have enough money to finally do what you love. Just jump straight the passion work, and you might find the money doesn’t matter as much.