Comment #2. Everyone has to determine their own needs vs. wants. The main thing that I determine the difference is if it is consumable. Food is consumable, shoes are not. Toilet paper is consumable, dish towels are not.

Junk food would be considered a want, so I will compromise by making my own snacks (my girls won't like this one). However, in the event that my church shoes wear out, I would consider that a need.

A budget...hmmm! I probably shouldn't be discussing this. I don't think Jeffery will like it, but since you asked, I will tell you.

I tried a budget in my very early adult years. When I put everything on paper, my expenses were greater than my income, but I had never spent more than my income. Always had enough money to pay my bills. So I gave it up and never tried again. Jeffery said on one of his budget articles that I was not realistic on my budget. So, I would advise you to take his advise.

However, I have never spent more than I make, nor do I like using credit other than car and house payments. The only time I got into financial trouble is when my business partner decided that since I had good credit and he had bad credit, he would just charge everything in my name. One time he opened a checking account in my name and bouced $750 worth of check that he wrote within the first week. Don't ask me how he did it, but he did. I ended up having to file bankruptcy on about one million dollors. I still have repercussions from this 14 years later with tax leins showing up as unpaid even though they are paid.

Getting back to the budget, this works for me because I have never lived above my income and had a small savings for emergencies. And by nature, I am frugal. As a small child, I was the only one that always had money because I saved my money for the big things instead of the little things that didn't last such as candy. My husband use to say I was so tight, I squeaked when I walked. My sister said, "you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip". I say, just give me a turnip and watch me! I guess this is why not having a budget has worked for me, but I wouldn't recommend it for others.

On the flip side, I am a compulsive shopper. One time, I spent $5,000 for three months in a row, and this was not paying any bills. My husband was aghast, but he never said anything to me. Eventually, he complained to our adult daughter, and she told me. Those 3 months I did manage to spend more than we made, but we could still afford it. There is an interesting lesson to be learned as to how and why this happened.

When I and my girls moved to the north, he stayed in California. He decided it was easier to manage money if I paid everything by credit card as he balanced my check book. Everyone knows that credit cards offer free money, and boy did it change my spending habits. I never knew the amount I was spending because I didn't keep a running total, and he got the monthly statement. Within the 4 years I have been in the north, we were $30K in debt. Of course he never told me this either. I put 2 and 2 together when I started receiving consolidation offers that were always about $30k. When we sold our house in California, we used the proceeds to pay off the debt. Ouch!

I now have a local checking account, and I refuse to use the credit cards, and I balance my own checkbook. Since I get an allowance that I have put myself on, it is now a game to see how much I still have before my next allowance comes. So far (4 months), I haven't had any left because I manage to give it all away to charities.

I hope I didn't ramble too much, but money really is my favorite subject.

(Sorry Jeffery. I really did want to save you the .03 cents, but I thought this should be posted as an entry so that maybe others could learn from my mistakes.)