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Needs and wants

Ratio, rates and money · level 2, lesson 3 of 6

A question to start

Here is a list of things a family might spend money on this week:

bread, a video game, winter boots, a movie ticket, medicine, a fancy toy robot, rent for the home, a bag of candy

If the family could only pay for half of them, which would you choose?

Most people choose the same four: bread, winter boots, medicine and the rent. Why do almost all of us agree? Because those four are things the family needs. The others are things they want. In this lesson you will learn to tell needs from wants, why it matters, and how to save for a want, week by week, until you can buy it.

The idea

Needs

A need is something you must have to live, be healthy and be safe.

  • Food and water: your body cannot work without them.
  • A home: a safe, dry, warm place to sleep.
  • Clothes for the weather: in a Canadian winter, a warm coat and boots are a need, not a choice.
  • Medicine and care when you are sick.
  • Things for school, like a pencil and a backpack.

Wants

A want is something that would be nice to have, but you can live well without it.

  • Toys and games.
  • Treats like candy, chips or ice cream.
  • Movie tickets and fun outings.
  • A new thing when the old one still works.

Wants are not bad! Wants make life fun. But needs must come first, because without them nobody is safe or healthy.

A picture for sorting

NEEDSWANTS food and watera home a warm coatmedicineschool things toyscandya movie video gamesa new bike (old one works)

The tricky middle

Some things are partly a need and partly a want. Shoes are a need. But very expensive shoes with a famous name are partly a want: you need shoes, but you do not need those shoes. Food is a need. But a big ice-cream sundae is a treat, which is a want.

A good question to ask is: "What would happen if I did not have it?"

  • No winter boots: your feet could freeze. That is a need.
  • No new game: you would be bored for a while, then find something else to do. That is a want.

Money runs out

A family has only so much money each week. Every dollar spent on one thing cannot be spent on another. That is why needs and wants matter: if the money goes on wants first, there may not be enough left for the needs.

So the smart order is:

  1. Pay for the needs first.
  2. Put some money aside to save.
  3. Use some of what is left for wants.

Saving for a want

To save means to keep money instead of spending it, so that later you have enough for something bigger.

Suppose a soccer ball costs 12 dollars, and you can save 3 dollars every week. How long until you can buy it?

Count by threes, one jump for every week, until you reach 12.

Week Saved this week Saved so far
1 3 dollars 3 dollars
2 3 dollars 6 dollars
3 3 dollars 9 dollars
4 3 dollars 12 dollars

After 4 weeks you have 12 dollars, and the ball is yours.

week 1: 3week 2: 6 week 3: 9week 4: 12 the ball costs 12 dollars

Why it takes that many weeks

Every week adds the same amount, 3 dollars. So the savings go up in equal jumps: 3, 6, 9, 12. The number of weeks is the number of jumps it takes to reach the price. It is the same "for every" idea as wheels and bikes: 3 dollars for every week.

That also tells you how to save faster: make each jump bigger. If you could save 4 dollars a week, you would count 4, 8, 12, and need only 3 weeks.

Spending now makes saving slower

Here is the big lesson about money. Suppose you get 4 dollars a week. You could save all 4. Or you could spend 2 on candy and save 2. Look how different the wait is for a 12-dollar ball:

Save each week Counting up Weeks to reach 12 dollars
4 dollars 4, 8, 12 3
2 dollars 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 6

Spending half each week makes you wait twice as long. Each small treat now pushes the big want further away. That is not a rule against treats. It is a choice, and now you can see what it costs.

The waiting trick

Before you buy a want, try waiting a few days. If you still really want it after a week, it is probably worth saving for. If you have forgotten about it, you just kept your money for something better.

Worked examples

Example 1. Sorting. Sort these into needs and wants: milk, a toy car, a winter hat, a new phone game, a toothbrush.

  1. Ask "What would happen without it?" for each one.
  2. Milk: food for your body. Need.
  3. A toy car: fun, but you would be fine. Want.
  4. A winter hat: in the cold, you could get frostbite on your ears. Need.
  5. A phone game: fun, but you would be fine. Want.
  6. A toothbrush: keeps your teeth healthy. Need.

Example 2. How many weeks? A puzzle costs 15 dollars. Maya saves 5 dollars a week. How many weeks until she can buy it?

  1. Count by fives, one jump a week: 5 (week 1), 10 (week 2), 15 (week 3).
  2. Maya can buy the puzzle after 3 weeks.

Example 3. A head start. A kite costs 20 dollars. Omar already has 8 dollars in his jar. He saves 4 dollars a week. How long will he wait?

  1. Start counting from what he already has: 8.
  2. Add 4 each week: 12 (week 1), 16 (week 2), 20 (week 3).
  3. Omar waits 3 weeks. Starting with 8 dollars saved him 2 weeks, because 8 dollars is two weeks' worth of 4.

Example 4. Not quite even. A book costs 10 dollars. Sara saves 3 dollars a week. How many weeks?

  1. Count by threes: 3, 6, 9, 12.
  2. After 3 weeks Sara has 9 dollars. That is 1 dollar short.
  3. After 4 weeks she has 12 dollars. That is enough, with 2 dollars left over.
  4. So Sara needs 4 weeks. When the jumps do not land exactly on the price, you need the next jump that goes past it.

Try it

  1. Need or want: a bed, a chocolate bar, a raincoat, a skateboard?
  2. Is a bicycle a need or a want? Can it be different for different people?
  3. A toy costs 8 dollars. You save 2 dollars a week. How many weeks?
  4. A game costs 18 dollars. You save 6 dollars a week. How many weeks?
  5. A ball costs 12 dollars. You already have 4 dollars, and you save 2 dollars a week. How many weeks?
  6. A book costs 7 dollars. You save 2 dollars a week. How many weeks? How much will you have left over?
  7. Tom gets 6 dollars a week. He wants a 24-dollar model rocket. How long if he saves all 6? How long if he spends 3 each week and saves 3?
  8. A family has 50 dollars left this week. They need groceries for 40 dollars. Their child wants a 15-dollar toy. Can they buy both? What should come first?
Answers
  1. A bed: need (a safe place to sleep). A chocolate bar: want. A raincoat: need in rainy weather (to stay dry and warm). A skateboard: want.
  2. For most children a bicycle is a want: fun, but they can walk or take the bus. But for someone who rides a bike to school or to work because there is no other way to get there, it can be a need. Whether something is a need can depend on a person's life. Asking "What would happen without it?" helps decide.
  3. 4 weeks. Count by twos: 2, 4, 6, 8. Four jumps.
  4. 3 weeks. Count by sixes: 6, 12, 18. Three jumps.
  5. 4 weeks. Start at 4, then add 2 each week: 6, 8, 10, 12. Four jumps.
  6. 4 weeks, with 1 dollar left over. Count by twos: 2, 4, 6 (only 6 after 3 weeks, 1 dollar short), then 8. After 4 weeks you have 8 dollars. The book costs 7, so 1 dollar is left.
  7. Saving 6 a week: 6, 12, 18, 24, so 4 weeks. Saving 3 a week: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, so 8 weeks. Saving half as much makes the wait twice as long.
  8. No, not both. Groceries and the toy cost 40 and 15, which make 55 dollars. They have only 50. Groceries are a need, so they come first. After the groceries, 10 dollars are left. The toy can be saved for: 10 dollars now, and 5 more next week.

Common mistake

Thinking a want is "bad" or a need is "boring". Needs and wants are both fine. The point is the order: needs first, then saving, then wants. Wants that you save for are often enjoyed even more.

Stopping one week too early. When the jumps do not land exactly on the price, the last jump before the price is not enough. Count one more week, the one that reaches or passes the price.

Where it leads