We all consume every day, but not all spending is necessary. There's a difference between essential and non-essential spending. Understanding this difference helps you manage your money better and avoid unnecessary expenses. This article will explain how to distinguish between them and why we tend to overspend. 😉
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Basic Needs VS Desire
In reality, it's important to differentiate between two types of consumption:
- The need = Consumption that is necessary to live
- Desire = Consumption that we make under influence in order to satisfy our financial ego or a short-term pleasure.
Essential consumption includes, for example:
- Water
- Renting or buying real estate
- Transport
- Food
- Hygiene
Examples of non-essential consumption include:
- Subscriptions not used
- Unused gadgets
- fashionable clothes
- Expensive trips
Why do we consume too much??
There are several reasons. In this article, I will outline the main reasons:
- Social Pressure
Every day, we receive messages trying to get us to buy useless items. For example:
- With television advertising
- Influencer posts on social media
- Advertising via social media
- Coworkers who push you to consume like them
- Family who call you a cheapskate as if it were something negative
- Persuasive advertising messages (Overconsumption marketing)
Every day, we see advertising messages that play on our emotions to make us consume. For example:
- limited edition
- Buy 2, get the 3rd free
- Promotion or discount valid until such and such date
- Discounts only available through the app
In reality, we should ignore these advertising messages! Because in most cases, these messages push us towards unnecessary consumption!
- Dopamine
In our brain, we have a neurotransmitter that is activated when we buy an object; it is dopamine.1
In reality, when we buy an object, this neurotransmitter transmits a feeling of pleasure to us. However, this pleasure is very short-lived.
Because this activation of pleasure is short-lived, we are influenced to enter an old cycle.
Purchase -> Short-term pleasure -> Purchase -> Short-term pleasure
Note that there are other ways to activate dopamine besides shopping. For example, physical exercise, quality sleep, or a diet rich in magnesium 😊
The Impact of Essential Consumption VS Non-Essential Consumption
Our choice between essential and non-essential consumption has a long-term impact on our lives! For example:
- Financial
Most of us have a limited budget. Consequently, we have to make financial choices!
For example, if I favour essential consumption, it is normal that I save a lot of money and that this saved money can be used for projects of great importance (for example, buying a house, investing and generating new income, etc.).
Conversely, if I spend a lot of money on non-essentials, it's no wonder I don't have any money for personal projects. Furthermore, since I spend so much money, it's no surprise I'll end up in debt someday, as my bank account is always close to zero.
- The emotional impact
Besides the financial impact of non-essential consumption, the emotional impact should not be neglected.
In reality, spending your entire monthly salary on things that are not very useful leads to frustration!
For example, if I always want the latest trendy smartphone, I'll be constantly frustrated. Why? Because technology is constantly advancing, and that means my trendy purchase will always be very short-lived.
Another example: if I want a sports car, I also have to accept the drawbacks of owning one. For example, regular cleaning, high mechanic bills, high taxes, and speed limits.
- Financial freedom
👉 No doubt, favoring essential consumption will bring you closer to financial freedom.
Indeed, by avoiding the consumption of unuseless items, you save money and are less dependent on the money of a boss or your clients.
Note that with the money you've saved, you can invest it. If your investments are profitable, you'll generate new income and become financially free 🤑
How to move towards essential consumption?
There are several methods; in my opinion, the most important are:
- Minimalism & Frugality
It is very important to move towards minimalist and frugal consumption. 😎
Indeed, minimalism and frugality allow for responsible consumption, conscious consumption of one's needs, better management of expenses and avoidance of overconsumption.
Therefore, in order to promote essential and more mindful consumption, why not start by eliminating non-essential consumption?
- The 15-day wait
A financial method that has helped me a lot to avoid buying non-essential goods is the 15-day tactic!
It's not a complicated tactic. In reality, whenever I have a desire to consume an object, instead of buying it, I note it down in the notes app on my smartphone and wait 15 days.
After 15 days, I look at the notebook again and analyze whether the item I noted was a passing whim or a significant purchase. 90 % of the objects I note down are fleeting desires 🧐
- Eliminate social networks and unnecessary applications
Another method that helps me enormously to avoid non-essential consumption is having deleted all the social networks I had and all the applications that were not vital to my use.
This method has allowed me to free myself from a huge number of advertising messages and unnecessary reminders that constantly distract me, and has allowed me to better focus on my essential consumption.
I can only recommend that others try this tip 😉
- Create a personal budget and reduce expenses
Nothing prevents you from creating a personal budget to control your spending, through financial minimalism.
This way, you can correct your consumption habits, learn to live with less and save money on a daily basis.
Not to mention, it will be easier to understand which expenses are necessary versus unnecessary 😉
Essential consumption VS Non-essential consumption
Conclusion
Distinguishing between essential consumption And non-essential consumption It's simple. Essential expenses are for living.
Non-essential spending is mainly for comfort and pleasure.
However, non-essential spending should be moderate. Otherwise, consumers can enter a buy->consume cycle, a never-ending loop. Furthermore, the pleasure diminishes with each impulsive purchase!
By understanding this difference, it becomes easier to better manage your budget. We can reduce your spending, avoid unnecessary purchases and save more money each month.
Consuming less, but better, allows you to live more peacefully.
Furthermore, consuming less allows you to focus on what's essential and helps you regain control of your finances and your life 😉
Essential consumption VS Non-essential consumption
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About me
Faced with not very effective financial education, as was my case before. I actually decided to create this blog following a change in my life since my early adult life.
Compared to before, I was a person who consumed a lot until the day I understood that my consumption was making me sadder and poorer. From now on, I prioritize the minimum of my needs to be happy and achieve financial freedom.
Without realizing it, I also began to prioritize savings and investments to depend on a boss for as short a time as possible and to accelerate my personal projects.
For several years I have felt happy and I have become richer in a way that I would never have imagined given that I have an average salary in Switzerland.
It is for this purpose that I decided to create this blog. To share, learn and teach with others who seek freedom, simplicity and long-term wealth.
Are you rather minimalist or frugal Jonny?
I am both a minimalist and a frugalist. However, there are situations where I lean more towards an art of living.
To conclude, I think the most important thing is to feel comfortable in your life and I have found a balance between these lifestyles without reaching the extremes.
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