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Need vs Want — The one-question filter
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Money Sense0005
Need vs Want
The one-question filter
A need keeps life working; a want makes it nicer.
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0005 · The Primer06 / 53
A phone is a need. The latest model is a want. Marketers blur the line on purpose. Urgency timers, "limited stock" banners, and countdown sales are designed to stop you from thinking. The filter is one question: would I walk across town to buy this?
- Research shows about 70% of online purchases are impulse buys driven by wants, not needs.
- Wait 24 hours before any purchase over 500 rupees. Most wants disappear overnight.
SourceRook and Fisher (1995), impulse buying research
Cialdini, Influence
Cialdini, Influence
Keep exploring
Because you read Need vs Want.
Money Sense0018
Opportunity Cost
The price of what you did not choose
The value of the best thing given up to get something else.
I · You19 / 53
Money Sense0016
The Ponzi Scheme
Returns from nowhere
A fake investment that pays old investors with new investors' money.
I · You17 / 53
Body and Mind0028
The Negativity Bias
Why bad news sticks
The brain's habit of weighing bad news more heavily than good.
I · You29 / 53