Want Vs. Need
One of the Sucky but Necessary Parts of Being an Adult
This past August my husband and I welcomed a new addition to our family; our first child, a boy, was born just 2 days after our 3rd anniversary. One of the most immediate changes we noticed was how much of our money was going where, including what we naively referred to as "expendable income". With tax season swiftly approaching we are faced with this conundrum in the form of a tax return. Having already laid out the obvious adult things we should do with it, there are some decisions to make; rebuild our savings account & get maintenance done on the car, or work toward paying off our student loans? This isn't too painful of a compromise to make since we both already tend towards frugality when it comes to finances, however another part of me is desperate for a new couch cover from IKEA, a colorful set of curtains for the living room and other decorative (and completely superfluous) paraphernalia for our apartment. There are also arguably legitimate, albeit less pressing, avenues that we could go down; a weekend away just my husband & I... Or maybe a new computer to replace our middle-aged MacBook. But then the baby cries and we bring ourselves back to the immediate future. For now we have to suck it up and remind ourselves of the difference between what we want and what we need (Thank you, Mick Jagger). After all, we've got a kiddo now, which is actually a pretty great trade-off...
Published by Tara N. Beanblossom
Tara N. Beanblossom was raised in Los Angeles, CA, and spent her childhood roaming the back-stage corridors of the Los Angeles Music Center theatres. A classically trained soprano, she has been singing since... View profile
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