What are real needs? If you look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we really don’t need that much to survive and lead a decent life. In fact, distilling this to Singapore’s context, our real needs can be categorized into:
- House: a roof over our head
- Food: for sustenance
- Clothing: comfy and to keep us warm
- Hygiene: to refresh and keep dirt away
- House: A comfortable apartment with lots of space. Or a condo. Or a bungalow. Nicely renovated. Fitted with the latest electronics and flat-screen TV. Swanky laptop. Wide array of kitchen gadgets and cooking tools. Swimming pool, sauna and gym facilities.
- Food: Organic food. Exotic cuisine. Fresh fruits. Wagyu beef over other types. Restaurant and cafe food. Alcohol, fruit juices and flavoured drinks. Variety in meals.
- Clothes: Trendy. The latest IN fashion. Branded labels. Runway fashion. Celebrity-inspired looks. Having one LBD (little black dress) is not enough, I need 5 LBDs because each LBD is for different occasions! Accessories too please.
- Hygiene: Beauty routine consisting of expensive cleanser, toner, essence, ampoule, moisturizer, scrub, sunblock. Makeup with BB cream, primers, concealer, foundation, blusher, bronzer, loose powder, eyeliner, eyelash curler, mascara, eyeshadow, lip liner, lip balm, lipstick, makeup brush for proper application, eyebrow pencil.
Wow. What happened? Read my thoughts on how we become victims to the lies advertisers feed us (will post this later this week when I have the time to write).
Now I’m NOT advocating going completely back to the basics. Our standards of living has risen, and our incomes have grown compared to our parents’ time as well. There is no need for us to struggle and live an extremely simple life with the money we have now. And if I like to eat cafe food and be decked out in the latest street fashion and can afford it, why can’t I?
It’s not whether you can or can’t should or should not. The question isn’t about whether you must, either. The thing is, what do you want?
My priority is to achieve financial freedom. I choose not to splurge because I don’t want to be bound by the chains of retailers and profit-driven corporations who earn at my expense. If you’re my friend and can’t accept the Budget Babe in me, that’s ok because that probably means you’re not a real friend anymore (because true friends don’t judge); if you’re a reader and disagree, that’s fine because there’s always that X button on the top of your browser.
2 comments
My sentiments as well. Always live below your means and never borrow to consume beyond your needs.
Great to see more blogs about being frugal in Singapore. Looking forward to more posts from you.
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