Video transcript

What's the difference between things you want and the things you need?

You might say you ‘need’ a puppy, but do you? Or do just really want one?

It's easy to get the two mixed up, but understanding the difference between needs and wants helps us decide how to spend our money.

Let’s imagine you’re stuck on a desert island…

Would you rather have: fresh water to drink, or everything you need for a beach party?

Ok, a beach party may sound like fun. You could hang balloons from a tree, float around in an inflatable duck, build sandcastles…

But eventually… you’d get thirsty.

Because what you really need is drinking water. The inflatable duck isn’t going to help you survive on a desert island.

Sorry, duck! So what else do we need to stay alive?

People everywhere have the same needs. As well as clean water to drink, we all need food to eat, air to breathe, clothing for warmth, and a shelter, like a home, to keep us safe. And sometimes, we need medicine to stay healthy.

Everything else is typically a want.

These are the things we’d like to have.

These things might make our lives more comfortable or fun, but mostly we could live without them.

You might really want toys, treats or fun things because they make you happy. This is still very important, but you don’t need them to survive.

Most people don’t have enough money to buy everything they need and everything they want. So, we buy the things we need first and then use what’s left over for things we want.

What we think is important (or fun) is different for each of us, which is why we make different choices about how we spend our money.

So, what about you? What’s something you’d really like to have?