Needs vs wants....this is how I look at it.
Needs are food (only nutrient-dense foods are in the need category), clothing (clean and modest, not necessarily fashionable....and just enough items to get me from laundry day to laundry day....anything else is wants) and shelter (mortgage or rent, insurance, maintenance, etc).
Other items: If I can justify that it will save me money, make me money, or at least break even on a need purchase that is on my list, I buy it. If not, I don't. For example, I just got an incubator. It cost me the same amount as my chick order last year.....10 meaties and 15 layers. We lost most of the layers, and broody hens aren't doing enough to keep up with the hawks. So if I get only 25 chickens from this incubator, it has broken even, and I know I'll get more than that, since I get the eggs from my own flock. I'll get turkeys, too, I hope. I've seen goose eggs advertised locally on craigslist in the spring, cheap, so I may get some of those, too, who knows? That purchase is in the need category since it will cover a need and then some.
I've cut out almost all food-on-the-road purchases...those stops at a convenience store for a snack or bottled water while driving for work. I have actually stopped, parked, gone into a store, and come back out empty handed by talking myself out of purchasing....my new mantra is "Tolerate hunger. Tolerate thirst. You are only (so many minutes or an hour) from home, when you can eat and drink for a fraction of this price." My travels that tempt me the most are the horse farms and the school, and all have water coolers/heaters so I always have supplies to make tea in my car and in every bag and in my forms holder for my horse days, and fill up before I leave each place. It is far easier to drive by a convenience store or drive-through while sipping a full double-mug of tea.
It took a while to change my habits, but it was really about changing the conversation in my head. I used to say to myself....I am making this much money today, so I can easily afford to buy food and drink. But the reality was, in that conversation, I didn't remind myself about my budget. I save a significant amount this way and no longer feel deprived, as my internal conversation is different....I congratulate myself and count the dollars I am saving and tell myself how much more delicious the stuff I made is over what I could be buying....and nutritious.
