Thesis
If you can delay it, substitute it cheaply, or skip it without real harm, it is a want. This simple test turns fuzzy feelings into clear choices.

Why this test works

Money problems often come from mixing up needs with wants. Needs protect health, safety, livelihood, and essential commitments. Wants add comfort, status, novelty, or pleasure. The three filters below reveal which is which by measuring time sensitivity, substitutability, and consequence.

The three filters

1) Delay

Ask how long you can wait without meaningful downside.

• If waiting 72 hours changes nothing important, you found a want.
• If delay increases risk, pain, or income loss, you found a need.
  Try a personal rule: add items to a 72 hour list before purchase.

2) Substitute

Ask whether a cheaper option covers the core job.

• If a modest substitute delivers the same outcome, it is a want.
• If the function truly depends on the exact item, it may be a need.
  Examples: library book for a new release, home coffee for a latte, refurbished for new.

3) Skip

Ask what happens if you do nothing.

• If the answer is minor inconvenience, it is a want.
• If harm, hazard, or obligation failure appears, it is a need.
  Harms include medical risk, legal penalties, contract breaches, and clear work stoppage.

Fast examples by category

• Food and drink
  Latte vs brewed coffee substitutes. Groceries are needs, snacks at the register fail the delay test.
• Tech and gear
  Extra monitor for a short term project may be a rental or a borrowed substitute. A dead phone for a courier is a need due to income risk.
• Clothes and cosmetics
  Winter boots in Winnipeg are needs. A third black hoodie passes delay and skip tests, so it is a want.
• Home and decor
  Safety repairs are needs. Accent pillows that can wait or be skipped are wants.
• Subscriptions
  Cancel if you can skip with no real loss. Keep if work requires it and there is no adequate substitute.
• Transport
  New tires before winter are needs. Roof rack for a single trip likely a borrow or rental substitute.

Edge cases to treat as needs

• Health care, medications, mobility aids
• Safety and legal obligations
• Base tools that your income depends on
• Essential caregiving and education costs
  When in doubt, ask whether skipping creates harm or breaks a duty.

A tiny scoring model

Give 1 point for each yes.

• Can I delay this without meaningful downside?
• Can I substitute this cheaply for the same core job?
• Can I skip this with no real harm?

Score 2 to 3: treat as a want.
Score 0 to 1: evaluate as a possible need and shop for value, not novelty.

Scripts that save money

• The 72 hour list: add, wait, recheck. Most items will fade.
• Borrow or rent first: test the true value before you own.
• One in, one out: sell or donate before buying the replacement.
• Use what you have: finish supplies, mend, repurpose.
• Price per use check: if cost per use stays high, lean want.
• Income link: if it does not protect or produce income, push it through delay and substitute.

How to audit last month

1. Pull ten purchases.
2. Run the three questions.
3. Mark each as want or need and note the cheapest workable substitute.
4. Total the want dollars and set a cap for next month.
5. Build a short list of go to substitutes for repeat temptations.

A better default budget

• Needs: rent, utilities, basic food, transit, health, minimum work tools.
• Wants: everything that clears the want test. Set a fixed allowance.
• Growth: savings, debt payoff, skill building that boosts future income.

The deeper payoff

This test gives you three freedoms.

• Freedom from impulse through time.
• Freedom from marketing through function.
• Freedom from fear through clarity about harm.

Bottom line
If you can delay it, substitute it cheaply, or skip it without real harm, it is a want. Use the test, protect your needs, and let wants through only when they fit your plan.