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Think Want, Need, Must About Your Money

Written on December 15, 2008 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Money

pyramids Today we’ll discuss a simple, yet effective, way to make sure you’re spending your money how you intend. Divide your spending into three categories – wants, needs, and musts.

We used to think about luxuries and necessities. This splits those luxuries into two categories because, over time, luxuries tend to become necessities.

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george Like the dishwasher we have. It’s not a need; it’s a want. But I’d sure hate to live without one!

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marylynn I think my cell phone is a need. But the unlimited texting and the ability to watch videos are wants that I added to my package.

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With our cable TV, we have DVR and premium channels. Those are definitely wants, but we love the convenience and variety.

Climbing the pyramid

Picture a pyramid, with wants at the base, needs in the middle, and musts at the top. We tend to move things up the pyramid. The importance we place on them climbs, so to speak. We look at things that are truly wants as needs; we view things that are really needs as musts.

That’s why we think it’s a good idea to break necessities into two – needs and musts. It helps us refine what is really important.

Mixed message

It’s pretty easy to define our musts – food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. But even within this category, there are mixed messages.

For an example, let’s consider transportation. At its most basic level, the only thing we need from our chosen form of transportation is the ability to get from one place to another. Public transportation clearly would suffice for many people.

However, if you use public transportation, you lose some control over your own schedule. You give up the convenience of having your own vehicle.

So some people may need a car because of their job. They need a vehicle to drive to appointments. Could it work without one? Possibly, but it might cost you too much time to be worthwhile.

It depends on your situation. In the end, only you can know what is best for you.

Gizmos and gadgets

There’s another way that wants, needs and musts can come into play. We’ll stick with the example of a vehicle. Even if you need a car, what do you really need? Something reliable or that fancy car in the ad? Just the basics or a vehicle with all the gizmos and gadgets?

The second of these choices, which are clearly wants, can make a huge difference in the price you pay for a car. And if you happen to finance it, they will add many dollars more in interest costs over the years.

We interviewed Adam Shepard on The Bigg Success Show not long ago. Upon graduation from college, he decided to see if the American Dream was still alive. Starting with only $25 and the clothes on his back, he was eventually able to buy his own vehicle among other things. His vehicle wasn’t anything fancy – an old pick-up truck with manual windows, one which didn’t work. But he still had the transportation he needed!

Keep these three categories in mind and you’ll keep your budget in line!

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Thanks for reading our post today. Join us next time when we’ll discuss how these same three categories relate to how we spend our time. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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(Image by Ahmed Rabea, CC 2.0)

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How to Attract and Retain the Next Generation of Talent

Written on August 27, 2008 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Business, Communication

soft_skills Beloit College recently published their eleventh annual Mindset List about this year’s crop of incoming freshmen. Check it out to understand the perspective of the Class of 2012.

For example, Jay Leno has always been the host of The Tonight Show for this group. Bring up Johnny Carson only if you’re prepared to explain who he was!

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Putting it into con-text

We have a friend who thinks they lack social skills. He believes they’re so busy texting that they’ve never developed the ability to communication personally.

We disagree – we think they’re very social. A generation before, we e-mailed or called someone on their cell phone instead of texting. In our mind, the only difference is the medium used.

We wanted to dig a little deeper to fully understand the perceptions of young people in their late teens and early twenties. After all, they’re the ones who will be coming to us for employment in the near future.

The Media Center at the American Press Institute calls this group of people the “Content Generation” – they use text, videos, and photos (often generated from their cell phones) to connect and inform.

Understanding the paradigm

They have witnessed September 11, corporate scandals, mass layoffs, sweat shops, the burst of the dot.com bubble, and now the subprime mortgage crisis.

When they think of the future, they realize that they will have to fund their own retirement while they start and raise a family. Since their parents are older than previous generations, they will also likely have to care for them at some point in their lives.

The workplace for the next generation

All of these things impact the jobs they will choose. They don’t expect to stay at the same company for their entire career. They won’t necessarily take the job that pays the most either – they’re looking for more than money.

This generation grew up with Tom Peters and the idea of Me, Inc. They understand personal branding and seek lifelong employability. So two of the most important components of a good job are:

Personal and professional growth – They want a job that helps them develop skills that will be valuable in their career and at home.

Work – life balance – They want a job that allows them to enjoy their lives now. They’re not willing to wait until they retire to “live”.

They want to work for people in a company that truly values its employees. These people live the values they talk about. They follow through on what they say. They’re authentic.

For example, if you say you’re “green”, you better be green. You recycle. You use energy-efficient light bulbs. You work to reduce paper use. And that’s just the start!

We admire them because they’ve figured out some important things already that we didn’t have worked out at their age. They have a lot of potential. Time will tell if they live up to it.