{"12 New 'Needs' That Drain Your Cash"} (120 hits)
Your mind-set about needs versus wants may determine whether you thrive or flounder. Here's a closer look at some of the entitlements that people think they must have.
True essentials never really change -- food, water, shelter and clothing.
However, modern life has created a host of "necessities" that many people swear they could not live without, including a daily latte, premium cable TV, a weekly manicure, a new leased automobile and cell phones for the entire family.
In reality, there's a more accurate word for those pricey add-ons: entitlements.
Slide show: The new 'necessities' If you want to significantly cut spending, it's important to take a closer look at what you consider to be needs.
"Basically, what we need has nothing to do with Starbucks coffee," says money coach and psychotherapist Olivia Mellan, the author of "Overcoming Overspending."
"A lot of us in wealthy, overspending America are either born or raised with a tremendous sense of entitlement. We say to ourselves, 'I work hard' or 'I work at a job I hate -- at least I should be able to have a Starbucks coffee every day or eat out for lunch.' But, of course, those are not needs, they're wants. They're pleasures."
'Ugly attitudes of entitlement' Mary Hunt, the author of "Debt-Proof Living" and a recovering overspender, fell into the entitlement trap to the tune of $100,000 in obligations before she realized that so-called necessities were burying her in debt.
