The Root of Frugal Decision Making

I don't buy things that I don't need.
This is usually my answer when people ask me how I raise my family on so little money. But, I know lots of people who would say the same thing about themselves, and they spend a lot more money than I do. What causes this discrepancy?
It's all about how we define the term 'need'.

I just read How to Survive Without a Salary by Charles Long, so I'll share insights using some of his terms and examples, although the same concepts can be found in either of these two excellent books; Your Money or Your Life and The Complete Tightwad Gazette. (All three titles are excellent reads and probably easy to find in your local library) 

Long suggesst that when you are defining a need, you must first identify the problem that is causing the perceived need. I might say "I need a car" when the ACTUAL need is for transportation to work. If I focus on my need for a car, then I would spend time devoted to searching for an affordable car. If I instead focus on my ACTUAL need of transportation to work, I am more likely to find an alternative solution. These might include carpooling, a bus ticket, a taxi service, a bicycle or my own two feet. All of these may have a cost, but they also might be something that I already own and would require no expense. Using an alternative rather than purchasing a car could potentially save me thousands of dollars each year.

In fact, as a family of 8, we have "gotten by" with just one vehicle when most of the people we know have at least two per family and some have more automobiles than licensed drivers in their house. But, when we assessed the ACTUAL NEED of transportation, we found that the number of times we might need the van in more than one place were so few, that they could easily be solved by sharing a ride, biking or walking.

A problem statement is easily solved by the purchase of the latest, most advertised, seen on TV and sold in stores everywhere product.
But, it can also be solved in a variety of other ways. These usually require more creativity and patience, but are also cheaper and often last longer. In the above example, the more often I walk, the better I feel about it, but if I had bought a car, then I would be paying maintenance, repairs, gasoline, oil, wiper fluid, car washes and more just to keep it going. It eventually will break down and leave me walking anyway.

Long uses an example of his wife 'needing' a clothes dryer to solve the problem of winter line drying taking too long and children running out of clothing to wear in the mean time. A few extra outfits purchased second hand for a few dollars a piece solved the problem. Now, a dryer would have solved the problem as well, but it would have also brought its own set of problems such as hiring an electrician to run wiring for it, installing a vent, higher fuel/power usage and bills, maintenance and repair costs. Plus, once you have one, won't you feel the need to replace it when it quits? Another problem to solve.

His point and mine is that when it comes to frugal living - an evaluation of the actual problem to be solved is the beginning of the search for a frugal solution.