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Name a Need

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    It's important to name your needs correctly, since the need's name is the key to re-ordering the right item(s) to cover the need. Here are guidelines to follow.

    The name of a need is just what you would put on a shopping list.

    The need name should be specific enough that another person could go to the store and buy the product for you. Once you have entered the need into MakeLifeEasy, it will be on your Smart Shopping List, which you can print out when you need it.

    The assets that you use to cover a need should be substitutes for one another, as far as you're concerned. That is, you don't really care which one is chosen to cover the need.

    Price comparisons among these assets would be meaningful when shopping for them. They don't have to be the same thing -- just comparable. For example, you could compare a cake mix to a pre-made cake, or going to a baseball game to going to a soccer game, as long as they meet the same need for you.

    For example, suppose one of your needs is ground coffee. First, try to identify a standard top folder (and any standard subfolders) where this need fits. Coffee fits well under "Food >> Beverages", so your complete need name could be:

    However, you may not want to cover this need with coffee beans or instant coffee, for example. First, because neither of those is what you want, and second, the price per ounce would not be comparable. So, if you wanted only ground coffee, you would be more specific and define your need as
    • Food >> Beverages >> Ground coffee
    Or, if you want only a specific brand of 100% Columbian ground coffee, include that in the need name, as follows:
    • Food >> Beverages >> <the brand you want> 100 % Columbian Ground Coffee
    Here's another example. If you just say you need:
    • "Health & beauty >> Shampoo",
    a friend might buy you just about anything: baby shampoo, designer shampoo, etc. So if all you want is baby shampoo, it's best to call it
    • "Health & beauty >> Baby shampoo" OR
    • "Health & beauty >> Shampoo, for baby"
    Or, if you will only buy (a) specific brand(s), put the brand name(s) in the need name as well: For example,
    • Health & beauty >> Tre-Semme Shampoo
    • Health & beauty >> Tre-Semme or Vidal Sassoon Shampoo
    Then you would see all sizes of those brands. If you only want a specific size, you could also include the size in the name, like this (it's not recommended, though):
    • Health & Beauty >> 12 floz Tre-Semme or Vidal Sassoon Shampoo

    In other words, the need name may be closely tied to the name of the product(s) purchased to cover the need, without the brand name & packaging, unless that's required.

    These naming guidelines apply to any need, but especially to needs covered by supply-type assets. Durable assets should also be assigned to a specific need for more detailed reports and better resale support, or you can simply assign them to the "(no need)" need.

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