Obviously, this is an oxymoron; a "luxury" is nonessential. But the concept does raise ideas about what special things make the difference between treating yourself and being sensible. It's a fine line, too: even someone who hasn't denied himself much can probably find that he does without 90% of those pleasures he considered "essential" before. But it's pretty well-documented that overdoing it — like crash dieting — can be a false economy. As we all look at what we need, and don't, it's interesting to see what we decide makes us happy — and putting a price tag on it.

Anna, for her part, budgets for daily lattes and one nice dinner a month. Megan will skimp on everything but highlighting her hair, pasta with a low glycemic index, and good wine. Jessica hangs onto her car (a luxury in New York). Dodai's glamorous luxuries are the three C's: cashmere, cocktails and cabs. As to me, besides Pearl tampons, I've found I'm willing to cut out a lot to hold onto the expensive curly-haired non-shampoo that keeps my hair manageable, whole-milk yogurt, and name-brand meds. One person's luxury is not another's. This can of course get touchy when your "essential luxuries" don't mesh with those of someone with whom you share a budget — not, I guess, as much of an issue for the celebs in the magazine — but in general, one small up-side to any financial trouble is re-learning to appreciate. When times were leaner growing up, I remember that my mom made a point of always getting fresh juice oranges. My grandmother tells me that during the depression, she and her siblings would save to buy their mother some of her favorite candy, to keep up morale and a sense of normalcy. Even thinking about "essential luxuries" is of course one of the greatest luxury of all — and maybe one of the essentials?

Necessary Luxuries [Departures]

Country music star Wynonna Judd earned tons of money from her career but squandered much of it; she ended up in a kind of money rehab. According to the Times, "The fields of psychology and financial planning have been slow to link money and emotion." Which makes absolutely no sense! Is there anything else that gets people so worked up? Money arguments are one of the leading causes of divorce. And psychologist Jonathan Rich tells the Times: "Right now with the economy, there is so much money stress, more arguing and more tension over money." The Times says an online survey by the American Psychological Association in June found that 75% of the more than 2,500 adults said money was the No. 1 source of stress in their lives. (Also interesting: The three people in need of financial therapy in this article are all women.)

It seems to me like one of the biggest problems with money is that it's so uncomfortable to talk about. People don't tell their friends how much they make, how much their parents have, what they spend and what they save. Sarah Kershaw writes in Times: "Money is still a great cultural taboo that is rarely discussed openly in this country." Why are we so afraid to discuss something we literally cannot live without? And are women more likely to have issues with money?

How to Treat a ‘Money Disorder’ [NY Times]