It’s often difficult to determine if we really need something or if it’s just something we want to own. Many times we make purchases that we think we absolutely have to possess only to greatly regret the purchase when the bill comes in.

If it is something we really didn’t have to have and the price means giving up something far more important, then we have lost twice. We have lost because of the financial bind and we have lost because the thing we possess has lost its luster as a result of the financial pain.

Here’s a barometer of “Do I Really Need This?” that truly works every time.

I know beautiful twin sisters living in a Caribbean country. Madeline and Emmanuela Aurelieu are preteens who want all the things that pretty preteens want. Unfortunately, their homeland was hit hard by a hurricane when they were thirteen. That Christmas the gift money they received from their school sponsor was used to buy a goat for the family. When they received their birthday money from the sponsor, it was used to buy a turkey and a goose for the family.

Since learning of Madeline and Emmanuela’s gifts to their family, I have begun to use the girls as a gauge for my own purchasing decisions. Do I need new clothes as much as a child somewhere needs an educational sponsor? Do I need extended cable TV as much as a child somewhere needs an educational sponsor?

It is amazing how many things have dropped off my “need” and onto my “want” list using this measurement. Even better is the fact that things not purchased under this standard are never ever missed. God promises to cover our needs. He does not promise to cover our “wants”.