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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 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 about a year and a half ago. 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?
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