Needs Vs. Wants

I have never really struggled with wants of material things. Now don't take that the wrong way! What I'm trying to say is that, sure, I'd love to have lots of things, but I have to ask myself if it is a need or a want. If it is not a need, I tend not to buy it. I have one pair of jeans that really fit me and most of my clothes are many years old. Why???? Well I would rather go without and be able to stay home with my children than have more than I need and be working. It is as simple as that. So, why since I have been able to keep this frame of mind in the past, am I struggling so badly now? Keep reading.......

My van died on Sept 26th. It was a good van. It was a 1998 Dodge Caravan that we bought in March of 2003. It had 86K on it when we bought it for $7,000. When she died, she was 5,000 miles shy of making the 200K mark. She struggled in the end. The dash lights had been blinking on and off for about a year. The horn and CD player no longer functioned. The temerature gauge would bounce between 30-80 degrees really fast for no apparant reason. BUT.....the engine still worked and I was determined to drive her as long as she would go. So now that she has passed on we have been looking for new vans. We looked and and researched just about every van and SUV out there. The top three choices were a Chrysler Town and Country, Toyota Sienna and Honda Odessey. The Town and Country costs about half of what the Toyota and Honda do. My husband has thrown out the Chrysler because the other two are more reliable and they have not gone under. So we have settled on the Toyota because we like the features more and they are a tad bit cheaper. Now this is the part I struggle with. We went to test drive the van we thought we were going to buy. When we got there, we were informed it had been sold. SO...they tried to sell us another van. A fully loaded van. One with leather seats and a DVD player. Well, needless to say I fell in love. I really like the idea of quick and easy cleanup of spills with the leather but I don't like the hot in the summer and cold in the winter(at least until the seat warmer gets up to temp) I soooo want the DVD package. We travel on LONG trips a lot and it would be so much easier to have one there and not have to deal with kids tripping over wires, etc. (That is how they broke the last portable DVD player we had) But again I come back to Need vs. Want I don't NEED leather seats or a DVD player but I sure WANT them. Just a side note. They same van with a DVD package is 2 grand extra. My husband has given me a figure that we can afford, but again I have that nagging voice that says...just because you can afford this much do you NEED to spend that amount. SO.... I pray that God will help us with this decision and help me figure out His will and not let my wants get in His way. If you could say a little prayer for us too I'd appreciate it.