Needs vs Wants by WiserphilPeople do it everyday. Instead of buying what they need they buy what the want.Instead of just buying a nice $2,000 or $3,000 car they purchase the $10,000 to $30,000 vehicle.And what comes with that? Debt, loss of appreciation and payments. Oh yeah and higher insurance.So why couldn't the single mother of two just save her money and pay cash for the car? Because we are in the material world. It's all about the wants. Keeping up with the Jones’s.Let's name some example's of wants shall we. Let's see the obvious that new car, new house, too many cloths,New TV, new appliances, eating out too much and so forth. Get the picture? What about needs? You need shelterright? So why not save a few thousand dollars and buy a half acre of land. I have seen them sell for as much as $1,500 to $2,000. Great now your land is paid for. Why not save another grand or two and buy a rv? Or maybe a trailer. Now you are able to save four to six hundred dollars a month. The next step? Obvious once again. Save your money to build your dream home. Next on the list food. That's pretty important. How about since you own your own land now, plant a garden. Get a couple of chickens maybe a goat or two?Within a few years you could be basically growing all of your food. How much could you save a month then?Being single myself I spend roughly around $320 to $500 a month on food. What about those who have a family? That could reach over a thousand dollars a month. Power? What not save and buy solar panels. That would saveyou another hundred or so a month. And if you are lucky maybe the ground is shallow enough to dig a well. Now I am not sure if you have heard this stat before, but before World war 2 40% of all food in this country came from peoples back yards. What happened to us? We used to be a nation of "Independents". Now we are a nation of "Dependents". Wow our founding fathers would have been so proud. Now imagine it's all paid off. Wouldn't thatbe nice? The majority of your needs are taken care of. House paid for. Car paid for. Food taken care of. The onlyutility you have is your internet. (If someone knows how to get free internet let me know. I am still trying tofigure that one out). Now all of the sudden money is not so important. You don't have to work so long. You don't have to spend such much time away from you family. Because what's more important, buying your children a bunch of toys and games or quality time? How about taking them on fishing trips, camping, visiting the library, makingsure they get a good education, and most of all giving them attention. Maybe since you have more TIME now you could home school them. Now if you are a single parent I know that may be a challenge but you can see where I am going with this. Question: What if the dollar crashed tomorrow? What if all the shelves in the grocery stores where empty? Are you prepared? It's happened before in the past. Remember the great depression? That lasted for quite a few years, but they where still growing their own food. We are not today. And what about the millions who are on welfare? It could get a little dangerous. But the family that was prepared will be ok. They do not have to worry about the bank repossessing their home. They are not concerned about the Supermarkets’ not having food. Their car is paid off. This is not to bum you out. It's really not our fault. Well sort of not. The governmentsand corporations pretty much for that last hundred years controlled all media and schools. But now we are in an age of enlightenment. Thanks to the internet we can find out virtually anything we want. So now you do not have any excuse. All we know is what we have been taught. But now we are adults. We can open our minds. We canaffect change. We can educate ourselves. We can make this the world a place an alien would want to visit. In closing will we continue to be more and more dependent or will we shake the shackles off and regain our independence? Will we understand that we really don't need have the crap we buy. We are stuck in the material world. Change starts with each and everyone of us. I can not do it for you. Neither can your friends and family. Needs first wants second. What are you Dependent or FREE?