None so blind.

I know a guy. A real family guy. A nice guy, just doesn't pay attention to current events. He sends kids to private school, has a giant monthly nut between 2 car payments, camper payment, boat payment, tuition, mortgage, and other monthly "frivolities."

So he asks me today, "Yo, Brick. I'm thinkin' about gettin' one of these. How 'bout it?" He hands me a new truck brochure for some big-ass Toyota 4x4 truck that stickers out at like $40k and change.

"They can roll the payoff on my current truck into this one, and my payment will only go up by about $100/mo." Um, yeah...but your current truck will be paid off in about a year, right? So, if you get this one your payment goes up by $100 AND gets extended for an additional 5 years!

"Yeah, but," he says, "it's a NEW truck!" Do you need a new truck? Is there anything wrong with the truck you've got now? "No. But, Brick...this is a NEW truck!"

You know what? Go for it, dude.

I kinda felt prickish raining on his parade and all...but he did ask.

Don't misunderstand. I understand wanting things. I understand the connection between Madison Ave, Wall St. and Main St. America. But somewhere in that cycle of making, buying, having, wanting, making, buying, having, etc...don't you have to stop sometime and ask yourself, is all this really necessary? Is it really necessary to replace object x with object y simply because object y is "new" or "improved?"

One of the things we've found ourselves doing since starting to prep is trying to pare down the unnecessary stuff we've accumulated across some 4 decades. Much of it really is...junk. A battery operated spinny tie rack with a light. Junk. The stuffed dog wearing sunglasses that says, "wazzzup" when you push his belly. Junk. An old motorcycle helmet from my 1st motorcycle. Junk. Tupperware plastic containers without lids. Junk. Tupperware lids without plastic containers. Junk.

It's astounding to me just how much we've bought into the system. This from someone who once said to his marketing prof, "I don't pay attention to advertising. It means nothing to me." Now I know why he laughed.