American antiques legend Henry David Thoreau was the inspiration to Mahatma Gandhi of India a century later. Thoreau wrote what he lived and his essay entitled On Civil Disobedience flowed in moral indignation after his release from jail. Thoreau's refusal to pay an added tax to pay for the American soldiers in their attack on Mexico City caused his term in the jail. To Gandhi, this was a model to pattern his own fight for Indian independence from British rule.

A first step was not to pay for what you do not consume. And in this light, we discuss the variety of ways we end up paying in life for what we did not order or ourselves consume. You can look at all the ways in your life that you are well aware that you pay and do not receive. We all have long held on privileges on a bank account, a security deposit in a low interest account, features on our cell or regular phone services that we once agreed to, do not use, have stopped noticing while the credit card processes our monthly payment.

Do we still check such a bill when we are so busy with much more pressing items. No we do not. Do we check who we have our various insurance policies with? Chances are if you have been a loyal customer for years you are paying too much on old non promotion account status. No need to lure you with tempting offers and rebates, you went to sleep back a while and are tucked safely in the back seat to sleep it off. Or not. How often we need to shake ourselve up can be a wake up call in itself. You may think you know who is paying for this call; you need only look in the mirror.

You can now get portion sizes of many items. It is vital to think and plan when you make some purchases that you will focus on seeing that you consume that item before it's due date. Limp lettuce just does not make it up the scale of edible items all too soon. you know those times of fridge renewal when you could have opened your own small pew institute in your produce section. Do not buy it two days before the big golf event at which you will be so busy there, ready made meals, that by the time you check out your lower fridge again, pew. Do not pay for what you were destined not to consume.

Make a list of all of your lifes needs suppliers. Go down it one by one and check the details on who they are, old friend Ralph from the lodge, how long since you put it out to bid with no reserve. Now you can do that on the net. And if Net beats Ned, let Ned down gently, lovingly. But do it. It is your boat and you need to apply your oars each stroke as you go forth. So, go forth, check them off, and get it down. The bill, that is. And by the you get to YPhoenix, you'll feel lighter. These are seven tips from Gandhi.

-Refuse to pay for what you do not consume.

-Make your own.

-Wear it even when fashion changes.

-If it has a brand name that hurts others, deny it.

-Sew your way out.

-Craft your own answers.

-Save, conserve,recycle,preserve, cherish.

Keep this up, apply your good sense and get yourself back to basics. you will feel richer because you are. Baby steps can walk you up over the mountain, and here we are again the next day of our lives right now. You need to apply one of these rules from Gandhi, which came as like nature down from Thoreau, and way back from Buddha. Lives well lived inthe American antiques context create models for us all to follow.