Needs, of course, are subjective. When I say the basics, I mean that I like to have a working reliable car... but I'm quite content with it being a $20K Kia, not a $90K Mercedes. I'd like a house with heating and indoor plumbing, and enough room for us and an occasional guest. I don't need a "McMansion." I don't need annual vacations to Bora Bora or Australia; nor do I need a 70-inch flat screen TV in every room; I'll take one smaller one in one room. And so on, and so forth.

For me, financial sovereignty is something that happens because we live within our means and don't succumb to the eternal messages of overconsumption, purveyed by the media.