There really is no such thing as "free"

It was my father-in-law, F. B. Anderson, who first taught me the lesson that there really is no such thing as "free." His blunt words hurt at the time he said them, but they have stuck with me longer than I would have imagined. It was a lesson in economics I needed to learn. It's a lesson many of us need to learn today.

You see, Ellen and I were young married "kids" living in our first home that happened to only be four blocks away from my in-laws. We were learning all sorts of things about the responsibilities of owning our own home (versus renting), including how and where to buy stuff on a small budget, etc. I remember somewhat "bragging" to F. B. about a seemingly smart purchase I had made of some bags of mulch for our yard. I told him that I had bought them at such and such a place (I forget the name of it now), and that I had purchased the first bag for "x" dollars and the next one for only a penny! Almost "free" I told him. He looked at me with a look that quickly said to me, "You poor dumb kid!" And then told me this: "All they are doing is selling you the one bag for about what it costs them for two, and then letting you believe you are getting the second bag for only a penny." Boy, did I ever feel stupid.

We all could use a little bit of my father-in-law's old-fashioned, basic economic wisdom today. There really is no such thing as "free."

Have you noticed how today people expect a lot of things to be "free" and/or cost them very little? Whatever happened to the time-tested principles of basic economics in this country? Have we all forgotten what we learned in school about economics (or were we even ever taught the basics of how free-market economies work?)?

This is how I remember basic economics being explained to me. If I make something of value, I can then offer it for sale. It will sell if there is a demand for that product and I have priced it correctly. I expect that by selling my product at a fair price, I will recover my costs and still make a profit. The profit I make on each purchase will help me make more and better products in the future. In a very simple sense, that is how our free-market economy works.

Unfortunately, it seems as though many of us have forgotten these basics. How long do you think people can stay in business if they make products and/or offer goods and services but don't get any money back in return? Who is going to pay their bills and the people who work for them if they give everything away? Isn't it kind of naive and unrealistic to think that we can all get stuff for "free?"

Thanks, F. B. I haven't forgotten the lesson you taught me long ago. There really is no such thing as "free." I sure hope more people learn this lesson, too.