>It appears to me that one of the biggest advantages to frameworks is that they help with the early stages of creating a new application for developers who develop many applications. I on the other hand am just working on a very few applications which will take years to finish. Am I wrong about fraweworks or do they offer me less advantages than others receive?

You know, you could build a car yourself too. And it would possibly even run. However, it makes more sense to get one from a group of people who do a better job, produce it faster, test it, etc. etc. etc. I use VFE from F1tech.com and have for years. It saves me so much time doing the basics and a lot of the more difficult stuff that I can't see doing a project without it. IMHO, all we have in life is the power to manage our time and this product helps in that regard. Whether you use VFE or one of the others you would be well served to get a framework.