Always saving to the cloud. I do not want to use OneDrive.

Word is available with a one-time purchase of Office 2021, or with a subscription to Microsoft 365.

You don't have to store files in the OneDrive cloud service, you can store them on your computer. To do that, open File>Options>Save and check the option Save to Computer by default.

The most likely explanation is that you are using Office 2016 or 2019, not Microsoft 365. Please choose File>Account and post the information about your product that appears below the Microsoft logo. Or you can post a screen shot using the Insert image tool:

If you have Microsoft 365 installed, that's a subscription version of Office. Your computer may have come with a trial version, or your subscription may have lapsed. Subscriptions usually last for one year. Have you asked the retailer where you bought it, exactly what they sold you? That's a good starting point.

The default save location in many versions of Office is the OneDrive cloud. However, as John wrote, you don't have to accept the defaults. You can choose to save your files locally. In Word for Windows, click File > Options > Save and select "Save to Computer by default." Specify a "Default local file location."

Note that the new settings you choose will apply to future documents that you create. Existing files that have already been saved to OneDrive must be downloaded manually.

I bought Microsoft office when I purchased the computer I am now using. So, now, Microsoft has decided my purchase price was not adequate and now I have to purchase Office again in order to keep using it. To use an old well-worn analogy a robber uses a gun to rob a bank but Microsoft uses hostage tactics in order to increase profits and rob the user? Your answer followed the company line in trying to answer my question. Why not put on your "big boy" pants and tell the truth about this robbery?