pay down debt or stock up? - Page 2

[laohaire]

I'm a whacko nutjob and I've shifted my efforts away from debt reduction and toward building a pantry (and other basic preps).

Call me crazy if you like, but I don't see how I can lose as long as I store what I eat and eat what I store. I mean, it would be a big gamble to go nuts and spend $3000 on a shipment of freeze dried crap and MREs, but if I manage my pantry well (and stock it with stuff I grew myself or bought on sale or sourced from farmer's markets - all the things we eat every day), it just means that we have one less worry. I can't predict the future, but inflation is not a crazy scenario (ask any Argentinian), nor is job loss (ask any American), or any number of scenarios that might make food a concern for the short or long term.

I do agree that if you have the low-hanging fruit kind of debt - a $300 credit card bill here, a $250 medical bill there, maybe even a $3000 car note here - it would be reasonable to keep attacking it. In my own case, I have years and years and years before paying off the next debt, and given the economy (including the $600 billion in notes just referenced) I think that's a little long to plan without a decent safety net of my own. Jobs around here are very scarce, and I don't have high hopes for the future of my industry.

Here's another consideration - I am ENJOYING my pantry challenge, and even if we are just around the corner of another big boom (and I sure hope we are, even if I don't put much stock into those hopes) I will feel a lot more self-sufficient (and happy about it!).

Well, I think the answer might be different for different people, but I do think it's always a good idea for everyone to have some basic preparations. I rarely use "always" and "everyone" and I'm using those words mindfully here.

[Lucy Alden]

If you're really worried about economic crisis (personal or otherwise) you could put paying down debt on hold for a month or two and use the extra money towards stocking your pantry and then start paying down debt again.  I know people who have done that when a layoff or baby was imminent.  I think your personal situation plays a lot into what you should do.

As an aside, I remember that thread about stockpiling.  I think it finally ended with zombies and armageddon.  I totally have to steer clear of threads like that because they really freak me out.

And, while I don't think its prudent to have a "sky is falling mentality" it never hurts to be prepared.