[amyamanda]

What would you plan, do, prioritize, purchase, not purchase? How would you change your current spending/savings or the way you currently handle money? Would it change the way you do things at all - or not? I'm assuming, for this exercise, that inflation would affect prices first and salaries much later.

I think I would try to acquire any more-expensive durable goods that I knew I'd be wanting in the next few years. I'd be afraid that inflation would make it hard to afford those things. I am not sure what I would do about investments/savings. If I had money to invest (not that I do), I would probably want to buy gold, but I hear gold is pretty much impossible to buy now anyway - does anyone have experience to support or counter this?

I would worry about cash savings losing its value.

I might stock up on consumables and food as much as possible, as a kind of investment (buy at cheap prices now, not buy at expensive prices later...at least until we ran out of whatever it was, LOL). I might also consider buying things like socks and underwear in bigger sizes for my kids, etc. I wonder if that sounds crazy.

Anyone have other ideas? I am very interested in exploring this possible scenario. I believe it's where the US economy is headed and I want to puzzle it out so I can make confident choices. Even if it doesn't happen, it's an interesting exercise.

Edited to add, please explain your reasoning for those of us who are new to this sort of idea. Thanks.

 

[Denvergirlie]

I'd buy a semi automatic gun and a lot, a lot, a lot of ammo
I'd buy a .22 rifle for small game/ varmit hunting and a lot of ammo
I'd buy another pair or two of good hiking boots & sneakers
Solid heavy duty blue jeans
Solid warm clothing
Storable food
Vitamix blender
Secondary source of heat like wood stove and a huge old stockpile of cut wood
Another 10 or so filters for my Berkey water filter
Buy a new mattress

Mop bucket with wringer
More clothespins
personal stockpile of gas treated with stabillizer
Hundreds and hundreds of caning lids and rings
A few more dozen of canning jars
I'd buy the materials to make a good solar dehydrator
Super glue, duck tape, screwdrivers
Ziploc baggies galore
solar pannels & inverter - enough to power a freezer at the least if not the whole house
Cotton sheets, Bulk material, sewing thread
Garden seeds galore - enough for several years
Oxegen absorbers

Can I afford to do this all now? Heck no, but that would be my starting point. We have a lot of knowledge and books, so would know what to do if things got even worse.

 

[A&A]

One economist I read (I forget his name) said that we will have massive deflation followed by massive inflation. I'm not sure of the timetable, though. Silver is quite reasonably priced right now, and will skyrocket (along with gold) if/when we hit inflation.

 

[freespirited]

Holy cow, I think she asked about inflation, not armageddon, lol! Best place to park any money you have in anticipation of inflation would be real assets, like gold, silver, wheat calls, etc. I have silver I have been buying over a couple of years that lost a lot of value this year but I am holding onto it, knowing that if inflation strikes next year, the silver will go up in value. I was told that normally wages have to go up during inflation too, so if you have debt, an inflationary period can be good for paying down debt. If silver gets back up there, I will sell and pay down my credit card debt.

As for buying things like clothing for your kids, I did do that earlier in the year and I think I got carried away with a sh*t-is-going-to-hit-the-fan scenario. It did hit the fan, but not to the degree I had imagined, although some believe that is still a possibility. I chose not to live my life like that any longer and make some preps without being driven by fear. I think it is always wise to have food stocks in your house. I ended up buying a large amount of canned goods and absolutely filled my pantry. Once I realized things were going to be OK, those canned goods came in handy during some times we were short on cash and we ended up eating all of it, but I do feel the need to restock. If a can of soup costs $1 today, it may cost $2 next year, but even if it doesn't, you'll still have food that will come in handy. I also stocked up on everything from toothpaste to tampons during the time when the economy was looking real bad and oil was $140 a barrel. I saw the possibility for interruptions in commerce due to the higher cost of transportation and the freezing of credit. I imagined empty store shelves and it kinda freaked me out. However, having a nice supply of those things has been great! And I am also using them up now instead of continuing to save them. I think some good advice would be just to wait for signs of inflation coming, actual real changes in the price of goods, and at that point, start stocking up on things you know you'll be needing. If you have cash savings, when you see the dollar going down in value (which it is not doing so far but eventually will), buy real assets like gold and silver as a wealth preserver, at least some percentage of your net worth (like 10-15%). Some people recommend t-bonds but I have no idea about these, but I know treasurydirect.com is where you go to get an account and this may be a good place to park cash during inflation, but do your homework on that because I have not researched it, having no dollars to worry about, lol.

Some people think the stock market will be doing great in the spring, possibly 10-12k. I am hoping for this as well. I have read that summer may be a time of strife and although no one really knows, I am hoping to get my financial house in order by then. Dh jokes about buying cases of hard liquor as an investment. Who knows, he might be right!

 

[Usually Curious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denvergirlie I'd buy a semi automatic gun and a lot, a lot, a lot of ammo I'd buy a .22 rifle for small game/ varmit hunting and a lot of ammo I'd buy another pair or two of good hiking boots & sneakers Solid heavy duty blue jeans Solid warm clothing Storable food Vitamix blender Secondary source of heat like wood stove and a huge old stockpile of cut wood Another 10 or so filters for my Berkey water filter Buy a new mattress Mop bucket with wringer More clothespins personal stockpile of gas treated with stabillizer Hundreds and hundreds of caning lids and rings A few more dozen of canning jars I'd buy the materials to make a good solar dehydrator Super glue, duck tape, screwdrivers Ziploc baggies galore solar pannels & inverter - enough to power a freezer at the least if not the whole house Cotton sheets, Bulk material, sewing thread Garden seeds galore - enough for several years Oxegen absorbers Can I afford to do this all now? Heck no, but that would be my starting point. We have a lot of knowledge and books, so would know what to do if things got even worse.

Bwahaha, a super-doomer like me! I KNEW there had to be one in the closet with me.

 

[annethcz]

In addition to Denvergirlie's list, I'd also add (my personal list):

-manual hand pump (we have a well and I want to be able to have water if we don't have electricity)
-woodstove (I think you have one? but we don't. I'm thinking about the oil barrel conversion http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/lee108.html )
-solar oven (you can make them relatively cheaply, if necessary)
-I'd supplement my home library with how-to books
-we'd probably stock up on home building supplies (lumber, etc.)- we have a few projects that we'd like to complete around the house
-oil, filters, other spare parts for our vehicles
-alcohol (for personal consumption and to trade with)

Not a "thing" to stock up on, but I'm probably going back to school. We can afford to pay for a state university out of pocket right now, but if tuition skyrockets, it'll be harder to afford. So I'm starting now instead of waiting. I've got my fingers crossed that if hyperinflation does occur, it'll hold off for a couple of years until I've got another degree under my belt.

 

[KariM]

We're planning for it, actually. Things are looking very reminiscient of the 1970's before we had stagflation.

We are:

-continuing stocking our pantry (for those keeping track we're very nearly at a year's supply of grains and meats and have a six month supply of fruit)

- anticipate any major replacements needed in the next year and are seeking out good quality used items (freezer, fridge, etc)

- continuing to complete deferred home maintenance

- continuing to replace consumables with non-consumables where possible (family cloth, kitchen wipes, washable menstrual pads, cloth napkins, cloth diapers, etc)

- buying ahead on the kids' clothing. My goal is to have two years' supply of clothing and shoes/boots for them when possible. We buy used clothing whenever possible and I also have on hand fabric, thread, notions, and patterns to sew them clothing if I cannot find clothing.

- continuing to eliminate debt to free up more of our monthly earnings

- continuing to be charitable because we really believe that it's our duty and responsibility to help others

- continuing to build a network of neighbors/friends/families to barter with and share resources

 

[~Megan~]

Like so many families living basically paycheck to paycheck I guess we would just muddle through. There are few options for many, many families in
America.

 

[kalisis]

Yep, I'd buy silver. Silver, silver, silver. It's cheap right now.

 

[EviesMom]

I'm no longer as concerned as I was at one point. However, I want to homeschool next year, which will cut into my available work hours, since DD is at preschool now. (And I can't count on the decrease in preschool tuition to make up the difference, because DS may start preschool next year; or maybe the year after!) So I am trying to stock up in anticipation of less money in the next 9-12 months for a different reason.

CLOTHES: That said, we live in a small place, so there's very little chance of storing clothes that are too big, etc. I figure in an emergency, everybody else will need clothes too, so I'll have to figure out how to trade our sizes for the sizes we need then. I try to buy quality clothes for all of us, but especially the adults. I don't buy fashion-y, quick to wear out clothes for me, because I don't want to buy new all the time.

FOOD: I try to keep food with a bit of a stockpile, and TP, and paper towels. Nothing that we won't use now though, because even if there was an emergency, we won't want to or know how to eat completely differently than we do now. Extra peanut butter, butter, baking supplies, jam, dried beans, rice, nuts, oatmeal, coffee, soup, frozen bread. That all keeps for a long time, and we use it now as well, so it doesn't just sit there. At one point, I felt I could feed us and friends just out of the pantry, freezer, and fridge for a month or so if need be. It wouldn't be a super varied diet, but it would be nutritious and decently good tasting, would include wine for a fancy event, and especially, we would use it all without an emergency too. I've been using it up this fall as money has been tighter and as I haven't made it to the grocery store as often. I need to do a major shop soon, actually, and restock everything including the freezer. I don't know if I'll do that in Dec. or Jan. but we're due for it. I like have freezer meals ready to go, and to have extras of staples in the pantry. Honestly, though, I have 2 big drawers, a fridge/freezer combo, a fruit bowl and bread box on the counter, and we store some cereals on top of the fridge. That's it for food space. The fridge and freezer can hold quite a lot, that's where my year's supply of oatmeal has been hanging out, but I couldn't store a year of food here without a ton of changes!

ALCOHOL: We stockpile this a bit like we do food, but again, it's wine we know we like and we know we'll drink. It's an easy thing to ask people to give us as gifts too, and easy to store.

MONEY: I wouldn't stockpile cash, personally, but I am trying to work more hours now while I can. As a freelancer, it's a tough thing to juggle, because you can get in a cycle of never turning down any work and running yourself ragged, too little time with the family, etc. But you can also turn away work that damages client relationships and make future work harder to come by. 6 months ago, I was overloaded with work and looking to shift some of it off. Now I'm slow, and I need a little more.

I'm also trying to decrease any expenses I can before they start new annual contracts, so our storage locker that holds stuff from a business I no longer run? That needs to go! Etc.

HEATING/COOLING: I'm working on ways to decrease our heating and cooling bills inexpensively, like making little "draft blocker" things to sit in front of the old windows on the sills and block the cold air coming in; we bought honeycomb shades because they block cold air in winter and warm air in summer. (Can't change the windows, it's an apartment building, and though we own the apt., the windows are considered property of the co-op and not us. Weird huh? They're also landmarked, old, creaky windows, so it takes the dept. of buildings and the landmarks dept. approval to change them.) Making sure we all have warm pjs, warm sheets, and warm blankets helps too. Getting me and the kids used to wearing sweaters indoors, buying slippers.

 

[ShaggyDaddy]

In this order: skills, tools, spare parts, seeds, food, medicine, shiny things.

Everything outranks shiny things, because silver is not self-reliance, and there has to be a time when people start to realize that they would rather have a peanut than an ounce of gold. In my worst case scenarios we have to be self-reliant, in my best case scenarios, self-reliance is a huge advantage... therefore there is no room for shiny things in my life.

 

[justmama]

:

 

[velochic]

I agree with Shaggy Daddy. But I really don't think hyperinflation is something we'll be seeing soon. Certainly you can't eat, drink, or heat with silver. I look at it as a hedge against somewhat aggressively increasing inflation in a long-term diversified portfolio. I just can't get on board with the tin-foil hats that bury their cash in the back yard and put all their investments into gold and silver. Balance is key... even during hyperinflation.

Actually, I think that spiraling deflation is more probable in the near future, and more frightening to me... that will signal a very protracted and deep recession... if not depression.

I won't change a thing that I am doing.

 

[grniys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velochic I agree with Shaggy Daddy. But I really don't think hyperinflation is something we'll be seeing soon. Certainly you can't eat, drink, or heat with silver. I look at it as a hedge against somewhat aggressively increasing inflation in a long-term diversified portfolio. I just can't get on board with the tin-foil hats that bury their cash in the back yard and put all their investments into gold and silver. Balance is key... even during hyperinflation. Actually, I think that spiraling deflation is more probable in the near future, and more frightening to me... that will signal a very protracted and deep recession... if not depression. I won't change a thing that I am doing.

I've read over a lot of your posts about the recession over the last few months and I have to say, I admire your POV (from what I've read). You seem so calm and comfortable and reasonable about where you are and refuse to panic. I think that's an awesome thing and it sounds like you have a great deal of balance going on. I really enjoy reading your take on the economy, because it seems so... reasonable.

Anyway, that's all.

 

[velochic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grniys I've read over a lot of your posts about the recession over the last few months and I have to say, I admire your POV (from what I've read). You seem so calm and comfortable and reasonable about where you are and refuse to panic. I think that's an awesome thing and it sounds like you have a great deal of balance going on. I really enjoy reading your take on the economy, because it seems so... reasonable. Anyway, that's all.

Thank you! That was very sweet of you and I appreciate that.

 

[Patrick's mummy]

I'm sorry to be an idiot (especially as the news is full of all of this all the time) but I've never understood economics. Would someone explain the basics of what the impact of mega inflation or deflation would be to the average person? It seems like now might be a good time to know!

 

[choli]

What exactly is "irreversable" inflation?

 

[Ruthiegirl]

We are changing nothing.

We made a plan 5 years ago:

Buy a house in a good area, plant a big year garden, learn to live with less. The plan is holding steady. Our debt is low and getting lower, dh's job is very secure, our garden has expanded and is now doing well year round, we buy in bulk, cook from scratch...all things that will help us ride out any economic downturn.

I suppose we are changing one thing: I had planned on starting nursing school applications next year, but instead applied this year. *That choice was made based on economics -- professional grad schools are filing up with more people out of work and I don't want to miss my window to get into school.

But really, there is no 'thing' I feel we need in order to survive this. We have a tight community and good friends in a small rural town. I really think we are living the ideal.

 

[KariM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Megan~ Like so many families living basically paycheck to paycheck I guess we would just muddle through. There are few options for many, many families in America.

We also live paycheck to paycheck and were able to do a LOT with our paycheck once we rearranged some budget lines. That may not be an option for your family, but we were able for instance, to eat less expensively and use that money to buy food for storage.

I know some families have no room to rearrange and no budget lines to cut and that's why our family continues to share our resources and are preparing to have more than we need in order to help friends and neighbors.

 

[spring978]

I have lists of things to stock up on from food to pvc pipe

We have almost paid off all credit card debt and we are currently trying to decide if we should sell our home