Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

I usually buy Easy Seriously Thick Bleach, made by Jeyes.

The bottles I've got atm, are 825ml and came from £land.

ASDA also sell Domestos original (750ml) for £1.

I don't have bleach in my SHTF stores, but instead just keep a couple of bottles in the cupboard under the kitchen sink.

As a result, they get used up regularly, so there's fresh bleach added every few months.

BTW. If I suddenly stop posting tonight, it won't be through choice.

We just had a momentary power drop-out (long enough to cause a computer restart), which could be a warning of an imminent power outage.

[Deleted User]

Still here.

maryb

"Re what would happen if the ATMs were down. In a crisis, a government could declare an extended "bank holiday" and keep banks closed for days. ATMs would quickly empty. If there was global disruption to the extent that BACS payments and debit/ credit cards and other cashless payments for goods wouldn't work, some stores would probably close their doors." I]Grey Queen part of post above[/I

Grey Queen that is exactly what happened in Cyprus. And they all said at the time that Cyprus was a one-off. Then quietly, with no publicity, it became the template for future 'bail-ins'

daz378

if money went down it would be back to precious metals and the barter system.... some councils with varying degrees of success operate their own currency valid only in their bounsaries

MiserlyMartin

GreyQueen wrote: »

If the currency collapses into hyperinflation we are in very scary territory indeed. You would be wise to turn the fast depreciating currency into tangible goods asap.

If it all goes further to the dogs, you may be trading your gold jewellery for bread.

I am worried about this. I have a lot of cash in various banks. SO to protect against hyperinflation should we buy assets eg say a house? I know Osbourne and co want everyone to buy at inflated prices maybe I should just do it? Or something else, Gold? Government is manipulating the gold price too!

This thread is superb!!!!

[Deleted User]

If hyperinflation looks likely, then a house might be the right thing to buy, but only if you can pay cash.

The last thing you want, with hyperinflation, is a mortgage.

A good few years worth of prepping supplies wouldn't go amiss, as you wouldn't then be paying stupid prices for essentials.

In effect, you would be eating, drinking, dressing etc., at pre-hyperinflation prices.

nuatha

MiserlyMartin wrote: »

I am worried about this. I have a lot of cash in various banks. SO to protect against hyperinflation should we buy assets eg say a house? I know Osbourne and co want everyone to buy at inflated prices maybe I should just do it? Or something else, Gold? Government is manipulating the gold price too!

This thread is superb!!!!

If I had substantial savings (chance would be a fine thing after the last couple of years) I'd be paying off the mortgage, then improving the on hand stocks with long life supplies.
I may even be looking at moving to somewhere with a larger garden.
I'll admit that I've never understood the fascination with gold - my investments tend to be in skills and tools and trying to maintain them.

nuatha

ArthriticOldThing wrote: »

I was just enquiring generally as had come across the term. From reading on here I think I need to have a grab bag for unexpected hospital visits mainly. I wold be unable to travel far because of mobility problems and I don't have private transport.

If there was any sort of long term system collapse I would not survive in any case as I rely on medication to keep me alive. So I plan to prep for more short term SHTF situation such as very bad winters, transport breakdowns, and power shortages. Do you think that will be ok?

I have always kept 'in case of' medical supplies and top up/renew on a regular basis. I intend to get torches & batteries and more candles and hope to learn more from you wonderful people on here.

Sounds good to me.
We are all in unique circumstances and the best we can do is adapt ideas to suit our own situation. One of the really good things about this thread is folk discussing a wide range of individual situations and offering advice based on experience as well as the ability to think outside the box.
What you are unlikely to need are cupboards full of fancy gadgets and a 100 years supply of freeze dried foods - that's not to say some of each might not be useful

GreyQueen wrote: »

I would expect that there would be more flexibility from independant retailers. If you're in your own small shop and I'm there with some crisp notes, will you turn me away? A till clerk on NMW won't be motivated in the same way as an independant business owner.

And I'd expect that the same independent retailers are more likely to look after their regular customers, rather than random strangers demanding service who aren't likely to return after the crisis is over.

If the currency collapses into hyperinflation we are in very scary territory indeed. You would be wise to turn the fast depreciating currency into tangible goods asap.

If it all goes further to the dogs, you may be trading your gold jewellery for bread.

Whereas if you've invested in a stock of flour and yeast, you can make bread. (Flour being considerably cheaper though admittedly less portable)

GreyQueen wrote: »

You're on the money. They're gagging for it. SG asked me an hour or so ago if I knew parliament had been recalled and I told her that I didn't but they'll vote for war. Too many people in power figure they have something to gain.

Getting older is depressing in a way; you can so clearly see the strings that it's like watching a Th*nderbirds episode.

Let's see, shall we stand up and admit that we are in worse debt than Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal and Eire or shall we join in the USA hiding their rotted-out economy by prosecuting a war overseas to distract attention?

Watch this carefully, fellow preppers; if the supply of oil and natural gas from the middle east is disrupted or ended, we will be in a world of hurt here in the UK, especially if a certain russian president orders the taps turned off over there.

Look behind the curtain and always ask yourself Cui bono? (to whose benefit).

Apparently oil prices are already rising.
As you say, you can see the strings (and predict the plot)

GreyQueen

MiserlyMartin wrote: »

I am worried about this. I have a lot of cash in various banks. SO to protect against hyperinflation should we buy assets eg say a house? I know Osbourne and co want everyone to buy at inflated prices maybe I should just do it? Or something else, Gold? Government is manipulating the gold price too!

This thread is superb!!!!

Hello and welcome, MiserlyMartin.

If you hold cash on deposit, it is devaluing right now. Because inflation is higher than interest rates. Real inflation, not the doctored figures, is much higher than official inflation figures. So you need to understand that your spending power is draining away every month even if you do nothing at all. And this will be going on without anything like hyper inflation (HI).

If we go into HI, your savings will boil off into the ether within weeks or months and you will be as never had them in the first place, plus whatever earnings/ pension income you recieve will not keep up with the prices of essential goods so that as soon as you get it, you will need to turn it into essentials before they become unaffordable.

What happens in HI isn't a mystery, you can read about it. Happened in Germany between the wars, happened in Russia post collapse of the USSR, happened in Argentina since 2001, happened in Zimbabwe. When you read about it you will be very scared and understand why HI is every politician's (and central banker's) worst nightmare.

I have held in my very hands two utterly genuine Zimbabwean banknotes. One was a 2 dollar note and one was a one hundred trillion dollar bank note. That wasn't a typo btw and it wasn't counterfeit. Read about it here in the Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576314953091790360.html

The two-dollar note was pre-HI and the 100 trillion note was the height of the HI and wouldn't get you a bus ticket in 2009.

Pause and reflect about what happened to savings held in Zimbabwean dollars; worth a bit less than toilet paper, aren't they? I have a collectables dealer looking out for a 100 trill note for me right now, he gets them from time to time. They sell for 50p here, up to £7.50 in London as curios. I intend to frame it, as a joke, with a sting in the tail to remind me that fiat currency is an illusion.

As to whether you should purchase property, I can only speculate. Do you already own your own home? If I had one on a mortgage and cash on deposit, I would pay off the mortgage. If I could own an additional property free and clear, I would look at buying a modest home to rent out. I might also consider productive farmland if it was affordable. But only buying for cash.

If I had spare cash slopping around after all that, I would buy gold bullion coins like krugerands very quietly and hide them up against future need.

Gold isn't an investment, it generates no income, but it has been a store of value for thousands of years. Every single paper fiat currency has devalued to zero over time, but gold holds its purchasing power, although the price of it demoninated in fiat currency fluctuates constantly.

When it looks like SHTF time, people buy gold. Which is why the price is climbing right now on fears of war. And yes, the price is being manipulated internationally by huge entities like BOE and the Fed but there are powerful forces in play which are countervailing their efforts. You pays your money and you takes your choice. At the moment gold bullion is sold in the UK without VAT and is exempt from capital gains tax.

Don't hold debt at this time as interest rates are at a historic low. If they go up, you'll be cursing yourself for not clearing it when money was cheaper.

But I'm just a private citizen not a financial adviser. Ultimately, each adult needs to make decisions and be prepared to take the consequences. You'll need water and food to see you over the short term crisis, but other tactics to try to emerge from a great depression/ HI with some wealth intact.

VJsmum

I went to Zimbabwe in 1993 and the exchange rate was 10 Zim dollars to the pound (I remember cos it was so easy - the same as French francs at the time!).

At one point we picked up a hitchhiker who was going to Harare to work as a bricklayer. He told us what he earned in a week. I can't remember the amount but later that day we bought my BiL a book as a joke (how to build your own car port - we used to buy each other really carp holiday souvenirs ) and I realised as we were buying it that it was a weeks wages for said bricklayer. I bet it wasn't more than a fiver. This was after Mugabe was elected but before it all kicked off.

You have reminded me that I used up our emergency cash fund (bliddy kids) and I need to replace it. I really need to inventorise (?) my stores as the summer has put it all out.