Preparedness for when

nuatha

Living_proof wrote: »

I am quite the opposite and rarely have more than 20 in cash about my person although there is a 2 litre Kilner jar half-full of all denominations of coin in a not very obvious place at home. It's rather heavy to lift so safe enough I think.

I would be too worried by the responsibility of cash in the home frankly. Supposing some of it went - you would suspect everyone who had been within a hundred yards of your house. I think it's rather alarmist and futile to take all your money out of a bank. Do you mean money in Isas and the like as well?

Money in the bank is making almost nothing, meanwhile the prices of physical goods continue to rise in real terms.
After the last few years I am not worried what to do about several thousands, there's enough in the bank to cover approx 3 months of bills. The emergency fund got hammered by vet bills a few months back and is being rebuilt more slowly than we'd wish, but work is thinner on the ground than I'd wish. I regard keeping more than I do in the bank as a waste, the best return I can currently get on my money is either investing in me, training courses and the like, or in food stocks. Though if I'm saving for something, then the bank balance will increase. I'm currently rebuilding food stocks, we aim to have around 6 months on hand, these policies have got us through major grief on several occasions.

Cash in the house is split between what we carry, and two safes - I installed the second as I need more volume to store software and data backups. I trust the people who know where they are, far more than I trust politicians or bankers, though that would apply to a lot of people who I would not disclose any information to. Personal security is paramount.

JKO good to see you posting again, having seen Herself in absolute agony which was believed to be gallstones, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, hope you have a speedy resolution and recovery.

Frugalsod

nuatha wrote: »

I regard keeping more than I do in the bank as a waste, the best return I can currently get on my money is either investing in me, training courses and the like, or in food stocks. Though if I'm saving for something, then the bank balance will increase. I'm currently rebuilding food stocks, we aim to have around 6 months on hand, these policies have got us through major grief on several occasions.

That is my attitude. The rates of return on things that can save me money are much higher than I could ever get in a bank or stock market investment. At the moment I am getting high quality cast iron cookware that can be used at home and on a camp fire if absolutely necessary. Things like wonder bags that can significantly reduce my energy needs have already been bought. Further out I will be looking at a solar oven so could even cook bread without the use of any power. The rate of return of this is lower but in a SHTF situation would allow me to cook during power cuts as along as it is sunny. Even so it could significantly cut my need for wood or any other fuel.

Softstuff

Frugalsod wrote: »

The Russians have been out buying things like TV and cars, while they can. The basic defensive position for most people is to spread your money around to minimise the risk. People who have access to many thousands of pounds are rare to start with. Most people are just scrapping by. So a bank bail in may have absolutely no impact on them at all, as in Cyprus. Though it will impact their employer so they may get no wages for several months.

Keeping money at home is the last resort but does have serious benefits when there is a banking crisis. Banks may shut their doors the moment there is a banking run now, and you will find that bank cards will be useless everywhere for some time even in stores. So having some cash at home will get you through the bail in period.

I'm not sure personally of the idea of buying more consumer goods while you still can, given you can't eat a TV and by the time you'd need to trade it for food or money there wouldn't be many people with either. I remember back in the 80s, if you took a trip to Russia you were best off taking things like lightbulbs, sink plugs and soap to trade with, it was the simplest of things that were in short supply. I bear that in mind when thinking of advance planning.

Frugalsod

Softstuff wrote: »

I'm not sure personally of the idea of buying more consumer goods while you still can, given you can't eat a TV and by the time you'd need to trade it for food or money there wouldn't be many people with either. I remember back in the 80s, if you took a trip to Russia you were best off taking things like lightbulbs, sink plugs and soap to trade with, it was the simplest of things that were in short supply. I bear that in mind when thinking of advance planning.

This is what they are buying now. They probably do not consider that they will be in a much worse position or that the currency crisis will last forever. It is high end cars like Porsche etc that are being bought so they are probably buying now while they can and before they are priced out. Though I would imagine that with the currency falling in value the price next year in roubles will be considerably higher.

I was reading about the share of spending during the hyperinflation in Germany. The at the very peak food took around 75% of spending and clothing 24%. Rents plummeted to less than 1% of spending. Which really blows a hole in the plans of buy to let landlords should we ever get hyperinflation.

Ryanna2599

Frugalsod wrote: »

Things like wonder bags that can significantly reduce my energy needs have already been bought.

I was curious reading your post Frugalsod - what are Wonderbags? I've since googled "Wonderbags" and they look perfect for times with little energy or even camping trips. Have you used yours in anger? Any idea what the difference between the different models are? Thanks

GreyQueen

In terms of tradeability, I am 'long' soap so should the need arise, I shall clean up.

Sorry.

I did watch the images of Russians buying large TVs and IKEA furniture with some bafflement. With an electrical device, what you've bought it a fast-depreciating asset of limited portability. OK, if they were things they wanted to buy anyway, and were suddenly fearful that they were about to accelerate into unaffordability, I can see the rationale, but otherwise?

You can cushion yourself against financial bumps in the road by judicious purchasing ahead of certain long-lived items. But they have to be carefully considered, rather than just random grabbings and stashings.

I used to know an older lady, widow of a wealthy businessman, who was in the slow process of supplementing her retirement income by selling off antiques; furniture, rugs, small decorative items.

These were excellent quality items which were taken up for Sotherby's sales, but the back story to them was what was interesting to me. They'd be purchased during the stagflation of the 1970s as a way of parking surplus cash in items which were likely to (and did) appreciate substantially in value. One cabinet turned £20 into £1,600 in 30 years, for example. Plus they had the use and enjoyment of them for the period.

I see the gypsies around here are still buying sovreigns whenever they can, plus jewellery. The Asians buy only the purest gold jewellery or the purest gold coins (canadian maples) for their store-of-value items. I hear tell that when the Amish do buy furniture, they buy antiques.

Perhaps a lot of us need to start looking away from conventional shopping for cheaply-made and fairly short-lived items, and start playing the long (even inter-generational) game?

To make you laugh, the grandmother of the widow lady at the top of the post reacted to the outbreak of WW2 by going out and buying an awful lot of bedlinen. In childhood, her GD queried why, and was told because after the war you won't be able to buy this quality, which was Grandmamma's exprience of WW1. And she was right. This was an affluent family who believed in BMD sheets (as in should last you for birth, marriage and death).

On a humbler level, I know people who have reacted to small infusions of extra cash, such as overtime or a bonus, buy purchasing something useful for the home, such as towels, linens etc. This was so that a benefit was seen from the extra, rather than allowing it to slosh into the housekeeping purse and dissipate with nothing to show for it.

ETA; I missed a trick about 3 years ago when I bought a screw-cap low energy lightbulb for the uplighter which I use all the time, inc on a timer when away, the only screwcap fitting I have.

It was 40p, which was pleasing. And it has now karked it and when I went for a replacement it was £5.95. Good grief, I had to be resuscitated by smelling salts after a shock like that. I left it in the shop and am using a screwcap incandescent bulb which I had anyway, whilst I search for a better-priced replacement. I would have been well-advised to buy a few of them when I bought the original (it was a special deal, I asked at the shop) and hasn't been repeated since.

jk0

Oh, the old girl was quite right about the sheets. Towels also. I have a couple of towels that I remember being completely wrapped up in after bathing at the age of 2 or 3. They are nearly 50 years old, and good as new.

Some that I bought 10 years ago are getting 'rucked' at the hems. It looks like they pulled the fabric too tight before hemming it.

thriftwizard

That's one of the reasons why my home is so stuffed to the gunwales with stuff... Over the years I've bought some decent stuff (i.e. household linens, furniture) inherited decent stuff, and come across decent stuff in the way of my business. And I'm very reluctant to part with it; the girls & TDiL have all expressed an interest in taking some of it off my hands when (and if ever) they actually leave home.

When we were first married, we did buy the odd new bit from DiY stores and the like, and were duly horrified when bookcases fell apart after 6 months under the weight of books ("But no-one uses bookcases for books any more, Madam!") and sheets went bobbly & thin in less than a year. Unlike our friends who just went out & bought another in this year's colours, I went & rescued old stuff instead. The difference in quality is immediately apparent.

And whenever a little spare cash has come our way, I've invested it in good cookware, or high-thread-count sheets, or in the last instance, having the stove installed. It's excellent & I'm well pleased; when we light it, the central heating goes off, the washing actually dries & the whole house seems to glow. We can boil a kettle or keep a casserole simmering on it too.

Interestingly, many of our neighbours are also dropping liners down their chimneys. Talking to folks at a local funeral last week, more & more people are losing faith in the just-in-time system & supply lines, and are taking action to prepare for the unexpected, though they'll say, "Well, the chimney needed repointing/pot needed replacing/slates were slipping; it seemed daft not to whilst we had the scaffolding up..." then follow it up with half a hint about not trusting power supplies.

We Are Not Alone...

GreyQueen

Very interesting about the liners going in and the reasoning why. I think that some thoughtful people are beginning to feel that it's reasonable to take some pre-emptive manoevers against future troubles.

Which would have the side effect that chimney-sweeping and stove-fitting could be useful things for a person needing a livlihood to consider among their options.

At work, we're noticing an uptick in calls from the public asking if there are restrictions on them having woodburning stoves within the city limits. There are a couple of areas where they can't, but about 80% of the city is OK for them.

I feel that a small snowball is starting down a long slope, picking up speed as it goes - we are not alone, indeed.

greenbee

I'm planning on replacing my open fire (it's a jetmaster, so not entirely inefficient) with a stove next year. I did the same in the last house. I like the fact that you can control a stove more - it keeps going while you are out. The plan is to have it oversized, so it can heat the rest of the house if I open the sitting room doors. Sadly being a newish (30-year-old house) the fireplace is on an end wall rather than in the centre of the house.

I'm still using my grandmother's sheets (I have newer ones as dust sheets than I do on some of the beds, and the new sheets are horrid), and only recently got rid of her towels, which I agree were MUCH better quality than anything I've managed to buy recently.