Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

We were given some years ago a tribal elders African Ebony Staff, boy is it heavy and solid, it lives upstairs readily to hand just in case of intruders, downstairs in the umbrella stand we have a pickaxe handle sans pickaxe head for the same use, the only downside to having things that are potentially weapons is that should the intruder be bigger/more desperate than you they are also weapons that could be used against YOU, just a thought!

Apparently things of this type are much more effective if swung at the lower legs than swung at the head, I've never done it but a voice from the lounge says it is so!!!

Frugalsod

1Tonsil wrote: »

Absolutely, this thread has helped me more than you could ever know during the crisis in Greece...

You have also helped us. Your comments about the lack of small change have changed my strategy re small change and I am now not bothering to bank it or swap it for notes.

moneyistooshorttomention

1Tonsil

Re that EU law coming into effect in January on bail-ins - does that apply to Britain too - or is it the Continent only?

GreyQueen

I realy value 1tonsil's reports from Corfu and an insider perspective on the situation, free from the mainstream media. If the thread has helped you, that's brilliant, but your contribution has been a major help to the rest of us. Please keep on posting.

Re staying or going; my home is my home. I am emotionally invested it it, notwithstanding that I rent it rather than own it. If the situation in my city became intolerable, either in a crisis or to long-term economic decline, I would have to consider moving, and would only have to give a month's notice. This gives me flexibilty, but then so does house equity, if you are able to realise it in a timely manner.

Bugging-out should always be the last resort, not the first, unless one is in the path of a wildfire, or a flood, in danger from an explosion (and haven't a few WW2 bombs been found this year?), or running from armed extermists or another country's army.

I think the key is foresight and flexibilty. If you have cash in your pocket, and the card terminals are down, you can still shop. If you have food and water, you can still eat. If you have skills and hobbies which are a tad out-fashioned in some eyes, you can make a lot of things easier.

After all, there are people who can't lay a fire and light one, even with matches, who can't make a simple repair on clothes, cannot cook without a ping dinner, and think everything growing on trees and bushes is dirty. These people will be in trouble if the lights go out, and may come to serious harm.

Today, I dropped my hands on my fourth Lock&Lock box from the chazzers, for a princely 50p. A very useful size. I'm shedding packaging plastic containers like marg tubs etc and getting the good stuff when I see it for pennies. I shall wash it up and soak it in a milton solution, and straight into service.

I also extracted some of the folding stuff from the atm. Better where I know where it is. The physical cash in existance is a fraction of the value of cash on deposit in bank accounts, so there will be problems if more and more people want it.

Frugalsod

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

1Tonsil

Re that EU law coming into effect in January on bail-ins - does that apply to Britain too - or is it the Continent only?

It will be just Greece, each nation will have its own rules. The fact that there is a deposit guarantee limit does not mean that it will be adhered to in a crisis or especially a bail in. Though to be honest I doubt that the politicians have even thought this through when they signed it into law. They probably do not think it will actually happen in their country.

RAS

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Even though we DO own the house and all that's in it, if there was more chance that defending my 'castle' would end in my death I'd abandon home and goods over that without having to think about it.

Ditto but I would try and get out with my seeds and some tools/essential equipment.

Butterfly_Brain

Thanks Nuatha xx

From 2018 all EU countries will be subject to bail ins :eek:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jun/27/eu-agrees-banks-bail-in-deal

As others have said, start a little nest egg outside of the banks grasp, mostly in change.

But if things go belly up with the banks again expect bail ins to be brought in straight away.

As a country we are currently £1.4 trillion of debt, things could get out of hand very quickly if creditors demand their money back, especially as growth has stagnated.

ivyleaf

nuatha wrote: »

Butterfly brain's link
http://diply.com/different-solutions/capitalism-world-explained-two-cows/60499

(Apart from having the http twice it had added a space. The first is almost certainly a tablet thing)
HTH

441

Thank you both, very amusing

moneyistooshorttomention

One itsy protective thing justincase that I've done, when recently notifying the DWP they would have to start paying the State part of my pension soon, was to tell them I know I can receive the money weekly (instead of the monthly way they automatically do).

She instantly accepted that that was correct and I have the option to do so and that's the way that bit of my income will be paid to me once it starts at last.

Partly - that's down to having had to spend the last couple of years or so (ie since retiring at my retirement age) on such low income that I want that extra income starting to come in asap....gasping to get my hands on it....

However, I'm also bearing in mind that that way I wont have a second noticeable size chunk of income coming into my bank account each month and sitting there until I am able to spend it. I'm minimising the amount of money I have in my bank account at any given time that way.

I'm still not financially straight yet (despite my age) and some of the things "on the list" still to get cost a few thousand £s each....so braincells are going as to where to put the money safely whilst I save up for first one expensive thing, clear the money out paying for that and then start saving for the next one (eg stuff like the new kitchen my house still needs, etc). I'm working on the basis of spreading it around being the best option I can think of to keep it safe.

Frugalsod

GreyQueen wrote: »

I realy value 1tonsil's reports from Corfu and an insider perspective on the situation, free from the mainstream media. If the thread has helped you, that's brilliant, but your contribution has been a major help to the rest of us. Please keep on posting.

I think that the mainstream media are becoming less and less reliable. Yesterday I was watching Bloomberg for a while and they wondered where this latest crisis came from as it was out of the blue (for them). I am nowhere near as connected as they should be and still picked up warnings weeks ago. In fact I was concerned about the financial state of many organisations long ago.

GreyQueen wrote: »

Re staying or going; my home is my home. I am emotionally invested it it, notwithstanding that I rent it rather than own it. If the situation in my city became intolerable, either in a crisis or to long-term economic decline, I would have to consider moving, and would only have to give a month's notice. This gives me flexibilty, but then so does house equity, if you are able to realise it in a timely manner.

Housing equity is only of use when things are stable, and credit is available. If the situation is unstable then you might want £1 million for that home but with banks in crisis only those with cash will be buying and if you are desperate enough they might only offer a few thousand in cash for it.

Also equity in a property is a good target for desperate governments or individuals. If you owe more money than you have access to, or they raise taxes on property till the point you cannot pay then they will seize your property in lieu. It could then be sold on at a value far less than its real worth to an associate. This has happened so many times before even without a financial crisis.

Without cash even equity will not be of much use.

GreyQueen wrote: »

Bugging-out should always be the last resort, not the first, unless one is in the path of a wildfire, or a flood, in danger from an explosion (and haven't a few WW2 bombs been found this year?), or running from armed extermists or another country's army.

Though leaving because of a danger of explosion or a found WW2 bomb will be temporary and everything will be there when you get back. Having tents and camping equipment will mean you have additional options when it comes to temporary housing options.

GreyQueen wrote: »

I think the key is foresight and flexibilty. If you have cash in your pocket, and the card terminals are down, you can still shop. If you have food and water, you can still eat. If you have skills and hobbies which are a tad out-fashioned in some eyes, you can make a lot of things easier.

Yes but I doubt that we will get to that state unless we have a war. A bank crisis will wipe out bank terminals even if only temporarily, and we would still have gas and water unless they had problems as well. Power cuts would impact stores dramatically. Few have any plans to adapt to a world without power.

As a financial crisis is most likely as in Greece credit cards will be useless initially and then possibly restrictive. Debit cards will be acceptable but as you said cash would be king. There will be cases of profiteering so having food stocks will get you through a crisis better than none at all.

Other skills will start to come into use as things deteriorate but many have either no skills or those that are completely useless in a crisis.

GreyQueen wrote: »

After all, there are people who can't lay a fire and light one, even with matches, who can't make a simple repair on clothes, cannot cook without a ping dinner, and think everything growing on trees and bushes is dirty. These people will be in trouble if the lights go out, and may come to serious harm.

If that were to happen then it will be interesting to see what happens. I suspect that power cuts will actually cut crime as even burglars need street lights to get about. It will be the impact on petrol production that will hit people hard. Petrol uses a lot of energy in the cracking of crude oil. Many might live too far from any food shops or be too dependent on it. It might just become too expensive to use for many.

GreyQueen wrote: »

Today, I dropped my hands on my fourth Lock&Lock box from the chazzers, for a princely 50p. A very useful size. I'm shedding packaging plastic containers like marg tubs etc and getting the good stuff when I see it for pennies. I shall wash it up and soak it in a milton solution, and straight into service.

Yes they are brilliant. I have bought dozens of them. They are perfect for many foods and I batch cook lots of things and freeze the excess. I store my peanut butter in them as well. Though Milton solution is something I should consider getting.

GreyQueen wrote: »

I also extracted some of the folding stuff from the atm. Better where I know where it is. The physical cash in existance is a fraction of the value of cash on deposit in bank accounts, so there will be problems if more and more people want it.

That is also my plan. At the moment while I am debt clearing it will be a small amount each month to slowly build up an emergency fund. After my debts are cleared it will be accelerated.