Preparedness for when

1Tonsil

On a very different note, I have been getting nuisance calls from a number in Athens for over two months, sometimes at 5am! I went to the service providers and they denied all knowledge, although I thought it was their sales centre. My friend has just send me details of a new Greek site where you can name and shame the callers. I had their number, so added it. It seems they are calling women who are the registered owners of mobiles and making nuisance calls. The police are then notified by the site about the nuisance they are causing. Great idea! I have to admit, if my mobile rings at that time in the morning I worry that something bad has happened or my ninety year old MIL.....and feel compelled to answer it! I leave it downstairs, so have to run down to answer....

1Tonsil

armyknife wrote: »

Wow 1Tonsil, that's a pretty nasty website you've found there.

I did not find the website, or view it, I went only to the video which was linked to on a good Greek news site...

Latest from Lesbos....this is a translation...
Monday, September 7, 2015

Ready to invade the market of Ermou Mytilene thousands of immigrants-Looting and looting frightened residents (VID, PICS)

Chaos prevails at this time in Mytilene as from early morning thousands of migrants and refugees have left the camp of Kara Tepe and marched to the harbor where they were joined by thousands of others living in the port.


As transmits the ANA-MPA, together they went to the town hall and the building of the Region and currently have captured Square Patriots Cypriots have cut the city in half. Request their rapid recording and their transition to Athens.

Strong police force that came the crowd has lined the entrance of Ermou preventing the huge number of refugees and migrants to reach the city's central market. Police sources said that if this happens not excluded looting.

Meanwhile from morning fires have occurred along the road from the camp in Kara Tepe into town, and fire broke out in the forest grove Tsamakia. Sources Fire service speak for diversionary fires lit immigrants moving to the port.

This from Italy, there are videos on the site....its kicked off folks!http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2015/09/06/raging-horror-confirmed-at-austria-italy-border-mid-east-muslims-refugees-go-on-rampage/comment-page-1/#comment-1604140


Meanwhile we are now under warning for a cyclone to hit us on Thursday, not good news when the rain drain in the street above us is broken and the water will come into our house through the wall..... Its also my OH birthday and we have booked a romantic dinner by the pool in the open air....oh my!!!!

Frugalsod

1Tonsil wrote: »

I do wonder if it is sensible to have stashes of cash around the house, not only is it a risk for theft etc, but if you had euros and it crashed through the floor, your money would be near worthless and no one would want it. It would be better to have that money in something you can use, like food or fuel, or other stuff you could barter.

First if there is a collapse in the monetary system then physical goods would be infinitely better. You could still trade them as a last resort. The problem is that when that happens governments change and sometimes at elections sometime at the point of a gun.

You already have a safety net of sorts in that you have access to sterling and not dependent on euros. Even if the euro system collapses there will be something to replace it. Zimbabwe adopted the US dollar for a while.

From what you have mentioned small change will be quite valuable so any small notes and currency would be handy, just do not keep it in one spot.

1Tonsil wrote: »

My fear is not that they will seize deposits over one hundred thousand euros...very few have that much money anyway. My fear is not being able to take my hundred euros a week that we need for food , water and fuel. I spent most of our savings on paying bills in advance and our mortgage in advance, which is safer than trying to save it around the house. Isnt it what preppers are usually advised to do, along with paying off debts?

The chances are that the banks are that insolvent that they will take everything. Greek banks have as much as 40% to 50% of all loans as non performing, meaning that people have stopped paying them off. When a leverage banking system has that level of non performing loans there will be a problem somewhere. If they seize any assets what will they be worth which brings me back to my point a few comments ago that without credit a million euro house might only sell for a few tens of thousands of euros. Clearing debts so they have no claim on any of your other assets should be a major priority. Unsecured debts might be safer now but that might change. So having no debts and little exposure to the currency is as good as you can get.

1Tonsil wrote: »

I have some food stocks and fuel and water, but you also need cash for other things like meds and repairs. If it gets really bad you need some getaway money, although I am beginning to wonder where we could go to that would be safe.

Not just safe but welcome. If you have local friends you are probably as safe there as anywhere.

1Tonsil wrote: »

I noticed today that the local supermarkets have increased their extra large catering tins...so the range of food is bigger. They had giant cans of beans, kidney beans, various veg, fruit cocktail and giant cans of tuna in oil. I am going to take any spare cash from the weekly shopping to buy some in this week. I may have to take my OH with me as well, those big cans are going to be heavy to carry to the car!:rotfl:

I do wish our stores here did bigger catering sizes as well.

[Deleted User]

If you have a cash and carry card or the like you can get the catering sized tins or if you know someone who has one you might be able to borrow it with a letter of consent. The only problem with catering sized tins is they ARE big! and if there are only 1 or 2 of you you'd either have to eat an awful lot of the same thing in a short time or process the lot and freeze what you make. I try for tins that can be used up in one meal just in case there is a problem with the power supply, keeping opened tins without a fridge would be difficult and might lead to waste if things went off.

Frugalsod

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

If you have a cash and carry card or the like you can get the catering sized tins or if you know someone who has one you might be able to borrow it with a letter of consent. The only problem with catering sized tins is they ARE big! and if there are only 1 or 2 of you you'd either have to eat an awful lot of the same thing in a short time or process the lot and freeze what you make. I try for tins that can be used up in one meal just in case there is a problem with the power supply, keeping opened tins without a fridge would be difficult and might lead to waste if things went off.

I do qualify for a Costco card but the nearest one is 40 miles away and I do not have a car. Though it might be worth hiring a van for a weekend to do a big top up shop for. :money:

Personally I would process the contents very rapidly and freeze a lot. Though if there were power shortages I suspect that many people would be in a similar situation so I could provide food for the family and neighbours so nothing was wasted.

Frugalsod

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

So, what level of savings would you reckon that, say, the vast majority of the population don't go over? For instance - what percentage of the population would you say have:
- over £20,000
- over £10,000

and would this be gross (ie they've also got debts - despite having savings) or net (ie they really ARE savings - as they don't have any debts)?

Here is an article regarding the Average level of savings at only £2020

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/savings/9873834/How-Britain-is-giving-up-on-saving.html

Many will have more than that but since this is an average not median most will have less than that probably significantly less. You only need one person with a million in the bank to drive up this figure.

moneyistooshorttomention

Frugalsod wrote: »

I do qualify for a Costco card but the nearest one is 40 miles away and I do not have a car. Though it might be worth hiring a van for a weekend to do a big top up shop for. :money:

Personally I would process the contents very rapidly and freeze a lot. Though if there were power shortages I suspect that many people would be in a similar situation so I could provide food for the family and neighbours so nothing was wasted.

Could large quantities of food (eg from catering size tins of things) be dehydrated? There are various videos on Youtube about solar dehydrating for those that don't have dehydrators as such and a hot climate like Greece would possibly be a better bet for trying to dehydrate things that way????

moneyistooshorttomention

Frugalsod wrote: »

Here is an article regarding the Average level of savings at only £2020

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/savings/9873834/How-Britain-is-giving-up-on-saving.html

Many will have more than that but since this is an average not median most will have less than that probably significantly less. You only need one person with a million in the bank to drive up this figure.

I see your point exactly.

Hence why I am wondering just what proportion of our population have more in savings than those respective £10k and £20k figures - as its just not possible to tell from average/median figures. I've seen that figure (ie of around £2k before now) and been flummoxed as to just how to interpret it - ie as in what percentage of people have more than that/what percentage of people basically have nothing and whether the so-called savings figure is gross or net.

Hence I'm none the wiser basically whenever an article quotes an average level of savings....:cool:

moneyistooshorttomention

1Tonsil

- re the latest news from Lesbos - it is indeed horrifying.

I can see that some genuine refugees might (quite likely would....) feel desperate enough to just "take", rather than wait to be "given". IF you've genuinely come from Desperation Zone territory - then the chances are that you might not be that concerned with the niceties of "minding your manners" etc. Most people seem to have a very strong Survival At All Costs Instinct (it escapes me personally why ....but I acknowledge this is how the vast majority of the human race seems to function).

Then there are the troublemakers/chancers/and the Isis troublemakers in the midst.

What an unholy mix.

Isis did say this is what they would do to our civilised normal Western societies - ie they would unleash an "invasion" of ordinary people (overlooking to mention that some of their troublemakers would be coming in with them).

Add together normal people + normal people that have been turned "hard" by circumstances + Isis troublemakers (and I wouldn't mind betting they are at least partly at the root of how its possible to detect a distinct whiff of "organisation" at the root of these problems) and...yep...that unholy mix. Its a situation to be avoided imo having to deal with people in our own society that have turned/been turned "hard" by circumstances and one many of us will avoid and then there are the circumstances that many of these refugees/economic migrants have come from and...oh heck.....

I don't know the answer.

The one thing I am clear on personally is we have to be very "clear" in our heads as to exactly what is happening before we can work out the ways to deal with it.

EDIT; I do have to add that I know there are going to be many decent/normal and pretty "westernised" people coming in too amongst the Deluge. I am thinking of a friend of mine of longstanding (now sadly dead) from an Arabic country that I met many years ago. She was very ready to adapt to our Western Ways and I saw her looking round very enviously at our Western society and deciding her daughters were not going to have the arranged marriage, etc set-up she had been put through/was still in. She was very keen on adopting our ways and I was quite happy to help with that. What I don't know is what proportion of the Deluge will have her viewpoint and which ones will have quite other ones - ie of using or abusing us.

[Deleted User]

Why not wait and make a judgement on what we experience if the Syrian refugees DO come to Britain? much better that than lumping them all together under the terrorist umbrella, the likelihood is that they're just families like most of us caught up in a terrifying, more difficult than we could possibly imagine situation and trying their hardest to make it through to a new and safer destination.