Inflation

[schellie69]

My DH finally got a job which is great since they stopped his unemployment for 3 months thanks to new rules it was a night mare. We doubled our garden space, I have more chickens. I am going to start cooking from scratch again. I have really thought if I could get away with it living in town I would buy some meat chickens and raise for meat. But I am only allowed so many so I would get caught and get in trouble. Gas prices suck. DH is riding is motorcycle to work which helps. We don't have cable or satellite tv got rid of cell phones just have basic phone service. used electric heaters this last winter could not afford both electricity and gas so just used electricity put extra blankets on the bed ect. I hope things start getting better but I think they will get worse first.

 

[call ducks]

Quote:
WHAT that's still cheaper then in the north chicken feed is 14.00 per 25 KG, and duck grower is 16.00 almost 17.00 for 25Kg. that's at the cheapest feed place.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I am at least getting some benefit from all the extra chicken feed and shavings I've been buying this year. The first time I cleaned out the brooder it all got spread around the blueberries. The second time around the grape vines. The third time and the three and a half wheelbarrow loads out of the grow-out pen went into the vegetable garden. When I clean out the showbird hutch that will go around the blackberries.

THEN I'll sell the birds to make back what I paid for all of that and a smidgen more.

Welcome to the Great Recession.

(In twenty years they'll call it what it really is).

 

[GarlicEater]

Welcome to my world, folks! The world of a collapsing empire.

OK first, in case my ramblings are too crazy and trust me, they are, here are some links to read.

www.survivalblog.com
"The bison survival blog" I can't tell you where, but I can tell you where to look!
www.ranprieur.com
www.urbansurvival.com
"Club Orlov" run by Dmitry Orlov, again, can't tell you where, just give ya a hint
"The Automatic Earth" a very good blog, google is you friend (for now!)
These should lead you to other good ones.

What is happening to millions, is they're finding themselves living on half, then 10%, then 5%(!!) of what they used to make. In 09, I worked pretty hard during the 6 months I could work, and made about $4000 for the year. This is not a month, this is a YEAR, folks! I did well. I realized I'd worn out the motorcycle I was riding, a little 250cc, with all the commuting, and myself, and sold that, and decided to take it more easy in 2010. I made about $1500 for the year. Not month. Year. I feel I am one of the lucky ones. I live on a place and do some chores, watch the place when the land owner's traveling, and now, look after the chickens. The place went from feral old english games that kinda wandered onto the place, got fed scratch thrown around indiscriminately, and experiencing horrific predator losses, to 2 flocks in coops, being fed and watered properly, competently, and hygienically, by me. We've already got our basic "survival ration" of eggs, production would go down if we had to give up feed pellets but we'd be OK.

We are heading into the bigger, better, busted'er, 1930s. Feel welcome to become a wild-eyed conspiracy nut or survivalist, while most of what you'd believe in then would be false, it'd help you a lot! Let me give an example: When I was running my business, I got to know a banjo player who'd play at the Sunnyvale farmer's market. He's a full on conspiracy theorist, on the run from The Beast, the Illuminati, the whole 9 yards. This has led him to play music on the street (it pays him WELL) and stay off of the info-grid, stay out of debt, avoid expenses like the plague, etc. He's sure the Number Of The Beast will be required to buy/sell, as I said he believes all this stuff. OK all well and fine. Fast forward a few years, the economy's in crash mode, most everyone's lost their jobs or looking over their shoulder nervously, I'm homeless, my niche of the economy is at 10% strength, and ol' A-'s still out there, playing his banjer, making good money, out of debt, the only difference being he got a used car because he decided Greyhound isn't worth it anymore (began to get worried about being robbed, a rational fear for a change). The guy's the smartest guy in the room! To me the lesson is, of course all this Big Brother, Skynet coming alive and sending the T-1000's, zombies, Chinese occupation troops on the way, pick a nutbag theory, is all a big load of bosh. But believing in such, or acting as if you believe in such, is a much better adaptation to the current times than believing in the more accepted fairy tales like the one about this American Dream thingie, or that you'll do better than your parents and your kids will do better than you. Those will lead you to bankruptcy, homelessness, heart attack, etc. Believing in the zombies etc will lead you to get out of and stay out of debt, economize because you're working on saving up a month's, then 6 month's, then a year's etc worth of survival food, lead you to learn to become SELF SUFFICIENT to as great a degree as possible. After all, de guv'mint is run by reptilians from outer space, right? Don't want to be dependent on THEM for your food or a job, right? No one sane thinks the gov't is run by lizards from another galaxy, but supposing this is true, and acting accordingly, is far better than acting according to the old rules. The old rules are GONE.

There are also books out there written by people who became self-sufficient during the last Great Depression, stuff like Helen Nearing's books, the Borsodi's books, etc. Even Thoreau's Walden is a good starting place. Euell Gibbons is good, especially his Beachcomber book, since it goes into the rationale more deeply than his others and also points out the shortcomings of being a "beachcomber" or gatherer of free stuff.

Your Money Or Your Life by Joe Dominguez is very good, except ignore his advice on buying T-bonds, instead, buy "junk" 90% silver coins and tools, etc.

 

[Dunkopf]

The guy sounds crazy but the results are what counts. Right?

 

[rufus]

Inflation is bad now, but wait until the Chinese and Arabs stop buying our government bonds. The only way out is to run the printing presses.

Remember Germany in 1923? We will be the Zimbabwe of tomorrow.

Rufus

 

[bakerjw]

I did hear that some hedge funds are dropping treasury bonds. That does not bode well and there is talk of QEIII.
Interesting times these are.

 

[Wifezilla]

Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Define "interesting".
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?

 

[bakerjw]

OT. I miss Wash.

 

[rufus]

Quote:
That is what causes inflation. The government steals our savings by destroying the value of the currency. In Rome they debased the coinage. In Germany they printed money until it was worthless. In Zimbabwe they printed money until the politically elite owned everything.

In times of inflation, the debtor wins by borrowing good money and paying back in worthless money. People who work, save and invest lose. Speculators and insiders win.

Rufus