Sunday, March 29, 2020

Windfall planning

Suppose $2000 of money parachuted into your budget.

Suppose you expect prices of items to increase. More money chasing fewer goods and all that. And if nobody is working then nobody is making goods...right?

Suppose you want to "invest" the money in durable items that will throw a long-shadow regarding making life more livable over the next 6-to-60 months. Ideally, it will be items (or services) that will not be oversubscribed in the first round of helicopter money.

A few thought provokers:
-Have a will written or updated
-Housing up-grades
-Garden seeds or orchard trees
-Livestock
-Fencing supplies
-Mineralized salt
-Bicycles, motorbike or other transportation
-Exercise equipment that will actually get used
-Motorized lawncare equipment
-Cans of fluorescent paint to paint the equipment I lose on a regular basis
-Staple foods like beans and rice and sugar
-Food processing equipment like vacuum sealer
-Home brewing supplies
-Durable clothing like jeans, Carhartts, work boots
-Firearms
-Molds for casting bullets
-A new computer or other consumer electronics
-Medical supplies, whatever those may be
-Odds-and-ends like tarps, duct tape, chains, hinges, deck screws, framing nails, motor oil, filters, belts, electrical switches and outlets...

Please leave your thoughts in comments.

10 comments:

  1. 50 lb. bags of white [non-mineralized] salt that you get from the feed store that you can use yourself for the table, and preserving food. Rolls of plastic, lath and shingle nails to cover broken windows. And some rolls of screen. ---ken

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  2. I'd get spares for routine maintenance on vehicle - cars, motorbikes, tractors, etc. I would be less worried about oil than I would about air and oil filters, brakes, etc - they come from China; oil comes from the US and elsewhere.

    I'd get first aid supplies, especially those needed to keep someone alive when hospital and ambulance wait times lengthen.
    Also, I'd get reloading supplies beyond molds - powder, projectiles, primers.
    I agree with Ken - material for house hold repairs. Also, I would add some basic water handling supplies for your situation in case of power or water outages or water quality problems - figure out a back up source if you are on city water or a deep well that needs grid power, and get what you need to access, transport, and filter it,

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  3. Generator, deep cycle batteries and inverter.Triple A battery powered lights, especially headlamps. Darkness is the only thing that doesn't exist which can kill you.

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  4. I want a luxury item, brand new hobie outback kayak. The 2009 has served me well, will be for guests.

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  5. Foodsaver vacuum sealer. Mine is heavily used especially for bulk meat purchases. The jar sealing attachment is great for dry goods.

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  6. Assuming I did have an immediate need for the money, I would probably just convert all of it into silver American eagles. Precious metals reflect nothing other that the DEBASEMENT of the dollar by our government. After creating 2.2 trillion dollars out of thin air (in addition to the trillion dollar a year deficits the government has been running for the last eleven years in a row), I fully expect EVERYTHING to cost more in the immediate future. I am already seeing it in the upward 'adjustment' in price of many items at the grocery stores.

    Holding the $2000 windfall in silver will simply make sure that whatever you may need to buy, your money will continue to buy as much three months or a year from now as it does today. (Also, it can be hard to predict exactly what you might need three months or six months or a year from now.) Holding silver will involve the additional step of converting parts of it back into paper currency from time to time, but I would think preserving the buying power of your money would be worth the extra step.

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  7. I live in apartment built in the 70s that lacks some of the modern built in convenience most places have today.

    I bought a counter-top dishwasher 3 weeks ago for about $300. Worth every penny, should have done it a decade ago.

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  8. Silver is easy to store, and if you don't have any immediate needs, it makes sense. So would 4,000+ rounds of your favorite ammunition.

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    Replies
    1. Ah, yes! You are referring to storing some excess funds in the form of the well known semi-precious metals known as brass and lead. :-)

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  9. 1. Dual fuel generator. Propane does not go bad like gas does.

    B. Equipment and supplies to build a still. For water distillation only, of course.

    Thirdly, Bullet casting and reloading equipment & supplies.

    finally, Contraceptive supplies.

    Also, Off road bicycle.

    I would be out of my 2000.00 budget..

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