30 Days to Better Preparedness. Day 8. Cash and tangibles.
The experience of a whole state power outage and more recent pandemic and lockdown situations taught me that there are times that what you physically have right at that moment is as good as it gets. If you don't have what you need it is just too bad.
All the money in the world in the bank won't help you. Shares in the stock market surely won't. There is no ATM or EFTPOS and the bank is closed. There are no items you want to buy and if there were the shop has closed as the cash registers don't work without electricity!
If you just filled your car with fuel and the power goes out how do you pay for it? Always always have some cash that could be used. What is real and what is tangible? Food, fuel, water, cash... suddenly a plastic credit card is no use to you at all. It is instantly useless. You are really defenceless and pennilieess at that moment.
Our experiences were short-lived although for some in our state the blackout lasted almost a week. One large regional town that was affected for the week. Towards the end the Mayor was interviewed and he said that there were two groups of people in his town. One group was doing badly. They had little food or water, were not really managing. The other group were doing great. They had plenty of food and had camp showers, BBQs cooking and were having a fine time. A lot of these were people with caravans and people who were used to going camping, others were just prepared. You had what you had on hand and that was it. A fat bank account was of no use what so ever. A credit card was just a bit of plastic.
Now imagine if that week lasted longer. In this day it is perfectly feasible there could be a computer hack of the electricity grid, or your bank. The ability to buy anything is gone just like that. From that time on tangible items are what you have. Everything else is just an idea... Superannuation, savings, shares, they are all now an idea only, you have none of them!
The desperately needed items now, like generators and fuel cans, are no longer available at all. Even if you had this amount of cash they all sold out and the isles are empty. The stores that did stay open a few hours into our blackout had no batteries, no flashlights or any of those kinds of things. They all sold out in the first few minutes. There is no more "out the back" in this day of just in time delivery systems. We noted it still was not possible to buy a generator in our state for over a year. Yes a year.
If you have been planning to purchase any of these kinds of items do it now. The only thing you could do better is to buy it yesterday! Money in the bank will not get you any of these things in a crisis.
We can hope an emergency scenario is short lived. But this made me reconsider everything. The old saying about not having all your eggs in one basket is true. Spread you savings and assets around carefully.
I adopted the verse "Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land." Ecclesiastes 11:2
This is a better way of saying do not put all your eggs in one basket! In my lifetime we have known people to lose all their money in failed banks, share market collapses, ridiculous investment schemes and more. In the city our neighbours lost everything in a business deal where they invested all they had in one thing and someone ran off with the lot. So I decided that I truly would divide things into seven or eight. My pantry is a real investment. It is real and accessible! My orchard is an investment. My animals are also. I am truly trying to spread around a diverse set of options. But we must have cash just in case as long as cash still exists. It might not be around too much longer then our options are less again.
It is a scary prospect to imagine a time where you cannot access bank money or any online resources but in reality it only takes a decent storm. Think long and hard on this. If you can afford a generator or any other vital thing that would help you get through a crisis do it now. Or yesterday! A bird in the hand... xxx
Great topic again! I haven’t done the two week menu planning yet ;). On the cash front, I agree 100%. It took me years to teach myself the self control to get $1000 in an envelope in our house. Now we keep a few months worth of average expense spending in cash in our house safe, for exactly the reasons you mention. Without electricity there are no banks or credit cards, so cash is the way to buy things. A friend of mine also keeps silver and gold coins, for the same reasons…he is 70 and buys a few coins a year and stashes them away. I like the idea but gold is very expensive…
ReplyDeleteGood work. Your friends gold would have increased a lot in value so he has done well. Its a good idea. A house safe also is a very wise thing. Working on this post really reminded me what it was like when the items you needed were just unavailable at any price! xxx
DeleteWe have cash hidden inon our vehicle and twice in the last year it has been needed. We purchased a generator about six months ago and it has given us a lot of peace of mind. Mom was treated for a heart attack in Feb and then the hospital computer system was hacked and her records could not be accessed. This was scary and there was nothing we could do. I don't know what could be done to prepare for that.
ReplyDeleteThe Red Cross here in Australia sells or gives away small booklets which you can hand write out your health conditions previous surgeries allergies etc in. We'll worth getting and carrying in your car
DeleteThe Red Cross here in Australia sells or gives away small booklets which you can hand write out your health conditions previous surgeries allergies etc in. We'll worth getting and carrying in your car
DeleteThe Red Cross here in Australia sells or gives away small booklets which you can hand write out your health conditions previous surgeries allergies etc in. We'll worth getting and carrying in your car
DeleteThat is a really good tip thanks Mel. Sorry I mistakenly published your comment multiple times! xxx
DeleteWith everything being digital now all her scans, x-rays and doctors notes were not able to be accessed. This was scary because she fell and had to have a hip replacement surgery and her records from her recent heart attack were needed before she went under anesthesia. This could be an issue for anyone now with the way records are stored and nothing is on actual films or paper. Again, I don't think there is any recourse or way to plan for that.
DeleteWe are still looking into generators. I don't know if we will buy one, but we are certainly considering it while we try to figure out how to fuel it with natural gas. (I understand it can be done!). Our homeowner's association doesn't allow propane tanks and I can't see two old people trying to wrestle gas (petrol) cans.
ReplyDeleteI am focusing on trying to be well prepared in our home with food, supplies, etc. I also keep some cash here, much of it in small bills. We are considering buying precious metals, but if the power is out, it may be difficult to find somewhere to sell it. I think stocking up the things we would need makes the most sense for us. I have bought 40 rolls of toilet paper in the last week without clearing any shelves. (I bought one 20-roll package on two different days).
Dear Maxine, I think Rosanne has whole house generator on natural gas... I will check on that. The small bills is a good idea since just about no one will have or give change in a cash registers down situation so right money would be a huge help. Anything on hand that we actually have, rather than have to go out and look for is a big advantage! With love Annabel.xxx
DeleteAnnabel, we've been talking about this all day today. We've decided on a tri-fuel portable generator to be used in emergencies. Here, that would be only be ice storms, which only happen during the winter, but not every winter. There was no power for 3 weeks after the last big one, in '96, and we are overdue for another (I've been through 3-4 in my lifetime). Having the power go out here is not a common occurrence (we live in town, with underground utilities, so it has to be something BIG up the line for it not to be fixed right away). I'm not saying we're going to get this generator, but Home Depot carries one that that puts out 7,000 kilowatts on natural gas for about $1,350. I called the company that installed our furnace and discovered 7,000 watts would be more than enough to run the furnace fan and the freezer...probably be able to plug in the TV and a few lamps, too. So, I'm going to call generator dealers and get someone to come out and discuss and demonstrate this with us. There is obviously going to be a learning curve and we're going to need some help to do this right. I am so thankful for this series, which has got me thinking!
DeleteAs for currency, I have quarters (25 cent pieces) and $1, $5, $10, $20 and $100 bills, for just the reason you mentioned. I'd hate to have to pay $100 for a loaf of bread because no one could make change! That's kind of an exaggeration, of course, but you get the idea. I wouldn't even bother with $100 bills except that $20s take up so much room and are harder to hide inside the house.
If you are in the USA, we just purchased one from Home Depot. It can run on either gas or LP. We just keep the BBQ grill size tanks for ours. No need for a huge tank of LP.
DeleteDear Annabel,
ReplyDeleteI am pleased to read this post and say yes I have done these things. I have learned heaps from blogs like yours. I feel I am as prepared as I can be if something bad happens. If I've missed something, well so be it. I will learn a lesson for next time. Thank you for another great post!
Love Tania xxx
Great post! All the money in the world sitting in a bank or safety deposit box is useless if you can't buy anything to eat or drink.
ReplyDeleteWe look at our food storage as savings. If supplies are not available we won't be buying anyway, so a prior investment is used then.
We have a whole house generator that runs on natural gas. When we moved into this house, seven years ago, my husband was determined to make sure we had easy and reliable backup for everything in the house. Whenever there has been electrical outages, we hardly notice. There is a ten second lapse once the power goes off and the generator is on. It is barely noticeable. We continue to have everything running, heat or air conditioning, our refrigerators and freezers are fine, the lights are all on and I continue to cook or can. As soon as the electricity is restored the generator shuts off. We do nothing. It is the best investment ever for people in their 70's.
Have a wonderful day everyone.
Love and hugs,
Glenda
My husband and I have been looking into our “eggs and baskets” recently; he has this in hand. I mentioned before that he has made sure we have joint access to relevant accounts, so one can access the account if the other is unable to, for whatever reason. Many of our shops and gas stations don’t take cash at all anymore, and even flea markets (when we had them pre COVID!) are switching over to payment by mobile phone. I can quite see a day not too far in the future when actual money will be a collectors item! Isn’t that a scary thought? But yes, in the immediate future, an envelope or money box of useful sized notes and coins in a secure place is a very good plan.
ReplyDeleteLiving in a big city, I know what can happen when the power goes out. A few years back we had a major problem in NA where the grid was down for up to a week in some areas. While my part of town was luckier it was very hit or miss. Cell towers were also out so having my old landline kept me in touch. I had always kept cash on hand - especially small bills so I was able to make a few purchases when debit and credit cards were useless.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit low on that cash at the moment but it is a priority to build back up. I try to keep fives & tens plus loonies & toonies (what we call one and two dollar coins) as no one wants to break $20 or $50's.
Many of us who live in apt. buildings still require coins for the laundry room and this became an issue during the initial lockdown when everyone was using debit and credit cards instead of cash! My jar of loose change came in very handy!
Bluey and I keep our $1 and $2 coins. We have a couple of these stashed around the house. I use the coins to fund extras at Christmas. The leftover coins are kept and used in emergencies. At our old place, after a cyclone, power was out for a number of days. At home we had the gen set to keep the fridge and freezer going, and to power a much needed fan at night. The local store, was secretly allowing some loyal customers credit, and offered it to us. We were able to thank them and say no as we had enough of the coins to purchase what we needed. Eftpos was out of action for well over a week
ReplyDeleteI would encourage you to make sure you have a good stash of coins. When we were using our coins there was a man with a $50 note. As soon as he left the store a few people were after him looking for a loan. We were left alone as we were only using coins. A few coins given to a friend or neighbour, to help out, is also so much easier than a larger amount of money.
We worked out how to make a rocket stove using bricks we had lying around, we always have scraps of wood as my husband turns wood. It was a very efficient way of stovetop heating i.e. boiling water or heating soups etc I think it would get us out of trouble for a short period unless it was high summer and fire bans however that’s when I’d use the gas bottles out of the camping supplies.
ReplyDeleteSue
Wouldn't it be great to see a sort of neighbourhood economy develop now? I mean the sort of swap and barter system that has worked in other times and places. Maybe a bag of lemons for some chutney or a cake - just simple arrangements to start with. A haircut for some gardening perhaps? Then the reliance on cash and plastic wouldn't be quite so heavy. I did start a cash reserve a while back, but it did me no good at all for many months last year, as businesses simply stopped handling cash here, and cards were required for all transactions. I do save all $1 and $2 coins, and find these very useful to have on hand.
ReplyDeleteLinda in NZ
Hello Annabel and a great post :) .
ReplyDeleteI so agree to split our investments into varying areas and not put all our eggs in one basket.
We have an emergency stash of cash in the home and some money always in our wallets. I can tell you there has been many cases when atm's were down etc, small household emergencies, flat tyres in the car and other things that have happened where having an emergency supply of cash has saved us.
Having only a while ago purchased the home we are still working on necessary repairs and have now looked into a whole house generator and have costed it so we can save for it and pay cash.
Have a great week :).
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).