• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • John F Dean
  • Jay Angler
  • paul wheaton
  • r ranson
stewards:
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Leigh Tate
  • Liv Smith
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Matt McSpadden
  • thomas rubino

Preparing for Inflation or Possible Market Crash

 
Posts: 324
Location: Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
43
monies cooking building
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi,  Associated Press reported:
Tuesday's report from the Labor Department showed that consumer prices in June rose 0.9% from May and 5.4% over the past year — the sharpest 12-month inflation spike since August 2008. Excluding volatile oil and gas prices, so-called core inflation rose 4.5% in the past year, the largest increase since November 1991.
Experts had been anticipating a .5% price increase only — nearly half of what actually happened,
Over the last year, many prices have spiked, not just in consumer goods but in manufacturing goods also, increasing their prices.
Here are some of the items that inflation has really driven prices up: Car rental 87.7% (y/y change) Used cars 45.2%, Gas 45.1%, Laundry machines 29.4%, Airfare 24.6%, Moving 17.3%, Hotels 16.9%, Furniture 8.6%, Bacon 8.4%, TVs 7.6%, Fruit 7.3%, Shoes 6.5%, Fresh fish 6.4%, New cars 5.3%, Milk 5.6%, Rent (OER) 2.3%.

Inflation is just going to make everything more difficult financially. Also, watching the financial sector I see trends like just before the 2008 housing crash, meltdown.

My idea is to share knowledge to help ameliorate this situation. When posting let us know what type of place you live in, (ie.., town, city, rural homestead etc...) Some things that work in the country side will not work in the concrete jungle.  
What would you do to prepare for some of the problems (and I'm not talking about zombie apocolypse)?  

It is also good to be wise and not say something like I just bought $50,000.00 dollars of gold or whatever. Someone might want what you have.

I live in a rural setting, with 1/2 acre on the shore of lake Michigan.  I propose that any big ticket purchases be made sooner than later. I was looking at at buying something I wanted and waited 2months and then thought of purchasing it. The price rose $750.00 dollars. So buy sooner than later.  

What other things might you be doing to prepare for this?
 
gardener
Posts: 3888
Location: South of Capricorn
2054
dog rabbit urban cooking writing homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I live in an urban homestead in Brazil, where we know a bit about inflation, and official numbers are saying it's 8 some percent this year. Cooking gas is up 40%, diesel/gas similar, most food prices have doubled since the start of the pandemic. Power/water fees also up. I went away for a month in June, came back and prices were visibly higher for everything. It shows no signs of stopping; if we're lucky, by year end we'll see some recovery, not improvement but maybe back to where things were before. Will prices drop back down? It's doubtful, but at least there should be some kind of growth. In the meantime we are not delaying purchases, although we honestly don't buy much, we have most of what we need. Thankfully we are employed, with no debt, and my kid is doing her college for free.

It looks like the prices of corn/soy are just about to skyrocket, which impacts meat/dairy, so I'm thinking of actually getting the meat rabbit operation going for real this year (it's been on hold, because I can only juggle so many things at once-- it's currently more cost effective for me to earn more than to save on meat).

We are keeping our heads down and plugging along. Lucky for me my work has exploded since the pandemic started; my spouse is not so lucky and his business is slow. We saved a LOT of money over the last year and a half from not going out or traveling, and I pretty much don't even use a car most of the time. Sold spare vehicles that weren't getting used (motorcycles were in demand, sold two; renting out one car we don't use on the weekend, and I'm about ready to sell the antique car I use when I do go out once a week-- more cost effective to use Uber once a week than to maintain the thing all year round).
Land prices are up as people moved out to the country during lockdown or we'd have sunk some cash into land already. Right now we are biding our time, working on the urban farm, and planning for the next step, since the kid is still in college, now living back at home, and we want to coordinate our move with her move as she goes on to her next phase post-college.
 
pioneer
Posts: 91
Location: North Texas, Zone 8a, Black Clay
8
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

I live in a rural setting, with 1/2 acre on the shore of lake Michigan.  I propose that any big ticket purchases be made sooner than later. I was looking at at buying something I wanted and waited 2months and then thought of purchasing it. The price rose $750.00 dollars. So buy sooner than later.



Don't forget that small regular purchases can add up. Buy in bulk, especially for items you know you'll need which wont expire. Toilet paper, diapers, etc.
 
pollinator
Posts: 979
267
5
tiny house food preservation cooking rocket stoves homestead
  • Likes 12
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I am working toward buying 2 years worth of meat and canning it now.          

Inflation is slated to go thru the roof, and with the rise of gas prices, and food shortages on the horizon   I figured I am going to need to buy it anyway, why not buy it and have it on the shelf.      Canned meat lasts like 5 years so buying it now while it is at a good price and putting it into a form that last thru a power outage just made good sense for me.


I also just went off grid,    I bought extra solar panels and finally pulled to plug on the power company.     Now I get $30.00   a month back since I am no longer connected.

I am now looking at a bean sheller,     I want to be able to process food as the price of food should skyrocket,  expanding my garden and working at better ways to process food seems like the way to go to me.

IMG_20210626_092733.jpg
[Thumbnail for IMG_20210626_092733.jpg]
IMG_20210712_111347.jpg
[Thumbnail for IMG_20210712_111347.jpg]
 
gardener
Posts: 497
Location: Middle Georgia, Zone 8B
285
homeschooling home care chicken food preservation cooking fiber arts
  • Likes 20
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
We live in a semi-urban area, but in a hidden pocket of "rural" inside the town. (The house up the street has horses.) We have the smallest lot in our neighborhood, at just under .5 acre.

Our tips to hedge ourselves against inflation and a bad economy:

1. Rethink our ideas of money being akin to wealth. By that we mean define our family's wealth in non-currency types of ways. Our tangible, holding-in-our-hands assets are worth more than digits in a bank computer somewhere. I don't mean we have gold or anything like that; I mean we are trying to make sure we have what we need on hand for our family now, before we must make a hasty financial decision later. Things we can't manufacture here, ie: rice, sugar, dairy, mammal meat, etc. are what we are focusing our stockpile on.

2. We are trying to put our own systems in place here on our property so that we are not slaves to the market/economy. Our systems include food, water, shelter, tools, etc. We are actively trying to make ourselves as self-sufficient as possible so that we are not washed about with the tides of inflation.
a. We are trying to grow as much food as we can.
b. We are saving as much seed as we can.
c. We are raising as much poultry as we can.
d. We are collecting as much water as we can.
e. We are learning as much DIY for repairs/construction as we can. We may not be able to afford large purchases later, so we'll need to fix up and make do with what we've got now.
f. We are paying as much extra to our mortgage (our only debt) as much as we can.

3. We are engaging in side hustles--reselling, mowing lawns, etc.

4. Be content. Remember how God has taken care of us in the past, and trust He will continue to provide for us. We've yet to go to bed hungry. We've never been without clothing or shoes. We've never been homeless. We've never been without medical care. In the grand scheme of things, we are filthy stinkin' rich compared to 90% of the world.
 
steward
Posts: 15732
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4236
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I live in a very rural area which was very hard hit last year due to some very unfortunate circumstances.

Several restaurants closed their doors due to a lack of customers.

The community stood behind their friends and neighbors.  There were special drive-through dinners to help pay taxes, etc.

I am gladly paying higher prices to help our community.

I also understand that there have been several cyber attacks on businesses so the prices are going up.  I blame the cybercriminals, not the businesses.

My best strategy against inflation or a possible market crash is to live as frugal as possible and forget about trying to make money in the stock market.  I have never invested in the stock market as it is a gamble.
 
pollinator
Posts: 219
Location: Clackamas County, OR (zone 7)
126
  • Likes 10
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

I propose that any big ticket purchases be made sooner than later.



This is exactly the sort of thinking that drives inflation. If people assume that prices are going to go up, then buying now, at any price, seems logical. If everyone buys goods at an elevated price, then supply will not be able to outrun demand and ... prices will stay the same, or go up.

While I am not an economist, my understanding of the current situation (from reading articles on reputable news outlets, by reputable experts) is pretty classic supply and demand. We have just experienced a massive supply disruption, we have pumped a lot of easy money into the system, and now there are a bunch of mis-matches in supply and demand. Evidence for this can be seem in the price of lumber. As all the cooped up homeowners ran to Home Depot to buy boards for their new fence, the prices went crazy. As soon as the price climbed too high, they stopped buying so much, mills started working triple shifts, and so supply and demand are balancing out. Here is an intersting graph:

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/lumber

This graph is of "lumber" in a commodity sense, but given time, that price will drive down cost we pay for the finished products at the store (I.E. plywood and 2x4s or whatever).

This disruption will likely last for a long time, but I think the prudent thing to do at the moment is to sit tight. The longer you put off a major purchase, too, the more likely you are to realize that you didnt actually need it in the first place. As for rising food prices, what better incentive could you need to plant another bed in the garden?

 
gardener
Posts: 1236
359
7
trees wofati rocket stoves
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I was going to say it's a supply/demand shift, with more areas opening up as vaccination counts rise, while certain industries haven't ramped up production to match. We have very slim supply chain margins that can't handle big shifts in supply or demand.

When a story talks about overall inflation of 1% being "far higher then expected", that's not an issue to me. Historically inflation has been closer to 3% hasn't it? With so much shut down in the last year, seeing a 4.5% annual rise feels a little low even. At one point last year oil option prices hit negative dollars because there was so much oversupply. We've been in this weird state for the last 10-15 years of near zero interest rates, and nothing stirs up ratings better than making everything a crisis. Mortgage rates are still way under 5%, and now house prices are shooting way up due to pent up demand and few houses for sale. Prices are up 10-15% in just the last year here, wasn't surprising seeing gas prices go up with summer and reopenings happening at the same time. But a few months of corrections should be expected later this year. Lumber for example, you had a drop in supply as mills slowed down, followed by a ton of people stuck at home and deciding to build things, and prices are crazy. I expect they will stay crazy so long as enough people keep buying.

Growing more of your own food is always a good option, you know what is or isn't sprayed on it, it's fresher, and you can store the surplus. But I think there will always be people warning about the imminent collapse, using it to sell us stuff. For the last couple decades of my adult life, I've been warned about the upcoming "whatever" that will end life as we know it. It's about to happen every couple years, usually tied to a political/tech/social change of some sort.
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 15732
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4236
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Carl said, "I think the prudent thing to do at the moment is to sit tight. The longer you put off a major purchase, too, the more likely you are to realize that you didnt actually need it in the first place. As for rising food prices, what better incentive could you need to plant another bed in the garden?



Both of these ideas are great and so true!
 
pollinator
Posts: 1518
Location: Southern Oregon
463
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
We have been looking at ways to monetize our property especially ones that the tax write-offs balance the increase in income, like Hipcamp. We always bulk buy so that isn't new or different. Mostly we are trying to deal with the lack of products, services etc. It's very difficult to get water deliveries unless you know someone, or tradesmen to come out, that seems very much a lack of supply issue. So finding work arounds is important, whether it's DIY or bartering. Thankfully we are not involved in the market and are good at non-monetary solutions.
 
pollinator
Posts: 343
Location: Dry mountains Eastern WA
79
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Carl Nystrom wrote:

I propose that any big ticket purchases be made sooner than later.



This is exactly the sort of thinking that drives inflation. If people assume that prices are going to go up, then buying now, at any price, seems logical. If everyone buys goods at an elevated price, then supply will not be able to outrun demand and ... prices will stay the same, or go up.

While I am not an economist, my understanding of the current situation (from reading articles on reputable news outlets, by reputable experts) is pretty classic supply and demand. We have just experienced a massive supply disruption, we have pumped a lot of easy money into the system, and now there are a bunch of mis-matches in supply and demand. Evidence for this can be seem in the price of lumber. As all the cooped up homeowners ran to Home Depot to buy boards for their new fence, the prices went crazy. As soon as the price climbed too high, they stopped buying so much, mills started working triple shifts, and so supply and demand are balancing out. Here is an intersting graph:

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/lumber

This graph is of "lumber" in a commodity sense, but given time, that price will drive down cost we pay for the finished products at the store (I.E. plywood and 2x4s or whatever).

This disruption will likely last for a long time, but I think the prudent thing to do at the moment is to sit tight. The longer you put off a major purchase, too, the more likely you are to realize that you didnt actually need it in the first place. As for rising food prices, what better incentive could you need to plant another bed in the garden?



Your lumber economics is a bit simplistic.  

I’m not sure where you got the idea mills “ started working triple shifts” to meet demand.  Most mills work 24-7 and during covid were considered an essential industry. Most production  mills are incredibly efficient. That being said mills can only produce as much lumber as the speed of their machinery. They can’t make more lumber than the machinery will allow.

A production lumber mill works at capacity ( or should) every day.

That’s why you see acres and acres of logs in log yards waiting to be milled.  Even though there is demand mills can only put out what the machinery allows.  

There isn’t a scramble to all of the sudden start working at full capacity.  










 
Posts: 81
Location: Allentown, PA but we bought off-grid property in Newark Valley, NY
20
7
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Reading over the posts, I get that there's a difference between the official inflation rate and temporary shortage driven inflation.  But I don't see a downside in reducing dependence on our "just in time" systems by bulk purchasing, buying ahead or finding ways to produce more of your own.  

Unfortunately for us, we've been hit with so much rain that our hillside garden is a swamp, has been for a while, and no end in sight.  I'm not sure we're going to have a good harvest this year.  We're starting a bunch of transplants now in the hopes of salvaging a fall garden.  But for sure we won't have the bumper crop of potatoes and sweet potatoes like we had last year.  Those calorie crops were real budget stretchers.

We did make one very large purchase this past week.  Our old Prius has over 150K miles on the original battery.  We found a new one for sale that was exactly what we wanted.  Instead of waiting for the old car to fully die like we usually do, we bought the replacement.  We'll keep the old one and hope it lasts to give to our son who will be old enough to drive in 10 months!  As others have pointed out, there are some supply and demand problems happening.  Particularly with anything that has computer chips in it.  So it does seem prudent to buy things a bit ahead if you know you'll be needing them in the near future.  Desperately needing something is a good way to be stuck paying more that you're comfortable with.
 
Mart Hale
pollinator
Posts: 979
267
5
tiny house food preservation cooking rocket stoves homestead
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Looking at real data the harvest this year does not look good.        Not only is the flow of goods have problems but also the  production is down.

image.jpeg
[Thumbnail for image.jpeg]
 
gardener
Posts: 1460
Location: PNW
894
3
trees books food preservation cooking writing homestead
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Lumber prices are going down:
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/21/1008843212/lumber-prices-are-finally-dropping-after-they-soared-during-the-pandemic

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/08/1013819703/what-the-rise-and-fall-of-lumber-prices-tell-us-about-the-pandemic-economy

Supply and demand
 
Arthur Angaran
Posts: 324
Location: Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
43
monies cooking building
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi, When the govt. here in the US talks about inflation of 1 percent, they are talking about the new way they view inflation. Today's inflation of (I think 2.5 %) is equal to 11 or 12% back in the 1980's to make it not look as bad as it is in real world numbers.(Can we say they are lying to you?) So for us non economists should we just think it is a lot higher?

Transitory inflation is supply and demand. Unfortunately with all the money printed out of thin air prices must go up as the value of the dollar goes down.

The story today from Kroger. Grocery prices are headed higher this year. Inflation is running much hotter than management anticipated. Prices are expected to rise another 2-3% by the end of the year. Beef prices are up 14%, pork prices 12%, poultry is up 6%, Inflation hits the poor the hardest.

The NY Fed stopped publishing the GDP number. This is one of the oldest and most important numbers published. The Atlanta Fed district, (there are 12 districts), the Friday before Labor Day at 4:00 published the projected GDP to go downward by 41%. This is very very bad. There is something wrong here, you can't spend yourself out of financial problems. No one really talked about the downward projection, since we had 9/11, Biden's proclamation, Afghan stories. . .

I am preparing for a bit of a bumpy ride.
 
Posts: 1510
110
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I look at it like this
if your going to need or want to buy seeds for next spring, get them sooner rather than later.
if a little or big greenhouse will help you boost production, procure the needed supplies now rather than waiting.
stuff like that might turn out to be a big help if things go bad.

but a whole bunch of stuff hasn't been normal for well over a year now. for example a friend sent me a package 2nd day delivery fedex-- its now been ten days still no package and tracking is useless it just says

No scheduled delivery date available at this time.

and in the detailed tracking info the last entry was 5 days ago and says


on delivery truck

in transit

yup a bunch of stuff already is not how it used to be
 
pollinator
Posts: 807
Location: Appalachian Foothills-Zone 7
202
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Good time to borrow money.  Refinancing your house/property at a long term low fixed rate is an excellent way to hedge against inflation.  
 
pollinator
Posts: 424
Location: New Hampshire
242
hugelkultur forest garden chicken food preservation bee
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Stacie Kim wrote:We live in a semi-urban area, but in a hidden pocket of "rural" inside the town. (The house up the street has horses.) We have the smallest lot in our neighborhood, at just under .5 acre.

Our tips to hedge ourselves against inflation and a bad economy:

1. Rethink our ideas of money being akin to wealth. By that we mean define our family's wealth in non-currency types of ways. Our tangible, holding-in-our-hands assets are worth more than digits in a bank computer somewhere. I don't mean we have gold or anything like that; I mean we are trying to make sure we have what we need on hand for our family now, before we must make a hasty financial decision later. Things we can't manufacture here, ie: rice, sugar, dairy, mammal meat, etc. are what we are focusing our stockpile on.

2. We are trying to put our own systems in place here on our property so that we are not slaves to the market/economy. Our systems include food, water, shelter, tools, etc. We are actively trying to make ourselves as self-sufficient as possible so that we are not washed about with the tides of inflation.
a. We are trying to grow as much food as we can.
b. We are saving as much seed as we can.
c. We are raising as much poultry as we can.
d. We are collecting as much water as we can.
e. We are learning as much DIY for repairs/construction as we can. We may not be able to afford large purchases later, so we'll need to fix up and make do with what we've got now.
f. We are paying as much extra to our mortgage (our only debt) as much as we can.

3. We are engaging in side hustles--reselling, mowing lawns, etc.

4. Be content. Remember how God has taken care of us in the past, and trust He will continue to provide for us. We've yet to go to bed hungry. We've never been without clothing or shoes. We've never been homeless. We've never been without medical care. In the grand scheme of things, we are filthy stinkin' rich compared to 90% of the world.




This is along the lines on what we are doing.  Of course most of what we are doing it are things we have been planning and working toward for the last 7 years and not necessarily a reaction to the latest economic news.   I am sure most permies here are of a similar mindset even if they are on a different point on the path.    

My husband built us a greenhouse.  He is currently finishing it up and building raised beds to go inside of it.  

We keep expanding the garden every year and now I am buying more food preservation tools to deal with all the production.   Why I didn't think to 30 quart  mixing bowls and a giant colander to go with my 5 and 6 gallon stock pots sooner.  I am also slowly picking up more canning jars, lids, and heavy duty freezer bags that I can wash and reuse.

I started buying in bulk and having stuff we use regularly shipped to my house when I stopped driving a few years ago.  With the current supply chain issues I tend to buy stuff in lots of what we would use in 4 to 6 months.  This allows me to catch the rare sale and not stress over shipping delays.   4 to 6 months supply is based on our storage space and my ability to not get overwhelmed with too much stuff.  

Other things that I need once a year or so I try and buy a season ahead.  I order my spring seeds, trees, soil amendments, and garden expansion materials  in the fall and early winter.  We do this in part so we need to know what to build/ prep in the fall so we can just plant in the spring.   With our cold, wet, late, spring that has biting black flies it pays huge dividends to build infrastructure and garden prep in the fall.  Fall project include the green house project, adding more fencing, updating the chicken run, adding a second coop, redesigning the dry hang out shelter in the coop, rescuing the raspberry patch  from other overgrown vines, and adding more raised garden beds.  

I am working on lining up reliable friends to work with me in the garden next year to reduce my work load and share the production.  We are finally getting to the point where we are starting to grow more than we can consume.  Scheduling will the hard part but I have 3 friends that I think I can make it work and hopefully we will all benefit.

Christmas presents are being handmade this year or purchased now to avoid the hassle of supply chain and price increase issues.  With my art and design background and our family's love of food it is easy to make gifts our loved ones actually want is easy for us.    

I am hoping that our financial and lifestyle choices will get us through whatever economic shifts come our way.   I am just grateful we starting incorporating permaculture into our thought processes and lifestyle years ago.  

 

 
Posts: 261
Location: Denia, Alicante, Spain. Zone 10. 22m height
47
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Stacie Kim wrote:We live in a semi-urban area, but in a hidden pocket of "rural" inside the town. (The house up the street has horses.) We have the smallest lot in our neighborhood, at just under .5 acre.

Our tips to hedge ourselves against inflation and a bad economy:

1. Rethink our ideas of money being akin to wealth. By that we mean define our family's wealth in non-currency types of ways. Our tangible, holding-in-our-hands assets are worth more than digits in a bank computer somewhere. I don't mean we have gold or anything like that; I mean we are trying to make sure we have what we need on hand for our family now, before we must make a hasty financial decision later. Things we can't manufacture here, ie: rice, sugar, dairy, mammal meat, etc. are what we are focusing our stockpile on.

2. We are trying to put our own systems in place here on our property so that we are not slaves to the market/economy. Our systems include food, water, shelter, tools, etc. We are actively trying to make ourselves as self-sufficient as possible so that we are not washed about with the tides of inflation.
a. We are trying to grow as much food as we can.
b. We are saving as much seed as we can.
c. We are raising as much poultry as we can.
d. We are collecting as much water as we can.
e. We are learning as much DIY for repairs/construction as we can. We may not be able to afford large purchases later, so we'll need to fix up and make do with what we've got now.
f. We are paying as much extra to our mortgage (our only debt) as much as we can.

3. We are engaging in side hustles--reselling, mowing lawns, etc.

4. Be content. Remember how God has taken care of us in the past, and trust He will continue to provide for us. We've yet to go to bed hungry. We've never been without clothing or shoes. We've never been homeless. We've never been without medical care. In the grand scheme of things, we are filthy stinkin' rich compared to 90% of the world.



Hola Stacy. Your #1 is something that I have a lot in my head for the last weeks.

I have some debt (that I could eliminate right away), some emergency savings and some investments in funds.

But for the last weeks I am tortured with the idea of having all invested in our homestead. Difficult thing to me is change the mindset that took me to the indexed funds, but somehow I feel that this money might help me more raising chickens than having BigTech stock.

So, I am into this inner debate at the moment
 
Posts: 80
Location: northern Arkansas
20
cooking medical herbs solar
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Seems like things are getting really weird ... to me.
Reading this, I just would like somebody who understands these things to forewarn me ... I guess this IS the forewarning.  
If I could figure out what to do, I'd do it, but ... holy mackerel.   What's going to happen?   (btw, this link takes you to the "comments" at the bottom but Just go on up to read from the top.).  If you read it ... which I hope somebody will and then ... what to do, whut to do?   Like "trust He will provide for us," well that's a fine policy ... might just have to rely on that.  He's done it so far.  

https://www.unz.com/article/the-coming-global-financial-revolution-russia-is-following-the-american-playbook/#comments
 
pollinator
Posts: 403
Location: zone 5-5
139
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Coins will always hold value better than paper.
Because they are made with metal.
I remember when silver went to $50 an OZ and coins were worth more than their face value.
If the value of the dollar drops too far,
I can imagine buying the small things at a farmer's markets, from locals or flea markets with pieces of copper, lead or brass.
 
Posts: 7
Location: Oregon, USA
1
gear woodworking homestead
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Jenn Lumpkin wrote:Seems like things are getting really weird ... to me.
Reading this, I just would like somebody who understands these things to forewarn me ... I guess this IS the forewarning.  
If I could figure out what to do, I'd do it, but ... holy mackerel.   What's going to happen?   (btw, this link takes you to the "comments" at the bottom but Just go on up to read from the top.).  If you read it ... which I hope somebody will and then ... what to do, whut to do?   Like "trust He will provide for us," well that's a fine policy ... might just have to rely on that.  He's done it so far.



Yes, the events we see unfolding every day are the warning (and it's hard to overstate the importance of Russia announcing they're going back to the gold standard).  No one can tell you (in advance) the exact moment to move.  Start early.  Produce as much of your needed food as possible; beat inflation by owning hard assets rather than dollars (ideally appreciating assets like real estate); stock your pantry, have some water on hand.  And be wary of debt.  Debt is the primary instrument used to control people in the modern world.
 
gardener
Posts: 5322
Location: Southern Illinois
1439
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I wanted to take a crack at the original post in this thread and help alleviate some fear from a popular misconception.  Generally, inflation does not creat a market crash.  Deflation is generally responsible for market crashes.  Just to illustrate:

The Great Depression was a result of massive deflation, not inflation.  A good counter-example might be the stock market surge in the 80’s (especially early 80’s) was associated with high inflation.  

Just to clarify, inflation is defined as a general rise in prices per unit across an economy.  And this must be balanced against items which drop in price but we refuse to see.  As an example, a few years ago I listened to an NPR article about government shoppers who were measuring retail prices for typical consumer items.  The shopper being interviewed was looking for a woman’s 1 piece swimsuit with a tricot crotch.  At first thought that last detail was excessively picky, bordering on overshare when I realized that this is how specific the item had to be measured (and I think this was pretty much every woman’s swimsuit).

The article went on to describe how some items are actually deflationary and hidden right before our eyes.  The obvious example was computers (this was a few years ago) and while the price may have seemed to remain stagnant, this was an illusion as a computer from 5 years earlier costing the same amount had vastly less RAM, storage, processing, etc.  The price per unit was much smaller with time and thus deflationary.  So while food and gas prices get everyone’s attention, those examples are not truly reflective of the actual inflation rate which is less.

And strange as it may sound, inflation is not always a bad thing.  Mind you, I am not advocating for high inflation, just pointing out that inflation (along with just about any other economic circumstance) is not a black/white, always good or bad scenario.  Inflation means that the extra money needs to go somewhere and frequently that is in the form of stocks making stocks a good hedge against inflation.  Land is also a good hedge against inflation if you can get in early or if you already own your own home.

Just to say it again, I don’t want inflation and current levels do concern me, but I do recognize that inflation can provide certain opportunities if one is willing to take the risk.

Eric
 
Posts: 16
Location: Northern Virginia, United States
2
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Stocks have generally been a good hedge against inflation in the long run and there have been plenty of analyses of stock values over the last 100 plus years demonstrating that in any 20 year period you pick, stocks have always increased in value. One of those was done by Consumer Reports, so I have reasonable trust that they didn’t fiddle the numbers. On the other hand, the world has never experienced the kind of environmental crisis we are heading into now, nor has it ever had to support a population as large as we have now. So, as they say, past returns may not predict future results.
 
Eric Hanson
gardener
Posts: 5322
Location: Southern Illinois
1439
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Inflation is actually defined as too much money chasing too few goods/services.  So the extra money has to go somewhere and it really can only show up in higher prices, including stock prices, making stocks a good hedge against inflation as already stated.
 
Posts: 46
Location: Full Time Car Dweller/ Digital Nomad looking for Permie Farms!
14
2
monies forest garden tiny house cooking building solar
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Cash out IRA to buy land?

A few things about me: I am single/divorced, with no children at home. I'm employed, and make decent money but between paying college tuition and living expenses for myself and my daughter and the occasional loan to my older daughter, I don't save near enough money. Not to mention that I'm investing in starting up a business, and after being a single mom for 20 years, I need a bit of a life so I'm spending some on travel and entertainment, and investing in courses to learn new skills (one being permaculture). I currently live with family, so I'm not paying rent/utilities (that's how I'm affording to pay tuition/support). I do not have any credit history after a recent bankruptcy post layoff in Dec 2019.

What I'm concerned about: My IRA is currently in the stock market which is not performing well, however, land investments seem to typically increase in value. Inflation and interest rates plus my non-existent credit history could make it very difficult to get financed for a home or land. And in the amount of time it might take me to build my credit and find land, the economic conditions might still make it impossible to have reasonable payments.

My idea: Cash out some or all of my IRA to purchase about 5-10 acres of land (with a home) for the purposes of permaculture and other income producing activities.

Have any of you done this?
What would you caution me about?
What are the pros?
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 15732
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4236
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Buying land is not always a good investment based on each person's situation.

Paying cash for land is much better than financing land.

If you have the cash to buy the land this may be a good option if you can get the land at a reasonable price.

Over the years I have bought and sold a lot of land.

The only time I made a profit was years ago when the price of land skyrocketed.

My best strategy is to invest in food.

https://permies.com/t/93304/kitchen/Stocked-Food-Storage-Pantry

Only buy items that you know your family will eat.

Set up a system to rotate food so the items get used before becoming outdated.
 
steward & bricolagier
Posts: 14456
Location: SW Missouri
9843
2
goat cat fungi books chicken earthworks food preservation cooking building homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 8
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Candice Churchwell wrote:

What I'm concerned about: My IRA is currently in the stock market which is not performing well, however, land investments seem to typically increase in value.
My idea: Cash out some or all of my IRA to purchase about 5-10 acres of land (with a home) for the purposes of permaculture and other income producing activities.


To me land is not a monetary investment, expecting it will "increase in value" is not the point of owning it for me. To me it's a HOME, not a house, not an investment expecting value increase, not real estate for resale. And THAT makes it worth it to me.

As far as should you do this, I have a question: If you decide in a year or three that this does not work for you, and you hate it, what will having used your IRA funds have done to your future possibilities? If you DO love it and thrive, it will have been the best thing you could have done, if you don't though, how bad have you cut off your options?

One more thing I'd ask, have you lived anything sort of like this before? The lifestyle is very different than an urban one, you can't casually take a trip to the Bahamas if you have to get a critter sitter. Livestock doesn't let you sleep in on the weekend. The lifestyle difference is a lot of what makes people run away screaming. You might think on what you like  in life, and whether this is a good fit for you before using your money this way.

Personally, if it were me, and I had an IRA to work with, I'd say "Oh hell yes!" and do it. But I'm me, I'm not you.  And when I DID have a chance, I grabbed it, knowing who I am. Who are you? That might be the relevant question for you to think on here. What makes you happy? What makes your heart sing? I guarantee a lifestyle that does not make your heart sing is not a good choice. Invest your money to put you where your heart sings  
 
Eric Hanson
gardener
Posts: 5322
Location: Southern Illinois
1439
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I agree with everything that Pearl said with one addition:  If you are taking out IRA funds before age 65 (I don't know your age) you can expect some pretty spectacular fees/losses amounting to something like 20% off the top.  Please check my numbers.  I remembered being warned about doing this before I started investing in tax-deferred retirement savings plans and I have never cashed out any of my retirement funds.  I wouldn't want you to be hit with a spectacular fine for cashing out early.

On the other hand, if you were so interested, you might consider borrowing against these funds.  This accomplishes almost the same thing but without the penalties.

Eric
 
Oh the stink of it! Smell my tiny ad!
Contribute to BEL fund and stay in the Red Cabin for free!
https://permies.com/t/268918/Contribute-BEL-fund-stay-Red
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic