How many people have taken their money out of banks and converted all investments to cash or food ,water,or other sources? I can tell of three.(3) Three families that no longer have faith in the system. I will share this information with you all on the net, You don't Have to use your real name or e-mail. I am just highly interested in the results pertaining to y2k. Please be honest so we all can find out the facts. Maybe we can get some type of percentage to see hoe things are really going?

Lon

-- lon Brock (Lon1937@aol.com), February 22, 1999

Answers

Greybear did all that several years ago, invested it in food, water, and ...er....other sources.

And BTW this *is* my real name. At least around here

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), February 22, 1999.

I don't have any money in the banks to take out. I have never had faith in the system. I am waiting for the lights to go out on Broadway one final time before I head for the hills like a hungry varmint. Otherwise my life won't change much.

I've got a little black book with my poems in... I got bag, a toothbrush and a comb.

-- (Lancelot @ tavern link.com), February 22, 1999.

Sold one of two of my personal homes. Paid off home. Paid all debts. Purchased 5000 Ozs. silver and 50 ozs. gold. Put $40,000.00 in safe at home in ones,fives, tens, twentys and fiftys. House with land is completely self-sufficiant including 4000w solar system. Left $15,000.00 in bank for personal transactions. Will spend the next 6 months accumulating another $100,000.00 in silver and some gold. The rest of bank accounts will be cleaned out when it looks like time to do so.

A Regular Poster

-- A Regular Poster (can'ttell@personal.com), February 22, 1999.

Lon, To be honest, my husband and I are in our mid-twenties with two little girls. We do not have any investments to turn to cash or anything else. We did use our income tax return on extra supplies. I have been saving all of our 2 liter bottles for our water supply. I have only been spending about $50.00 a week on everything. Then my husband comes home on Sunday (he is a OTR truck driver) and gives me a list of about a million and one other things we may or may not need. It is all beginning to seem so overwhelming and hopeless. But if I did have investments, I guess I probaly would. I have to think of my little girls ya know.

Sorry for my life story ;}

-- shellie (shellie01@hotmail.com), February 22, 1999.

Lon:

On my limited budget I'm obtaining as much food as possible for family and friends. I'm gathering dozens of durable empty plastic bottles to hold water. I've left some cash in the bank because I have automatic withdrawals for gas, utilities and www.gfa.org since I like them very much.

Last week my supervisor laughed derisively at me when I asked her if I could have my pay in cash. (At the factory where I work, everyone has mandatory direct deposits.) I'm not happy with her attitude. She doesn't GI and said she'll wait to see what happens later this year.

I'll keep some money in my bank account for those automatic withdrawals, but the rest of my earnings will be withdrawn in check or cash for food and durable goods until the day the banks crash. Hopefully many moons from now, Greybear. :)

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 22, 1999.

Lon Brock,

I'm afraid you've chosen an unfortunate name for yuourself. :) Might get mistaken for me, and everyone knows me to be a dishonorable and foolish old curmudgeon given to flights of puffery.

FWIW Don't have money in the bank. I've always thought of money as a tool, and I don't lend my tools to bankers. I'm using my tools (very small ones, almost miniscule) right now to build something metalic.

-- The Other Lon (old@curmudgeon.com), February 22, 1999.

$60,000 in debt and praying the banks don't do a "reverse bank run" on me. Bad investments, working for no pay because I've been much too nice and trusting, deadbeat clients. All chickens are coming home to roost at once. Y2K couldn't have picked a worse time to come along. If not for Y2K I would be working it out with Consumer Credit Counseling right now. But doing so means you have to cut up your credit cards, and I need them for preps. If not using the money for preps I might be paying off 10-20,000 this year, then only to have Y2k catch me unprepared. You can't eat a clean credit record. Do I ever feel bad about doing this, though.

Some of us have life lessons to learn the hard way. All of us do, but mine is in the money area big time. It is quite a bit of stress being in debt and a Y2k GI at the same time. Means there are few places I can talk about it at all.

You need to open up a new category in your survey for people in debt, I think.

-- indeepdoodoo (deep@indebt.com), February 22, 1999.

indeepdoodoo:

Guess I don't really want that credit card after all... :)

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 22, 1999.

Time is getting short here, most people who have been on this forum for 2 months or more have already done their thing. Many are tieing up the loose ends and sitting back waiting for the axe to fall. In the meantime, the stock market is being manipulated, the feds are holding back the winds of strife (their still preparing and not quite ready), and the millions of DGIs will be left holding the bag. For those of you sitting back waiting to see what's going to happen or your're waiting for a sign, it will be too late, things will happen faster than you can say "OH SHIT!"

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), February 22, 1999.

What little bit Sweetie and me had in savings, we put into a small solar array (which will at least run the water bed heater and the teevee, maybe a hot plate if we can add a couple more panels) and supplies. Four Winds Renewable Energy, Lumen Foods, Adventure Foods, yard sales, Big Lots, free buckets and free bottling plant barrels are wonderful things. Especially yard sales. (Hint: this is where you'll find oil lamps, camp stoves, maybe even a Kero-Sun if you get lucky.) We have only $25 in savings, which will keep the account open, just in case. People being what they are, providing there's no trigger prior to then, I suspect a lot of medium income recent GIs will be buying their supplies when their tax refunds arrive. Let's guess the majority will arrive around May 1 to June 1.

-- Broke Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 23, 1999.

we withdrew $200K from Stock mkt last July, on a high, We sleep REAL good on that lump in the mattressLOL We are all prepared and sitting back. I haven't done anything with hubby's last 3 pay checks. Think I will go from bank to bank branch and just cash them and stash. Everyone should have our problems. But we have been young, in debt up to our ears too. Know how it feels. Just one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. You will make it if you have KNOWLEDGE. That is your most valuable asset.

-- Taz (Tassie@AOL.com), February 23, 1999.

Greetings!

Hubby and I don't have much money in the bank (don't have much money period). However, we have managed to get some chickens and a couple of rabbits. I have my list for seeds ready when payday comes. Storing water in two and three liter plastic soda bottles. Hoping for some long lost relative to leave us an inheritance...oh well, guess we had better just keep plodding along, getting what we can when we can. I appreciate y'all!

-- Sharon in Texas (sking@drought-ridden.com), February 23, 1999.

bardou:

I think you're right about the sudden swiftness of the collapse.

BAM! The crash. DAMN! The panic. WHAM! TSHTF!

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), February 23, 1999.

Hey there! We're lucky if we have any money in the bank left on the day before pay day. We're putting everything we can into preps -- spending it as fast as we make it. Will continue to do so up until mass panic hits. We have very little money as it is but we are making the most of it by shopping at sales, etc. Good luck to all!

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), February 24, 1999.

I'm taking a conservative step forward in all areas, but not altogether. Keeping a sizeable 401k, but switched from growth/index funds to money market fund; switched IRA from growth to govt fund; cashing all other stocks and funds; withdrawing small amount twice a week from bank, but will probably still have a lot in the bank come rollover; spending major amounts on home repairs (new roof, etc.); will not have any debt at rollover, and some bills will be paid a few months in advance.

-- A Regular (boomer@ngst.com), February 24, 1999.