Don't get rid of your Y2K supplies

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As much as we are all pretty much tired of hearing about Y2K, I think the current situation in the stock markets make it important that we keep our pantries stocked up with several months worth of supplies, and keep the backup generating systems intact, etc. We may end up needing everything after all if the markets keep taking the nose dive they have been taking all week. It is noon on Friday and the news is not good for either the NASDAQ or the Dow and if they continue to take these large hits, the financial situation in our country could become quite serious. I'm already hearing from co-workers about the losses they are taking and they are starting to yank out their money so they don't lose everything. As more of that happens, it will fuel a selling frenzy and the stocks will continue to plummet. Hopefully, things will cool down but with so many novice investors the market is not as stable as it has been in the past. We will all have to wait and see but meanwhile, I'm going back out to refill my backup gasoline tanks for my generator and replacing any of the food I was starting to let dwindle out of my stock. Luckily, we are heading into the growing season but we better make sure we already have our seeds bought just in case as those could quickly disappear as well. Just goes to show, you never know what can happen and it is best to be prepared.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), April 14, 2000

Answers

Colleen, I agree with you 100%, I have read enough about 1929 to see a real pattern repeating its self. Everybody gambling with there money on the stock market. Everybody thinks there going to get rich. Then all of a sudden there money is GONE and only the super rich have any money.KEEP YOUR PANTRIES FULL..Doris in Idaho

-- Doris Richards (dorisquilts@webtv.net), April 14, 2000.

As far as I'm concerned, food in the pantry is better than money in the bank or stock market. I'm really concerned that something might happen too. America has had it too good for too long and most people just think it can't happen. Never say never.

-- barbara (barbaraj@mis.net), April 14, 2000.

Though the rise and fall of the stock market isn't the reason, I found a total sense of security with my supplies, I am using them and replenishing them. We own a construction business and got through our lull after Christmas in style, without having to buy groceries. We have started putting instant potatoes in with the fresh ones for mashed potatoes, using the butter powder also. I have always ground flour for bread (and yes a bread machine). It is comforting to have knowledge to grow and can your own food, and best yet Y2K gave us that kick in the butt we needed, and now we have a summer kitchen and an elevated platform over our well, with a hand pump, we have excellent gravity fed pressure to water the gardens, fill water barrels for the goats, and even works, though very low pressure ,in the house. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 14, 2000.

I just finished planting the rest of our seed potatoes, I wasn't going to, and then I read this, I am glad I did. Potatoes can very nicely and are convenient.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony@yahoo.com), April 14, 2000.

Hi Colleen, I agree that the stock market is bad right now, but 1929? No way! Sorta like Y2K, yes it could have been awful but it was not. Life is always a gamble! Being as prepared as we can be is the best solution. Work smart, not hard. When stock prices are low, it is the time to buy, NOT pull out! Every rich man learned that very early in his life. Hopefully your business colleges won't pull out everything they have invested. This mentality is what causes the 'frenzy' that screws up the market & drops the prices of our/your stocks. Stupid people doing stupid things! In the financial world you need to stay in it for the long haul, that's when you make good money. I hope you do not take this personally & get mad at me, I really don't want ANYONE to lose big $$$ because they are scared. PLEASE HANG IN THERE OKAY? Stocking your pantry is of course immediately satisfying & very much needed. We all need to keep on top of that & keep everything rotated so that nothing is wasted. Jane

-- Jane Gauch (Sewbears4u@aol.com), April 14, 2000.


Well, Jane pretty much nailed it! Panic begets panic. If you have a few extra bucks, and decided to put it in the stock market instead of seed potatoes, that's fine. Better dig the potatoes this fall. If you have stocks, and you thought you'd have to cash them in this fall, you were ill-advised. Potatoes are a short term crop. Stocks are a very long-term crop. Potatoes may do poorly this year. Stocks may do poorly this year. But you won't have to re-plant the stocks. I will take any and all bets that claim the stock market, and especially blue-chips, are lower in 6 or 12 or 18 months than they are after today's insane plunge. But don't get me wrong here. I AM going to plant potatoes! Good luck!

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), April 14, 2000.

Stock Markets? Is that the place they sell the cows in Chicago or the one that has that wretched odor in New York ? Either way--I thought we had a 90 year old Jewish man with advanced altzimers(oldtimers) disease that took care of all that. I see them lead him into congress with two seeing eye dogs and a bunch of diciples(I thought he was the second coming). I bought some extra stocks this year for y2k--folding ones for the SKS'S and the AK-47'S. I would welcome the crash of 2001--saying goodbye to futures and mythical money ! Back to barter and cash only ! We will be keeping our supplies and one hand on the Bible and the other on the Full Auto switch of the assualt rifles !

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), April 14, 2000.

Jane, I didn't mention 1929 in my discussion someone else did. I don't think anything I said was indicating being in any kind of panic. I was talking about being prepared for a possible event. The only one that seemed to be panicking was you. I don't own stocks since I feel the stock market is just a legalized method of gambling so I won't be jumping out in a panic. I'm just taking a realist view of a possiblity. The amount of money invested in margins is extremely high and this is a situation that was not in the 1929 crash and it is a very unknown variable. It can have the same effect as the automatic sells do in that it forces people to sell when the stocks have dropped thereby causing the little guy to lose. I'm afraid that the over-inflated values of the tech stocks against their earnings is going to fuel the bursting balloon and a lot of the small investors are going to get hurt. The big guys, while losing in a declining market, will have the staying power to ride out the storm while the little guy won't. This is an inevitable event, the question is when and how bad. Brad, I'll take you up on your bet. I don't think everything will be just fine a year from now. I think it is going to take a lot longer than that. We'll all know for sure by next Friday. Meanwhile, I'm staying prepared for a possible storm which is what I was only trying to say in the first place.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), April 14, 2000.

Too many wild cards out there for me to get complacent. And no, big investment houses aren't immune, either. How about derivatives and hedge funds? (Remember Capital Investments and how they got us, the American taxpayers, to bail them out). How about commodities (oh, like oil??) and the futures markets... Yup, margins are scary. But what I find frightening (I promise I'm not losing sleep over this, though) is the folks who have perceived themselves to be "wealthy" and borrowed against their equities to play in this market. If they made the wrong choices (most of Nasdaq I think!) they are going to be in a world of hurt. Then we will see a real contraction of the wealth effect and see the multipler effect kick in with a reverse vengeance.

Keep those pantries stocked. (Although I for one, am already sick of all the canned ham we have been eating since about Feb 15!).

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 14, 2000.


I meant Long Term Capital Management. Sheesh! Too many hours reading and not enough sleep!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 14, 2000.


I'm with Vicki on this one. I really enjoy the sense of security having food in storage provides. I love knowing I can run down to the basement to get what I need. I recently ran out of my first item and couldn't believe we had used so much food! I plan on working to rotate and replenish more faithfully! I really liked the suggestion on another thread for two lists. I'm not planning on the same quantities that I did before...more of some things, less of others. Monday is tax day and while I planned much better this year than others, you can bet this paycheck that I'm really glad I have everything I need in the basement!

-- Jennifer (jkmills@freewwweb.com), April 14, 2000.

People should never have more in the stock market than they can afford to loose. People loose money on the market every day, depending on which stock went down that day. Some days those same stocks go back up and then they break even or pull ahead. Do what you gut instinct tells you. If you feel you should pull out, do so. If you want to ride this out, then stay. Personally, I got out long ago. The potential value of most company's assets is far below their stock prices, which is a red flag to me. It is always foolish to have all your eggs in one basket, and diversity is the key to security. As for 1929, this seems to bear some strong resemblances. And I was taught by my economics instructor in college that buying on margins was a major contributing factor to the 1929 crash, although all my grandparents always swore up and down that the government caused the crash. They blamed the government for pulling loans the US had made overseas, which in turn caused foreign economies to nosedive, and ultimately our's followed suite. Also, the 1929 market had been declining more or less steadily for several weeks before the October crash, which of course ours have done now. And as of last night, the press was beginning to refer to Friday's drop as a crash. Keep some potato flakes, flour, meal, etc. handy. You never know when you might need it, even if the markets do recover next week. Preparation is the key.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), April 15, 2000.

Don't panic, the market will striaghten out just fine. A little correction is due. The day traders who should be playing at the race track, are flying in and out of the mnarket at an increedible pace but when they have lost their loads, things will smooth out. Think of it as growing pains for the High Tech sector! It was not the stock market that brought on the depression, it was the international agricultural sector that drove world prices down, grain prices started the ball rolling, there is really more to it than Wall street.

Still; we are rotating our stock in the store room and making sure we have plenty of everything. Back 2 years ago I bought enough motor oil and such supplies to take care of all our cars, trucks and tractors, i have seen the prices come up on those items, so I'm not out anything there. I wish I could find toilet papaewr that you can't see through tho.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), April 15, 2000.


Hi There - All my money is in stock, some have two legs, some have four........

-- Steven Erving (ervings@gwi.net), April 20, 2000.

Nothing really, just found this old thread and was curious if anyone would care to update or add to the comments? Interesting times we live in.

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), December 21, 2000.


I haven't been as diligent in keeping up with our supplies. Two days of power outages last week due to wind woke me up and we have replenished a few. I still have plenty of a few items I overstocked for...it sure feels rich to have a full pantry.

I am thinking there will be some financial worries for the nation as the new barely-president takes over. I imagine that there will be less faith in the economy in general and this will show itself in retail sales, etc. Stocks dipped today and I expect there will be another correction soon. We sold most of our stocks to remodel the house. Now that we own our property we think of it as our retirement plan. Maybe I should be planning less for the new remodel and more for the seeds for spring!

-- Anne (HT@HM.com), December 21, 2000.


Yes Wendy, interesting times. My dear one and I were just talking about being glad we always maintain a reserve so Y2k just ment a little extra this and that. We sure didn't give up the practice because Y2k was a non event. But then, we didn't start it for Y2k. I

-- Diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 21, 2000.

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