These days money is tight. Gas of course is the leading culprit. As it rises the cost of everything else rises too. Trucking companies keep America running, with out them we are in serious trouble. So when I start reading that some of these trucking companies are going under because they can not afford gas I get concerned.
If my and your local grocery stores can't get their weekly deliveries, that means less food for our communities. Less food in America....and not just for the lower income neighborhood. I am talking about middle class America and God forbid the upper crust not get their Grey Poupon.
In an instant we have become no better than a third world country wondering where their next meal is going to come from. Yes this may sound dramatic, but it IS happening already. One store in our area did not get their shipment of various can goods this week. Sure I can live with out red beans, baked beans and canned asparagus; but what is next? And when will we see a shipment of it? Next week, next month?
I have noticed that a lot of people through comments on gather do not think that we are in that bad of a situation. They say they will just "ride out" this bad patch. I am sorry but this is not just a "bad patch" this is a real life and we had better start preparing for the worst, while of course hoping for the best.
I recommend stocking up on canned goods that have a long shelf life. Gardening may be making a huge come back too. We may have to go back to the days of growing our OWN veggies. Or do with out. Buy toilet paper and other paper goods in bulk or scrap paper towels and other non-essential paper goods all together. If you have a baby on formula, I would by several cases at once. Ditto for diapers, or consider cloth. (yuck I know, but if there are no deliveries of diapers at your local store one week at least you have cloth diapers to fall back on rather than your designer towels.)
Sure there will be a new President in less than a year, but what until then? And how much can He actually do to up swing the economy immediately? Not as much as we all hope.
So don't panic, but do be aware that there is trouble lurking and if you enjoy that canned Asparagus, buy some while you can, or start digging up your yard.
Mandi Gordon money correspondent for gather.com
Mandi lives in northern IL with her husband and daughter
Mandi is pessimistically optimistic.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 54
thank you everyone!
us as a nation. We've had it so easy. Thanks for the timely article.
But you are correct when you say this ain't a "bad patch," whoever said that is hiding their head in the sand, or looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.
Personally I'm worried about our water supply. When I lived in Africa you could never count on the water or electricity running all the time. In fact, water only ran for an hour or two each day, electricity was on a bit longer, but both were not on 24/7. I wonder how long before the same things happens here. I wish I had a more positive outlook on things! But I really don't think it's possible these days.
Barbara,,,uh, sorry I did not see any sort of agreement ;-)
Seems like it was just yesterday that we were talking about what to do with our budget surplus.
I think a huge problem that no one seems to be connecting to the poor economy is the weakness of the dollar. Why? Because we are borrowing huge sums of money from overseas to finance a war in Iraq.
storage and keep adding more to it. We are in dire straits people!!
Christine, you are so right! thanks for adding that info!
Tough times, yes. But I support the truckers boycott.
thanks all!!
Glad you wrote this. I'm concerned not only with the inability to get certain products, but the rising costs of what DOES get delivered. You make some really valid points, and I jsut thank my lucky stars that the farmer's markets will be openiong up soon around here. I think I'm going to be canning this summer.
We are not alarmists, but living on an island in the middle of the Pacific that depends so much on transported goods, we have to be realistic.
We also planted a small garden, but since I've been gone from home for so long, due to his health problems, my son has not been able to keep it going by himself except for a few things.
Good and timely reminders. Thank you, Mandi!
Buying when an item is on sale is the best idea. So far I've seen no scarcity in NYC, but time will tell.
Still, I know something about saving, and I found that one principle stands above the rest. To save, you must spend less money than you make. The bigger the difference, the more you can save.
This seems simple, but I'm amazed that lots of people say "I'd like to save more money, but..." followed by something complicated. It really is simple. You must spend less than you make to save. So, if you cannot save money, but you want to, you must either learn to spend less, or you must find a way to make more.
It's worth it- I've basically taken a couple of years off and done things I wanted to, but you might find a different use for your savings, like buying a house, or putting kids through school. But, whatever you plan to do with it, in my experience it is always better to have money in the bank than it is to not have money in the bank.
So, a long time before you consider investing or anything like that, put 6 months of living expenses in an interest bearing account or short term CDs. Not only will this make sure you will get through the tough times it will give you bargaining power. I've hired, and I know when someone needs the job today, and I tend to lowball people if I sense that- you might think that's mean, but when you're hiring it is your job to save the company money. On the other hand, if I want someone and I can sense that they are able to walk away from the table I will offer more money to make sure I get them.
So putting away some money for a rainy day is the first step toward good finances, I think. Even if you're not making much you need to find ways to cut back and save at least a little at a time. Almost everyone, rock stars and actors excluded, who went from not doing well to doing well started with that one thing. It's the same whether the economy is good or bad, like most things.
I just wanted to stop by since I am finally going through what is now listed as under 4,800 pieces of gather new mail that is sitting in my inbox on here.
With that mentioned I just came across either a mailing from you yourself, or someone else brought this piece to my attention. You or they felt that your creation should be shared with the gather community, which I am very glad that it was passed on to me to view. So I wanted to say Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to publish it here on gather for us to all view. :o)
As well before I leave you I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year... in 2009 :o)