Author Topic: Preping finances for a major crisis  (Read 5513 times)

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Preping finances for a major crisis
« on: February 07, 2018, 02:12:32 PM »
Came across this video the other day. One of the presenters brings up the idea of a technological 9/11 in which cellphones and other modern means of communication and commerce are shutdown. Just wondering if anyone on the forum has given thought to how something like this might impact your FIRE plans or while already FIRED?

I guess not so much in that the stock market will tank, but things like access to funds and general management of your personal finances. Like lets say you cant get money out of an account or cannot transfer funds electronically, or cannot communicate with out of state property management, etc. Has anyone taken any precautions against such and event? Anyone given any thought to how to deal with such an event and minimize impact to you personally?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHWLentQw_A

BlueMR2

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2018, 04:45:34 PM »
I give things like that a lot of thought and the financial portion falls into the non-critical part of the equation.

oldladystache

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2018, 05:51:37 PM »
cash on hand, food and water stored at least a month's worth. Never let my gas tank get below half full.  Friendly with all the neighbors.

Khaetra

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2018, 05:00:45 AM »
I've thought about that recently.  I know many people who use the web for their livelihood and it would financially ruin them, along with all the web-based businesses there are (Amazon, Netflix, etc.).  Personally, I would miss it a lot, as that's how I talk to friends around the world and do many things in my life (look up how to fix something, new recipes, new to me music, etc.).  Financially I would be fine.

Indexer

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2018, 05:12:12 AM »
cash on hand, food and water stored at least a month's worth. Never let my gas tank get below half full.  Friendly with all the neighbors.

This^.  Well except I don't pay that much attention to the gas tank... oops.

I also have a rifle and I know where a family of deer roam less than a mile from my house.

Morning Glory

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2018, 06:21:05 AM »
I'm sure it would be fixed very soon, but hypothetically if there was a long outage, we would have to go back to the way things were done 30 or 40 years ago. So I would get a paper check from my employer, walk to the credit union to deposit it, withdraw some cash for groceries and stuff, order some checks to use for paying my mortgage and utilities, balance my checkbook, etc. Hell, I remember doing these things in the early 2000's. My first mortgage even had one of those coupon books. I guess I would have to get a landline phone too, and figure out how to hook up the big TV antenna that is still on my house. A lot of people would lose jobs but other industries would come back, like newspapers and the postal service. Libraries would suddenly become a lot more popular.

Scandium

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2018, 07:14:01 AM »
I'd be fucked. Same as if a meteor strikes the country. Or a tsunami floods all the way to the Rockies. Or Saddam Hussein's resurrected body occupies the white house (ok, that could be an improvement). Or the electric grid goes down for 4 months. Or any number of catastrophic and improbable events. I'd have bigger issues than getting my money though. Can't prepare for them all, I'll figure out what to do when it happens.

Sibley

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2018, 07:45:54 AM »
Isn't there a tv show where all electronics stop working? I'm sure there's way more than that, but the commercials I saw showed a much more agrarian lifestyle.

katsiki

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2018, 07:54:20 AM »
Isn't there a tv show where all electronics stop working? I'm sure there's way more than that, but the commercials I saw showed a much more agrarian lifestyle.

Yep, Revolution!  Great show btw.

Binge watch it to know what to do.  :)

2Birds1Stone

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2018, 08:03:45 AM »
Cannibalism would solve most of my problems ;)

Just Joe

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2018, 08:14:59 AM »
As long as the electricity stays on and the paychecks keep coming we'd be fine - or if we had a chance to pull cash out of the bank accounts for a long quiet period. Don't necessarily need gasoline to get to the store and work. To be honest, there is a certain appeal to living like this again.

It is part of the reason I don't use social media. I like a simplified life - less media, minimal advertising, less pop-culture, less news, more "doing stuff".
« Last Edit: February 08, 2018, 08:17:31 AM by Just Joe »

talltexan

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2018, 08:36:56 AM »
Cannibalism would solve most of my problems ;)

Yeah, that can actually go both ways ;-)

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2018, 11:53:26 AM »
I have extremely low expenses and no debt so keep enough real cash on hand to last me a couple of months - which is like $1000 ;-).

ETA I could actually live a pretty long time without having to access anything electronically or even.withdraw cash. However if its the zombie apocalypse and lasts months or years I'd eventually have to resort to more drastic measures - like getting a job (THE HORROR!!!)

Lol I know, terrifying!

I'm in the same boat as you (and many others)with the low overhead, cash and food on hand. I've heard of these scenarios before, but something about the context around how the concern was framed and the gravity of it being discussed at the world economic forum. It sent chills up my spine, and made me wonder "what am I missing".... I cant put my finger on it.

Glenstache

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2018, 02:27:54 PM »
Seems like nice timing with the MMM DIY solar system. Decentralization of these types of systems could help.

Just Joe

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2018, 02:45:33 PM »
All a person has to do is live through a few of these events. Its easy to realize that the world did not end and how to prep for the next one.

Live overseas during a strike of some sort. Can't buy gasoline for a week. Or shops close unexpectedly for a day or two.

We've got it easy in the USA.

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #15 on: February 08, 2018, 03:15:34 PM »
Seems like nice timing with the MMM DIY solar system. Decentralization of these types of systems could help.


I love your signature, nothing gets me more excited than vugs, intrusive formations, silicate deposits, etc.... Super interesting stuff! : )

CheapskateWife

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #16 on: February 08, 2018, 03:22:54 PM »
Interesting line of thought, but if modern commerce collapses, and all of it is e-commerce, not only do I no longer have money, but also my bank doesn't have a record of what I currently owe on my mortgage.  The deed to my home, filed with my county (paper) indicates that the bank has a lien on the property, but couldn't represent the monetary value assigned to that lien.

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #17 on: February 08, 2018, 03:49:51 PM »
Interesting line of thought, but if modern commerce collapses, and all of it is e-commerce, not only do I no longer have money, but also my bank doesn't have a record of what I currently owe on my mortgage.  The deed to my home, filed with my county (paper) indicates that the bank has a lien on the property, but couldn't represent the monetary value assigned to that lien.

Thanks for bringing that up. Yes, its hard to imagine how something like the loan value would be resolved. Or how trucks would know where to make their deliveries. Or how some businesses would know how to get a hold of their vendors without their digital address book. Would cell phone service providers know which phones need to use their service when the electricity fires back on? Would computers know how to talk to each other still? How long would that take to sort out?

Just Joe

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #18 on: February 09, 2018, 08:30:08 AM »
That doesn't sound that bad to me. I could happily operate like the Waltons (on TV). My extended family resembled them in many ways as recently as the 60s.

Blonde Lawyer

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #19 on: February 09, 2018, 08:38:28 AM »
I don't think walking over to the credit union with a check to cash would work exactly.  Banks no longer have paper ledgers of who has what in their accounts.  Or do they? As far as I know, the banks are entirely reliant on the internet as well.  I'm not sure we could access the money in our accounts if the internet was down for an extended period of time. 

NoStacheOhio

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #20 on: February 09, 2018, 08:49:50 AM »
Interesting line of thought, but if modern commerce collapses, and all of it is e-commerce, not only do I no longer have money, but also my bank doesn't have a record of what I currently owe on my mortgage.  The deed to my home, filed with my county (paper) indicates that the bank has a lien on the property, but couldn't represent the monetary value assigned to that lien.

Given our current legal/judicial environment, I'm pretty sure that means the banks get all the houses and homelessness becomes a felony.

Just Joe

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #21 on: February 09, 2018, 09:59:58 AM »
It would be a rough restart for the folks who rely on e-statements for their accounts. Suddenly the bank doesn't have access to bank account balances, neither does the customer - and the customer needs $100 to buy food with.

Might make printing out statements for all one's accounts quarterly a wise idea.

accolay

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #22 on: February 17, 2018, 11:13:32 AM »
Sounds like a scenario where check books are back and bullets are the new currency.

meghan88

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #23 on: February 21, 2018, 01:33:58 PM »
I am hanging onto some gold jewelry (bought on ebay way back when, because it was a steal).  I remember reading somewhere:  "have a bit of gold, and pray that you will never have to use it."

I've also had a notion to stash $1000 in a hollowed-out table leg in case there's a solar flare and our payment systems are down.  But if the world goes to shit, I don't think paper $ would mean a whole lot. 

I guess a few bags of dried beans would be a good thing, but at that point I'd just want a quick and painless exit.

What a cheery bunch of thoughts!

maizefolk

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #24 on: March 13, 2018, 07:10:55 PM »
For the specific question of being able to pay for things if the banks stop working (plus credit cards, etc), it's probably worth reading up on what happened during the bank strike in ireland back in the 1970s which lasted six months (https://bankunderground.co.uk/2016/01/20/the-cheque-republic-money-in-a-modern-economy-with-no-banks/) Essentially life went on, and people exchanged lots of (temporarily uncashable) checks. However, it was important to be a person clearly known in the community though as many businesses only did business with their regulars until the strike ended.

I keep a fair bit of cash on hand, not enough for all my regular expenses, but it'd take care of mission critical stuff (like food) for at least a couple of months. I also make sure I have lots of $1 bills on hand, not just $20s or larger denomination, which would reduce issues with shops being unable to make change. Nothing in my regular life truly _requires_ the use of a car on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, so that'd help too.

Just Joe

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Re: Preping finances for a major crisis
« Reply #25 on: March 14, 2018, 09:01:24 AM »
I'm surprised that the government didn't step in and force the banks to re-open.