Stocking Up, Putting Back, Prepping = Paranoia?

[StarWish624]

I just tell people that I buy in bulk "To help other people" - the other people are me & mine.

 

[Trucker Bob]

It doesn't matter if you call it stocking up, putting back, prepping for a SHTF situation, or just common sense, there are some people who have been conditioned to look at you as crazy or even evil for doing so. I believe that a large portion of the first world public has been so insulated and spoiled, that they have no comprehension of how rare and fragile our "on demand" lifestyle is, or how easily we can lose it. I'm afraid that a lot of people are in for a rude awakening. YMMV

I'm a long haul trucker, and I know first hand how fragile our infrastructure really is.

Canada had a fuel shortage a few years ago and it shut down a quarter of the trucks on the road... that's just a shortage. Now, what would happen if there was a sudden stop in truck traffic due to a couple refineries going off line? It happened in canada again last winter. Things were tighter than they had ever been... But what happens when trucks stop rolling? North america stops at the same time.

There is less than a weeks supply of anything on the shelves in the store. Winnipeg Mb used to be one of the larges warehousing cities in North america. Now, Walmart, Costco, and any other large grocery chain you can think of uses the trucks on the road as a rolling warehouse.

As fuel prices continue to soar, truck drivers dwindle in number and consumerism rises to new and unprecedented levels, the trucking industry is guaranteeing that you will see prices rise on the shelves. When this golden age of consumerism ends, all I hope is that I have enough fuel to get back home, which reminds me, my girlfriend and I really need to start storing more.


You can put your trust in the law, you can pray your heart out to God, but in the end all you can rely on are your guns and gold.

 

[KimV]

Friends, all
The implications of this string are mind boggling and terrifying. The story of the 20-something bimbo buying soda and junk food and criticizing your "buying habits" only amplifies the concern for the Zombie mentality that will emanate from the folks exactly like her. I would have loved to know if she was paying for the junk food she was buying with food stamps or welfare cash.

Recently, I made an early morning run to my local Walmart. I got in line behind a woman about my age, maybe a little younger, and her 2 young children (a boy and a girl) and her mother. They were almost done ringing up their 2+ carts of groceries and their total topped $300. As I stood there, I pulled coupons for some of the items I saw they had and noticed that all 3 of the females had their nails, hands and feet, done and their hair done. They were wearing name brand clothes and sporting more than a few jeweled rings. They paid with 2 Lone Star cards and left.

I finished my transaction and left the store. As I made my way to my car (bought used and completely paid for! yay), I saw these people again. They were loading their purchases into their vehicle, a beautiful brand new 2012 Denali. Incidentally, it was parked in a handicap space, though I didn't see any markings on the vehicle and none of the people I saw had any trouble moving about.

How do I know it was brand new? I asked them. There were very proud of it.

So let's recap. 3 females, hair and nails done up, jewelry and name brand clothing, new 2012 Denali. All the food was paid for with Lone Star cards.

Perhaps I'm coming to the wrong conclusion, but it didn't seem like they had their priorities straight. And those little kids are learning from the way their mother and grandmother are living. I will, however, say that I didn't see them purchasing any cigarettes or beer.

All in all, I figure I saved the State of Texas some $15 when I passed on those coupons. And in the end, I figure I can only control what goes on in my own family (sometimes ). And even if we do splurge a little on nice things, I'm doing my darndest to make sure we're not victims when (not if) something happens.

 

[Bettacreek]

Hmmm. I have a fairly decent vehicle (well, I LOVE it anyways) 2005 Subaru Baja. Granted, I didn't pay for it... Mommy dearest did. Hand-me-down vehicle. It's not the best on gas though. However, having a reliable vehicle for the boys is more important to me than some other things. I also wear brand name clothes and sometimes (when I feel like it and I'm not yucking them up) have neatly manicured nails that I do at home (some people think I've paid for a manicure when I do them). My brand name clothes come from the thrift shop when they have sales. So you really can't judge a book by it's cover. Do I drink beer? Yeah, sometimes. Do I smoke? Unfortunately. I buy the cheapest smokes I can get (usually from NY, $2.95/pack). If I could quit and not pay for smokes, you're damned skippy I would, but it's a lot harder than some people think. Am I on food stamps? No, however, I do qualify for $526/month, and I WAS on them during my school year, and I smoked then too. So, it kind of bothers me when people say that "oh well they smoke, they don't deserve food stamps" or "they have a vehicle that isn't falling completely apart, they don't need food stamps", because you really don't know the situation. Yes, if it came to food or smokes, food would be first, however, if it came down to that, to be honest, the cost of smokes wouldn't cover my cost of food for my family anyways. I try to be fairly conservative with money... If I spend money, most of the time, it is an investment to bring more money back. Clothes I buy for dirt cheap and wear them until they're worn out, then wear them around the house until they're so worn that they are falling apart. I harvest wild foods to make jellies and such for my little family, I don't buy all name brand foods, I buy in bulk, etc, etc.

 

[Wannabefree]

Totally agree with you Betta! Good post. How did you get off food stamps if you still qualify? They wouldn't let me :/ Just curious.

 

[Bettacreek]

Oh, they're really a PITA here. You have to redo everything every six months, and if you don't... They shut them off.

ETA: I also wear jewelry. Not cheap jewelry either. I have four rings that retail at $155. I have to wear sterling silver, because other products break me out. I have earrings that retail about $20 a pair. I have a few necklaces that would retail about $100 for the three of them... The rings, I bought on a 60% off sale (with an added 15% off) so they were under $55 for all four, the necklaces were all gifts (some from out of the country), and earrings were on clearance (one pair was $2.24, another pair was under five bucks (can't quite remember the exact price to be honest). So, about $60 over time for all of my jewelry, but it's very nice and fairly expensive jewelry. Some people can get away with even cheaper jewelry... and all gems aren't expensive gems, plus there's ebay and thrift store. Hairspray might cost $3 for a bottle of suave that will last at least a month I'm guessing. Nail polish is up to $2 per bottle, depending on brand, and that stuff lasts FOREVER. Honestly, when you're that damn poor that you have to have subsidized food to feed your family, you feel pretty damn low, so a $5 brand name outfit from the thrift store, a $3 purse, some $2 nail polish, $3 hairspray and some jewelry that lasts forever can actually be a BENEFIT to these families... Why? Because when you're depressed about being poor, your body slows, your mind slows and you don't get much done. Being bipolar, I KNOW how detrimental depression can be, and I know that a few bucks here or there to spruce yourself up can really help you feel better about yourself and get you back to being productive.

 

[Wannabefree]

It's the same here, and when I didn't go in, they called. I explained we were doing fine without them, but because I couldn't prove our income was high enough, they refused to take us off assistance. It was really weird.

 

[Bettacreek]

I just edited my above post, lol. But, I almost wish they'd do that here... I had an appointment so I could get my low cost daycare back (it's through the same place) and start applying for jobs and such, and couldn't make it because I was sick. I couldn't call to cancel because I couldn't talk. I've been trying to get ahold of someone for over a week now, and can't get ahold of anybody. I had this problem when I originally got on the program... I actually had to drive up there and someone who wasn't even my caseworker actually sat down at the end of the day (AFTER the office was supposed to close) to get me in. I still adore the gentleman who took his own personal time to do someone else's job so that I could get the assistance I needed. Speaking of which, I still would like to send him a card, even though it's been awhile since he did that. Damn procrastination.

 

[Wannabefree]

That is sweet that he did that betta! Some of the workers are dolls, and then some are complete trolls Mine is a guy whose wife used to babysit me and my brother, then later in middle school, he was my art teacher. Everybody knows everybody here I've known this guy all my life. He and my mom went to school together. I graduated with his son and we went to school together since kindergarten.

 

[Bettacreek]

It's always nice to have GOOD people working in those kind of places. Many pass judgement and can be very condescending. In my opinion, these people should not be in a line of work where they're supposed to be helping people. It takes a good person to do that kind of work, and unfortunately, we don't have enough of that kind of person in the world. :/