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Saturday, July 7, 2012

10+Tips on How the Little Guy Can Beat Inflation Now



Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
For Independent Minded People!
ISSN 2161-5543
In This Issue:
1.      10 Tips on how the average guy can beat inflation
2.      Getting a foreign drivers license
3.      Is the American Dream being destroyed?
4.      Your credit card bills – pay or not to pay?

It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." --Samuel Adams

I owe so much to the credit card companies that I can't even cover my minimum payments. My balance is about $30,000 and increasing all the time with interest, but I only make $28,000 a year. Do I have to declare bankruptcy or is there another way?

>It’s mid-2012, and the entire world is in so much debt that big credit card companies couldn't care less about your little chunk. There are six states where you can't do what I'm going to suggest (Arkansas, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Washington) but since you don't live in one of those, here's how you can free yourself from being a slave to the credit card companies: Just. Don't. Pay. Credit card bills are the number one way corporate America enslaves us, if we let them.

Just stop sending in ALL credit card payments - even the ones you think you can pay. They will call you, so use your call display and don't answer any number you don't recognize. They will write to you, so throw the letters in the garbage. You'll get letters from lawyers threatening to sue you, so throw those in the garbage, too.

The only time you need to worry is if you receive a court document, (served by a process server) with a real case number you can verify, suing you for monies owed. But guess what? If you have no money in your bank account to pay, they'll know, and I can pretty much guarantee they're going to write off your debt and you'll never get that summons. Find the statute of limitations for credit card debt online for your state here.
In about the same amount of time a bankruptcy would have appeared on your credit report, there will be no legal way for them to collect the debt and the letters will stop. Your credit rating will be ruined, but seriously, unless you're buying a house (and you won't be with your income), that means nothing. Most credit cards have usurious rates, however, it was your choice to get into debt and one should live up to their obligations whenever possible – then destroy those cards!
Senior Citizen Discounts - If you are over 55, always ask at checkout counters if they offer a senior citizen discount. These discounts are often available, even if limited to one day of the week. It is embarrassing for tellers to ask if you are over 55, and most don't even bother.
PM’s Compendium of Useful Resources

You can declare war on your debt, assert your financial independence -- and liberate yourself from fiscal stress…

10 Tips on Surviving Inflation

Have you ever wished you could print your own money to settle a debt? Snap your fingers, and have instant wealth appear at your feet? This is what governments do. So when the Federal Reserve announces their latest economic stimulus package, where do you think the money comes from in the long run?

Let me ask you the following: How much is the dollar worth today compared with the year 2000? These are years in which inflation has been supposedly crushed. What's your best guess?
The answer is 75 cents. Imagine that. For every four quarters you owned, one was stolen in secret over the course of the last 12 years.

Inflation is a lot like the unwelcome houseguest: Once you invite it into your home, you can't seem to get it to leave.

So what causes inflation? Though there are an incredible number of complicated smaller causes, the biggest cause is simple: the government decides to print more money. The actual material wealth in the economy isn’t changing. The government doesn’t make money; the government just prints money.

Inflation doesn't affect everything equally. Gas prices can double while your home loses value. This is exactly what happened during the financial crisis of 2008. There was deflation in home prices, which fell 31.8%. Meanwhile, inflation in oil prices, which reached an all-time high of $148 a barrel. Since oil prices drive gas prices, this made the cost of gas head for $5 a gallon. Driving to work became even more expensive, and stressful, at a time when many workers were worried about even keeping their job.

The Middle Class (or as I call them now, the Whittled Class) has suffered most during this inflationary round as it always has.

10 Tips the ‘Little Guy’ Can Use to Beat Inflation

Consider landlording.
If you invest in real estate today and become a landlord, you’ll be happy to know that rents are subject to inflationary pressures as well. You have the capability to raise rates when the cost of living goes up everywhere.
Own a Home(stead)-Cut Utility Bills
Now is the time to buy if you can afford it.  Prices in nearly every area of the country are among the lowest they’ve been in a generation.  If you own a home, do everything you can to reduce your monthly heating and electric bills (Going completely off-grid is expensive for most folks) by changing filters, using CFL bulbs, insulating and caulking, overhead fans, etc.
 Build or preserve your earning power.
If you are in a position to earn, the best way to battle pricing increases is
to keep a job or some other income stream going. You then expect wages and earnings to go up along with everything else. Without earning power, you may want to consider other ways to protect yourself from inflation, such as amassing appreciating assets.
 Own your own business.
Once you’re a business owner you can always raise rates, fees, prices along with the costs of operating your business. This is yet another reason to escape corporate serfdom and why the Poor Man promotes having a sideline business (or two).
Own precious Metals
A silver dime today will purchase the equivalent of a loaf of bread.  It has always worked this way.  Squirrel away what you can.
Cut Spending and Debt
The worst mortgage ever devised for the average person was the adjustable rate mortgage which was usually tied to some inflationary marker and often buried folks into upside down mortgages.  Pretty much all debt is bad and it’s important to keep spending under control.  Those little lattes and fast food meals can easily add up and destroy budgets.

Buy Used - Avoid Credit Cards
Abandon that ‘gotta have it now’ philosophy and either save up for those bigger purchases or seek that item used. It's harder to overspend when you carry cash. "You will spend less money when you know that, when the money in your pocket's gone, you're done," says Larry Winget, author of "The Idiot Factor: The 10 Ways We Sabotage Our Life, Money, and Business."  Plenty of folks sell used items through Craigslist and other classified sources.  Recycle what you can, repair and continue use of your goods.
Use Barter
You can barter items one-on-one, through organized barter groups or even on Craigslist.  Now, there’s even a TV show called Barter Kings you can learn from.
Grow Your Own
A garden can save a lot of money and even if you live in an apartment, there are ways to grow vegetables in terrace and patio pots.  Many now eliminate lawns in favor of ‘edible landscaping.’  If you own enough land consider raising small livestock for food; many areas now allow chickens and rabbits to be raised in urban areas. 
Stocking up-Buying Co-operatives
If your situation allows it, stock up on basics and other goods whenever there is a sale.  Group buying: such as in the instance of buying a whole butchered cow with neighbors and like-minded friends can save big too.  Shop sales and use coupons. 
Quick Supermarket Tips:  >Don’t buy bottled water; city water is safe and cheaper.  >Don’t buy toiletries; use discount stores instead.  >Don’t buy processed meals.  >Grate your own vegetables and cheese.  >Skip precuts; learn to slice your own meats.  >Eat before you shop; a full stomach discourages impulse buys.  >Always use a shopping list and coupons.

For millions of Americans, inflation and the economy has ravished savings, forced people to delay retirement, bankrupted families, placed college grads deeply into debt and more, creating a new underclass of Americans.  It’s estimated we’ve lost 10% of our middle class.

You are more important than cars, clothing, jewelry or any other material possession. Don't define yourself by your possessions. Dummy it down, and wise up!

Answers and solutions to virtually every element discussed above can be found at our site and in our online newsletter at:

Get the 25 Ways to Save Money in 2012

Gatorade Powder Mix is 2.5x cheaper than pre-mixed liquid sports drink (and it takes less storage space).

The Nanny State Updates…
How To Use A Foreign Drivers License To Protect Your Privacy
It is especially hard to protect your privacy when you want to be able to drive a car. You have to sacrifice a lot of privacy to get one. There are ways to qualify for a foreign drivers license and legitimately use it to keep your information out of the local jurisdiction.   Read more at: 
http://www.howtovanish.com/2011/05/foreign-drivers-license-protects-families/?awt_l=9mqfI&awt_m=KVWB2fqd6ixNxm

Bouncing Checks - Be sure and check with your bank about over-draft protection for bouncing checks. Bouncing a check happens to everyone- eventually, and it is expensive. My bank gives it to you for free- but you have to ask for it.

The Parting Thought –
The American Dream is being systematically destroyed....
Without our penchant for apathy and fear, there can be no control.

As the economy has declined, the number of Americans living month to month has soared. At this point, millions upon millions of Americans are living without any financial cushion whatsoever. If you can believe it, one recent survey found that 28 percent of all Americans do not have a single penny saved for emergencies. Another survey found that 42 percent of all American workers are currently living paycheck to paycheck.
 Thanks to horribly oppressive regulations, red tape and taxes, it is incredibly difficult to run a successful small business in America today. According to the Christian Science Monitor, more than half of all small business owners in America cannot even afford to put food on the table from their small business earnings....
A shocking figure from the Wave survey relates to how well the business owners were able to meet their basic needs through their business. An incredible 52% of American small business owners can’t put food on the table through the earnings from their business over the past twelve months.

Every totalitarian state worth its salt has its own goon squad. The Nazi's had the "Brownshirts", the Soviets had the "Militsiya" and the "Voluntary People's Brigade", the Communist Chinese have the "Chengguan", etc. In America, however, all tyrannical measures are given innocuous bureaucratic labels to mislead and distract the masses. In this country, we have the Transportation Security Administration...

The disturbing use of armored vehicles (APC's or urban tanks) in open training regiments on the streets of St. Louis by the U.S Army, despite the fact that all of their exercises could have easily been accomplished on any number of military bases across the country. The action is an obvious attempt to condition the American populace to the sight of military units operating in a policing capacity: Read more at:

“Until the next revolution”, the Poor Man

The ‘System’ is Stacked Against US Workers
Our politicians have loaded the system with plenty of incentives NOT to hire workers
Today, you aren't just competing for jobs with your neighbors. Your competition also includes millions upon millions of hard working people on the other side of the globe that will gladly work 12 hour shifts in nightmarish conditions for a dollar an hour.
The United States has been losing millions of jobs to lower wage countries, and the fierce competition for the jobs that remain is driving down wages in this country.
Learn how to fight back and become more financially independent:

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1 comment:

minimalistgroup said...

Terrific ideas!