Poor Man Survival
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A Digest of Urban
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Purchasing power of dollar sinking each month
I hope you had a wonderful and bountiful Thanksgiving holiday this
year... although I'm sure you noticed how expensive food has gotten, and how
scarce some food products were this year.
No, dear reader, inflation isn't exactly at the 2 percent the Fed
thinks is proper. Even their fake, doctored Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers
are spiking so much that the Social Security "cost of living
adjustment" (COLA) has soared by 5.9 percent year-over-year, after having
soared by 5.8 percent in August and by 6.0 percent in July. The COLA for 2022
will be the average of those three: 5.9 percent, the highest since 1982.
No wonder the Fed is eager to raise interest rates! Of course,
that could be a one-year anomaly and the months ahead next year won't be as
bad, but it's a red flag that the fires of hyperinflation are getting stoked.
In case you need more proof, your money is losing 1 percent of its
value every month now due to inflation. "Overall, prices rose 6.2
percent from one year ago, representing the largest year-on-year increase in
more than 30 years as inflation persists across sectors, according to the
Bureau," reports Entrepreneur.com.
Worse, the cost of food by itself also increased by 5.3 percent.
And what could be even worse than that, looming on the
horizon? China sparked panic buying of food recently, when, according to
Bloomberg, "the Ministry of Commerce told households to stock up on food
in case of emergencies after a resurgence of the coronavirus, heavy rains that
sparked vegetable prices to jump, and the onset of colder weather. The commerce
ministry directive is similar to the one released ahead of the holidays, which
told local governments to secure food supplies."
Empty shelves… here?
First, there was "shrinkflation." That's when you pay
the same price for the same product, but you get less for your money. Cereal
companies are masters of deception in this area. They confuse consumers with
several sizes of the same cereal and raise prices without anyone being the
wiser.
Shrinkflation has been called "inflation's ugly cousin."
It has been around for decades, but it usually surfaces during soft economic
times when manufacturers are squeezed between higher costs and consumers who
refuse to pay higher prices... like now, for instance.
The last notable wave of shrinkflation came in the 70s, just ahead
of a surge in traditional price inflation. Today shrinkflation is disguised
with code words. They make "mini," "fun-size" or just
smaller "more convenient" versions of the same products and charge
much more per serving. Sometimes, they'll repackage a product with less stuff
in it and market it as "new and improved" or "greener" or
"fewer calories." The smaller size is supposed to come across as
saving the world or saving your health. What a farce!
You don't have to look much further than your grocery bill to see
the real truth about food inflation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, prices for food were 41.44 percent higher in 2021 versus 2006.
Food inflation not only hurts us in the pocketbook, but it sounds
an alarm of a growing food shortage crisis.
Our grocery shelves in America are seemingly chock full of food,
so the idea of a food shortage barely registers in our minds. But think of what
happened recently in North Carolina when there was a hurricane headed for that
coast. Stores emptied out in a matter of minutes for something that was only
going to affect people for a few days at the most.
And do you remember Norway's butter shortage back in 2011? A bit
of bad weather hurt the dairy industry and it couldn't produce enough for
everyone to have during the high-demand Christmas holiday season. Prices went
through the roof and people were being arrested for smuggling pounds of butter
over the border like it was an illegal narcotic. Over a few weeks' worth of a
shortage. What would happen during a few months' worth?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture may be the biggest culprit when
it comes to subsidies, price-fixing and rationing; and its activities just
drive up the cost of food while providing cushy and permanent incomes to
farmers. One of these activities is that corn, a staple used in many foods and
also animal feed, is being diverted by government subsidies into biofuels. In
2000, about 6 percent of U.S. corn production was processed into ethanol. Today
40 percent of our corn becomes fuel instead of food.
Production of almonds, blueberries, apples, pumpkins, watermelons,
pears, peaches, and plums is also threatened by a variety of challenges.
How much food do we really have?
We know the supply chain is already disrupted here in the U.S.,
the "breadbasket" of the world. It's hard to get food onto shipping
containers because they are all being used to ship the junk we have bought
during the COVID casedemic. Suppliers who want to ship food are being turned
away.
Finincialpost.com reports, "Global competition for the ribbed
steel containers means that Thailand can't ship its rice, Canada is stuck with
peas and India can't offload its mountain of sugar. Shipping empty boxes back
to China has become so profitable that even some American soybean shippers are
having to fight for containers to supply hungry Asian buyers."
Crop production is under siege from a problem nobody talks about —
declining bee populations. So, what does it matter if we have fewer pesky
bees? The raw fact is that many crops depend solely on bees to pollinate
them and grow new plants. No bees, no crops. Plants that require pollination to
reproduce account for more than one-third of global crop production worth as
much as $577 billion a year. Birds, butterflies, and other insects help in
pollination, but the heavy lifting is done by bees.
Over the last 60 years, the number of managed Western honey bee
colonies has dropped by half, decimated by parasites and pesticides. More than
half the countries of Europe don't have enough bees to pollinate their crops,
and the UK has only one-quarter of the bees it needs.
There is the distinct possibility that this next decade we will
see desperate struggles for food and water. Rising food prices will cause
extreme hunger and famine. This will lead to social unrest, revolution, and
wars.
Food and water for life
As food storage expert Peggy Layton reminds us, there are three
remedies we can employ to offset rising food prices, and a possible shortage of
food available to buy:
- Grow
your own food: You
can do this in a very small space. Peggy recalls seeing people growing enough
food to feed their families on their balcony in an apartment. You need to
get non-GMO seeds (those that are not genetically modified) so you can
grow your own food and save the seeds each year. Learn how to bottle,
dehydrate and preserve the food that you grow.
- Buy
locally grown food: We
all need to know where we can get locally grown food. If you support local
farmers, then they will not be forced to export their food to other
countries in order to survive. Having good relationships with food suppliers
is an asset in hard times. You can add to your own garden food by
purchasing extra items from the farmers.
- Stock
up on food: You
absolutely must start to stockpile reserves of food for your family. Fall
is a great time to stock up on extra food because there are case lot sales
going on in the supermarkets. Fresh apples, potatoes, onions, carrots and
winter squash are available and can be purchased to stock up for the
winter. Store these fresh foods in a cool place so they keep well.
Additionally, in these Alerts we
always advocate for filling up on nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables that you
grow because it is certainly good for your body, your mind, and your soul. It's
wise to consume whole, nutrient-rich foods, mostly from raw, living sources and
skip the processed foods that we will soon be short on, and that keep rising in
price.
When you eat more than 50 percent raw foods, you can stop
inflammation triggered by processed, refined or even cooked or baked foods.
But our brains and muscles need proteins as well. Our diet should
be 80 percent vegetables (organic) with 20 percent meats (preferably free-range
and not exposed to GMOs or antibiotics).
A very small percentage of Americans could live more than a few
weeks on their stored food and supplies. Even you, my Bob Livingston Alert reader,
probably do not have enough. It is why I always recommend you start with a
three-day supply and then work up to a month from there.
If you are feeding a family of four for three days, you will need
to plan on three breakfast meals, three lunches and three dinners. You need a
store of food so you're prepared to weather any kind of emergency, and here is
what we feel is the best emergency food you can get anywhere: Just follow
this link for a deep discount.
The main idea is to prepare. That way, if the U.S. food supply
should take a turn for the worse, be that expense or shortage, you won't find
yourself on a diet of meager meals, scraping to get by.
Yours for the truth,
Bob Livingston
Editor, The Bob
Livingston Letter®
POST SCRIPT:
This year could be especially challenging…Especially if you enjoy
visiting/entertaining friends and family. Between inflation and shortages
(could there really be a shortage of Christmas trees?!?) it will be harder to
keep spending in line.
So
with that in mind, I'd like to share a couple of ideas to help you get the most
from your holidays without overspending.
As
I said, I enjoy being with the people I treasure around the holidays. And,
often that includes some food! Not always a sit down meal, but some times more
of the snacking variety. Planning
Party Platters for Pennies might be just what you need to make that affordable this
year.
Based
on the feedback I'm getting, many will choose to curtail expensive family/group
holiday outings. Things like concerts, movies, etc., will be skipped this year.
But that doesn't mean that you can't still have a festive time. Here are two
articles with some ideas that you can share with friends and family. 8
Frugal Indoor Winter Entertainment Ideas and 10
Truly Free Christmas Activities.
14 Uses
for WD-40 That Save Money, Time or Headaches
WD-40 is handy in a lot
more situations than you likely realize.
SIDEBAR
Dollar Tree Raising Prices to $1.25 in December and Early 2022
American's Credit Scores Reach All-Time High
Look at All the Data That Amazon Collects on Users
Home Price & Mortgage Rate Predictions for 2022
Why Inflation Is a Runaway Freight
Train
CREATING AN EMERGENCY
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RESOURCES
TRS volt power bank - Back in stock!
3000mAh Power Bank Battery by Volt comes complete with a
micro USB charging cord. This battery can be used as an extra or replacement
battery
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