Anyone prepping for corona?

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7Wannabe5
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

I am officially secluded from society in urban location except for BF (57) as of yesterday. We have approximately 2 month supply of food. I am hoping that after 2 months there will be young people recovered and making deliveries. I taught school on Wednesday, so if I don’t spike fever by next Sunday, we will likely jump to rural acreage cabin (shed) at that juncture.

basuragomi
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by basuragomi »

I'm still eating kimchi that I made 15 months ago and stored in the fridge. I've started stir-frying it first though as it has quite some bite after all this time. I don't like eating "fresh" sweet kimchi like you get at restaurants, at least a month is the way to go for me.

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

I don't want to start a bank run but recently I decided to have some cash on hand. I can always put it back in the bank if I don't need it. I really don't think anything like this is needed but it doesn't hurt anything (unless everyone tries to do it).

@7w5, good luck, hope things go well.

black_son_of_gray
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by black_son_of_gray »

Filled up the car with gas this morning. Should last us 2 or more months of local trips if it comes to that.

ertyu
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by ertyu »

Gilberto de Piento wrote:
Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:53 am
I don't want to start a bank run but recently I decided to have some cash on hand.
Followed your advice, withdrew about a month's worth.

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Alphaville
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Alphaville »

Went to a couple of supermarkets this morning, was a bit of a zoo.

I’m stocked up now I think for 3 months solid though :lol:

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Seppia
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Seppia »

I’m not sure I would stock cash now. Exchanging paper that is touched by multiple unknown people doesn’t sound appetizing.
Plus, what’s the fear? That people stop using credit cards?
This doesn’t seem like a liquidity issue.

ertyu
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by ertyu »

@Seppia: developing country. Cards aren't as frequent or widespread. As for, "this doesn't seem like a liquidity issue" - true, but then it's not a toilet paper issue either and look at the muricans. You never know where idiocy would strike.

George the original one
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by George the original one »

Seppia wrote:
Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:19 pm
Exchanging paper that is touched by multiple unknown people doesn’t sound appetizing.
You handle once for the withdrawl, putting it away, and wash your hands. This is extra cash, not something you might be handling every day. Plus, if you need cash, do you want to try a withdrawl a couple weeks from now? I think that would carry a higher risk.

thrifty++
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by thrifty++ »

@seppia. I was interested in your comments re cash. I have started collecting a bit of cash just in case. Its probably quite far fetched to think cards wont work, but just in case really. Im not stashing much. Just a little bit at a time. So for now I have $40! lol. Just getting a little bit each time I have the opportunity to get some cash out.

Same approach as I am taking with other stuff. Just gradually stocking up as things intensify, And obviously will stop doing so if they regress. I now have about 8 x one litre bottles of water. Im feeling slightly ridiculous collecting water in some ways. Im not sure its relevant at all in this scenario. Obviously canned food is, but water, hmm. Its probably because I live in one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world and water supply temporarily became an issue when earthquakes have struck, but that's a totally different issue.

Really appreciate your comments seppia as you are more in the thick of it than anyone else here. So the fact that the need for cash has been irrelevant is reassuring.

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Seppia
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Seppia »

@thrifty: I’m no expert at all, I’m wrong more often than I’m right.
I just didn’t see why one would hold extra cash, especially during a pandemic where people know the very transmissible virus can live on surfaces.
This is one of the situations where I would have imagined people would have valued hard cash LESS, for fear of contagion.

But this is a great explanation:
ertyu wrote:
Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:49 pm
@Seppia: developing country. Cards aren't as frequent or widespread.

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Ego
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Ego »

Seppia wrote:
Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:19 pm
Plus, what’s the fear? That people stop using credit cards?
This doesn’t seem like a liquidity issue.
It is not a liquidity issue right now.

I don't know the percentages of non-exempt to exempt employees, but it is a significant chunk of the workforce. Add to that the gig-economy workers, the self-employed and those who work for the self-employed and you are looking at more than half the employees in the country with jobs that vary depending on need.

Ding-Ding....As if on queue, as I was typing this my phone dinged with an email from the YMCA saying that all fitness classes including my spin class are cancelled until further notice. Shit! I was looking forward to teaching my St. Paddy's Day class that ends with this inappropriate tune. I don't count on that income but some of my friends do. I know of a handful who will be unable to pay their mortgage in a few months without that income.

I mentioned in the other thread that in 2017 57% of the U.S. workforce could not raise $500 in an emergency. Imagine what that will be like in May, June, July. If these people can't pay their mortgage, rent, credit card bill and utilities, this will start to look like a liquidity issue. Granted, the fed would probably jump in to fund the banks but even a slight hiccups at the ATM and people will make a run for their money which could snowball.

Or maybe it won't happen. I'll be stocked up on cash and redeposit it when the horizon clears. No harm no foul.

More options are better than less options.

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Seppia
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Seppia »

@Ego
I have a hard time seeing how having cash as opposed to a well funded bank account would make a difference.
People are going to be cash strapped
But cash strapped in the sense that they’re broke, not that having a $100 bill as opposed to $100 and a debit card would make a real difference.

jacob
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by jacob »

The Fed already jumped in yesterday with $1.5T to dampen any bank liquidity issues. Despite efforts in recent years to undo the regulations introduced after the credit crisis, banks are still much better capitalized than back then.

As for personal liquidity, it's always good to have options. I would not expect the credit card system to go down so all that matters is if you (personally) can make the payments so the card doesn't get closed. Other countries have shown a willingness to postpone payments where needed.

In practical terms, whether you're touching money or touching a terminal, the risk is similar ... just don't touch your face after touching it.

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Seppia
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Seppia »

Contactless cards FTW

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

Since I'm the one who started the cash discussion I want to say that it isn't for some specific problem related to the coronavirus. Rather, it is just cheap insurance against a very unlikely scenario wherein money is not available temporarily. It seems like it is a basic "prepper" practice.

As far as getting sick from the money it came from the teller in an envelope, I never touched it. I did touch at least 20 other suspect items today like door handles at work but I wash my hands well after.

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Bankai
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Bankai »

Some cash sounds like a good idea. I'm thinking about £2k. I can't see much downside and I won't be investing everything before the situation stabilizes anyway.

@Seppia: you still need to touch the screen if you use a self-service checkout, or if you use till the cashier will touch items you buy to scan them. So no contact is impossible, but self-service + contactless seems the best option as long as you use a dedicated finger to touch screen only. Unfortunately, gloves don't help as they don't work with screens.

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Ego
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Ego »

We were in Argentina for their December 2001 currency crisis and I guess I still exude some of the fear I absorbed back then. And Mrs. Ego has lived through a few devaluations of the Mexican Peso.

Argentina put a $250 per account weekly limit on withdraws of any type. That included ATMs, debit cards, checks, transfers.... everything. Since then I have had more than one bank account. Wikipedia says differently but that's not how I remember it....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_ ... #Corralito

AnalyticalEngine
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by AnalyticalEngine »

IIRC this happened fairly recentish in Greece too? It can't hurt to have some liquid and physical funds. I've just been quarantine any cash I withdraw for a few weeks and save it for emergencies.

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Sclass
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Re: Anyone prepping for corona?

Post by Sclass »

Is it cool to start wearing a mask in public? (I guess in Asia it is).

I really wanted to wear mine in the store today in Southern California but I didn’t want to freak anyone out. I keep it in the trunk next to my disinfectant gel.

When @Ego posted the snippet about chloroquine I bought some. Like two minutes after I read the article. The price has soared 20x on eBay. Not sure what I was thinking buying this but it’s on the shelf in case the unthinkable happens.

Amazing to see how far things have gone. A month ago I was reading about the first case in my area. Now I read they’re closing the schools in Orange County and LA.

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