Are you now purchasing item you "wanted" as a hedge against inflation?

Ever since the goberment started spending money like drunken sailors and giving people more money not to work during the pandemic, I saw inflation on the horizon. I had some money saved and made more money selling off a chunk of my gun collection recently, but I would hate to see it's value eaten away by rising prices. Just look at gun and ammo prices, it's not just scarcity or panic, it's also people with money they didn't earn looking to spend it before goberment decides it wants it back.

A one of items I had always wanted but was reluctant to spend the money on was decent communications. I had some older Motorola handhelds, but the batteries needed replacing and I didn't have any headsets. I finally ordered a couple of new PRC-152s, radio pouches, and some ancillary equipment for them. Unfortunately the radios all come from China these days and it's at least a month and a half wait for delivery. All told I spent right at $1000 on 2 radios, batteries, and equipment.

My next expensive purchase will be a new ballistic helmet. I have a couple of MICH helmets that are great, but I a buddy of mine bought an OPS Core high cut ballistic helmet that I really liked. I'm going to shop around for the proper size although I think I'll buy it from the Hard Headed Veterans company.

So are any of you doing the same or maybe buying extra items you normally buy or maybe a little gold or silver? Also any suggestions on high dollar items I might want to buy while the dollar still has buying power.

 

I got my ham tech over a year ago and started listening on a couple of Baefeng BF-F8HP's. Then got my General and bought a Icom 7300 and started building antennas for it. I run it on a Bioenna batt.

Of course, guns, ammo, food, booze. We're already bartering a little. Looking to source locally for some things.

Redo the '82 Jeep Scrambler next fall. No computer chips in that baby.

edit. Oh yeah. Getting all the dental work done and doctor stuff.

 

Yep, bought newer (very low mileage) Kias for the frau and myself. Topping off FAk items and have asked the kiddos what we can do to sorts out any lacks within the family...

I barely survived Litle Jimmy and his gang of bafoons, and now SloJoe Xiden is making Jimmy almost look smart....

 

It hasn't been a pandemic thing for me. I've always had this thing in my mind that says "If I just leave that extra cash in my wallet and don't put it to work it'll be worth less tomorrow." Then I say "...worth less" a few more times and it sounds like "worthless." Then it's a simple matter of what's going to hold its value? Cash or anything else that's durable. (tools, building supplies, quality footwear, books, etc.) Can it make my life easier or more enjoyable, and/or will it make me money when I sell it?. Yes, I have filled quite a few holes in my lantern collection recently, Some that I've wanted to find for many years. Sometimes the right ones seem to pop up at the right price.

It's not that I run around with cash burning a hole in my pocket. I just always carry enough to take advantage of a deal when one pops up.

 

We are seriously considering replacing our a/c/furnace, all ducts and piping. Our favorite a/c shop said they have had 2 price increases this year and are looking at a 5% increase in June. Big $$$ but would last us for the rest of our lives. The a/c guy came over today, took a look around and we all sat down and talked options. Sheesh. But like the above poster said, worth less sounds very much like worthless if you say it several times and a bit quickly.

 

Yeah we had ours replaced 2 years ago. Right before retirement hurt. But it won't need to be done again
as long as we live here.

 

We have been divesting ourselves of accesses, things we don't really need, or things that can turn a profit now instead of holding out for more later, and not getting it! Several cars got sent to new owners, replaced with new guns I have been collecting, which is a huge irony as they have always been unobtanium until now, and they are all west coast and unique to the area, go figure! I think it's becasue they are so old, and the folks who were collecting them have all passed away and family don't really know what to do about them, and, the prices have come way down too, so, Ura-Ki been buying them all up as he comes across them, to the point that I'm now the largest single collector in the states of this particular rifle model!! We also added P.M's to our larders, have always had s little, but now we have a little more!

 

I feel like I am living in Bizaro world with the wife always encouraging me to buy more guns and ammo. Before it was "Oh God did you really need another gun or case of ammo." Words I never thought I would speak follow...... "Dear we have enough weaponry and ammo to fight a small war and sustain continuous for for 168 hours straight...... I think we are good in that department!" Her "But are you sure that is enough!"

I am going to pull the trigger on the big solar/wind system this year. It is a huge upfront expense and I absolutely will NOT do a grid tie system, so that eliminates the Government handout solar subsidies and tax credits.

Going to have 3 more pole barns built a 42x72x10 want to put all of tractors and implements under one roof 30x60x8 I need a bigger warehouse and 24x40x8 House the battery bank, solar components big generator and fuel. Not the ideal time for construction projects given the price of lumber and steel but I am not seeing that situation getting better anytime soon. LOL I have built the last 3 barns myself from the concrete up. I am going to let the pro's build the next 3.

Dam for the 8 acre lake gets built in the fall. Lots of good reasons to have a sizable lake IMO. And Getting 2 new wells drilled.

And these are the last major upgrades and new structure improvement I am planning on making in the rest of my lifetime. I figure on the low end I have 20 years left and on the high end maybe 30 years. I fully intend to make what ever years I have left as independent and outside of the shit show system the USA is devolving into.

 

The border closed has stopped me getting my freeze drier ..

All listed above , =Yes
I feel the same way , seeing TR5 build list , I need to be on it as well.
Sloth

 

Bought the tractor I wanted last year, 2005 Massey Ferguson 50 hp 4 cylinder mechanical diesel engine, Price this year is up about 15 % if you look and 30 % at dealers. tore down shed and built new garage last year and replacement cost is now up about 25 % of total cost for material price increases. Getting what I want as I don't see things getting cheaper. BD920N jet lathe cost me about $900 ten years ago, modified it and upgraded it for most of what I want, lists for about $2,200 now and another $500 for parts I bought to upgrade it. Can't even begin to guess about changes in rifle values.

Reached the point that with IRA returning a fraction of a % or playing Russian roulette with the stock market, we are buying what we want for the long term, looking at new tank less water heater, redoing greenhouse, more solar, etc. Rebuilding present cars and trucks, don't want new ones and all the electronics and garbage. Still looking for a good 1960's jeep with a solid frame and as near stock as possible, probably die of old age before I find one I can afford.

Don't trust dollar, don't trust my future income stream, stay out of debt, get prepared, stay away from crowds and be grey and it seems to become ever more appropriate to pray as it is to early to shoot the bastards and to late for change , paraphrasing Claire Wolfe's most thought provoking statement.

 

Don't want to specify exactly what I am buying with cash now, but definitely not keeping large amounts of cash and using it to buy useful items getting ready for the crash.

 

The federal tax credit can be used grid or off grid. That is 22% of expenses for 2021.

 

You can also do a grid tied/ stand alone system with both the back up batteries and the 2 way meter. The electric company will pay you at the end of the year if you have sold back more than you used.

 

Can you have someone ship it to you?

 

Why not also grid tie?

Many if not most of the off grid inverters such as Outback allow you to have a fully autonomous off grid system but also grid tie so you can sell power back to the utility (is it still CIPS over there?) and get the credits to boot. Very little more cost to grid tie an Outback, can be done for less than $100 for the most basic connection as the Outback has the transfer switches etc all built in.

 

some things are still available - price is still stable >>>> put your $$$$ into an item/project that has SHTF payback but isn't going to be crazy to look back on a few years from now ....

I'd definitely be looking for spares for your already acquired - if you have an older model you might get lucky with finding old/new stock that hasn't been $$$$$ updated ....

 

Still have to pay for the electric service and required to to feed into them during the day and use their electric at night. Several folks did grid tie with our electric coop and their monthly bill actually went up instead of down. Nope Southern IL is a patchwork of Co-ops and Ameren, no CIPS down here. I can't see a reason in the world to not cut the electric coop off and have them come and take their transformers and meters off the property once the solar/wind/generator is up and running. It cost $168.00 per month just have their two meters and transformers here whether I use any of their electric or not. I am also pretty big on not taking any government subsidies or grants, and from what I understand the government gets real funny with the hybrid grid tie/off grid systems.

 

That varies greatly by State, Electric Company/Coop, and often region or County. Until very recently our CO-OP charged you the whole sale rate for putting electric into the system instead of paying you for it. Not trying to be snarky but you obviously know something our regional solar sales guys and installers don't know, because they all say if you are not grid tied ONLY NO Tax payer funded solar welfare for you.

 

Out here I am the fire department. LOL When the first store here burned the response time was 1 hour 37 minutes from call to when the fire engine arrived. Not a lot to burn in a steel framed steel skinned building with a rock floor. And at $5000 for the fire truck to just show up...... yeah I ain't gonna be making that call again. I am more concerned about the fuel storage being with the solar components or at least in the same structure. Plan on building two cinder block walls around the solar stuff in one corner and another block wall to separate the battery bank from the electronics and fuel. Generatore will be outside in its own block house. With everything well vented to prevent any arc from igniting any fuel vapors. Going to just keep my 500 gallon tax exempt fuel tank and 1000 gallon road fuel tank where they are under a leanto off of the barn they sit next to now. We don't use much gas here or in vehicles and both truck that do run gas have a 150gallon and a 200 gallon transfer tank in the bed we pretty much keep topped off and stabilized. Same with the diesel trucks other than we cycle through the transfer tank diesel a lot faster than we do the gas. The AC7060 tractors tanks suck a 200 gallon transfer tank dry in one fill up.

And since the first store fire left 20,000 pounds of charred worthless beef and pork to clean up on 100 degree days........ I put fire suppression systems in every building that should trigger automatically but have a manual valve to activate them just in case. The exception being the machine shop where I weld and cut, I didn't think that one through very well and had my welder and my self suppressed a few days after installing the system. That building is strictly manual now