Economics in a Predicament

Well, the fed adopted the new QE3 so they can buy up some more bad debt to the tune of...get this...40 million dollars a month. And...get this....for as long as it takes to stabilize the real estate market. Class...can you say deflation. That is what is happening with the dollar and if you don't think it is then go to the grocery store and buy 5 items in two months go back and buy those same items...bet you will pay more. And historically what happens when a countries currency is deflated to the point of no return...hyperinflation. During the Weimar republic of 1930s Germany it was more economical to use your German marks for heating your home than to try and buy a loaf of bread with them. It took too much effort to carry the thousands of marks to buy that loaf of bread. Food riots are already happening in Spain. Are you prepared? If you are dependent on a weekly trip to the grocery store because your shelves at home are bare then I would say not. I have been writing for a few years now on rising costs and economic woes. I have heard many times from folks that they don't want to consider themselves preppers. I don't really consider myself a prepper either, but I do like to be prepared for whatever life throws my way. I remember a time when I wasn't prepared and I remember looking at my bare cabinets and wondering how I was going to come up with some money to buy food. At that time it was whatever food I could afford to buy the most of and there were quite a few times that I skipped meals so that our food would last longer. I was scared and I didn't ever want to be that scared again. My grandparents weathered the Great Depression with little worry about how they were going to eat. Why? Because they were prepared for whatever life threw at them. They had always grown a large garden and put up everything they could. They were lucky that they had a farm and livestock, but even now small livestock (chickens, rabbits) can be kept in town. Some people even keep goats in town. But outside the livestock, I remember the jars and jars of food that they put up each year. I shelled peas till my fingers were raw as a child. I didn't understand it then because my parents were the "go to the grocery store and buy only a week's worth of groceries" type people. But, at that time in my life when I looked at those bare shelves and saw only a couple cans of soup and a box of cereal, I understood. My grandparents weren't preppers or survivalists or whatever label you want to use that you don't want to be....they were smart. You never know what life may throw at you and with the economic signs life might be getting ready to throw starvation and struggle at you. The writing is on the wall that the whole global economic system is in trouble and if that isn't enough then the drought hitting the US and Europe should be. Food cost is skyrocketing. That is personal experience. I know how much I paid a year ago for the groceries that I typically buy and I know how much I paid last week for those same things. The cost was at least double if not more on many things. Germany was to vote Wednesday on whether they would bail out more European nations, the Euro is collapsing. If they vote yes then there will be skyrocketing inflation across Europe and deflation of the Euro. If they vote no then there could be bank "holidays", which essentially means that you don't have access to your money because it is gone. Why does it matter what happens in Europe? Well, because our banks are tied with their banks and if their banks start to crumble then ours will too eventually. It's all that great global economy stuff remember. So essentially the economy worldwide is in a predicament, and what does our country do? Make it worse by devaluing our currency! I might not be a prepper/survivalist or whatever one doesn't want to call themselves, but I can assure you that I do not intend to ever look at bare shelves again and wonder how I am going to put food on them. I will post later about recommendations for stocking those shelves whether you are on a tight budget or not. Blessings, Kat