We are fast approaching, here in the United States, some definite turning points that can affect you profoundly. One of those turning points is economic hardships coupled with increasing fuel costs. What does that mean to you, and I for that matter? Two words: food costs.
Food and fuel are directly tied together. Whether we like it or not, when the cost of transporting those canned goods, vegetables, meats, breads etc. goes up, the prices of those goods goes up as well. You have a good job? Decent income? How good? How decent?
Let me propose for you an example scenario: a weekly budget for your house.
At current fuel pricing where the "Smith" clan resides, it costs about 75.00 FRNs (Federal Reserve Notes) to fill the tank of thier largest vehicle. They spend approximately 200.00 FRNs for food (5 people eat, drink etc.). At current prices. These two items alone can make, or break a family budget. Notice I am not including utilities or housing costs, just food and fuel.
Total for 1 week food & fuel: 275.00/FRNs, at current pricing.
Lets say fuel is 3.49 FRNs/gallon. Crude is at 104.00/FRNs a barrel for July delivery. That is 38% higher than the prior 2 months.
Bump your fuel and food costs up just 15%. Fuel would be 4.01 FRNs/gal
Fuel: 89.39 FRNs/week
Food: 230.00 FRNs/week
Total: 319.39 FRNs - a difference of 44.39 FRNs
Bump the fuel to 5.06 FRNs/gal and food by the appropriate 45% from this weeks pricing:
Fuel: 108.74 FRNs
Food: 290.00 FRNs
Total: 398.74 - nearly 400.00 FRNs a week, which is 1200.00 FRNs per month!
You can see where I am going with this. Please, no nasty comments, this is extremely simplified to illustrate my point. Read on, intrepid one!
We are seeing something very subtle. The economic structure of the US is under immense pressure. Rising fuel costs in a recession is a dangerous thing. There are ways to help mitigate the crushing costs and gain some economic freedom. Gardening and small livestock, most notably. It is about being prepared for a full on depression. It is called being prepared.
Here is a good example of an average "prepared" suburbanite family's ideal plan to feed their family when the stores are too expensive. Please note, my grandparents grew up during the depression, so they taught me a lot:
#1: is eating/preserving what you can produce: garden (Square Foot Garden), rabbits, goat meat, goats milk, eggs, chickens, ducks etc.
This cuts down significantly on your reliance on grocery stores and cash on hand.
#2: Stored food.
FEMA recommends that the average family have 3 days food/water on hand "just in case". If you truly want to be prepared, shoot for a minimum of 1 month. Best case scenario: 1-2 years of stored food.
One point I would like to make is all of the food storage you gain out of gardens/small livestock. I am talking about drying, canning, etc. When you get a harvest, you cannot eat everything. You must learn to can or preserve in some way, thereby extending your (hopefully) already existing food storage. So that being said, buy the appropriate materials/books and learn how to can NOW. Not later, after you desperately need a way to preserve that bumper crop of squash, or that overabundance of tomatoes. Learn now while you have the leeway of being able to make mistakes, because in a survival scenario, your margin for error is very, very narrow.
If you are not gardening and raising food animals (like rabbits, which can be raised anywhere, including an apartment) right now, then you are setting yourself up for definite failure, should we have a severe economic crisis.
Besides, is there anything bad about lowering your bills and eating organically grown, home cooked food? I can't think of any, myself.
This, as with any endeavor is a personal choice and of course all of this is just hypothetical, right? ;) Be safe, be prepared!