Royal Bank of Scotland AND Barclay's warning customers of global crash - WAKE UP!

[Pale Blue Dot]

Once again, Europe seems to be ahead of the curve on this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/27/cnbarclays127.xml

Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall "below zero".

"We're in a nasty environment," said Tim Bond, the bank's chief equity strategist. "There is an inflation shock underway. This is going to be very negative for financial assets. We are going into tortoise mood and are retreating into our shell. Investors will do well if they can preserve their wealth."

Barclays Capital said in its closely-watched Global Outlook that US headline inflation would hit 5.5pc by August and the Fed will have to raise interest rates six times by the end of next year to prevent a wage-spiral. If it hesitates, the bond markets will take matters into their own hands. "This is the first test for central banks in 30 years and they have fluffed it. They have zero credibility, and the Fed is negative if that's possible. It has lost all credibility," said Mr Bond.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/18/cnrbs118.xml

The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.

"A very nasty period is soon to be upon us - be prepared," said Bob Janjuah, the bank's credit strategist.

A report by the bank's research team warns that the S&P 500 index of Wall Street equities is likely to fall by more than 300 points to around 1050 by September as "all the chickens come home to roost" from the excesses of the global boom, with contagion spreading across Europe and emerging markets.

Such a slide on world bourses would amount to one of the worst bear markets over the last century.

"I do not think I can be much blunter. If you have to be in credit, focus on quality, short durations, non-cyclical defensive names.

"Cash is the key safe haven. This is about not losing your money, and not losing your job," said Mr Janjuah, who became a City star after his grim warnings last year about the credit crisis proved all too accurate.

It is well past time to pull our heads out of the sand and realize what's about to happen. Come November, the economy will be the ONLY thing that matters in this election. Life is about to change for ALL of us, in ways we can't even imagine. As always, our best defense is KNOWLEDGE. Come to terms with the fact that this is going to happen and PREPARE.

[KaryninMiami]

1. Ok so I've been following this as well- -what exactly do we do to prepare? Seriously.

Do we convert our mutual funds and investments into cash? For those of us who are doing our best to "save for the future", it's terrifying to think that we could be risking everything in the markets. Should we start taking cash out of our bank accounts and having it on hand "just in case"? I called a financial friend earlier this week when the initial story broke earlier this week and asked if he was seeing people pulling out their investments in his world- he said no. That he felt we could be in for some rough patches but that story was not based in anything really factual. Frankly, I don't know what to believe- the market came down another 100 points today...

Any suggestions? Are any of you doing anything differently now or are you preparing for something dramatically horrible to happen?

[Dr.Phool]

55. Answer to a few questions. My non-expert opinion.

A little over a month ago, I noticed an article about 10 large banks that were on the brink of collapse, One being Key Bank in Cleveland, where my wife used to work, and still had a 401k. Most of the 401k was required to be in Key stock (remember Enron). And they've always paid a decent dividend. After checking it out a little further, since Key had not been in the news, I told her to get her money the fuck out of there NOW. She did the following day. I didn't check for a roll-over, as I thought speed was a necessity. Besides, she is 59 1/2, and wouldn't have to pay a penalty, just withholding, which she would have to pay anyway, regardless. We withheld 20%. A week later, we received the check, and I checked the stock price. The stock had lost over 30% in that week, and has fallen more since. And the next day, we received our final dividend check.

It's the start of hurricane season down here in Tampa Bay, and I always stock up on bottled water and dry, and canned goods each spring. This year, I started buying a lot more. A lot of things I don't usually buy.

We are trying to get out of debt as fast as possible. We can cover about everything now, except the mortgage, and one car (I did splurge a little, and bought her a new Prius for Valentines day).

I noticed it starting to get uglier out there over the last year. I was a partner in a carry-out Italian restaurant in Tampa. Food prices are going through the roof. A 50 lb. bag of flour cost $8.50 a year ago. In March it was over $35. Imported tomatoes for pasta sauce and pizza. The dollar has no value, and they were skyrocketing. Cheese? You don't want to know. On top of that all of our suppliers were adding on fuel surcharges. On top of that, since X-mas, we had several people per day walking in looking for jobs. That never happened before.

And we always kept an eye on our competitors. They're all slowly going out of business.

I've been laid off in other industries before, over the last 37 years, and always kept my head above water. I've never seen a shit storm brewing like what's sitting right over the horizon now. The Fed and the Republicans are raiding the treasury as fast as they can right now. They know the party's over. I don't know if it's fixable this time. Just be prepared.

[brokensymmetry]

61. Behold, the words of wisdom.

I agree completely. This will get nasty.

[Baby Snooks]

63. Smart people...

Smart people as opposed to greedy people have been liquidating assets including equities since 2001 and putting the bulk of their assets in interest-bearing bank accounts. At least they are insured. There is no limit to how many bank accounts you can have. Each one is insured by the FDIC up to $100,000. This is not a sudden storm. Just a storm that moved slowly. Smart people were aware of it.

Smart people will have something. Greedy people will once again be jumping out of windows on Wall Street.

Many individuals have already lost quite a bit of their fortunes particuarly in the hedge fund market. Even oil options are risky. The wrong put or call and you lose. The hedge fund wins either way. They are like the house in Las Vegas. Win or lose, the house makes money.

The super rich may suddenly become the super poor. The rich will still be rich. Relatively speaking.

[drexel dave]

64. Learn to grow vegetables, hunt and fish

no kidding.

[mckara]

66. Sell Dollar Denominated Assets and Buy Gold

Listen to Max Keiser:

http://www.karmabanqueradio.com

George Bush IS the new Herbert Hoover!

[TNDemo]

2. So...what do we do?

Time for bottled water and canned goods stocking? Or taking money out of the market or banks? Or what?

[KaryninMiami]

14. Exactly my point. Bury money in hidden safes? Stock up on non-perishables?

Buy gold and gemstones just in case the US dollar loses all value (a bit extreme I know but you get the point)... I'm not an economist - nor do I have a clue about what's real and waht isn't. Furthermore, I don't trust much of what I read these days anyway and I'm sick reading news that fills people with fear. But the stock market fell yesterday and then again today and -- well anyway, it's clear we are in for some rough weather ahead.

[Pale Blue Dot]

15. The signs were there a year - 2 years - ago.

If we had not been burying our heads in the sand, we could have done something about it then. Instead everyone wanted to ignore the bad news and/or believe that since this is America, it couldn't happen to us.

Well, it is happening, and it's not going to go away if we ignore it.

[ben_meyers]

34. The seeds for this were planted 10 to 15 years ago

nobody saw it coming, but should have.

[Pale Blue Dot]

36. If not earlier (but you're exactly right).

I can't recommend Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine strongly enough.

[TNDemo]

42. I am about halfway through her book

but the library has holds on it and I am going to have to take it back. Have loved it so far. What does she have to say in case I can't finish it?

[awoke_in_2003]

53. Further back than that

I would think. The opening of trade relations with China was a death knell for American manufacturing. The 90's were good, but the weakness was there. NAFTA didn't help one little bit.

[TNDemo]

17. I keep thinking about what I should buy now before inflation sets in

but not exactly sure what that would be. I do sometimes lay awake at night wondering if one day I am going to be sorry I did not get my money out of the bank. Of course if inflation goes wild that money will be worth squat. What to do, what to do...

[Lisa0825]

33. Save money, simplify, reduce expenses....

and it wouldn't be a bad time to start to grow your own veggies either!

[salin]

44. exactly

downsize expenses as much as possible.

[justaregularperson]

48. If it is inflation then cash is *not * king... at least I thought?

If it sits in a low interest bearing account it will just lose it's value in an inflationary economy? At least that is how I thought it worked?

[argeec]

57. Adjust your portfolio

Get out of financials like banks, brokerages,insurance - especially Goldman-Sachs,Morgan-Stanley,Citigroup types. Switch the proceeds to consumer non-durables like Procter & Gamble or food companies.
Put savings in FDIC insured accounts, i.e. commercial banks.
I don't think you have to head for the bomb shelter.

[Lost-in-FL]

69. FDIC??

I won't be surprise that something similar to what happened during Katrina might also happen here; like when Insurance companies started crying to congress that they couldn't pay and thousands where unable to make claims against those insurance companies. Being FDIC might prove to be useless for all of us. I hope not, I'm no financial expert but can trust Congress to protect the consumer.

[Phred42]

58. I'm starting by dumping my 401k now

I"m betting that I'll be ahead of the additional 10% penalty by February.

Ravi Batra on Hartmann (Friday) was talking about crash within 6 months

[MJJP21]

62. Cash

If you are that worried you can put your 401 money in cash or something as close as you can get with your plan and still keep you 401. There are big penalties for withdrawls.

[Phred42]

68. Tx - I know. But unfortunately

I have been out of work for the past 14 months (59 yrs old IT Tech Mgt) and need the money. No one wants an almost 60yr old - even Home Depot.

On the other hand Ravi Batra on Hartmann's show Friday was talking about a 20-25% drop in the market within 6 months anyway.

[BigDaddy44]

70. You mean the author of "The Great Depression of 1990"?

There are a lot of reasons to think things are going to go bad, but any credibility Mr. Batra had is long gone.

[Karenina]

3. . .

[spartan61]

4. Not sure how I should prepare.

As a retired teacher, most of my investments are in a 403B (tax shelter annuity). I can't take the money out and put it under my mattress to protect it. The tax event would be unbelievable. All of my investments were with pre-tax dollars. What a scary world. Now that I'm retired and planning to supplement my income with my retirement accounts, I'm finding those accounts to be shrinking daily.

[wildbilln864]

5. K&R! nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. Today the talking heads on MSNBC seemed to be a little more realistic

and sober

I think it is starting to sink in. we are in for a shitstorm

[Pale Blue Dot]

7. What I'm (trying) to do.

First off, I'm an English teacher, not an economist, so I won't make recommendations about your investments. What I'm trying to do are the relatively simple things: paying down my debt, spending less, cutting down on unnecessary spending, walking more.

Someone posted a list of suggestions a couple of months ago (we've seen this coming for a while). I wish I had it bookmarked. Maybe somebody else does?

[Pale Blue Dot]

9. One other thing - we need to push our candidate, who will almost surely win,

to aggressively regulate corporations, end the war in Iraq, and show fiscal responsibility.

[latebloomer]

20. This one?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3253162#3253166

[Pale Blue Dot]

21. That's a good one, but there was another one.

I'm thinking it was started by SoCalDem???

[Tinksrival]

37. Here it is.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=383196

[DemReadingDU]

46. That's a good one, already bookmarked it!

[SoCalDem]

39. Anyof these?

Prepare your family for the hard times ahead.
Posted by SoCalDem in General Discussion
Sat Mar 10th 2007, 08:06 AM
No one is immune from the hard landing ahead.
Even with a democratic congress, we will still have almost 2 years left of this mal-adminstration to screw things up even more than they have.

As a boomer, I have lived through many recessions, and they are no fun..

The mini-recession (was it really even a real recession) in the post-Clinton /early Bush years was NOTHING compared to what may be looming on the horizon.

Many people are in way over their heads and a few missed paychecks can send them right onto the streets.

We all think that our family budget is carved in stone and there's no room for "adjustments", but in most cases that's not entirely true.



Easy stuff first:

1. Learn to cook:

......a) Even with higher grocery prices, it's still cheaper (and better for you ) to cook , than to order in, nuke a frozen dinner, or use prepared mixes
......b) grow some fresh veggies if you have some yard space
......c) stock up on bargains at the store when you see them
......d) shop with a list, and stick to it
......e) buy store brands whenever possible
......f) use coupons if they are for things you already buy
......g) Cook several meals at the same time and package your own "frozen dinners" for the rest of the week


2. GET RID OF YOUR CREDIT CARDS

.......a) If you cannot pay them off, please consider filing bankruptcy (if you qualify, and can do it). The deck is stacked against consumers, and it's only going to get worse, folks. The sooner you get "out from under", the sooner you can start rebuilding your financial stability .
........b) Keep ONE credit card with the lowest interest rate possible, and use it once a month (to keep it active)..and pay it in full BEFORE the due date..(If you need to rent a car or reserve a hotel room, you will need a credit card to avoid paying a large cash deposit.
.........c) If your bank offers it, use the online bill-paying service. This eliminates the cost of writing/mailing checks, and it provides a detailed record of what (and where) you are spending your money. It saves on postage too and gas..and time.
........d) Ask your bank for a checking account that comes with over-draft protection (ours has $1k) so if you ever screw up, you will not be charged a bunch of bank fees...or keep a savings account where you have your checking, so you could transfer (online) between accounts.
.......e) Buy a shredder and USE IT. Shred all papers that have any identifying information on them.
.......f) Pay your bills EARLY and pay extra if you can.

3. Examine your "extras".

.......a) Do you really "need" that cell phone package? Are your calls on it, the yak-yak killing-time calls or is it truly for "emergencies" like people tell themselves? Could you get by with a prepaid cheapo-phone that "lives in the car", and a cheaper "frill-free" land line for the yak-yak calls? (People managed this way for over 100 years)
.......b) Cut the cable bill by going to the bare-bones package and have friends tape the HBO stuff for you.
.......c) Take your lunch to work. Even $4-5 a day ends up being close to a Benjamin a month.
.......d) Send kids to school with a lunch too, It's better for them than what they get in the cafeteria. let them make their own, and they might accept it more.
........e) Shop the sales at upscale department stores, and you can often find better clothing/accessories than at Walmart/KMart/Target..and there is no stigma for shopping at resale shops/flea markets/yard sales.
.......f) PAY OFF YOUR VEHICLES (if you can) and figure out exactly what those extra cars are costing you. You have to consider insurance, gasoline, repairs, tires, finance charges.. the whole enchilada
.......g) Take a hard look at the secondary income job (usually the wife's). What are you actually getting to KEEP from that job, after the daycare costs, lunches at work, extra car expenses, extra costs associated with the job, and any income tax implications. Now figure out if it's actually worth the trouble. remember that you only get to spend what's left over, and often that part-time job ends up costing the family money in the long run.
......h) Start saying "We cannot afford that" to your kids. SHOW them the family budget and make them a part of the financial team.
......i) Cancel magazine subscriptions.. (Most probably don't even get read..or when family asks what you want for your birthday/xmas/etc , let THEM subscribe to your favorite magazine as your gift
.....j) When you eat out, go early and use coupons for meals if you get them

4. Maintain your appliances, cars & equipment. An annual "check-up" is cheaper than a complete breakdown.

5. Network and barter casually

.....a) Everyone has a special skill, so trade services within your group. (be careful how you do this, because the IRS is "interested" in bartering .)..
......b) When you buy something pricey, show them cash and ask for a cash discount
......c) Shop in your community, with privately owned businesses, if you can. Often they deliver free and are eager to please you
......d) Ask your friends for referrals for things you need done (if you cannot do them yourself).
......e) If you have young kids, set up an "exchange" with other families..for clothes & toys.
......f) Set up or join a babysitting co-op (It's easy, fun and it's FREE babysitting (as in no money paid..just your time)

6. Consider "shared-housing" . If you are an empty-nester with a big house, you could "rent a room" to a single who cannot afford the high cost of an apartment..or you could incorporate a parent/grandparent into your home (cue fingernails on a chalkboard here)..but if it's the difference between losing your home or keeping it, you may need to consider this

7. Energy use can be cut down

....a) Obviously the new lightbulbs help, but there are other things you can do.
.....b) Do laundry & dishes at off-peak times
.....c) Close off registers in unused rooms
.....d) Set the turn-off timers on tvs incase you fall asleep
....e) Replace washers in faucets so they don't drip
.....f) Plan your shopping /errands in a circular trip.
.....g) Make sure your car has a locking gas cap




I've droned on long enough, but let me tell you, that when a REAL recession hits, and hits hard, many families will be hit hard. Most young folks have never experienced wage-freezes or 15% mortgage loans .. But when WE endured those things, there were no killer health care premiums or $25K cars or all the distractions we have today.

Start now and if it doesn't come to pass, you mightr only end up with a savings account & some good habits.. Wait too long, and you might be homeless and broke.



..........................................

The Money Diet
Posted by SoCalDem in General Discussion
Fri Feb 29th 2008, 01:48 PM
The WORST thing that can happen to you when a recession hits, is to be in debt.

Many people here have only really experienced the contrived "mini-recessions" that come along at the end of administrations. The "Clinton-recession" was engineered to hurt Gore..

Since these were manufactured, they were easy to "fix" in the short term, but for the whole adult-life of many people, credit ...and more specifically, the credit-CARD has been a fact of life..like eating, sleeping & drinking.

These are the people who probably got their first credit card while they were still in school (or just barely out of school).

Planning your budget without credit, USED to be the norm. Our family always used the ubiquitous "yellow legal pad". A friend of ours used the "legal envelope" method.

The by-the-seat-of-your-pants budgeting of the 80's & 90's is coming home to roost, and it sucks.

There's an old bookkeepers mantra.. "debits on the left-credits on the right"...and it's the only way to know exactly what you can truly afford.

You don't need fancy leather-bound "expense journals" brought at Borders, while you sip a cinnamon -frou- frou- half-caf- latte.. All you need is a legal pad with your REALITY expenses on the left (be sure to build-in the steady increases (we always used 15%... added the last 12 months+15%, then divided by 12)..

Then add up your TAKE-HOME pay ...do NOT count on raises, since they will surely be eaten up by higher costs..

The DIFFERENCE between these two monthly totals is what you have left to SPEND..

If that's not enough, then cutting expenses is your only REAL hope of survival.

Using a credit card to make up the difference, only ADDS another "debit on the left", and REDUCES the available spending money for you.

You CANNOT borrow your way to solvency. Our government has tried it and tried it and tried it, and even though they have the ability to create money from taxes or printing the stuff, they cannot do it...so Joe Consumer surely cannot do it.

The government always has an "out" though, that we do not have. Every 4 years, "they" get a fresh start and someone to blame.

The sad fact of life is that most people cannot afford to live the life they want to live..or the life they HAVE been living.

We have been taught to be consumers, and the life of a consumer can only be lived by people with incomes adequate to KEEP buying stuff. Our incomes have been stagnant or in decline for a long time now, but the STUFF we keep buying , only increases...in cost and availability-desirability..

When one diets, they HAVE to cut calories (stop buying stuff), but even that will not take the pounds(debt) away. There has to be exercise too (saving).

The experts love to tell us that saving is for chumps, because the interest rates are so small, but is that what's stopping people from saving? I think not.. What stops people from saving, is that they don't have anything left over to save. Every penny "left over" from paychecks is needed to debt-service..

No matter how much your take-home pay is, if you spend more (or are obligated for) than what you bring in, you are headed for disaster.

You cannot count on real raises these days. You cannot count on a stable job. You cannot count on finding a better job.

Optimism is a fundamental element in using credit wisely, and what we have been living through is anything BUT optimism. Credit spending, these days, is driven by panic, depression, and desperation.

Credit card companies know this. They know that people cannot afford to live the way they want to, and like diligent drug dealers, they are very friendly and easy when they offer you your first few "hits", but once you are into them and thoroughly hooked, they GOT you.

Americans are going to have to learn to do with less, and it's going to be painful.


.......................................................

"Oldsters" advice to the young ones.
Posted by SoCalDem in General Discussion
Wed Jan 16th 2008, 03:16 PM
Every young person I have ever known (myself included), has a tendency to think that "everything will work out", and that they have "all the time in the world" .

It won't
You don't

This is the advice we gave our own..(add your own pearls of wisdom)

1. Get good grades and apply for EVERY scholarship you can.. even the small ones add up.

It sucks to be studying when all your buds are out there having fun, but in 10 years you will probably have to struggle to even remember some of their names, but the grades you get NOW, can help you have a chance at a better future, and all the good things that go along with it.

2. If your family can afford it, do NOT get a shitty little job while you are in school. School IS a job.. the MOST important job you can have, as a young person.

You will NEVER get a chance to go back to high school as a teenager, and those years are too important to waste as you rush from school to job. Employers are notoriously harsh with youngsters too, and often make more demands on their time than they should. The "stuff" you would buy with the "extra" money is not worth the effort it might take you , and you'll only find MORE stuff to buy. Once you are on the merry-go-round, it's hard to get off.

3. Find something you LOVE to do..even if it sounds silly. Careers and wealth often come from the things you love to do. There are careers in all kind of things. Kids get hung up on the "glamour" jobs...professional sports, fashion..dance..acting..music..

Everything you come into contact in your daily life was invented by SOMEONE.. Give yourself the time to open your mind to all possibilities.. Cultivate your interests, and learn all you can about them.

4. NEVER borrow money, if you can avoid it. You may need to borrow money for school or for a car, but DO NOT GET CREDIT CARDS.
(one caveat:..It's not a bad idea to get ONE card, that you can use for car rentals or a true emergency, but do not "shop" with it.. use it only enough to keep it in force..and pay it in full EVERY MONTH)

Once you have that slender little genie in your wallet, you WILL use it. Everyone I ever knew with credit problems, planned to "only use them in case of an emergency". Once you get a "balance" going, a sense of futility sets in and you end up spending even more, since you probably can never catch up anyway.

5. Do not get "car crazy". Advertisers know all the buttons to push, to make you want that shiny new hunk of aluminum & plastic, but a decent used car, will always be a better deal. If you want to impress someone, borrow or rent a car for the special occasion. (see #4)

6. If you plan to buy a home, start saving early. Open a "House savings account", and even if you only put $20 a week into it, you will have started saving for your down payment. If you start this at 20, by the time you are 30, you would have $11,932.68 (3% interest compounded quarterly).

7. Rent the crappiest/cheapest place you can stand..and have roommates to defray the cost. RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO SHARE WITH A GIRLFRIEND/BOYFRIEND. It's hard to negotiate monetary details of living, with a loved one.

8. Learn to cook, and try not to eat a lot of junk-food. This is especially important if you have crappy or no health insurance. Even when prices at the grocery store are high, it;s still better for you and cheaper to cook your own food.

9. Do not marry someone with loads of debt. When you marry them, those payments become YOUR payments too, since they come out of the combined family budget. Couples fight about money more than anything else, so why ask for trouble. You cannot "borrow" your way out of debt, so consolidating debts rarely helps.

10. Get life insurance when you are YOUNG. Have it automatically deducted from your bank account. People poo-pooh whole life policies, but if you can lock in a low rate, someday when you are old and sick, you will thank your lucky stars that you did it. When you are in your 50's and find that your health problems make it too expensive to buy, you will be wishing you had bought that insurance when you were young and healthy. If you are single, out your parents down as beneficiaries, and when you marry & have kids, you can easily change the beneficiaries with a phone call.


11. When you are building your career, be flexible, and ready to move to better jobs, in different places. Stay as unburdened by "stuff & entanglements" as possible. If you get a chance for a promotion, that involves a move, you don't want to have to sell a house, or convince a "homebody" girlfriend. Opportunities do not often repeat themselves. the things you DON'T take advantage of, will eat away at you forever. You have to be ready to DO the "what if"s.

12. Babies NEVER make a bad situation better, and sometimes they even make a good situation worse. It's never a good reason to have a baby just because everyone else is having kids. Have a kid when you cannot stand the idea of NOT having one. When you are in a stable relationship, and your finances are in good shape, and you are ready to give that baby 150% of your love & effort.. that's when you need a baby.

13. Buy LESS house than you want....for a little money as you can .. ALWAYS get a 30yr FIXED rate (with PITI) and pay extra every month.

Consider your commute to work when you do buy a house. If you spend 14 hrs a day AWAY from home, and you spend every extra dime on gas to get to and from work, you might be better off with a crappier house, closer to where you work... or a job that may pay less, closer to where you want to live. If you only have yard work on your days off, and house repairs in every spare moment, you will not get much enjoyment from your house.

Consider your house, as a place to live..not as an investment. Houses do not always sell for more than you paid...and just because you worked hard to get it fixed up, you may not recoup your expenses.

14. Do NOT remove the equity in your house. It may sound tempting, but when you are young, you cannot grasp the fact that someday you will be in your 50's, and having a house that's paid off, is worth a lot more then, than that new car now...or that vacation...or that boat..

15. If you find yourself with "extra money", buy small pieces of land in an undeveloped area near you. They "aren't making any more land", and every place we have ever lived, has grown , and having an asset you can sell , is never a bad idea.

16. Take a vacation every year..even if it's a short local trip. Save for it in advance, and don't overspend.

17. Take lots of pictures. You can never go back and take a picture of your 4 yr old, once he/she's 15.
.........................................................................................
Taking back control over your food.
Posted by SoCalDem in General Discussion
Sun May 06th 2007, 02:17 PM
I know it sounds impossible, but every little bit you do CAN help.

Many people under 40 have been raised on "fast-food" or "packaged-mixes" or "frankenfoods".

The franken-foods are harder to eliminate since the very essence of them has been manipulated at the start, but there's a LOT you can do about the others.

NUMBER ONE:.. Ignore all the glitzy ads on tv and in magazines/papers

NUMBER TWO:... Stop buying the prepared stuff

NUMBER THREE:... Invest in some old cookbooks (used book stores/flea markets/estate sales..or even online)

NUMBER FOUR:...Buy a decent food processor

NUMBER FIVE:... PURGE your cupboards and freezer of all the "combination foods".

NUMBER SIX:...Learn how to cook..(It's not rocket science, and once you get the hang of it, it actually takes less time than you would think.

NUMBER SEVEN:.. Make your OWN "frozen dinners" for times when you don't want to cook.

NUMBER EIGHT:... Plant a garden and let your kids help..Anti-veggie kids will probably eat "their" own veggies..(Mine did)

NUMBER NINE:... Buy good spices

NUMBER TEN :... Make your OWN cake mixes, pancake mixes, baking mixes (HP Make-A-Mix Cookbooks are wonderful)

Modern people think they have no time to "cook from scratch", but it's not that hard and it takes less time than one thinks.

It's not a cheap as buying $1 Banquet frozen dinners or 2/$5 Dominos Pizza, but it's a lot better for you, and so-called convenience foods are LOADED with salt and artificial flavors.

Look for canned foods that have the FEWEST "ingredients".. Choose the no salt added, if you can.. Choose UNSWEETENED when you buy canned fruits.

Buy local and buy local in-season when possible.

Unsweetened iced tea made from water & teabags is better for you than soft drinks & adulterated juices. (My own kids did not have their first taste of soda pop or koolaid until they were school age, and they still prefer unsweetened iced tea as adults.

There are many things you can make on your own that are so cheap, you cannot imagine. You probably just never tried, and don;t even know it.

Here are a few family "specials" that we have always loved..and are super fast too

Left over rice, a little chopped ham, sliced green onions, julienned carrots, a little soy sacue and some other veggies and you have instant stir fry

Peel an apple, core it, split it almost to the bottom (in fourths)..sprinkle a little cinnamon on it and zap it in the microwave (covered)..serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Light frosting for a cake.. whipped cream with mooshed frozen strawberries blended in.. (sweetened with real sugar)

Make your own cookies.. (just about any ole recipe will yield more cookies and there's no comparison on taste)

MOST of the prepared foods actually started with a "real" recipe that has just been adulterated to accomodate the middlemen... not the comsumer.

Salad dressings take about 10 seconds to make..

If you have a breadmaker, and then buy the "mixes", you are still getting the "add-ins" from the corporate food companies.

Get a nice breadboard, and assemble the dough yourself from the basics.

If the box-mixes end up staying on grocers' shelves instead of in grocery carts, they WILL change . As long as people keep buying the stuff, it will elbow out more healthy stuff..

To us oldies, these tips are second-nature, and I am not trying to be "preachy", but I know there are busy people out there who just never took the time, or had parents who taught them to cook.

Commercials have been selling us "fast & easy" for so long that many people actually believe them.

That's a myth that needs busting..in a big way..

................................................................

[lpbk2713]

8. Or to put it another way --- "Bush has screwed the pooch."

Much less refined than the Queen's English but the
fact remains BushCo has shafted the whole planet.

[sam sarrha]

11. na.. he just puts fire crackers up small animals butts.. that should vave been a warning

[Warpy]

10. Gee, the only two banks I still have are telling the truth

I knew there was a reason I kept them.

I expect the paper value of my portfolio to keep going down until Stupid is gone. I expect some guarded optimism after he is gone, but very guarded.

The economy needs fundamental change and a stake driven through the shrivelled heart of Reaganism. Until that happens, the market--and the larger economy--will not recover.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Didn't we call it for a while?

Boy am I glad I got rid of ALL my debt and have prepared for this as best as I can

[spindrifter]

12. The perfect storm: global financial failure and no more bans on

guns in the U.S. We sure have a lot to thank the Chimp for.

[Pale Blue Dot]

13. I'm trying not to wade into the gun issue, but...

I expect the level of violence in this country to rise dramatically. Bad economic times make people desperate and impulsive....

[spindrifter]

28. Precisely.

[Lisa0825]

18. I'm a member of USAA and they sent out a memo about a webinar

for "Recession and Your Personal Finances." I signed up.

[robinlynne]

25. Do you ahve a link to that? I'm a member too and i didn't get the memo.

I get the paper newsletter, and probably missed it.

[Lisa0825]

31. I pm'd it to you... not sure if the link contains code associated with my email

so just in case, I thought I'd only send it to you. I couldn't find a main link through the website.

[Selatius]

19. What do all the fucking naysayers say now? When RBS advisors say you're wrong, you do what?

Ignore them? Say things will be OK?

[elizfeelinggreat]

22. of course, this big ball won't drop until

the people they contribute to (cough : pay : cough ) aren't in office anymore.


"the Fed will have to raise interest rates six times by the end of next year to prevent a wage-spiral."

Sure, then it will be the fault of the Democrats that we're in a mess. :sarcasm:

Funny how they managed to keep this ball in the air so long.

[Pale Blue Dot]

24. I don't think they can contain it that long.

In my opinion, the crash has already begun, and there's NOTHING the bush administration can do to stop it.

[elizfeelinggreat]

27. The media will

ignore it as long as they can, don't you think?

They are not really addressing the problem right now, only the fact that people are upset about gas prices and how gas prices are to blame for everything else. (And while people were losing their homes they tried to divert our attention to special cases where we could be angry at the victims instead of those who brought it about .. and when people were drowning in New Orleans we heard about the looters ... and on and on)

I just feel like ranting tonight, not at you but at the stupid news - we have so many challenges and we deserve better than this "what X will have to do".

What we deserve is to know WHO caused it, WHO allowed it to happen and WHO profited from it.

Of course, they do let us know things like this:

In his opening remarks, the president blasted Congress for not addressing Americans' financial fears.
Bush said people are looking to leaders in Congress to take action, but "all they are getting is delay." http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/29/bush.economy/index.html
That was in March, he didn't waste much time blaming others.

[jaybeat]

65. The banks looking out for the banks

Lord knows, can't have that dreaded "wage spiral"!!??

Better to have the Fed jack up interest rates so we have MORE defaults (business and consumer), MORE foreclosures, MORE fire sales (pennies on the dollar), MORE blighted neighborhoods, MORE wild speculation jacking up prices and fueling uncertainty, MORE unemployment (sure as hell keeps those wages down, though!)!

I guess if your one and only mantra is "preserve your wealth, those who have it" you can pretty much tell the rest of the world to fuck itself. I've got mine, I'm gonna keep it safe. Screw you.

Nice. Real nice.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

23. Even if we pull all our money out of the bank - will it be worth anything?

I have a bad, bad feeling the dollar hasn't hit bottom yet. I think the slide will continue off a cliff. Maybe the Euro will still be solid, but I think the selling of the idea of the Amero to the American public will begin, when the populace is stricken enough with fear over the worthless dollar. And expect the super wealthy to come swooping in and take advantage, buying up everything of value. I think the gap between rich and poor will only get wider and wider.

[TalkingDog]

40. I don't live today.....

Viva la Revolution!!!!

[shireen]

26. Ravi Batra said the same today, on Thom Hartmann's show

For the first time, Batra used the word "disaster" -- coming from him, that's pretty ominous. Just about everything Batra has predicted, so far, has come true.

It's a very good listen -- go to whiterosesociety.org , to the Hartmann section, and listen to the entire 2nd hour. Fascinating stuff. (Bernie Sanders should be on the 1st hour, haven't heard it yet but it's always good.)

[David Zephyr]

29. Thank you for posting these news stories, Finnfan. Perhaps, if one can, one should pay off mortgages

I pulled out of the stock market in May of 2007 and posted here when I did it. I worried the rest of the year that I had possibly made a mistake, but the volatility in the Asian markets early last year was just too much for my nerves. Now, in hindsight, it was a wise decision for me.

Still, with the dollar falling, inflation rising and banks scaring the living hell out of people, it may be a good time for people just to put their investments into paying off their mortgages. Why? You can't lose your home if it is paid for, where you can lose your money if it is in equities, bonds or uninsured accounts.

Everyone needs to be very watchful now.

[Mme. Defarge]

30. Most of my retirement funds are in cash investments, but,

I "un-retired" in October '06 and qualified for my company's 401k 1/1/07. Since it was retirement money I never planned on having, I decided to use a "boiler plate" moderate portfolio. Last Friday I did an analysis of the performance of all of my contributions to date, and, guess what? I broke even. No growth, no loss, which, of course, is a loss. So, I moved all of my funds into cash investments, but kept my contributions in equities -- buy low, sell high n'est ce pas?

I may simply be spitting in the wind with regard to what is ahead, but it's the best I can think of since I don't want to panic.

[David Zephyr]

35. Asset preservation.

You are right and this is what I told my sister today: "Don't ever make financial moves in a panic." Your post reinforces that common sense maxim. Still, cash (if it is protected) will be king.

Still, at this time, it's better to focus less on gaining through speculation and more on preserving your core assets until calmer waters appear.

[Kaleko]

32. Thanks Finnfan.

I posted a link to your OP on the Integral Pod where Ken Wilber readers hang out discussing cutting edge philosophy and spirituality :)

Hope I'll be alright with my savings in money market accounts at Vanguard. Best investment company in the world that I know of. But, of course, if the US dollar becomes completely worthless, I'm screwed too.

[flvegan]

38. Be very suspicious.

Banks don't warn people of anything. They hedge. They don't issue alerts because they "care" about the people. They do so for other reasons.

Let that sink in.

[Pale Blue Dot]

41. The people that I'm suspicious of are all of the people and institutions

who have been claiming that "everything's all right" and "recovery is right around the corner" when any fool can look at the fundamentals of our economy and see that things are getting worse.

I'm suspicious of our MSM and American banks and investment firms who DO have a vested interest in keeping the American people from seeing just how bad things really are.

Let that sink in.

[Dr.Phool]

56. I woke up at 3:30 this morning, and went out and laid on the couch.

I turned on the TV, and couldn't find anything on. Even the Weather Channel wasn't giving the weather, which is what I wanted anyway.

I turned on CNBC and was treated to a circus clown, aka Cramer. For the life of me, I watched for 15 minutes and couldn't figure out what the fuck this idiot was talking about. And people watch this clown for financial advice? Remember Bear Stearns?. He reminded me of Sybil the Soothsayer in "Network".

[TNDemo]

43. I think usually when banks in the US issue warnings

they are looking for a government bailout. What do you think is going on with Scotland's?

[Phred42]

59. Good Point.

But I think this is the Central Banks talking to the secondaries - No?

[earth mom]

45. K & R! nt

[Enthusiast]

47. While I am ready

To roll out the guillotine, a majority of white men in this country blame the Democratic Congress and liberals for the problems. And if Obama is elected, the economic failure will be "All his fault."

[NorthCarolina]

49. Will a collapse wipe out Mutual Fund accounts?

eom

[SoCalDem]

50. A lowering tide, grounds all boats

Mutual funds are invested in the market..as the market falls, so do they..

This is the way these "schemes" work.. Every time there is appreciable funds in ANY sector of the industry, fat-cat scammers always figure out a way to grab the money & run..

[dixiegrrrrl]

51. Let history show you what to do...

Remember 1999/2000?
Recession.Stock market tanked.
Those of us who had money we could not or did not move to safe ground,
lost money in our retirement accounts.

Those of us who had control over our retirement accounts could put the money in a safer place:
Money Market funds, getting out of stocks all together.
(I have Vanguard accounts, so I can move my Roth/401 K accounts
in and out of the stock market funds all by myself.)
I moved everything to cash/Money Market funds a year ago.

Those who did nothing, lost.
AND
it took almost 8 years for the market to return to pre-crash levels.
Meaning that once you lose capital in the market, you also lose time regaining what you lost,
never mind earning beyond that.

This time, for various reasons, the "recovery" issue is very very doubtful.
At best, it will take some years.

The only choice is between losing money that sits in stocks, bonds, funds,
or cashing out and losing money in inflation.
Meself thinks stock/bond funds crashing are going to eat a lot more
of my money than having it in cash/savings account.
And I use bankrate.com to look at the credit worthiness of my local bank.
Said bank is not rated very high, so I am going to move bulk of
money to a better rated local bank. And have more cash at hand, out of banks.
( but we tell no one of this )

I might be wrong or missing something, but at the moment, this is what we are doing.

[mnhtnbb]

52. "have more cash at hand, out of banks" Be sure to put in a safe or fireproof box

if in your home. Having lost our home to a fire last year, I can tell you it wouldn't have helped
to have cash burn up, too!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

54. How about putting half your cash in Euros, half in dollars?

That way, if the dollar goes up against the Euro, your dollars are worth more. If the dollar declines, you win as far as your Euros are concerned. If neither changes, we'll you're still no worse off.

[OwnedByFerrets]

60. The coming storm reminds me of what happened to President Carter....

he inherited an impossible situation in the late 70s. Our next president, who is incidentally also going to be a democrat, is going to be faced with a world of problems. And like President Carter, who I greatly admire, will become the scapegoat for them all. I would not want to be in his shoes.

To see some of the issues that faced Carter, in case you have forgotten, go here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jc39.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter

[Octafish]

67. Exact situation, OwnedByFerrets.

Stagflation. Energy Crisis. Giant Unemployment.

Worse, like Clinton in '93, the incoming President also will inherit a military situation not of his choosing.