The Current Situation

[HappyHiker]

Being of modest means, my DH and I are watching things develop. We've no incentive to flee our home or community because this is where our hearts lie.

Sure, we have concern and some fear, but I guess we also have a "Go down with the ship" kind of mentality...since we're of "a certain age" and unlike Bae, speak no other languages, and have no housing options in other countries, our options, even should we feel the need to flee, are rather limited.

I've never lived my life in a fear-based manner, and we've ridden out several recessions so suspect we'll get through another okay.

Community has always been more important to my sense of well-being than cash, so here we stay--surrounded by the best neighbors and friends...

[Tradd]

Your post threw me off, Bae, as you are not one to be rash or panic. My first thought was why would anyone leave your isolated paradise? But I’m not paying much attention trying to keep my sanity. Besides more complete preps as prices rise, unemployment rises and social safety nets are cut. Going to be a lot of people hurting in a big way.

sounds like you have great options. Also, there are quite a few countries that will put you on a path to citizenship if you invest enough money in an approved investment.

i can’t conceive of a scenario where we would get up and move at our advanced age. I’m hoping you can elaborate on what types of scenarios that could possibly make you leave.its really a big deal to leave your country.

Remember Bae’s daughter is in the UK.

[bae]

i can’t conceive of a scenario where we would get up and move at our advanced age. I’m hoping you can elaborate on what types of scenarios that could possibly make you leave.its really a big deal to leave your country.

Well, as I mentioned, I am risk-averse. I have been living off managing my investments for decades now, since my mid-30s. I just filed to begin receiving my Social Security last week. I don't really have a long enough investing timeframe to recover from a major crash, so I have to hedge a bit.

As I also mentioned, my parents are about to move in with other relatives, far closer to the medical care they are beginning to need at their age. They no longer will need me to be here full time to care for them.

My beloved dog has 0-12 months left in him, he is quite old for his breed, blind, and has other issues.

My partner is retiring in 1-3 years.

My daughter already lives overseas, in the UK, and has told me that she will not be returning to the USA to live, ever.

So, this is a combination of my life simplifying, a desire to live near my daughter, and risk management.

The most likely outcome is that I will remain living happily here, and simply visit my daughter half the year or so. But I'm preparing for the need to do more than that, if things get too weird. I mean, I live right on the Canadian border (as in, my house is adjacent to it, I can row a boat to Canada), and if for some insane reason we get more grumpy with Canada, I'm not sure I want to be here. And if the stock market goes BOOM for a decade, I'd like to be positioned so that I can survive that happily.

I don't have any specific information about alien invasions or zombie uprisings or impending asteroid impacts. (The noticeable earthquake we had a couple weeks ago with the epicenter 4 miles from my house was interesting though...)

[happystuff]

Some simplistic questions...

Lots of folks are saying they are saving more and more, so my question is where? Are folks saving actual, physical cash - and if so, how much and where? Or just putting as much as possible into savings account(s) and hoping banks don't go belly-up?

Edited to answer my own questions: right now we have been socking a lot away into the savings account. Have some cash on hand, but not of any significant amount; about two weeks worth of cash-needs on hand.

[Tradd]

I have a big bank savings account connected to big bank checking account. I have a nice stash there. I’ve been stashing the rest in my high held savings account with Vanguard. I’m still building my emergency fund after paying off credit card debt at the end of the year.

I need to get in the habit of keeping cash on hand. I don’t usually have any. I’m the queen of Apple Pay.

[iris lilies]

I don’t know how to move around investments since I don’t know what I’m reacting to exactly.

I will probably sit with my money where it is as I’ve done in past decades of financial instability in the markets. I will pretty much ignore any opportunities for money to be made since I won’t be watching for those opportunities and know about them.

I will probably lose some money in these events as I have in the past. I will probably regret those losses as I have in the past.

in other words, carry on as usual.

[iris lilies]

Bae, I know one family who waited around for their family dog to die before they moved to Costa Rica. yeah, the pets are something to consider.

Bae are your parents out of this country then?

are you going to sell your giant house even if maintaining a place on your island? You talked about the square footage and that’s really quite a big house. I know you have collections and equipment and tools and etc. so what to do with that stuff would be a dilemma.

[LDAHL]

I’m a bit of a contrarian. If the current situation leads to significant panic selling, I’ll move a bit more into equities. I can’t remember who it was that said recessions serve to return stocks to their rightful owners.

[flowerseverywhere]

Bae, I wish you good luck. But I don’t think luck will play much of a role in your case as careful preps will.

I am fascinated with the history of the UK. The history and archeology shows amazing cultures thousands of years BC. Plus the easy access to the continent. A whole realm of possibilities opening up for you. Exciting adventures.

we are not making big financial moves right now. As the years go by we have gradually moved into more stable investments. No debt, many social contacts and a one floor zero entry house is what we have worked to help us as we age. I can do little to resolve any political chaos except help my fellow Americans around me.

[early morning]

Being as we have no financial moves to make, big or small, lol, we'll just have to try to ride out whatever comes. I KNEW it was a mistake to have been born into a working class family! We are stocking up as we can, making some needed repairs to the house, etc. I would LOVE to get a woodstove but I can't see quite how/where we could fit one in safely. May put out in a small garden, although I hate gardening. But if things go that far south, water will be a more immediate concern, as we're on a municipal system. So we'll just have to wait and see, I guess! How's that for a life-plan - cross our fingers, wait and see? After carefully husbanding our meagre resources for years, *sigh* We have no debt, so there is that. And we know how to get by on very little. DH's health is my largest concern, I'm pretty healthy overall. But one never knows.