Shortages & Rising Inflation

 

The state of the world right now has a lot of people concerned, frustrated and fearful.  I see it every day.  While others are in touch with those emotions there are a significant number of people who are in denial and put blinders on hoping things are going to go back to normal soon.  I hope they are right, but sadly I fear we are in this situation for the long haul.  A lot is going on right now and most of it is simply beyond our control.

 

The last thing I want to do is upset anyone or cause anxiety.  But the reality is things are not at all normal and the world is changing.  Prices are increasing and we can't always find what we are looking for.  Backorders and shipping delays are a regular occurrence.  I know you know what I mean.  Every single day at work I get multiple phone calls about patients wanting to stockpile their medical supplies because they are scared of what might happen.  It is really hard, but I have to tell them no.  If I allow them to hoard supplies there won't be enough to go around.  What I can do is help them store a little extra and give them some peace of mind, but some days I don't even have that option.

 

Nonetheless, we can still prepare for "what if".  Right now I want to encourage you to do something, anything, to prepare yourselves for a better future.  Put some solid thought into it and determine what you can do right now that would make a difference.  "What if" looks different to each of us, but there are a lot of similarities.

 

We all need the basics - food, water and shelter.  That is my focus at the moment.  I want to make sure my basic needs are secured.  Adding to our prepper pantry, working on expanding and maintaining our water supply and taking good care of our home so it will keep us protected.  Teaching my children to do these things too and helping them learn is also important to me.

 

I wouldn't be a Thrifty Mom if I didn't mention this.  If you have any debt at all, please, please, please get rid of it.  Whatever you can do to pay off your vehicles, loans, credit cards and other debts, do it.  Debt is a huge anchor we can't afford to hang onto.  We need to have a good savings and emergency fund and we need to invest in our basic needs right now.  We need to be able to afford our future and debt is not going to help anyone with that.

 

We don't need to be in fear of "what if", we just need to prepare for it so we can enjoy our lives and weather these storms.  I'd much rather have and not need, then need and not have.  Let's open a discussion.  If you've been planning ahead and working on some solutions I would love to hear about it.  We can all learn from each other and draw inspiration and encouragement.  Please feel free to share in the comments.