Money, money money

[Squawk]

"We could use the attached cold smoker to preserve food".

I immediately latched on to this sentence because food preservation is going to be of paramount importance in a survival situation. This last summer I gave some thought of how to improve drying food in our dodgy climate. I made up a solar hot air heater with a sheet of 25mm insulation board and a sheet of internal window glazing to make up a box. The box actually contained 80 empty aluminium drink cans in columns to act as a heat sink. Now admittingly it was a nice sunny day but the internal temperature of the drier reached 102 degree's centigrade, without airflow. So I imagine that to completely dry fruit in the UK it might take 2 -3 days to completely expel moisture from the fruit. At this latitude the problem I see is that as soon as the heat is removed, bacterial action will begin again while moisture is present in the fruit (over night).

The last solar drier, was a bit of a bodge and was blown away in a storm (part of it), but I do still wonder if dried nettles will make an edible soup ?.

[Plantiejo]

The last solar drier, was a bit of a bodge and was blown away in a storm (part of it), but I do still wonder if dried nettles will make an edible soup ?.

Good effort though Squawk,

[the7ps]

I read a book once the people who lived in a house decied to do it up and took down an old curtain rail when they took it down something made a sliding sound inside the rail so they took one end off and tiped it up and some gold coins rolled out having never been burgled would this be a good place to hide your cash

My Uncle, a very well off man already, took down a wooden beam in his cottage and found five silver coins inside. He also found a musket and dagger when he first moved in, secreted in the attic.

Not sure if my 1997 build flat would yeild the same?

[xeleraphon]

I keep about a year's worth of basic living costs as cash.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, I don't trust banks (or governments). This isn't tin hat paranoia; ask the Cypriots how they feel or ask Icelandic bank UK customers how confident they were about getting their money back. Fortunately (sort of) today's very low interest rates mean that there's not much opportunity cost in holding real cash at home rather than virtual cash at the bank.

My secondary reason is, as has been mentioned above; even short term bank card problems can make life very tricky. And any longer term problems or asset freezes (see Cyprus again) would make it very very tricky.

Finally, I prefer to manage my accounts by using cash (5 jam jars : Household, Transport, Food, Personal, Ents) so having cash around makes life easier.

Apart from my physical cash reserve, I generally try to keep as little in cash as possible - and turn money into either investments or stuff asap. Investment strategies is probably another thread so I'll shut up!

[grenfell]

Do I keep a stash of cash at home ? Yes , we have a couple of thousand that is ready to hand and the rest is spread about over different accounts and banks . My mother didn't trust banks and kept a substantial amount in the house, and under the bed as well no burgler would have thought of looking there . That said their house wasn't exactly Buckingham palace and didn't look the kind of place that would have more than a couple of quid lying about.
I do have a small amount of gold and silver that I tend to view more as a hedge against inflation than anything else. When I aquired the krugerands in the late 90's they were worth about £180 each but are worth much more now.
I tend to agree with the comments on here about what would be more valuble post event, food , clothes , tools , seeds and evidently bog roll. That said I still can't help thinking that gold has had such a hold on us for thousands of years that there will always be someone willing to trade in it and other "worthless" metals.

[grenfell]

Another thing I forgot to add . Mention has been made of old coins being silver or part silver and the dateless 20p's . I still check my change for the 20's but have now started checking all the small change too. Nowadays everything from 10p down is coated steel because at least with 1's and 2's a copper coin is worth more in scrap than its face value. A 2p is worth more like 3p.Easy to check with a magnet . It's illegal to scrap them mind while they are legal tender but I can foresee the time in the not too distant future when they are withdrawn. I have a pot of copper coins that could be scrapped if that happens or at the very worst they will still retain their face value. I know it's very small beer but I always remember the old adage about looking after the pennies and the pounds taking care of themselves.

[Plymtom]

It's funny we don't have much money, but when discussing (collective dreaming) coming into wealth, we Wife, Daughter, and I pretty much agreed that whilst it may make sense to live off of interest, it also makes sense to invest in things of practical, tradable value which store well, alcohol is always a good one, income from property, but virtually anything of use if you had space, could well be better than money in the bank is right now.

[the7ps]

My new prepping dilemma is that I am going away with work for a LONG time so today put €70 in my preppers box. My reason is maybe a little foil hat but, WCS and cash points are down, Mrs 7ps can at least get a shop in.
More will slowly sneak in and I am looking at €200 in the before I go?

[preppingsu]

My new prepping dilemma is that I am going away with work for a LONG time so today put €70 in my preppers box. My reason is maybe a little foil hat but, WCS and cash points are down, Mrs 7ps can at least get a shop in.
More will slowly sneak in and I am looking at €200 in the before I go?

Think about more than a shop. What about some bills she could pay cash eg load of logs etc.
However, another great idea. You really are prepping well for this chapter of your life.

[Le Mouse]

I had to spend my cash reserve while I was unemployed. Last week I got paid for the first time since the end of April (the dole doesn't count) so I'm starting up the reserve again. I pay my rent in cash, so having a few months back up is the plan.