Anyone else afraid to stockpile too much?

**greekislandgirl** · 12-07-2011, 02:21 PM

I love stockpiling, I think I'm addicted to it! But I also know that there is a good chance that DH and I will eventually be forced to leave this country, things are just so terrible here with the economy, he mentions it at least once a day now, and as much as I would LOVE to stay and make it work, I can't stand to see him miserable.

We have committed to being here for 2 years in our current location but after that we don't know. So while I am so tempted to stockpile things for much longer - especially with inflation as bad as it has been - I am also worried that I will end up either having to pay a lot of money to move it, or just giving it up.

I am jealous of those who have no "end point" that they have to worry about, and can just keep on stockpiling, using, rotating. I've actually gotten to a point in my stockpile where I could probably just stop buying things and just use it all, but then I think what if we DON'T leave and things are even worse in 2 years, THEN where will I be?

Anyone else in a situation like mine?

**dcompton** · 12-07-2011, 03:04 PM

I'm not in that situation, but could you and DH try to come to at least some tentative plans? I know it's hard without a crystal ball, but it really affects how you will continue to run your household.

Maybe for a while at least you could start using down some of what you have and stockpile money. I know that doesn't help with inflation, but sometimes you have to just roll with the punches, and at least if you end up leaving you won't have to give it away or pay anyone to carry the money bags!

Sorry, I know that's not much help.

**greekislandgirl** · 12-07-2011, 03:15 PM

Hi Donna, thanks... it's so hard to know. On the one hand, DH has a tenured teaching job, which means a guaranteed income and decent health insurance; we're close to his family; and we love it here. And if Greece leaves the Euro, while DH's salary will be worthless internationally, it should have some value here, plus all our savings is in US dollars which would finally increase in value, meaning we might actually be in a decent financial position.

On the other hand, unemployment is terrible here, I don't work except freelance, cost of living is high in relation to salary, inflation is high, and people are getting very poor very fast. If we stay in the Euro, our US savings will continue to have very low worth, everything will continue to be very expensive, and we will have little hope of getting ahead.

And of course if Greece goes bankrupt (now considered a "100% possibility" by some of those ratings agencies), DH won't get paid, the health care system will stop serving us, and so on.

I really don't know what we'll do. I'm scared to stay and I'm scared to leave. DH can't come with me to the US unless I've already got a job there and can prove I can support him; and I don't/can't. His English isn't that great so I don't know if he could get a good job anyway. And the rest of Europe isn't much better than here - they use the Euro, cost of living is high, high unemployment, etc.

I'm starting to think about Australia. I hear they have pretty easy conditions for immigration. But if we do leave, it will tear my heart out.

**dcompton** · 12-07-2011, 03:38 PM

That's rough. It's really hard to choose when all the options look bad. I guess a lot depends on what happens with Greece. I haven't been following that anymore. Is any sense of when a decision will be made about whether they will maintain the Euro or bail? Or be kicked out?

I'm sorry you are in such a quandary. I think uncertainty is even harder to live with than actual bad news. It is really wearing on the nerves when the uncertainty is prolonged as yours has been, and will continue to be. It's especially hard to leave a place you really love. I hope it won't come to that for you if your heart is really in staying where you are.

**krbshappy71** · 12-07-2011, 04:04 PM

I'm not a huge stockpiler but I can usually ride out one month without groceries if I have to. I'm moving in June-ish so I have not been letting myself stock up and its really difficult!! Instead of 10 cans I buy 5, etc.

I sold my deep freeze and put that money towards some of the debt that I am trying to pay down before moving. When possible, try to focus on what you CAN do instead of what you can't. My move is only 1,500 miles but I am only taking a van if possible (trying to keep moving costs down) so I really don't want to be moving food stuffs or paper products, I have too many personal items I'd rather have with me.

Hugs, maybe stockpile money instead.

**greekislandgirl** · 12-07-2011, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by dcompton

I haven't been following that anymore. Is any sense of when a decision will be made about whether they will maintain the Euro or bail? Or be kicked out?

We were going down the tubes pretty fast around the end of November but we seem to have gotten stuck in limbo again. Every "official voice" (politician, bureaucrat, media outlet, commentator) is hysterically warning that leaving the Euro will spell the end of the world, but quite frankly, I'm secretly hoping that we do. At least it would give us a chance to rebuild. As far as a time-table, it swings all over the place, from "by tomorrow morning" to "sometime in 2013 or after". So of course people go nuts to take their money out of the bank and so on.

I'm sorry you are in such a quandary. I think uncertainty is even harder to live with than actual bad news. It is really wearing on the nerves when the uncertainty is prolonged as yours has been, and will continue to be. It's especially hard to leave a place you really love. I hope it won't come to that for you if your heart is really in staying where you are.

This is so true. We are hanging in there, although DH makes roughly 1/2 of what he made about 8 months ago, and there are some major new taxes that we've had to pay and will have to pay. We're much better off than many others. He's a middle school teacher and he's had a student faint from hunger in his class. He is ready to leave, emotionally. I'm really not. I want to stay, and probably will want to stay until things get much worse than they are now. Of course that's not really the issue - the issue is to determine when is the right time to leave (if we leave), and not to leave it so long that we CAN'T leave.

**nodmicks** · 12-07-2011, 04:28 PM

That is quite a lot for you all to take in and try to make decision around. Are you using a big portion of your budget to stockpile? I am a safety freak so I would likely continue to stockpile a bit. If you do come back to the states you could give it to another family that could use it. Your comment about your dh having a student pass out from hunger in class made me tear up

**brennasmom** · 12-07-2011, 04:47 PM

I was just reading on the other thread that there are no unemployment/food banks in your area.

It sounds like if you had to get rid of some of your stockpile it would be easy to do by sharing with others.

That is what I do here. If I get overstocked on something or realize we can't use it by the expiration I pass it along

**greekislandgirl** · 12-07-2011, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by nodmicks

That is quite a lot for you all to take in and try to make decision around. Are you using a big portion of your budget to stockpile? I am a safety freak so I would likely continue to stockpile a bit. If you do come back to the states you could give it to another family that could use it. Your comment about your dh having a student pass out from hunger in class made me tear up

I'm not using much of the budget for the stockpile. I had been saving money for our stockpile in a separate Stockpile Fund starting last winter, and the money I use is just sitting in that. It doesn't come out of DH's salary at all - in fact most of it is from my freelancing. But that doesn't mean that we couldn't find other uses for the money of course!! If we leave, we'd give most of it to DH's parents, and the stuff they don't use, we'd give to friends. So in that sense, it wouldn't go to waste.

DH is kind of on edge lately. He's a very good teacher and even though he's in a new school, he knows the difference between kids who don't study and kids who can't study. He had a quiz 2 weeks ago where 90% of the kids stored under 20%, a score that is almost mind-blowingly bad. And it was all stuff they had covered the previous week in class, not assigned reading, and he knew they were paying attention. When you go over something in class, and the entire class forgets it 4 days later, something is wrong. I would normally blame the teacher but I know what an amazing teacher he is.

**greekislandgirl** · 12-07-2011, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by brennasmom

I was just reading on the other thread that there are no unemployment/food banks in your area.

It sounds like if you had to get rid of some of your stockpile it would be easy to do by sharing with others.

That is what I do here. If I get overstocked on something or realize we can't use it by the expiration I pass it along

Yeah, I know we won't have a hard time finding people to take it off our hands! I guess I'm more wondering if I should be spending that money differently - but because of inflation (prices go up really frequently - pretty much every time I go to buy a stockpile item, it's gone up in price from the price I wrote down the previous time), I don't want to "get behind" and have to pay current retail just to eat. (Fellow stockpilers know what I mean by that

)

**frugalwarrior2** · 12-07-2011, 05:42 PM

I couldn't deal w/ all the maybes but thats just me. I think I would stockpile w/ the thought it could be donated to help someone.
We have a stockpile that is not as needed now that Ds is in college. However,he will be home in 2 weeks for a month and for a short while in March. I must admit I am keeping an eye on dates,not adding to it but not donating just yet either.

**greekislandgirl** · 12-07-2011, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by frugalwarrior2

I couldn't deal w/ all the maybes but thats just me. I think I would stockpile w/ the thought it could be donated to help someone.
We have a stockpile that is not as needed now that Ds is in college. However,he will be home in 2 weeks for a month and for a short while in March. I must admit I am keeping an eye on dates,not adding to it but not donating just yet either.

When you say you couldn't deal with the maybes, do you mean you would make a firm decision and just stick with it? Or do you mean something else? As much as I don't really like the limbo, I can't make a firm decision in such an insecure environment

**frugalwarrior2** · 12-07-2011, 05:49 PM

maybes=not knowing where i'll be. I am so very midwestern. and like sameness and not adventuresome. I lived in my childhood home 22yrs. My first married home 8 years. and this home 18 almost.
And darn you must be a very fast typist.lol

**greekislandgirl** · 12-07-2011, 05:52 PM

I know what you meant by "the maybes," I just didn't know what you meant by you wouldn't be able to deal with them. What would you do? I mean, aside from making a firm decision, there's not really anything else you can do except live with the maybes!

That's all I was saying.

**brenda67** · 12-07-2011, 06:42 PM

HUGS..This is off topic but..I read that if you guy's go down we will follow suit? We need to worry also if that's true! I would look at your options to leave the country in the very near future..Can you move in with your parent's while looking for a job? What about your in-laws? I know they are not your problem but it will effect your dh kwim? I don't mean to be a downer but this is a very real possibilty that WE ALL are going to be affected by this situation and your decision need's to be made now!