Feeling Down.

[Paul]

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Last night me and the wife was discussing our fortnightly shop.
Initially it was looking like a shop worth £70. That's been cut as things are getting really bad.
Now it's £50.
That might not sound a lot to the average person and even worse that's going to last us a fortnight. Two adults and our dawg.

But you reach the point, everyone MUST reach the point where you look at what is happening and wonder "What's next?"

As preppers, we had a good supply of basics squirreled away for "the rainy day".
Then, as supermarkets piled on the prices, we were forced to nibble into them.
Penalty of being on a fixed income. Daft but this is becoming our "event".

It's not even luxury items either. Flour. Originally brought for 20p a bag, now 52p a bag.
That's not even the posh stuff. This was the potential weevil heaven stuff. All gone.

Our canned store has taken a bashing.
We like spam, corned beef, rice, and pasta. Nearly all gone.
A years worth of supplies gone in just over 24 months.

Fuel has always been our main worry though.
With a 20 mile round trip to the shops, it's serious money time.
The media not long ago heralded a price war. Must have been on the two weeks we didn't go out.
£1.42 for diesel now. That's not funny.

We don't smoke, drink, and never eat out (unless you call a once a month treat of a Mac Donald's eating out). For fun? Basically the internet, CB, scrabble, and our dawg!

So we're now eating into our hard stores, buying less fuel, paying more for everything, can't move to a cheaper area (even if we could find one cheaper) because no one is buying, and winter is just round the corner.

What? you're probably thinking, "Just round the corner?"
Yep to us it is.
This is because we plan at least 6 months in advance.
Fuel oil, coal, kindling, even an assessment of our winter clothing and car maintenance.

Yet the edge, the urge to do what we've always done, has been hampered by current events and the buying power we had which is 30% down on what we could do last year.

Luckily we spent out when we were flush so we've got everything we "need" for a crisis.
What we've got is old but that's the beauty of my trades. If it's electrical, wet i.e. plumbing, or mechanical, I keep it going. For the wife, if it's mend-able she does.

Still if a burglar broke in here, he'd probably leave stuff for us.
No TV, music centre (reclaimed from a skip), this third hand laptop (£45 from a car boot sale), CB, and our PAYG £12 mobile phone. Probably nett him £60 tops down the pub.
Anything of value, OF PREPPER VALUE, is in hardened areas or cached out.
Short of bringing a cutting torch with them , they'll not find or get a lot!

We've just renewed our insurances. What a joke.
The minimum contents cover most brokers are doing now is £100,000.
Why? To replace all of the contents of our home for NEW would cost under £5000. That's everything.
No carpets, just rugs, 2 beds, mattresses, cutlery, plates, toothbrushes, etc, etc. EVERYTHING!
It was priced out last month prior to the yearly crunch of buildings and contents insurance.
We spent the best part of a week trying to get £10000 or less cover for our belongings to save money.

We looked at our vehicle insurance and we've got £4000 of cover for contents in transit.
All we have to do is park the van into the sitting room and pile everything into it at night and we're OK.

Gawd I'm feeling sorry for us. If I'd heard about a couple like us I'd probably cry.
Fixed income, unable to work, eating bunny and pigeon, and bartering skills for food so we can stretch what dosh we have to meet the bills.
An example. I repaired a PC for a guy. 4 hours, 20kg of new spuds. Yippee, what a result!
The wife? Looked after some chickens whilst the owners went on holiday.
Pay, all the eggs laid that week. 107 eggs. Sold most of them at £1 for 6.

Perversely I'm actually hoping for Armageddon. I'm actually beginning to agree with the radicals that we need to bring down the old order, the people who got us in this mess, and the financial establishments.
Pretty radical radical thinking that from a ex serviceman.
I'd help with that willingly at this moment providing someone paid for the ammo.

Would it actually cure anything? I'm not really sure but this gentle spiral into oblivion is pushing me to the edge and without turning feral, I'm thinking that we'll surely sink.