Anyone starting to stock up in case of closings?

[Georgiana Daniels]

I stockpile all those paper products, beauty, etc because I got used to doing it when Hubby's paycheck was cyclical (huge in summer, meager in winter.) Even though he's still a commission salesman, the paychecks are more equalized now than they used to be. However, since we have more expenses during the winter (Christmas, birthdays)--I still stockpile during the summer.

 

It may not be for the flu or natural disasters, but I still like feeling prepared:)

[ConnieB]

I never "stock up" in the freezer. We have endured, more than once, large financial losses from ruined food in the wake of a power outage. We can't afford to gamble like that any more.

 

This thread has really touched me and made me think. And I think the reason I'm not understanding it is because I've not lived with the problem personally. Maybe chalk that up to where we live because apparently that makes all the difference.....we very rarely have power outages and when we do a 2 or 3 hour outage is one that people consider ridiculously long and will talk and grumble about for months, lol. Typically our power outages are during monsoon season (July/August if we even have one that year) and the power will go out for 10 minutes or so.....and then it's up and running.

 

On the other hand, I know I see on the news where people can be without power for days on end....and wasn't part of Kentucky or somewhere without power for weeks last year due to a storm???? In that case, yeah, freezer and refrigerator food would definitely be a financial loss. Even for our "long" outages all you have to do is remind the kids to not open the door and everything will keep itself cold. The worst part is not having air conditioning for a couple hours....in 110 degree weather that is a necessity!

 

So maybe that is why I'm not understanding stockpiling....I was born in the midwest but we moved to the West when I was 8, so to me, all my life has been lived West Coast/Southwest.....we don't have blizzards that lock us indoors for days.....even on our worst weather days when it's 120 degrees all week we can still go out if we have to.......we don't have hurricanes or tornadoes that can wipe out the shopping center and have to wait for trucks to bring stuff in.....heck, even the worst earthquake I lived through (where the bridge and a freeway that I used 30 minutes earlier collapsed)....even that didn't cause any food shortages.....yeah everyone ran to the store and the shelves were empty, but the next day they had trucks in and were restocked. We had a day where they worried about the safety of the water because of damage, but that even turned out to be a one day concern. The worst part was getting to work without that bridge and freeway!! We were also there when over 3,000 houses burned to the ground.....ours included....but the worst of that was the week that the fire raged because life just wasn't normal....but the Red Cross/Salvation Army took care of our food and shelter needs....they never had any shortages because the next town over wasn't affected even though our town was blocked off for safety and for emergency vehicles.

 

So perhaps that is really the crux of my not understanding.....I've not had to live through any real shortages or even really any preceived shortages. When my DH was laid off a few years ago money was very tight and I that was probably the closest I have ever been in my life to worrying how I would feed my children. But, of course, our friends and family weren't in the same boat, and they all were very generous in lending us a hand, as was our church. But then, I've done the same for others before and since our need. Otherwise, I really can't think of a time that I worried about these issues, but apparently it is a real and immediate worry for many of you.