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Four Letters Re: Coping With Inflation--Some Strategies for Investing, Bartering, Dickering, and Survival
Jim:
Great article. You say you have a stock of spices you bought in the 1980s,
and this saves you money. As someone who gets a lot of pleasure from good food,
I would caution that most spices lose much of their flavor in a short time,
certainly within a few years, especially for typical herbs and powdered spices
stored in jars as bought in supermarkets.
Yours may be specially packed or stored, or selected long-life types. But for
most people, as advised in the "Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course, buying
in moderate bulk makes more sense. A mail-order house like penzeys.com (they
are pleasant but leftists, and there are surely others out there) will have
spices that are superior to supermarket prices at vastly lower prices, if bought
not in jars but in zip-lock envelopes of about 4 ounces each. Fill a spice
jar halfway for normal use, and keep the rest in the envelope in the freezer
until a refill is needed. You’ll always have fresh spices, not the stale
ones that everyone has gotten so used to (most people are amazed when they
compare a sniff of their old jar of garlic powder to a freshly opened package
that just arrived in the mail.) Best, - Jake Stafford
Sir;
In reference to your recent article about coping with inflation, I did
research of my own and found a
table/chart of interest.
This last November had the highest rate of inflation, since the year 2000. It
reinforces
the need of investing in tangibles versus wasting money in savings and
investments [that don't keep ahead of inflation.] Thank for your great source
of
info. - EG
Dear Jim:
For those people with a budget crunch (almost everyone), suggest that they
look into Angel
Food Ministries. There is no income qualification, the
food is of excellent quality, and there is probably a church near most people
that is a part of this ministry.
About two months ago, my wife took the Angel Food menu and priced it our
at our local supermarket. The brands were the same and the price at the supermarket
came to just under double what Angel Food charges.
This isn't charity. Rather it's a wholesale program that allows a family to
buy a considerable amount of their monthly groceries at a lower price. I recommend
that folks at least go to their web site and check it out for themselves. Cordially,
- Jonas
Hi Mr. Rawles,
Another way to save on long distance phone bills is to use one's cellular phone
on nights/weekends where minutes are unlimited, although this is dependent
on having service and the carrier. I have Verizon and make all of my long distance
phone calls this way. Merry Christmas, - Sam
