Venezuela

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moominmama
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Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 1:23 pm

Venezuela

Post by moominmama »

so...

was talking to someone visiting from Venezuela, and had a very interesting conversation, thought it really useful so paraphrasing below.

when things went bad, they went really quite quickly from a bit difficult / so-so (2012) to really quite bad (2015), by the time it was getting bad it was to late to do anything about it for most people - no time to stock up, etc. Those who could left the country, and this really accelerated from 2015 onwards, those with medical qualifications, family overseas, foreign passports etc. Making it even worse for those staying in terms of accessing medical treatments, etc.

food is available, but not much, it is expensive, and no real choice - anything that needs to be imported is very expensive and hard to come by, and this includes medicine, etc. She does not send money home as not only are items expensive the supply is very unpredictable, she buys medicines here and sends back, (no idea how she sources here). Soaps, shampoo, clothes are all luxury items.

people are really literally slowly starving, both the calorific and nutritional intake, people on fixed incomes such as pensioners are the worst hit.

the point she made is that Venezuela used to be a 'rich' country, and developed, and people thought it would never happen to them, so are unprepared for it psychologically, it can happen and does happen to normal people...

Sourcing food, and queuing is really time consuming. Urban residents are at a huge disadvantage, rural residents or those with family who can grow their own food are at a huge advantage. Everything is done on the black market. Fresh food, vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk, butter are impossible to get except at a huge price.

life savings have been wiped out overnight

Mental health has really declined, people are stressed, depressed, bored, tired, etc.

no end in sight

the actions i am taking away from it
re-organising the house to make as much storage space as possible, unfortunately a modern house with very limited storage
increasing the amounts of over the counter medicines and personal care items in stock - enough to last years (!?!)
increasing the amounts of some food items i stock such tea, coffee, sugar, wine, chocolate. dried beans, rice, flour, olive oil, etc.
although tiny garden we grow some fruit and veg, more as a hobby for our little boy, but next year going to get really organized to grow and store
get chickens - had as a girl, and fresh eggs really good for making pasta, cakes, etc. and excellent source protein if no meat
i am thinking of preparing for a recession hobby - sewing and knitting, could be really very useful and good to keep busy
buying craft activities, clothes, for little boy
we have pensions, longer term savings/investment for son, but i also have cash savings - going to keep enough for 6 months, and buy gold with rest, and make sure pensions and his savings invested in international funds rather than UK funds.

any thoughts or suggestions welcomed.
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peejay
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Re: Venezuela

Post by peejay »

Thanks for the very useful insight. I'm not sure if you still have contact with this person but I wonder how valued (or not) Gold is over there right now, in other words in their real-world situation is/would it be useful there right now given that cash (currency) value has plummeted?
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xplosiv1
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Re: Venezuela

Post by xplosiv1 »

it's a sad state of affairs, i've seen a few documentaries for independent sources about life in venezuela, its terrible what they did to that country...... the end result of Socialism.
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yorkshirewolf
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Re: Venezuela

Post by yorkshirewolf »

peejay wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:28 pm Thanks for the very useful insight. I'm not sure if you still have contact with this person but I wonder how valued (or not) Gold is over there right now, in other words in their real-world situation is/would it be useful there right now given that cash (currency) value has plummeted?
Be interested about that myself, as much as we all seem to see gold as the ultimate investment, i know if i had the choice of some edible veg/meat that would stop me going hungry or some shiny metal that's not much use for anything practical, i'd be having a full belly.

I've never gone down the precious metals route, as i always thought they're only good if someone else wants them, and in dire circumstances where currency is worthless or where you have hyperinflation, the only real valuables would surely be what you can eat and drink?

That said i can well imagine people sitting on hoards of cash/gold/silver, but wasting away from malnutrition!
jansman
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Re: Venezuela

Post by jansman »

yorkshirewolf wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 6:33 am
peejay wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 5:28 pm Thanks for the very useful insight. I'm not sure if you still have contact with this person but I wonder how valued (or not) Gold is over there right now, in other words in their real-world situation is/would it be useful there right now given that cash (currency) value has plummeted?
Be interested about that myself, as much as we all seem to see gold as the ultimate investment, i know if i had the choice of some edible veg/meat that would stop me going hungry or some shiny metal that's not much use for anything practical, i'd be having a full belly.

I've never gone down the precious metals route, as i always thought they're only good if someone else wants them, and in dire circumstances where currency is worthless or where you have hyperinflation, the only real valuables would surely be what you can eat and drink?

That said i can well imagine people sitting on hoards of cash/gold/silver, but wasting away from malnutrition!
I totally agree with those last two paragraphs. Everyone needs to eat.

I do collect precious metals, but only with a view to retirement investment. The way the politicians are murmuring about extra taxes for NHS/ social care etc. anything I can do to mitigate The Man taking a cut of my sweated earnings ( and he takes enough now!),the better. I am already paying VAT on new bullion, but even second hand, the sellers factor that in. Hopefully, values will appreciate over the next few years, and if only modestly, I will certainly recoup my expenses. But who knows?
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

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Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

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peejay
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Re: Venezuela

Post by peejay »

This is my dilemma ATM. On the one hand I have a reasonable cushion in the bank ATM (I could probably cope for up to a year with careful spending if I lost my job tomorrow & couldn't work) but if something, such as hyperinflation, were to kick off that impacts the value of those savings then I'd be in no better a position than most folks.

As has been pointed out, food/supplies etc. would become the new currency but we live in a small house & just wouldn't have the room to store that kind of thing. I did briefly do some research on gold/silver but as has been pointed out above in a SHTF scenario it's unlikely you'd be able to use a Silver Britannia to buy a few bags of spuds...

As you mentioned, I think it's more of a retirement/emergency cushion for local issues rather than a real STHF situation
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Deeps
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Re: Venezuela

Post by Deeps »

It has occurred to me in the past that a prepper with an entrepreneurial streak could make a killing in a short term crisis. "A tin of beans and a tin of spam is it ? Certainly Ma'am, that'll be a wedding ring please."

You'd probably have to move house when things were back to normal after fleecing all your friends and neighbours though.
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peejay
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Re: Venezuela

Post by peejay »

You'd probably be able to afford to move after that scenario too ;)

<scampers off to stock up on beans & spam>
jansman
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Re: Venezuela

Post by jansman »

Joking aside, it’s classic supply and demand. I seem to remember a scene in the later version of ‘Survivors’, depicting just that. I am sure there are folks doing just that in Venezuela right now, and fair play- it’s business. I know that sounds callous, but it would not bother me one bit. Why? Because my neighbours are plain stupid.

As I write this , they are in their garden having a pi££ed up barbecue. The conversation went something like: “ isn’t the grass dry? Looks like a straw field.”

“ well I heard on the news that there’s a water shortage “

“ the government should do something about it then, cos this grass looks disgusting!”

I sh!t you not! They deserve to be fleeced. That’s because they are S####le.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
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Deeps
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Re: Venezuela

Post by Deeps »

There are always people who will see an opportunity. Survivors covered quite a lot of topics, its quite thought provoking for preppers, albeit a bit dated now.

And yes, total phuqwits are everywhere, that's something we won't be running out of. :lol: