Monday, September 30, 2019

401 mKay ( article two of two today )


401 mKay ( article 2 of 2 today )
Sometimes I really hate answering the tough questions. Most of the time I stick with the easier ones. I mean, you might THINK it is a hard call on whether to kill children or women, for instance, but that is actually easy since it comes down to tribal imperative. No, I'm talking about the kind of hard questions that might screw people up if you aren't exact in your logic. Like, “should I cash out my 401K, or not?”. That is NOT as easy as I make it out to be. It might be easy for ME, but you have a lot more riding on it.
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Me? I always figured that money for retirement is just like money for your whole life. Stop worrying about getting MORE, and worry about needing LESS. For me, Social Security is more than enough, a minimum of double what I make now. If Social Security isn't going to be around, neither is your private savings, as the whole enchilada already imploded. But you'all, as I am constantly reminded, ain't me. You want cars and grid electricity and hookers and blow. I can only nag you so often before you tire of me. So I'm forced into your world.
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The average guy smart enough to read me is probably smart enough to have a good paying job, and hence will have a 401K from back when times didn't suck complete ass. I'm sure a few of you on public pensions wish you had a 401K right about now as your city is in multi-billion dollar deficits and shortfalls. So, the question remains, what should you do? If I ONLY answered softball questions I wouldn't be the Survivalist King Of The Universe. The short answer is, the lesser evil.
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The long answer is, that is certainly NOT an answer. Without knowing the future how can we know what the lesser evil is? I mean, we KNOW how the future is going to be. As painful as it is, go watch “The Road” ( the book was great, as one of the most bleak PA universes ever, but I've never wanted to re-read it because it simply isn't entertaining. Yet, that was far and above better than the movie. Which did a decent job of staying true to the book. Which ALSO didn't make it very entertaining ). That is the future. We just don't know the timing.
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And when I say “that is the future”, I certainly do not mean the overcast natural disaster aspect. I mean more along the lines of depopulated and without resources. How folks do not view our extraction activities with stories high excavators ( with each tire costing what a reasonable house would ), and not worry that means there is ZERO for future generation confounds me. How they think you can pump the dirt full of chemicals and compact the ground with heavy machinery, then believe it can instantly go to organic smallsteads is equally a mystery.
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To be perfectly honest, any rational person would NEVER have believed the US could pull a miracle out of its ass with the Petrodollar and survive losing its gold, its military hold over colonies and its industry. Any thinking adult surely cannot explain how we are STILL not joining the other civilizations in a dirt nap. I mean, you could envision what it would be like from the outside looking in and our existence exactly mirrors Rome months or just a handful of years before its sacking. You understand that NOTHING working as designed means only one thing. But you are still unsure about the timing.
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If a person almost fifty years ago couldn't see how we were going to save ourselves, surely, you say, we ourselves could be under the same delusion. I mean, no way in hell we have another fifty years. But my point is that it is too easy to get our best guess about the timing wrong. That right there is what is going to screw most of us. Since the system keeps NOT collapsing, we think we have another grace period. Which we could. Or perhaps not.
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I've been acting like tomorrow is The End, for a very long time. To me, it is normal. But I have to keep reminding myself that no one else is like me. Nobody else could possibly fixate on the apocalypse to the extent I do. Most folks just want to live their life, with prepping a necessary insurance program. Me, that IS my life. But don't cry for me, Argentina. I LOVE this life. Might be faulty mental wiring. Or, Baby Jesus is speaking through me. Hard to say. But, yeah, you worry about how your survival preps will impact your budget for the rest of your life.
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It is natural to want to keep hold of your savings. So far, no apocalypse. But what you have seen, time and again, is your friends and family lose employment or get into a bind with medical bills, or whatever, and you know you need savings to survive THAT quasi-apocalypse which is orders of magnitude more likely in the short term than a civilization collapse. Bullets and band-aids will NOT pay the bills, only cash type money ( not even precious metals, which ALSO keep screwing the pooch in expectations and won't explode upwards. At least not yet- all in good time ).
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If things limp along, no savings means you could lose your home, or your ability to drive. Just because I hate houses and cars doesn't mean you do. I'm all about worse case scenario, and that is fine. For your preps for the apocalypse. But it isn't fine for your financial planning. I'm not just black or white. You might agree with me but in shades of gray. It can be a sliding scale beyond just agree, don't agree. After all, I myself had way too much cash on hand for many years. It is not my prerogative to dismiss your desire to do the same.
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If you hate the thought of being savings poor, you should simply keep the 401k. If you more often have nightmares of being without enough post-apocalypse supplies, you probably don't have to worry about one. It depends not on what I say, but what your Lizard Brain says. And I'm as serious as a heart attack. Either way, the choice is wrong. You end up broke living like a bum, but with plenty of supplies, or you have a cash cushion that will disappear. And I don't mean to frame that like cash is stupid. Without the cash, you will be dropping like a stone in your standard of living.
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There are other considerations, such as supplies being just as vulnerable as cash in the bank. We just talked about the scourge of crackheads. Not that THEY will do a home invasion. But they do represent the break down of law and order, don't they? Things will just get worse. Look at Turd World countries. Still relatively stable, still feeding everyone, but crime is at insane levels. This, and more, continued tomorrow.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
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note-I do not advise buying the Home Despot orange lid for the five gallon bucket.  They might have a better lid, but don't buy the orange one for sure.  They are now hunks of crap, the inner ring too thin of plastic that is easily bent and torn, leaving an imperfect seal.  Bad enough they took out the gasket, now you can't even get a solid plastic seal.  And I was even using a proper rubber mallet and still had about 30% failure rates.  First time I've had issues with a bucket lid after dozens and scores of them over the years.  
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25 comments:

  1. Great work here, and thanks for putting it out there.

    Jim, maybe you are almost like Baby Jesus: he was quite apocalyptic, had no place to rest his head, spoke and taught in exchange for food and shelter, gave himself freely to help others, just to cite a few examples. He was different in that he believed in community, and only withdrew to the desert to do you know what. Only one in his community betrayed him, and it cost him his life, but he was destined to die at that time, in that place, and in that way, so it does no good to blame the betrayer. He told us that the Father would provide all we need, just look at the birds. And he was right about that too as frugal people are well equipped. Laughed my arse off when you wrote, "spending your money on hookers and blow."

    I identify with your lifestyle--its frugality, its wanting for nothing but the basics, and when I doubt that Jesus would want me to have guns, ammo, and bayonets, I do recall where he said to sell the cloak and buy a sword.

    My pension won't be there in the future as we are not living in the Fifties, so buying junk land with some type of structure on it makes sense. But that won't be good enough, they won't leave me alone. The Big Boys will say, "Time to go after that rabble living in their shelters and confiscate their weapons and ammo; they need to be put in the camps with the rest." So much for the Left being egalitarian...then again we're all equal in chains. I share your thoughts, unfortunately I have no good thoughts to barter with you as I know nothing about survival. I am running in circles looking for the place to extend my life: yesterday I was in New Hampshire online after reading about the crack problem around Elko, which I had considered only geographically long before Remus cited The Bison Prepper and I went there. Then Wash state; they don't tax retirement income. Then Idaho: they are ranked 45th as an unsafe state, they have a solidly Republican legislature and won't be going purple any time soon, etc. Forget TN: high crime, and not just in Memphis. Woke up thinking about taking off on a big boat: cash in the IRA, pay the tax and buy one....then I thought, "Pirates are making a comeback...goddam liberals....they keep bringing back all that stuff that good men suppressed to near extinction."

    When the pension is gone, I start drawing down on the IRA.

    "Never feel sorry for a guy with a pension."

    That IRA thing is just numbers on a piece of paper that changes daily depending upon stock prices and bond rates. With a snap of the fingers, the balance can turn to zero. Back in the 80s we were taught to save and not spoil ourselves so that we could take care of ourselves. LOL. That means nothing today as I have researched Wealth Tax proposals and know this is going beyond taxing income. I don't have near the value that is required for taxation, but I know that that will change because the endgame is this: take away all middle class white wealth; they've had it good too long.

    See, you're not the only skeptic.

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  2. Winco grocery stores have an extensive selection of food-grade buckets in 3, 4, 5, and 6 gallon sizes.

    One lid fits all.

    Winco also carries Gamma-style food-grade screw-off lids.

    (They also have a nice selection of screw-off wines.)

    (As you might notice, I am fond of frequently inserting 'screw-off' into conversations.)

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    1. But you didn't tell me to screw off, so....:)

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    2. "I am fond of frequently inserting 'screw-off' into conversations..."

      In a similar vein, did I tell you about the painting I just bought? It's by an impressionist painter who moonlights as a New York cab driver. His name is Vincent Van Gogh Screw Yourself ;-)

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    3. Winco's food-grade buckets are now a disappointment. They used to be a very sturdy .09" wall thickness. Now they are a flimsy .07" wall thickness for the same price. I am offended Winco, if you are reading this! To be fair, their vendor may have made the change without their knowledge. I do not know of any place that sells the high-durability .09" wall thickness. Also, if you decide to buy the Gamma-Seal lids for a frequent-access bucket, DO NOT BUY ANY COLOR OTHER THAN WHITE. The colored Gamma-Seal lids ALL crack around the rim that snaps on the bucket, within a couple days to a couple months max.
      Peace out

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    4. The price of a Gamma-Seal, they should be built like a tank.

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    5. "I do not know of any place that sells the high-durability .09" wall thickness."

      Before Y2K when I started stocking wheat I bought some 3 and 5 gallon buckets and lids from these folks quite some time ago: https://www.uline.com/BL_8150/Plastic-Pails-And-Lids. They are 90 mil (0.090") thickness and I've found them to be durable. Price is pretty reasonable, too. If you do order some, however, be prepared to get their catalog in the mail for the next twenty years...

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    6. All the effort that goes into saving money, you'd think someone could figure out how to purge folks off mailing lists.

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  3. "Don't Cry for me Argentina", also "maybe faulty wiring" or "Baby Jesus speaking through me."
    You crack me up James.
    Good point about the public pensioneers. Have you seen what retired firemen pull down. Usually waaay more than cops, who actually end up working more for less retirement. Fire depts have their own taxing districts carved out, always looking to shoe horn in another one and fill another palatial clubhouse full of still more future public pensioneers. And I'm not just picking on the fd leisured good ole boys. There are plenty of cushy non-jobs in school systems and hidden govt office hives that all just need endless tax dollars to support them.
    The only consolation is they are all f-d mathematically. But then as you say in the paragraph about who would've guessed the USA could pull a miracle out of it's ass, maybe all these tax paid wonders will have winter vacation homes, Disney trips 3 times a year, and twin custom-painted jet skis in the 4 car garage.
    But as a schlub really physically working my ass off all the time and no benefits or time off other than what I can pay for,I really hope not.

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    1. It simply cannot last much longer. As you say, math. Of course, the solution could be a 20% VAT ( on top of "sewage fees" on food and other creative solutions ). But as currently configured, no.

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    2. I'm doing a plan design for an addition to a large home in Cape Coral, FL that I did not design. I pulled the building permit info from the gov't website and was stunned in how the "Impact Fees" have risen in the past 13 years since I lived there. When we built our house in 2002 the Impact Fee was a flat $2500 per house regardless of size. This was on new construction as the authorities claimed it was cause new people to move into the community and therefore negatively effect the infrastructure, so the Impact Fee would some how offset that. It has never been explained how exactly that would occur. I was especially cheesed because we were not "new" people and I had lived there since 1966. Anyway, the Impact Fee for any new single family residence is over $8000. Keep in mind that additional construction costs related to new building codes supposedly increase the value of the home because the owner is getting a better product, but Impact Fees do not, so the owner is getting nothing for his money. Outright, in your face, theft.

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    3. And I imagine that Florida fees are still quit reasonable compared to, say, California.

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    4. An update on building fees in Kalifornia. Just north of where you grew up Lord Bison, (San Luis Obispo) a a local newspaper listed the building permit and water meter fees for a 2200 square foot house. This was about 10 years ago and the winner in the county, San Luis Obispo, was $80,000. Yep, 80 thousand. The cheapest city was $29,000

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    5. If that doesn't convince one to flee California ( but NOT to Nevada ), I don't know what would. A $100 a month, at the cheapest, for thirty years, for a bribe to be allowed to even have that mortgage.

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    1. I aspire to that Demented Guy. You rock,
      Signed: Still Indentured to Mammon, but With An Escape Plan in My Heart

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Sweet property tax, dude. Mine was close to that, near fifteen years ago.

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  5. I hope to share some ira/401k tactical, say again tactical examples, not really a strategic long game. That would best be one's own path. I used 401k growth periods, i.e. stock market upswings and company match with my set asides, to pull out a portion, say 25 percentile at most of funds for those tactical expense directions. (Not pissing it away on flir scopes) pay off the mortgage, owner of property without that nut. Pay off long note on a sturdy transport-truck. By killing those finance notes, cause no one really can squirrel nuts for years to pay cash any more with this system economy. That just gave yourself a raise by not paying out for Fricking years and years and years, see how that works. Yep there is 10% penalty and taxes but pull enough out to cover that amount so as to not be gigged by the i.r.s. Although it may not be wise by last century standards of financial planning. However, when a Minionite smells collapse, a girl has got to do what helps their personal on the ground survivability. If a job loss arrives your one less worry. Use your total balance, divide by a yearly survivability amount and project out a base life span post 59 1/2 years, 10 years yes, longer not likely. Past those numbers, is hopium. If it is tangible hard asset directed, o.k. hold a piddle balance for your drooling senility period should we be all wrong with this collapsey thing. Good luck, and may the force be with you.

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    1. Thank you-something I should have added, partial use to drastically reduce costs.

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  6. Jim - I thought you'd figured it out by now that having a good paying job has just about nothing to do with how smart you are and almost everything to do with where you were born into the race/class chessboard.

    And I agree, the goal should be to be able to live on about half of what SS, which we will probably get at least for a while, pays.

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    1. We did have a short period there where a meritocracy of sorts was in place, and smarts and ambition could get you above your station. I assume my older minions were on the ass end of that.

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  7. Re: fragile Homey Dopey bucket lids ...

    In the race to the bottom, Home Depot leads the pack.

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    1. Mental image, Team Orange and Team Blue ( Wal-Mart ), two fat retards bitch slapping each other trying to cross the finish line.

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