Just tonight I sat down and figured how much money I've spent preparing for Y2K. After making a list, I estimated about $5000. I was surprised it was so much. And about $2000 of that was on things we won't get our money's worth out of if Y2K is milder than I expect.

That $2000 is a hefty premium for me to pay. I don't part with money easily or gracefully. (I could buy a shiny new SUV without applying for credit, but I drive a $300 piece of junk because it gets me from point A to point B just as well and fits my personality better.) I'll never have health or life insurance because of the premiums, yet here I am buying Y2K insurance.

How much have you spent on Y2K insurance? Does it make sense compared to how much you spend on other forms of insurance?

-- Gus (y2kk@usa.net), November 26, 1999

Answers

Y2K is a once in your lifetime thing. Actually its a once in histories lifetime thing. Shrug your shoulders and move on. You spent $5k, so what.

If your wrong, your wrong. Next year you will continue to make money and what you spent on Y2k will just be past history. The older you get the more likely you will spend money on things you shouldnt have. You survive those things, you will survive this if Y2k is nothing.

If you cant deal with the fact you spent the money then you didnt really think it through. But regardless, you felt the need to do it at the time and thats what mattered. We can't foretell the future so we have to go on our gut and spend the bucks we think we need to. We have nothing to gauge it against so each of us comes up with a number or level of preparedness that simply has no quantification.

If Y2k is nothing its over, you lick your financial wounds and move on. Y2k is not a religeon, its not a way of life and its not the final point of our life. We are all making a decision, placing a bet and throwing the dice. The dice will stop rolling on or around 1/1/2000 and we will see if it was a good decision. If we lose we move on.

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), November 26, 1999.

How much of the $2k worth of equipment you bought would be useful if

There really were a 3-day winter storm, or even longer?

There were some other natural disaster such as an earthquake?

Terrorists struck? I remember watching the last of ABC Nightline's series on a terrorist anthrax attack on a major city. In their scenario, even those not directly infected with the anthrax were effected after a few days due to the loss of those who handled the infrastructure including food distribution.

If Y2k turns out to be a BITR, I'm looking for a lot of good buys at garage sales which generally start up late March or April when the weather turns nice.

Mikey2k

-- Mikey2k (mikey2k@he.wont.eat.it), November 27, 1999.

Back when I was preaching Y2K readiness, I told people to figure on spending whatever they spend on house, car and life insurance in a year. I promised them a 90% recovery rate. You still have to eat, drink, and wipe your butt. Ordinary house and car insurance is 100% lost so I think Y2K insurance is a great deal no matter how much you spend.

-- woody (woody11420@aol.com), November 27, 1999.

I would venture to say that we will use everything we have purchased for y2k if it is a BITR or TEOTWAWKI. Granted, it will take me a heck of a long time to eat all this canned stuff, but I will use it. I won't have to buy toilet paper for about 10 years, but I will eventually use it all up. I say that you will probably use most of what you have purchased. If not, don't you feel better having it? Nobody knows what will happen, but it will be better to have the stuff and not need it than vice versa. I have no idea how much we have spent, and I don't care. I feel that it is my responsibility to myself and my family to be prepared for anything. Hey, if everything is ok, I just won't have to go grocery shopping next year! That in itself is something to look forward to.

-- Lisa (artbhughes@emeraldis.com), November 27, 1999.

We mnay have spent $12,000 to $15,000 if you include the new batteries and inverter that we bought to update our wind and solar system, but this is something we were planning on doing anyway, just did it a year or two sooner. All the food, etc., that we have is stuff that we normally eat, so if nothing happens with Y2K we will just have smaller grocery bills next year. Actual expenses for stuff that we wouldn't have gotten for any reason other than Y2K probably comes to $100 or a little more.

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), November 29, 1999.

Easily over $25,000.

Power: $15,000. (Includes generator, install & wiring, 500 gallon "aux" propane tank)

Food: $6,000 (mostly "eat every day" stuff, but includes powedered milk/eggs)

Water: $500 (8 - 55 gallon plastic drums, siphon pump, and Berkefeld filter)

Gas: $500 (4 - 55 gallon steel drums, rotary hand pump, and cost of fuel)

Defense: $3000 (2 mini-14's, Mossberg shotgun, night vision, 10,000 rds asst'd ammo)

... And God only knows what else ...

And I don't consider ANY of it to be "wasted" money.

-- Dennis (djolson@cherco.net), November 29, 1999.

To date I have spent about $7000.00 on food, cooking impliments,and such.... I too hate to spend money on anything but food.... If y2k is a bump in the road, the food will get eaten anyhow... I like to camp and fish so the cooking impliments will be used... the water storage is always a good idea. And besides, how many of us have read magazines and articles of others finally taking the plunge from city life to homesteading and only day dreamed about doing it ourselves???

My family and I took that plunge 4 years ago.... if it weren't for my hubbys rapidly deteriorating health we would still be there.. times were rough and the work hard, but the best move we ever made. I have hauled all of the homesteading tools and equiptment to our home in the little town we moved to and when hubby is called home by the lord, i will get another piece of ground to call home and start over on the land again.

I will have my shelter on wheels, over a years supply of food... water storage, generator, extra clothing and blankets, heating source and the fuel to go with it... how can these type of investments be a waste of time or money? Isn't your family worth any expense that you might take to keep them fed, warm and safe?

-- twila paden (twilap@hotmail.com), November 29, 1999.

In addition to "regular" Y2K expenses, if you add in relocating our family from the East coast to Hawaii, it has been a huge expense for us...but we couldn't be happier with all of the changes. And, we plan to live a higher quality of life even with Y2K because of it.

-- Sara Nealy (KEITHN@ALOHA.NET), November 29, 1999.

Lots. Thousands. but let's look at where it goes in the event of a BITR.

(1) Food gets eaten. Much of it bought cheaply in bulk or on sale.

(2) Wood stove pays for itself in energy saving and nice to have around for winter power outages. May pay for itself in one bad winter storm by saving the water pipes.

(3) Gas goes in car. Probably will look cheap by next year anyway.

(4) New well pump and generator to run it (I figure an hour per week) will be paid off in 3-5 years due to my enormous water bills associated with my wife's summer watering regimen.

(5) Propane in 20 lb tanks -- lots of barbeques.

(6) Lots of extra clothes (made in non-compliant third world countries). Hey my feet aren't growing anymore (although my waist is.)

(7) Medicines. (See food above.)

What is truly down the tube in principle? More rice than I can eat. Possibly more Dinty Moore and chili than I can stomach. Got it so cheap that I can get half the money back by using it as dog food. More humanely, donation to food kitchens will give me a 40% kickback on my taxes (which will be huge due to capital gains on my market moves.)

What about those market moves and lost opportunity? Well, it's my strongly held belief that they will look brilliant by this time next year (y2k not included.) I made 90% in the market last year (no internets, no margin, no options). My breather this year and next will give me an approximate 35% annual return. If that's not enough, I deserve to lose it all.

-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), November 30, 1999.