Apart from spending money on stashing beenz and rice etc, has anyone really lost a great deal of money preparing for y2k.

-- Sir Richard (richard.dale@unum.co.uk), February 28, 2000

Answers

I mean anything above 250 clams

-- Sir Richard the Dork (richard.dale@unum.co.uk), February 28, 2000.

I haven't got to use my hand-crank solar
flashlight radio yet. Put me down for $20.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), February 28, 2000.

The Genny will get used this summer at First Aid Coverages, so that ain't a loss.

the Mill, howewver, may not get used until it's Kindling at Paul's clambake in July.. 300 +/-

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), February 28, 2000.

No, everything we might need during a hurricane or other weather disaster or man-made problem is now in place; and I can't tell you what a good, secure feeling we have in knowing we can face just about ANY situation life might bring. Those dollars were well spent. We felt it was much better to prepare for future needs as to say, taking Carnival cruise for instance. (We'd rather be at home with a Y2K backed up toilet rather than in the middle of the ocean with one. Actually, we have a septic tank so that example really does not apply to us.) :)

-- Lurkess (Lurkess@Lurking.Net), February 28, 2000.

It's ALL usable. If I haven't used it yet, it'll get a workout this summer, or next winter. I haven't lost a cent.

The food is being rotated into my normal pantry stock, the survival equipment is good to have anyway, and the guns and ammo are just plain fun! No losses at all.

Plus, I haven't run out of TP in 8 weeks now, and I'll probably make it through the end of April. ;)

-- Powder (Powder47keg@aol.com), February 28, 2000.

I have 33 2.5 gallon plastic (food grade) bottles of Aqua-Pure distilled drinking water purchased between April-September 1999. Never opened, not sure what to do with them, not sure of the shelf life. They take up alot of room but I am keeping them stashed so far. Any thoughts?

-- (nemesis@awol.com), February 28, 2000.

Sir Richard,

Other than my propane-powered, zircon-encrusted, digital Oyster forks, I haven't wasted anything. And since those were a gift from my wife's sister's cousin's Rabbi, who cares?

Just kidding! I probably invested a sum total of $5,000, including my high-efficiency, soapstone wood stove. No pain and no regrets.

Jimmy

-- Jimmy Splinters (inthe@dark.com), February 28, 2000.

Are you hoping those who moved, quit jobs, pulled money out of investments, wasted emotional energy buying into silly doomsday scenarios, and so on, will now step forward and announce themselves publicly?

I am.

-- Imso (lame@prepped.com), February 28, 2000.

whatever a dork is it's posting again!, presumably "dork" is some sort of puerile US slang insult

I sincerely hope that people have not lost a great deal, I'm sure most haven't, so what if people hoped for the best and prepared for the worst, I would say that was a very sensible strategy within limits.

Whats wrong with having a little egg on the face, I suspect the doomsters being mostly of stout character can take the insults phlegmatically.

-- Sir Richard (richard.dale@unum.co.uk), February 28, 2000.

Wiping the egg off my face

splat!

-- Sir Richard (not a Dork) (richard.dale@unum.co.uk), February 28, 2000.

Nope. We spread our purchases out over the months. If inflation kicks in due to rising gas prices (transporation, COGS), we'll actually save money in the long run.

In addition, we don't have to drive to the store, except for perishables...but once summer arrives, that problem will be rectified once we get the garden going. That will helpful, if gasoline goes over $2.00 a gallon.

There is living...and then there is living beyond one's means.

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), February 28, 2000.

Back to the original question. No losses here. We concentrated on stocking consumables that we would need in any event. We stocked food, water, wood, kerosene, cooking fuel, heating oil and a bit of gasoline. We added some tools to our collection and some odds and ends like sewing needles, plastic sheeting, office supplies and safety pins.

We haven't used it all, yet, but it is all quite useful under conditions other than Y2K meltdown. Even the kerosene heater got a workout this winter when the power went down for 14 hours. It helped a lot. No complaints.

BTW, we like beans and rice, together or separately.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), February 28, 2000.

Sir Richard: Our single (over $250.USD) expense was an inverter system to run our fuel oil heater. But as it turned out we used it for over a week,during a series of power outages. The rest of our preps are just being rotated into our pantry and replaced as needed. Hav'nt been to the gas station since before Christmas. We have had a generator for several years, long before anyone ever heard of y2k. Just an Alaskan thing to do.

-- Capt Dennis (capden@hotmail.com), February 28, 2000.

Are Ye the same SIR Richard who was looking for Gary North's Towel?
You can use it to wipe the egg off your face, Sir!

-- sue (sue@work.com), February 28, 2000.

Nope, no losses here but then I've been a survivalist since 1980 so Y2K was just another scenario to me.

There were a relative few who went bonkers (in my opinion) and went over the edge in planning but I believe they're far and away out numbered by those who wouldn't have prepared all the way until their power went off no matter who said they should. We saw the same thing back during the eighties and during the sixties.

There shouldn't be much of anything that went into Y2K preps that won't be just as useful for an extended power failure caused by a natural disaster. Now if Y2K was the only reason you found to prep then your problem isn't with what you bought but your reasoning for prepping in the first place.

.........Alan. The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.providenceco-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@netscape.net), February 28, 2000.

Face lost under a few inches of baked-on quiche.

Spend loads. All of it eventually usuable ... maybe.

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.cellrelaytower), February 28, 2000.

Since you put the threshold at above $250, you must mean large item purchases.

Let's face it, hand-operated grain mills, wash boards and laundry wringers are very special purpose equipment items. Short of Y2K I don't see any other use for those items in our household.

But it seems everything else has dual uses: Y2K and "What I need to do this is...". Most of those items are things i always wanted to buy for my garage workshop eventually but never had good enough justification. But every man needs an assortment of chain hoists, pullers, jacks, block & tackle, etc, to clutter up his workshop. I finally got most of mine.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), February 28, 2000.

Sir Richard,

That Yourdon and others of his ilk forced me to buy all this stuff, and now what do I do? I haven't done any grocery shopping since December and I'm getting bored!!!

And, what do I do with all this bottle water? The toilet paper and kleenex? The toothpaste???

.

.

Attn: Imsolame & pollies - this is a joke. No harm done here, no regrets.

-- No Polly (nopolly@hotmail.com), February 28, 2000.

Well, last year I was going to wait for my income tax refund to buy a generator. Hurricane Bertha knocked out my power for 4 days in '96. I got concerned about possible availability in April so I bought in Jan and replaced savings in April. Same gen in April $60 more at same store. No loss there!

Mountain bike, $400, panniers $100, haven't used as much as I should have. Might get more use if gas continues to rise. :-) (Only for local errands, work is too far to be practical.) Money lost? Maybe, but I still have the bike if I need it or just want to go for a ride.

Like many, I can't see getting rid of preps, maybe downsize a little in some areas (350 rolls of toilet paper and 66K strike anywhere kitchen matches.) Even though my worst case Y2K situation (no power or potable water) didn't happen, I am not comfortable betting that nothing else will go wrong (weather, economy or utility availability). Getting rid of preps, to me, is like saying "Y2K didn't happen and nothing else ever will."

Losses, no, just didn't buy those 2 extra drivers last year. (They probably wouldn't have cured the slice anyway.)

-- JCC (wolverine_in_nc@hotmail.com), February 28, 2000.

If the gas prices keep going the way they are now, you might be needing before you thought. Food and everything else moves though trucks an trucks run on gas, as does most things.

-- ET (bneville@zebra.net), February 28, 2000.

Well it wasn't so bad was it, you'll eventually get through the loo rolls

it could have been worse but as we hoped it wasn't

-- the real Sir richard standing up (richard.dale@unum.co.uk), February 29, 2000.

I have one can of Spam Lite left in the Y2k pantry... I'm considering putting it in a paper bag, setting it on fire, and drooping it on the nearest Chemtrail-wacko's doorstep.

-- Uh No (minortroll@yahoo.com), February 29, 2000.

I've spent it all and now I'm broke, no job. At least I have beans, drums of gasoline, an enough rice to keep the ducks happy for the next 50 years. As for the gas, I'm gonna laugh my way through this oil crisis while everyone else is crying at the pumps. Small consilation. Hope something big happens (war?) soon cause I'm getting real depressed having to look at all these beans everyday! I need a job so I don't have to look at those damn solarpanels, pumps, buckets, oil, flashlite batteries, deap cycles, generator, etc. any more!! Thousands spent for some kind of madness. Heirloom seeds, oxy- absorb packets, steam engine, etc. I could go on and on. At least I got my teeth fixed and my Eyes lazered. Now that I can see straight, I'll really have something to chew on! Sour grapes!(well, dried raisons/prunes...)

-- Crazyfool For Apocalypse (hoped for the worst, now i'm broke!@sucker.com), February 29, 2000.