2023-12-02
Not to try to scare anyone, but the US Dollar (and therefore likely the global financial system), undermined by many years of money-printing, is seemingly facing collapse and some sort of financial reset. Oil-producing nations are moving away from selling their oil in dollars, and with windmills and solar not yet (some think not ever) independent and reliable providers of power, our economies may be more fragile than they have ever been.
What are likely to disrupt our supply chains? Wars and financial chaos.
Wars are in the news. How close are we to financial chaos? My guess is that nobody in authority will admit to that, so advance warning is not going to be forthcoming from them. So we must find our information where we can, but as time and tide move on and wait for no man, the inflexion point certainly draws nearer every day.
Maybe if you haven't thought about it yet, now would be a good time.
Finances are nothing if not a geopolitical hot potato, so some indication of where we are may perhaps be gleaned from current world news.
How will this play out? I don't know, I've not been here before, but getting some modest amount of cash in hand (please don't start a run on the banks!) to tide us over in case of temporary bank closures or internet outages (phones and cards not working) seems to me to be a sensible precaution.
Could you last a week if the shops/banks were closed for that long?
If everything were to suddenly close for good then no amount of preparation will save us, but on the assumption that somebody somewhere has done enough prep to get the essential systems of life over the initial hurdle (and Lord knows they've had enough warning), then some modest level of preparation on our part may seem to be prudent.
As always, It's your view that counts.
