Inflation and what to do?

[Will Henry]

Over the last couple of years we have been hit with unprecedented inflation in all areas and this is especially reflected in the cost of components. I have always equated costs to how much work I had to do to purchase a given item. For instance, when I was a young man, just out of the Army, an hour worth of wages at the sawmill would buy me a box of Sierra bullets. Later on, a trigger job on a model 70 would buy that box of bullets or a thousand CCI primers. Fitting a barrel would buy me about 12 pounds of powder.
My first 40x-BR cost me about 1 1/2 weeks pay.
Anyway, it occurs to me, in order to hedge against this inflation, it might be best to return to the barter system. To that end, I'm thinking, two years ago, fitting a barrel would buy me 8 pounds of Varget and a thousand primers. Henceforth, I think I'll fit a barrel in exchange for 8pounds of Varget and a thousand CCI 200's. A glass bedding job would buy me a couple boxes of bullets and a bag of brass. Seems like a fair trade to me. What I can't see doing is fitting two or three barrels for 8 lbs of Varget. It's getting to where I have to fit and chamber a barrel to fill my truck with diesel. Things are most definitely getting out of hand. WH

 

[FeMan]

I "retired" a few years ago but felt like I needed to keep working some as an economic hedge. I am glad I did and now it seems like I'll never be able to completley retire. I added it up recently and my wife and I spend close to $1k per month on shooting. Last night we decided to skip the trip to the NV Long Range Championships at the end of the month due in large part to the cost of travel, hotels, and components.

It stinks but I would rather keep working some to afford our habits than sit home. My revised pan is to go to half-time next year so I can work a little less and shoot a little more.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

With unprecedented inflation, food supply issues, a federalized digital currency(no private bank savings accounts) in the near future. Extremely limited private property ownership(including firearms) bartering will probably be "outlawed". But hey, utopia is worth the sacrifice "we all must make".

 

[shortgrass]

With unprecedented inflation, food supply issues, a federalized digital currency(no private bank savings accounts) in the near future. Extremely limited private property ownership(including firearms) bartering will probably be "outlawed". But hey, utopia is worth the sacrifice "we all must make".

So, I guess you want to be on the detail that goes around collecting all the guns and telling people they no longer own their home, even though they paid for it?

 

[gary0529]

So, I guess you want to be on the detail that goes around collecting all the guns and telling people they no longer own their home, even though they paid for it?

I think you missed the sarcasm coyotefur was posting

 

[RegionRat]

So, I guess you want to be on the detail that goes around collecting all the guns and telling people they no longer own their home, even though they paid for it?

Coyotefurharvester was just kidding and being sarcastic.

 

[mikeinct]

Barter, Check. Economize where you can on whatever. Trade or swap for what you want, for what you need when you can. 10% shortfall of income each month will create it's own set of problems to overcome. If you must sell some stuff so be it. You know, before the economy really hits the skids. THANKS JOE. I've had two Dr's tell me to stay out of restaurants since this covid thing hit us. We really like fine dining. So we spoil ourselves at home trying new things. I'm learning to be a better cook. The cooking vids are free to watch. I can fancy up three great steaks for the cost of one at a restaurant. The list goes on . I'm watching this thread w great interest. Thanks, mikeinct

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Pay for everything with cash when you can like when buying groceries. I promise you that it will keep a lot of junk out of your cart.

 

[Comrade Terry]

 

[Downeast]

Inflation has had more of a positive impact on our lifestyle. But I do have to say that my wife and I are both retired with no children in the house (just dogs!). I'm good to go on components right now and shoot when I want. I do very little traveling or driving overall except to the coast to fish at my "shack". For the last year or so I find myself putting $40 worth of gas in my truck at a time and it usually lasts me a week or two. When it gets low I put another $40 in it. I have no clue how much fuel $40 buys and don't care. My wife and I do about the same thing as @mikeinct and are always trying new dishes and we treat ourselves to one nice restaurant meal a month. We combine that trip to the "big city" with a stop at the "wine store" and a higher- end grocery store to purchase things that are not available locally (we live in a rural area). Things that we have realized is that dining out is nice but generally the food is mediocre when compared to what we prepare at home. So we seek out restaurants that serve dishes that are "different". Like a little "Peruvian" restaurant for instance or certain seafood dishes. So my advise is if you eat out then eat something you would never make at home. Why "waste" your money on a restaurant steak when you can prepare a steak at home that is far higher in quality and taste at half the price and have fun doing it. Unless inflation hits 50% you are still saving money.

And it is true that the cooking videos are excellent and my wife really enjoys trying out the recipes and subscribes to several ethnic cooking channels. Between those and the shooting videos we have now added wine and gardening videos to the mix. We built a few additional raised beds in the garden to grow a wider variety of vegetables and herbs. So our response to inflation is to use information technology (Youtube!) to increase the quality of our lives by selecting and purchasing items such as food and drink that we would have never done in the past. We eat better, drink better, and waste far less (and save more money than ever before). Think "quality" of living and "quantity" for components.

 

[Knotwild]

I remember how it was with Pres. Carter and what stagflation was like. Of course on top of all that, we now have the potential crisis with fertilizer shortages and the changes that will bring. We all focus on what the news pukes out and forget all these things interact and they interact differently for each one of us based on our lifestyle. Some people will just have to spend more of the money they have, others will have to cut back to make ends meet. Even though inflation was high then, some prices were really good and these prices were things that we did not need - for extravagances and for us perhaps ammunition and reloading components, new boats, and stuff we don't need to survive. As demand went down prices did too. This they named stagflation. If it gets really bad, there are a ton of loans on extravagant items like boats, over priced homes, and $70K pickups that will likely default. Renting will grow in popularity I believe.

So my theory is that a hurricane is coming and some will have tornadoes to deal with, some heavy rain, but the rich will continue to be rich and the poor will get poorer. And for those who are wise there will be some good deals out there and they will come out the other side better off than they are now.

For me, I have started some simple things like buying clothes and shoes/boots and ammunition I know I will need in the next couple of years before the prices go up too much and storing them away. I have the opportunity to eat pretty good off the land, and I don't travel.

 

[338 Mollett]

This is just one more straw on the camels' back . Hopefully waiting for the last one !!!

 

[Downeast]

I remember the interest rates during the Carter administration too. My mom (widow) invested most of her life savings into Treasury Notes at the time that were paying over 10% guaranteed. Mortgage rates were double digits too. And gas lines with alternate day purchasing dependent on your license plate. Things were a lot tougher back then than now. But things were better in other ways too. No weird mental illnesses, the perverts stayed behind closed doors where they belonged, the kids ate everything with little reactions or allergies, and most of the population wanted to work and get ahead.

 

[BlueWater]

Barter, Check. Economize where you can on whatever. Trade or swap for what you want, for what you need when you can ... We really like fine dining. So we spoil ourselves at home trying new things. I'm learning to be a better cook. The cooking vids are free to watch. I can fancy up three great steaks for the cost of one at a restaurant ...

Just picked up a good-sized pork shoulder, which I'll cook low-and-slow over the weekend. Just adding vegetables, it'll create meals for a month and taste better than most restaurants.

Of course, with reloading and shooting, I suppose about the only thing to do is shoot .22LR exclusively. Then again, has anyone priced .22LR in the past 18mos? Dang. Once was, an entire brick cost just a couple o' shekels, though I'm thinking back to the early- to mid-1970s. Sure isn't that, anymore.

 

[243winxb]

Raise prices on your work/labor to match or exceed inflation.

Components, stock pile supplies to last 10 years, minimum. (when available at normal prices)

I learned from the last 2 component shortages.

Inflation from 1977 to 1981 was double digit. If you sold a gun, reordered same, all the profit went to restock the same model.

Increase the price of your inventory now, 10%

Never seen prices go down in my 77 years.

 

[Sniper338]

Ive pretty much stopped shooting and just sittin on what I got. Its too expensive to sport shoot now. I found and reserected other hobbies.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Ive pretty much stopped shooting and just sittin on what I got. Its too expensive to sport shoot now. I found and reserected other hobbies.

I’m not going to do that, life’s to short. What good are those components going to do when they throw dirt on us!

 

[SecondsCount]

Shooting is therapy for me, and still cost a whole lot less than spending time on a shrink's couch.

 

[mikeinct]

Inflation & historic / constitutional facts about " Money" & of course all this is subject to debate. https://deanclancy.com/the-constitu...ses/?msclkid=49cd68b1cd4611eca4c2f82d9bc19ede

 

[CharlieNC]

Who believes inflation is 8.5%? Our personal experience buying groceries, filling the gas tank, electricity, water, etc shows everything has increased at a much higher rate. The feds manipulate the items used in the calculations to temper the truth. The horizon looks stormy!