7 ms·

Buy all the non perishables, non obsoletables you're going to need for the next decade. Buy them in discounted bulk for and extra return. Bonus: capital gains t

Buy all the non perishables, non obsoletables you're going to need for the next decade. Buy them in discounted bulk for and extra return. Bonus: capital gains tax free!

dec0dedab0de 6y ago
So invest in toilet paper?
- gus_massa 6y ago
  Tuna cans. The $/volume ratio of toilet paper is horrible, and in case of a real big emergency the other end is more important.
  - kijin 6y ago
    Spam has more calories and lasts just as long. If you want carbs as well, add canned fruits and vegetables. Any kind of dry bulk food will also work as long as you take proper measures to keep mold and insects out. Bonus points if you can also keep oxygen out. (Grains often contain a surprisingly large amount of lipids that can go rancid.) In the kind of emergency where you'd be seriously worried about the "other end", you could very well exchange a bag of rice or sugar for a handgun or a bottle of motor oil.
- BenoitEssiambre 6y ago
  Yup materialize your savings for a 2% a year compounding tax free return. Urban dwellers might be more limited but for people who have unused or underused space, this is a way to get a return on that space. Salt, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, socks, underwear, under-shirts, vinegar, soap bars, toothbrushes, razor blades, feminine products, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, trash bags, freezer bags, sandwich bags, foil paper, parchment paper, plastic wrap, wax paper, candles, matches, diapers, pet supplies (litter, etc.), gardening supplies, building supplies, repair supplies, medical supplies, fire wood, wood pellets, long lasting appliances and furniture, kitchenware, dinnerware, sheets and pillowcases, blankets,comforter,bedspreads, Maintenance, renovations, Efficiency upgrades. Some liquid soaps and chemicals have a limited shelf life of just a couple of years so it might be better to avoid unless you know the shelf life. Also be careful buying more than you need which can lead to waste. Be careful being wasteful just because you have lots of stuff at home. Buying alcohol ahead of time in bulk works if you have the discipline not to drink more. Also to get a good return you need to use the full life of your stuff before replacing from your stash, not replace early because it's right there. There is also a macroeconomic benefit to this approach. It can get the economy out of keynesian recessions when people save by buying.
deanmoriarty 6y ago
Not very practical if the amount to be preserved is multiple 7 figures, I should have clarified my question better.
- kragen 6y ago
  US$5M is a bit under 100 kg of gold or 6 tonnes of silver. Might not be a bad idea to spend a few percent of that on hiring security guards and stocking up on perishables to feed them an their families.
  - deanmoriarty 6y ago
    This quickly went downhill lol. Thank you for your suggestion, I’ll stick my $5M in VTWAX and hope for the best.
    - kragen 6y ago
      Probably a good idea to maintain a more diverse asset balance than 100% in stocks, in the interest of hedging wealth preservation against both likely and unlikely shocks. The base rate of state collapse, for example, is about 1% per year, and examination of past episodes shows that it's often pretty unexpected. See notes/pandemic-collapse.html in Derctuo for some of the reasoning here. Moreover it's hardly unusual for share markets to dip 10% or 20% and take several years or a decade to recover.
    - BenoitEssiambre 6y ago
      That is probably your best bet for large amounts. You can also diversify into TIPS (note the negative nominal returns though) and improve your housing situation with renos, upgrades etc.
elwell 6y ago
Potentially high opportunity cost here
nayuki 6y ago
Solar panels, water filtration, and indoor farming!
- dkersten 6y ago
  Investing for the zombie apocalypse!

Buy all the non perishables, non obsoletables you're going to need for the next decade. Buy them in discounted bulk for and extra return. Bonus: capital gains tax free!

dec0dedab0de 6y ago

So invest in toilet paper?

gus_massa 6y ago
Tuna cans. The $/volume ratio of toilet paper is horrible, and in case of a real big emergency the other end is more important.
- kijin 6y ago
  Spam has more calories and lasts just as long. If you want carbs as well, add canned fruits and vegetables. Any kind of dry bulk food will also work as long as you take proper measures to keep mold and insects out. Bonus points if you can also keep oxygen out. (Grains often contain a surprisingly large amount of lipids that can go rancid.) In the kind of emergency where you'd be seriously worried about the "other end", you could very well exchange a bag of rice or sugar for a handgun or a bottle of motor oil.
BenoitEssiambre 6y ago
Yup materialize your savings for a 2% a year compounding tax free return. Urban dwellers might be more limited but for people who have unused or underused space, this is a way to get a return on that space. Salt, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, socks, underwear, under-shirts, vinegar, soap bars, toothbrushes, razor blades, feminine products, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, trash bags, freezer bags, sandwich bags, foil paper, parchment paper, plastic wrap, wax paper, candles, matches, diapers, pet supplies (litter, etc.), gardening supplies, building supplies, repair supplies, medical supplies, fire wood, wood pellets, long lasting appliances and furniture, kitchenware, dinnerware, sheets and pillowcases, blankets,comforter,bedspreads, Maintenance, renovations, Efficiency upgrades. Some liquid soaps and chemicals have a limited shelf life of just a couple of years so it might be better to avoid unless you know the shelf life. Also be careful buying more than you need which can lead to waste. Be careful being wasteful just because you have lots of stuff at home. Buying alcohol ahead of time in bulk works if you have the discipline not to drink more. Also to get a good return you need to use the full life of your stuff before replacing from your stash, not replace early because it's right there. There is also a macroeconomic benefit to this approach. It can get the economy out of keynesian recessions when people save by buying.

deanmoriarty 6y ago

Not very practical if the amount to be preserved is multiple 7 figures, I should have clarified my question better.

kragen 6y ago
US$5M is a bit under 100 kg of gold or 6 tonnes of silver. Might not be a bad idea to spend a few percent of that on hiring security guards and stocking up on perishables to feed them an their families.
- deanmoriarty 6y ago
  This quickly went downhill lol. Thank you for your suggestion, I’ll stick my $5M in VTWAX and hope for the best.
  - kragen 6y ago
    Probably a good idea to maintain a more diverse asset balance than 100% in stocks, in the interest of hedging wealth preservation against both likely and unlikely shocks. The base rate of state collapse, for example, is about 1% per year, and examination of past episodes shows that it's often pretty unexpected. See notes/pandemic-collapse.html in Derctuo for some of the reasoning here. Moreover it's hardly unusual for share markets to dip 10% or 20% and take several years or a decade to recover.
  - BenoitEssiambre 6y ago
    That is probably your best bet for large amounts. You can also diversify into TIPS (note the negative nominal returns though) and improve your housing situation with renos, upgrades etc.

elwell 6y ago

Potentially high opportunity cost here

nayuki 6y ago

Solar panels, water filtration, and indoor farming!

dkersten 6y ago
Investing for the zombie apocalypse!