Have been reading sometime, First Post.
What or when do you consider hording as opposed to prepairing?
What would one consider minumin abount of cash to keep on
person; and has anyone tried the civilian MRES?

Thank for your replys. I have searched for this info.

It depends......Are you SOLO? If so then I wouldn't think you would need as much cash as a family of 4. I would seriously consider all of the things you (and the family) might realistically need for (lets say) 5 days. Then figure out how much it might cost you. I'd consider having that on hand. Yes it gets to be a lot. Remember though....money (CASH) talks. Coworkers that went to Mississippi for relief saw this repeatedly. If you have cash and the 'other guy' doesn't....two guesses who will get the stuff (first guess doesn't count).

As for hoarding.....again it depends. I watched a guy with a huge pickup truck with 10- 5 gallon gas cans load up on the stuff and he gave someone the excuse (and it was delivered in a sheepish tone) that he has a lawn service and that he would be, "Needing it anyway." I would consider THAT hoarding. The reason (but more the way he gave it) just appeared to be "manufactured" the moment he was asked. It didn't appear that he really needed it. If you have a reason that a reasonably prudent individual would agree with, than I think it would be more along the way of preparation rather than hoarding.

Just my thoughts

I would not consider filling 10 gas cans as hoarding. Gas doesn't last long if you have a truck to feed, a generator, a cookstove, and even an unprepared neighbor or two. Imagine the trade value of a filled 5 gallon gas can in a post Katrina scenario. I believe rather than using a lame excuse, the correct reply should have been. "I need it, I'm paying for it, why do you care?" MYOB

Immediately following the Northridge earthquake several people tried to buy en mass entire stocks of flashlights from stores. Fortunately managements implemented a voluntary limit of two per customer with enough batteries to load and refill once. This was to stop SPECULATING and PRICE GOUGING which were later prosecuted successfully against several individuals and companies. Likewise water was trucked in while the main system was damaged or compromised. People in the area were limited to 5 gallons a day. Hoarding is accumulating neccessities during a crisis that exceeds your immediate needs to the detriment of others. By this loose interpretation every LDS family with a mandated food supply could be prosecuted. I believe it's focus would be a person with enough penicillin to treat 1000 people for example. During the german seige at Stalingrad a very well dressed and obviously well fed man invited a starving young couple to his home. They quickly fled when he tried to kill them with a knife. The police entered and shot the man and a few companions on the spot. They had turned to cannibalism <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />.

Regarding the not thinking the 10 gallons was hoarding...As I said earlier....it wasn't so much his answer as to how he said it. He seemed very sheepish in why he was doing it..as if he was trying to hide something. If you have a need....then by all means get it. This particular guy just seemed to be hiding something and THAT was what was 'suspicious'. I didn't mean to give the impression that getting that amount was hoarding. It was more of HIS actions rather than the amount he had. I agree that that amount can go quickly and for some of us that IS an appropriate amount. That guy just seem to be up to something and THAT is what I was going for.

In my book, if there is no disaster (and one isn't expected), you can stockpile as much stuff as you can afford and are willing to store, without me calling it hording. (Okay, if you have no intention of ever using those supplies, I might call it hording, but I would still not have a problem with it.)

However, if a disaster has happened or was about to happen, I think that buying any supplies beyond what you (and those who depend on you) can use within the next several days is not "preparing". I would call that panicking or speculating, depending on the reason for the purchase.

Just before Rita veered away from Houston, I was at a local warehouse store and I engaged in a bit of panicking. I bought two boxes of diapers when I had enough diapers at home to last a few more weeks. (I panicked because after Katrina hit, people bought all the cheap diapers to donate them and it was weeks before I could find cheap diapers again.) Sure, I (or rather my daughter) will eventually use all those diapers, but I shouldn't have purchased that many. Another person in line had two carts full of pay-as-you-go phones. My guess is that person was speculating. The management limited her to only 10 phones, and I hope that she had a hard time returning them.

-Kuovonne

Kuovonne,
I wouldn't call that hoarding (buying the 2 boxes of diapers). One case of diarrhea on your little one's part and you'd have gone through those diapers in a heartbeat. 2 boxes.....definetly NOT hoarding in my opinion.

I'm really new to this preparedness stuff and don't buy into it 100% yet, so most people on this forum will probably think that my answer is too optimistic. However, here goes.

I always have at least $20 on me. I keep an emergency $20 bill in my wallet, and I always have my wallet on me whenever I am outside the house. If my husband ever asks if I have any cash, and all I have is that $20, I answer that I have no cash. I *do* spend that emergency bill on occassion, for example when I spot a great deal at an unexpected garage sale. However, I also promptly replenish that $20 as soon as I can.

I have no plans to start carrying more cash on my body on a daily basis. Having walked around with several thousands of dollars of cash on me (once it was a regular part of my job, the other time was for international travel), I feel qualified to say that carrying a lot of cash on a daily basis is not fun. It's bulky and a constant source of worry.

I also carry 2-3 credit cards in my wallet which I think are just as important as the cash. Although cash might be king in most emergency situations, credit cards can also be *really* useful. When people were trying to buy gas here in Houston when evacuating from Rita, people were using credit cards and getting gas from stations that were closed and would not accept cash. Also, in an emergency situation, using a credit card whenever we can will help conserve our cash for other situations when only cash will do.

I always keep a few dollars worth of quarters in my car. Normally I hate dealing with change, as I can pay for almost everything with a credit card. However, most parking meters still take only coins, and the toll booths are much faster with coins since we no longer have an ezpass.

My husband also keeps at least several hundred dollars in cash at home in the safe in a variety of denominations. He doesn't tell me exactly how much is in there, and I don't ask as I trust him to maintain an adequate supply.

-Kuovonne

Depending on what you mean by civilian MRES, yes. See
http://www.cieux.com/bm/quickMeals.html
for links to quickie meals with little or no preparation.

"Real" MREs have pretty much a full day's calories, fat, and sodium in each meal, too much for my needs. I choose HeaterMeals because they have around 700 calories per meal; there might not be enough content in each meal depending on activity, though.

I haven't eaten a real MRE. HeaterMeals are okay. I suggest buying samples of the stuff you're interested in and trying them out before you need them. Find meals that fit your needs (real or projected), then stock up. The list in that page I refer to has kosher, gluten-free, and other specialty meals in addition to meals for more nearly normal diets.

Phil

In my neck of the woods, 10 gas cans (50 gallons) barely fills the average pickup truck gas tank. I don't see that as hording. If it were 500 gallons that might be a different story.