By Daisy Luther
Shopping malls across America are going to look a whole lot emptier soon. An exodus of giant retailers is beginning with the announcement of hundreds of store closures and thousands of people newly unemployed.
The first of January, I broke with my usual tradition and wrote not about positive resolutions, but about the impending rockslide of the US economy. And “rockslide” is an apt word: as one thing starts rolling down the mountain, it will pick up other things until a veritable avalanche of other businesses and people are affected and rolling pell-mell right alongside.
Last year, we saw announcements of the expected closure of some retail giants. In February of 2013, Michael Snyder wrote on The Economic Collapse Blog that we would see the following:
Best Buy
Forecast store closings: 200 to 250
Sears Holding Corp.
Forecast store closings: Kmart 175 to 225, Sears 100 to 125
J.C. Penney
Forecast store closings: 300 to 350
Office Depot
Forecast store closings: 125 to 150
Barnes & Noble
Forecast store closings: 190 to 240, per company comments
Gamestop
Forecast store closings: 500 to 600
OfficeMax
Forecast store closings: 150 to 175
RadioShack
Forecast store closings: 450 to 550
Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. This morning, a World News Daily report announced:
Macy’s is closing 14 of its 790 stores across the country.
JCPenney is closing 39 of its stores and laying off 2,250 workers.
Sears has been around for 122 years, but it, too, is closing 235 under-performing stores.
C. Wonder, the preppy retailer, is going out of business, closing all 11 of its U.S. stores in the next few weeks.
Wet Seal is closing 338 retail stores while dealing with bankruptcy proceedings. Nearly 3,700 full- and part-time workers will be unemployed.
Aeropostale, suffering from declining sales, closed 75 stores during the holiday season, which runs from November through January. And in 2015, they expect to close an additional 50 to 75 stores.
RadioShack, which is negotiating with lenders to gain approval to shutter 1,100 stores, said last month that it closed 175 locations in 2014. (source)
Even holiday sales, normally high, plummeted this Christmas.
How does this affect you?
You may not work in retail yourself, but never doubt that the mass closure of these businesses will directly affect you..
Maybe you are wondering how. You aren’t much of a shopper. You aren’t a retail worker. Perhaps you believe you can compartmentalize this information, pack it away, and go on with your life as you always have.
The thing is, it’s not just the patrons and employees of these stores who are affected. This is going to be catastrophic on a variety of levels.
Let’s go a little bit deeper.
Think about the people who worked in these stores. Now, they’re without jobs. There will be more competition for the smaller number of jobs in America, and many people will not be able to find work. They’ll survive by going on assistance, draining the US coffers even more. As formerly employed people search for work that just isn’t there, we’ll see an increase in foreclosures, repossessions, and welfare.
Think about those who provided the inventory for these stores. Yes, I know a lot of it was made in other countries. But, it was imported here and distributed here. Most businesses work on a “Net-30” basis, meaning the inventory is delivered, and the payment for that inventory is due in 30 days. And guess what? The companies that imported the merchandise aren’t going to get paid. This will ripple through and cause other businesses to go under, which means still more people are unemployed.
Think about those who transport the inventory. Trucking companies and the independent operators who drive the trucks won’t get money owed to them either. As companies struggle to keep trucks on the road, transport costs will go up, which will cause future inventory in stores to be priced higher.
This is how we’ll be affected:
- The price of everything is going to go up because wary distributors are going to try to recoup what they’ve lost from these companies that went under, while transporters increase prices to try to cover losses.
- Jobs will be even harder to get than they were previously – and looking at the unemployment rates, it was pretty darned difficult before.
- When people have no jobs, they spend no money, crushing the manufacturer’s and retailer’s economy even more.
- As financial desperation increases, so will crime. And it won’t just be property crime – expect an uptick in violence as property owners fight back.
If you don’t live in an entirely self-sufficient bubble, you can bet you’ll be affected in one way or another.
What can you do about the collapsing economy?
It’s more vital than ever to be aware of what’s going on and to start getting prepared for it on all levels. You need to consider the following:
Create multiple streams of income. We’d all like to feel like we’re reliably employed, but that’s just not true. You need only to look at the numbers above to see that jobs can be ephemeral. You need to be making money from more than one source (multiple streams of income). Start a small business that provides a safety net. Check out this great article on Graywolf Survival for more information on how to do it.
Learn to shop wisely. A couple of years ago, I wrote this article about how shopping wisely can save you a fortune on your regular purchases. Each purchase needs to be thought out carefully because the day may come when your own personal economic collapse occurs in the form of a job loss, an illness, or a catastrophic bill.
Build a pantry. A well-stocked larder can be your lifeline in the event that your personal finances take a hit. Your supply of food, toiletries, and household items can mean the difference between weathering a storm in relative comfort or going under completely. When I got laid off from my job in the automotive industry, it took 4 weeks before the severance pay arrived, and 9 weeks before my unemployment insurance kicked in. We were able to survive in total comfort due to the supplies we had laid in, and the lower amount of money I was receiving was enough to cover things like the mortgage, car payments, and utilities. Check out my book on building a one-year food supply in 3 months. Another option (although not as thrifty) is to stock up on freeze-dried food for your family. The nice thing is, you can put this at the back of your closet until the day you need it. It’s packaged for the long haul in buckets and it keeps for ages.
Learn to do it yourself. Really, the epitome of preparedness is self-sufficiency. Only when you reduce your dependence on the economy can you be truly unaffected by the things going on in retail-land. Grow it, make it, build it. No matter where you live, you can take steps towards personal independence. The last half of this book is all about being as self-reliant as possible – it’s a must-read. Learn to live like there are no stores, and if a day comes when there aren’t, you’ll be just fine. Learn skills like canning, sewing
, and homesteading
, and figure out how to apply them to your personal situation. Also, don’t just learn them: DO THEM.
Learn to live on less (and enjoy it). When my oldest daughter was a newborn, my husband lost his job. We went through the toughest financial period I ever faced. Quite literally, at one point we had 2 bags of bagels in our freezer, half a jar of peanut butter, and the desperate hope that our vegetable garden would produce enough to get us through until unemployment checks started arriving or a new job was found. I read a book (borrowed from the library and signed out for the maximum allowed number of times) that completely changed my life. If you haven’t read The Complete Tightwad Gazette, I strongly encourage you to read this gigantic bible of frugality from cover to cover. I still hear Amy Dacyzyn’s “voice” in my head sometimes and my own work is strongly influenced by those lessons she taught me back when I was a new mama. Here’s an article to get you in the frugal mindset.
If you can’t protect it, you don’t own it. Lots of people hate this part, but it’s true. You absolutely must have a strategy for protecting your home and family. That means you need weapons. You need to figure out how to harden your property against attacks. You must be mentally and physically prepared for the increase in crime that comes with the increase in desperation. I know in my small, sleeping town, property crimes have been on the rise, and sadly, violent crimes are popping up now when they were so rare as to be an anomaly before. This article talks about hardening your home, and this one tells you how to prepare your home for battle, should things really go awry.
Have you seen evidence of this collapse?
How are things in your neck of the woods? I know that where I live, some of the nearby malls are turning into ghost towns. Crime has been steadily rising for the past six months. I personally know several people who have lost their jobs recently due to the closure of the businesses with whom they were employed. Have you seen evidence of this financial downturn? Let’s compare notes in the comments section below.
Resources:
The economy is indeed collapsing, but for most of us, there’s still time to get prepared. If your own situation has collapsed, don’t despair – there are ways to live very well on less. Here are some resources to help you become more self-reliant and less dependent on the financial well-being of others.
Books:
The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any Disaster
The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months
Prepper’s Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary
How To Use Your Sewing Machine: A Complete Guide for Absolute Beginners
Tools for Survival: What You Need to Survive When Youre on Your Own
I am not as optimistic as you are for several reasons. Currently, unemployment is at the Great Depression levels. Our job infrastructure was hijacked out of this country a good number of years ago. Most of the jobs mentioned are not high skills. Just how many e-books do people need when what they really need is money? You cannot prepare for every situation. Barter really doesn’t work;it is only a band aid. It is not just my opinion, it is FerFAls.
I really love this one from one of your links: “Instead of buying eggs or other food from a grocery store, see if there’s a farm – or at least a reasonable store owner – who may be interested in trading your skills for what you need.” We have a small farm. Exactly what skills will this person have that we would be interested in? Both my husband and I have a large skills base. Animals and feed cost money. I am guessing that there are few skills, if any, this person could offer us. And why should the store owner be reasonable? He had to pay, in cash, for that food. It wasn’t for free. He doesn’t have left overs. When someone owns a business, and my family goes back several generations of business owners, you learn to do everything you can do on your own unless it needs to be regulated and certified. You have no choice.
There will be opportunities that a good business person and hard worker may consider, but until the dust settles after the collapse or change-the effects of the 1929 crash didn’t crescendo until about 1934–we will not really know what will work or won’t work until it happens. In the meantime, your prep ideas should be implemented, and everyone should increase their skills base. It takes 10,000 to be an expert.
I don’t know what the future will be, but there will not be any Zombies coming out of NYC! All they have to do is shut down the bridges and tunnels. :))
Since you and your husband have everything you need and someone couldn’t possibly posses any skills that you don’t already posses, why are you here reading a blog about prepping? And I am still waiting on your non-Pharma options to correct my 20/600 vision to 20/20. What besides glasses, contacts or surgery will accomplish it?
No, she isn’t saying that they have everything they need. She is, however, saying that there are few things you can barter to them. Most barter skills that people present are skills that Prudence and her family already have, so not necessary. They need cash sales, not trades.
Eating the fat of free range animals will fill your bodies requirement for fat soluble vitamins A,D and K, and improve your vision, and overall health. Also eliminate sugar, and starch.
Vitamin A can improve vision. Vitamin A, which is retinol is only found in animal sourced foods (eating your vegies probably won’t improve your eyesight). Eating the fat of free range animals will definitely improve your eyesight. http://empoweredsustenance.com/true-vitamin-a-foods/
Hi Prudence 🙂 As always, nice to see you here.
I don’t know the extent of skills of all the readers, of course, but no one is an island, and the willingness to work hard and ask for that work will get a person much further than crying into one’s pillow and giving up. Clearly, people need money but by reducing your need for money, you can go a lot further if the money coming in suddenly drops.
I’ve been dead broke – horribly, painfully, “how-am-I-going-to-feed-my-kids” broke, and these suggestions come from experience. I’ve worked for farmers picking berries and got to keep some to take home to the kids. I worked in a nursery planting seedlings, and got my pick of the ones that weren’t healthy enough for sale. I took those plants home and nursed them like they were motherless puppies, and got food from them for my family when they grew and produced. There’s nearly always some job a person has that they’d rather not do, and my willingness to do those menial, stinky, boring, and sometimes backbreaking tasks put food on the table during the most “broke” period of my life.
Off topic Daisy but you need to see this in case you haven’t already. I recall you discussed this theory on a previous thread.
http://www.healthfreedoms.org/top-doctor-exposes-monsanto-as-the-cause-of-a-huge-autism-spike/
The only real surprise in your list of companies was Barnes & Noble. From traveling as much as I have in the past, it was easy to see that those other stores were in trouble or have been in trouble for at least the last 5-10 years- 20-30 when you talk about K-Mart and Sears.
Barnes & Noble is most likely failing to bring in good revenues because people have begun to cut back on non-essential purchases. In their case it isn’t a brand issue, management issue, or price issue like it has been in those other companies. There is also a lot of heavy competition from Amazon, just as Walmart has played it’s part with the others.
Also, people go to library, buy books online and download music on mp3, which hurts book stores. As for Sears, Krap mart they can go into the dust bin of history, Sears just closed a store here, old worn out building. Most these stores are very old and isolated from other shopping, so ’60’s outdated inside, and lousy cust. svc. JCP is iffy I still shop there but not as often as newer stores like Kohl’s and Academy Sports are competing. When car dealers are financing new cars with zero interest for six years, that tells us there is a problem w/the econ. This country is sliding into the abyss. Best not to raise kids as they will have a zero future and crappy standard of living and be a burden with things go south.
Here is another helpful website.
How to Survive Hard Times
http://grandpappy.org/indexhar.htm
This website includes useful information about living in hard times – shelf stable food to buy on a tight budget, simple recipes, gardening, preserving food, how-to make it or do it yourself, etc.
What a great site! Thanks, KY Mom! 🙂
Prudence,
I agree in principle with most of what you say, but as a retired medical provider now turned small farmer, I have an extensive supple of medications, most in stock bottle sizes of 500 to 1000 pills, minor surgical skills and instruments as well as 15 + years as a field medic and eventually battalion medical officer experience. Your farm will do fine as long as you stay young and healthy, but don’t overlook some skills you may lack and will be happy to barter for. Indeed, no man is an island. Community of like minded folks will be essential.
Mike,
It is impossible to know what is going to happen with both the economy as well as our society as a whole. It isn’t 1959 anymore in our infrastructure, standards, mores, morals, or lifestyles. I mourn the loss of the Mom and Pop stores. They were what made our country what it was. That is not to say that the post WW2 years to the early 60’s were perfect, but I propose that they were the best we could muster given who is really driving the train; and it is all downhill from here.
We are in a decreasingly de-skilled society. I see prepper lists that include lists of good skills to have, but it has been my experience that few really meet the challenge for one reason or another. No one can know everything. My one DIL refuses to sew because that is not what the women do in her family. It is sad that she is shackling herself with limitations.
While we are not against barter, but it is limited in its application.
We help people, usually with grocery gift cards anonymously through a pastor when we are able. This is from our resources, not our excess as there isn’t any excess. Honestly Daisy, I don’t understand why no one would give one to you anonymously when you needed it the most. It is a sad commentary.
We live a very frugal Life. I have no complaints, but this also means that we have had to pick and choose those areas that we will definitely “shore up” verse other areas that will only be given a lick and a promise. By the Grace of God we have chosen wisely.
We do not forget about the skills that we lack. Everyone lacks skills in more than one area. We do not believe that there is such as thing as like minded folks working together. It would be nice if it happened, but we shall see.
Historically, in bad economic times the government is out the fleece the citizens as an easy way to fill their coffers. I would not put it past the IRS to collect tax on bartered items, even when no money is exchanged, as these laws are already “on the books.” They are easy to access online.
There might be a booming cottage industry that may be able to keep under the radar. Possibly like the speak easy of prohibition. There would, for sure, be both a black and gray market.
The best to you! And to all, keep your preps and priorities to yourself.
Prudence:
I’m sure a lot of people would have helped out if they had known how broke we were, but I’ve never been one to ask for help. We just worked through it the best we could. Had it ever actually come down to a matter of my stubbornness vs. my kids going hungry, I’m sure I would have swallowed my pride and sought assistance. I imagine as the economy continues to go downhill, there will be a lot of folks silently suffering, especially those of us with a strong work ethic who haven’t needed help before. Poverty – extreme poverty – is extremely humbling.
I don’t think our earlier, tighter years were harmful to my kids. In fact, I think it is the opposite – it has helped them develop independent character. They’re both hard workers without that sense of entitlement you see with lots of teens these days.
There are definitely laws about the barter system – the government doesn’t want there to be any type of economy that they don’t get a part of.
~ Daisy
Yep. They want you to fill out Form 1040 Schedule C, so they can get their share.
Daisy – I agree with everything you said in the article. It will be a terrible reality to us all when (not if) all these stores fail, but – Don’t you think there were way too many of them to begin with?
There used to be a slogan for a dry cleaners – “If you can’t find a Pilgrim in 10 minutes, you’re lost.”
There was literally a Pilgrim Cleaners on every other corner.
When I have to travel to a large city about two hours from my home to visit a doctor, we travel fairly far into its borders. As I watch the stores passing by I notice that I see three or four of the very same ones repeated over and over within just a mile or so of each one.
This plays into the “instant gratification” of our society and now the affects of that are coming home to roost.
I don’t see any solution to these stores closing. That’s why I agree with all your suggestions to prepare.
Happening everywhere, In Hawaii, the homeless population has drastically increased. The crime {assault this year alone, in Maui county alone as of today 1388 felony assaults} is increasing drastically.
Property crimes have seen a 60% increase.
So much for paradise…………
Ty Daisy.
Is sorta scary, I try to stay away from town, but more and more when Im down there even in the middle of the day you see creepy looking punks who you know are up to no good, my mom who is in her 80s has said she has been followed by people at Kaahumanu when she was going back to her car in the parking lot, one of her friends got mugged over there, at Costco theres always people in the lot asking for money, a friend had his truck broken into a few weeks ago,
Sadly even our island home isnt safe anymore, people lurking in our neighborhoods ripping people off, it will only get worse.
Daisy,
Hope you and yours are doing good, I really think this year is going to be hard for a lot of people. I am already seeing the effects of the oil issue. Know 5 people who have either lost their jobs or have been cut way back. And I am sure there is a lot more to come. I am working even harder to get as self-sufficient as possible. Even my teenage girls are starting to see what is going on and are getting very concerned about it. We are trying to live like the collapse has already happened ( cutting utilities way way down, making everything from scratch even some of the things I would go buy,) so if when it does all fall apart we are more use to living that way and know where are weakness are so we can work on them.
Take care,
Connie
I try not to buy much of anything that can’t be consumed. Trying to downsize as much as possible because after working all his life, my husband has been downsized out of his profession, had lengthly layoffs with just part time minimum wage jobs to keep afloat and then became over 60 and no one will look twice at the resume.
If we aren’t buying and we aren’t producing because so much of our manufacturing has left the country, how long can it last?
Plant Yucca by the thousands in your back yard, they can be harvested for years and years and are a great source of vitamin C. Prickley Pear are another hardy plant and their fruite are quite tasty!
Might be time to dispense with your debt based economic system?
I mean that’s the root cause of your current troubles …
Where did all the money go?
Daisy,
Though I agree with your overall perspective, your thinking in this article is a bit like that old joke:
“If I can’t find my tie, then I won’t be able to go to the office. If I can’t go to the office, then I’ll get fired. If I get fired, I won’t get a paycheck. If I don’t get a paycheck, I won’t be able to pay my bills. If I can’t pay my bills, then I can’t buy food. If I can’t buy food, then my family will starve:! Etc….
All because he can’t find his tie!
Life has a way of absorbing difficulty as you well know. The same with the economy … though it might be difficult.
Even though we should be “prepared” somewhat, it will only work in the short term (30 days). If there’s a true economic collapse, especially if it is followed by martial law or caused by a terrorist attack using an EMT or nuclear weapon, the “ball game’s over”. No matter how prepared you are … even if you own a tank and every AK47 known to man … you won’t be able to outrun the tsunami of anarchy and civil war!
I advise “stockpiling” trust and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, …”whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s”!
Well said Brother Christopher. Where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. On Christ the solid rock we will stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
AMEN! The intel, weaponry, and technology will overwhelm every acre in America. They can use the NDAA and disappear you without a charge. A food pantry is a crime now. If they knock at the door, you will not know ‘who’ they are, no matter what patch is on their sleeve. SO 1)GET OUT OF USA! but where? probably isolated FROM loved ones, and infrared drones/satellites, and foreign troops ‘know’ where you are. OR 2)STAY/RELOCATE/BE A PREPPER, AND “PRAY WITHOUT CEASING”!!! IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME. (THIS IS THE “ONLY” ‘WISDOM’!>>>>DEPEND ON THE “SUPERNATURAL ETERNAL POWER ON THE LORD”)(THAT’S “HIS ANSWER”!) seeyouinheavenorsooner- WE HAVE DIVINE HOPE!!!!!
THANK YOU T.O.P. for your courage and my post!! (found you via Steve Quayle)-(not like older article/my comment may be seen) Please allow edit? 1)-NDAA “indefinite” disappearance & “elimination” w/o process/no phone call. 2) WE DEPEND ON THE SUPERNATURAL POWER “OF” THE LORD. ALSO: A)”FEAR NOT”!says The Lord. THAT IS ‘OUR’ POWER. {‘they fear’!!!, us, and OUR HOLY FATHER!} Thanks again.
Daisy – How IN THE WORLD could you jump to such a conclusions as this absurdity ?
“And guess what? The companies that imported the merchandise aren’t going to get paid. This will ripple through and cause other businesses to go under, which means still more people are unemployed.
Think about those who transport the inventory. Trucking companies and the independent operators who drive the trucks won’t get money owed to them either. As companies struggle to keep trucks on the road, transport costs will go up, which will cause future inventory in stores to be priced higher.”
Have you never operated in commerce ? Just because a large corporation closes stores does NOT mean all of a sudden the sky is falling, no one gets paid etc as you clearly state.
As a high-level manager in the trucking industry for 3 decades, we dealt with this frequently, as various economic factors have risen and fallen. The CORPORATE office and headquarters for each of the businesses above is responsible for payment of goods and transportation costs of its company-owned stores and its franchisees.
Even if the entire corporate structure of a company went Ch 11 bankrupt, bills are still structured to be paid by court-appointed trustees. And very much so in a Ch 7 liquidation , albeit a lengthy process and usually only a percentage of the original amount owed.
Your ” imminent sky is falling” conclusion, as stated, is erroneous, misleading and false.
Now – if you want to talk about apocalyptic, grid-down, dollar collapse, martial law type environments – truckers, suppliers and pretty much everyone will “not get paid”.
I expect those things to ultimately happen. But you are really “reaching” in your attempt at extrapolating the effect of corporations closing some of their locations.
I appreciate your input, especially with your background in the industry.
However, I don’t believe I’m reaching here. When big businesses fail, they often leave a trail of smaller businesses crumbling behind them. When a company goes bankrupt, particularly, after the division of assets is doled out, a lot of people go without being paid the entire amount they’re owed. That may not be enough to make a large trucking company go under, but smaller companies or independent vendors can be completely wiped out by that.
Thank you for reading and sharing your information! 🙂
Daisy
I just saw where Radio Shack will likely file Ch 11 soon.
link- http://mashable.com/2015/01/15/radioshack-bankruptcy-february/
Vendors – truckers, raw materials suppliers etc will often insist on being paid ” up front” for their services in such a situation. There are other methods of payment assurance for services and goods rendered.
The sky wont fall and leave all the smaller suppliers in the bread lines the next day . If we are graced out by a “soft landing” in this (further) collapse, wise business folk will scramble and improvise at the loss off a customer, such as Radio Shack. As long as this entire economic facade holds together, there are ways, so tread carefully with the fear-mongering when it is not applicable.
Some day (way too soon for any of us ) , it will be
TINVOWOOT – There Is No Voting Our Way Out Of This
Altho somewhat differently, I also disagree with parts of your analysis, Daisy. Sure, those stores will close, but I don’t think the ripple is as you say. Internet commerce has become so huge, that that is the reason some of these companies are failing. Esp bookstores. I believe most books are online sales, now.
And online sales still require the background infrastructure. Companies still import or produce the merchandise, truck the inventory, store it in warehouses, as well as ship it to consumers.
Those businesses won’t fail because brick and mortar stores are failing. Not to mention that retail companies have an online presence that contributes to the reduction of their own brick and mortar stores.
I concur ififty-
so many of these brick-mortar “buggywhip” companies have just seen their walk-in traffic decrease, in favor of internet sales.
Just like the print media for daily newspapers and most hard-copy magazines is drying up, but news is just in a different format.
Who is the Amazon salesman ? The postman or UPS dude , not a sales clerk at a brick-mortar.
I always enjoy Daisys’ columns, via LewRockwell usually. She missed the bullseye on this. I do that a lot !
Wow, Daisy you gave us some great information on the economy and all the stores that are closed or will be closing soon. My readers would love to see this article. I am pinning and sharing. Good job! Linda
I suggest that all of you read Martin Armstrongs blog. It is free and has a very realistic view of the economy. Just today he was talking about the rise in prices that will come because of our deflationary economy. When you don’t have any money, the price of everything is high. But everything will increase in price as the surviving businesses raise prices to be able to hang on.
Martin Armstrong correctly predicted several major, prior economic downturns. He was so accurate that the Fed Gov imprisoned him for contempt of court when he wouldn’t give or sell his computer code to them. He spent 10 years in prison for contempt of court.
I highly recommend people go to his blog and read up. Big changes are coming, and we have elected, and sent sociopaths to Wash DC. This won’t end well.
Oh wait, you said that…… 🙂
Try Canada – oops wrong Target – it is over for boom of consumerism – like one chap said we do not need more e-books but high value added jobs for export – manufacturing not just doing each others laundry.
I read today that Target is pulling out of Canada.
You are right Jenn, Target has only been in Canada for 2 yrs, and just recently opened some new stores….but all 133 are now going to be closed as they have not shown a profit, and according to CEO, will not profit till 2021, and say they cannot wait 6 yrs for that.
17000…(yes, that is 17 thousand) people will lose jobs……that’s a lot of paycheques that will not be arriving! Frightening for so many people…. Sony also announced yesterday that they are closing stores in Canada.
I’m just glad that I took so many peoples advise here and on another site….to live more frugally and I do try to live like it’s already here….just wish my grownup children would pay more attention to me…instead of buying all the expensive toys etc.
Thanx to you Daisy….also Connie, Donna, and many others for teaching me so many things, especially the canning etc, as I have not been able to just jump in the car and go since my stroke in Apr. as the Ministry scooped my drivers licence,as my vision is somewhat impaired… hopefully will improve soon as I get retested next month…..but no worries, I have so much ‘stuff’ stashed, no need to go to a store very often. I guess the ‘silver lining’ to this is that I have also saved a lot of money by staying home! (: p.s Congrats to you Daisy on your eye surgery….love the new look!!
I just returned from a city that hasn’t got the memo that the rest of the country is suffering, if indeed it really is. The restaurants were full, the stores were full, people were buying and selling like normal. There were no vacant stores nor malls. I have to ask myself “what the heck is going on here.”
I do have to say there wasn’t one neighborhood I was familiar with that had a measure of safety however.
I have no sympathy for Best Buy and would like to see it go bankrupt. Why? In collusion with the city of Richfield,MN, it stole the land for its headquarters from its rightful owners using eminent domain. I do feel sorry for the employees who have lost and will lose their jobs.
While it is your prerogative to have your opinion, I would like to know how it is fair to rejoice that the company’s employees lost their jobs. I am guessing that it wasn’t their job of choice and only took the position because they had to. We should not continue to blame each other as we are all victims. I am not referring to the “higher ups!” The company and the state that are in cahoots with each other? That is another story.
Another fine article by Ditzy Truther….
Greetings,
I disagree with your rather assertive statement that:
“The price of everything is going to go up because wary distributors are going to try to recoup what they’ve lost from these companies that went under, while transporters increase prices to try to cover losses.”
This inflation bugaboo has been thrown around for a long time. And yes, food, mostly proteins, have been increasing, and will likely continue to, for that is what sustains us.
But, the price of “everything” is not going to go up.
Rather, the price of most everything will be going down, as is oil. It’s called deflation. We consumers will enjoy it for awhile. Until such time that it impacts our job or business. And it will.
It’s coming. Be prepared.
Cheers!
This was a good article that made people think about the economy in their little world. For most of us that little world is all we know and this is what we base our opinions on. The reality is that our little world does not matter. The finiancial arms of the world goverments and the large finiancial institutions are interconected in such a manner that their decisions directly affect us all. If you don’t know their decisions (whatever is public knowledge) you will be wiped out without realizing that the sky is falling. God did not make us with the ability to see even one second into the future, but our ability to observe what is happening around us can give us confidence in the decisions we make about our future. Giant geological upheavals are the one thing we can not prepare for since we have no good prediction model.
Hi Daisy,
You and the other reader to your site might also like this site …it is a daily posting of closing, layoffs and more.
http://www.dailyjobcuts.com/
Oh wow! Thanks, Cathie – bookmarked.
Great article. We do not always have a crystal ball to know the effects of store closures on our local economies, but it is important to keep an eye on what is happening. If anything you might be able to pick up some items during a going out of business sale.
Here is part of my ongoing story since 2008…
http://www.backwoodssurvivalblog.com/2013/02/non-fiction-writing-contest-feb-2013_20.html
I had many skills to provide to the ranch/farm/horse boarding stables where I lived for 2 years. But I realized one very important lesson living there. I was not family, I was an employee, and at the end of the day I was their “worker”, they were the “family”, and I was not interested in marrying any of their daughters. So for anyone looking to trade their skills in exchange for food/work/living accommodations keep that in mind. The personalities of the family you work for will become part of your daily life. Choose wisely.
Since I wrote the article in 2013 I have moved off the ranch and into town. Now I work at a locally owned nursery selling plants to people and talking to people about growing vegetables. The owner of the nursery lives on the nursery property, so you cannot get much more locally owned than that!
My philosophy is “do it now”. If you are thinking about gardening, do it now, if you are thinking about bartering, do it now. This internet connection is paid for through bartering with a neighbor. I grow an excess of organic vegetables in my small back yard garden, and use them to trade. Bartering does have it’s limits so it is important to learn what they are and set up trade/bartering networks now so they will be in place if the SHTF.
http://www.backwoodssurvivalblog.com/2014/12/gardening-survive-and-thrive.html
Too many people I meet talk about doing but never actually do anything.
Matt M
I read both your articles. You have been through a lot, yet are encouraging.
The past few years must have been quite challenging. But, you have faced the challenge and are on a new path.
The past few years have seen changes in our home too. We have learned a lot and still have more to learn. We have been cutting back, growing a garden, planting fruit trees, dehydrating, canning, and trying to be more self sufficient.
I am very thankful to Daisy for her help and encouragement in my preparedness journey. Thank you Daisy!!
Thank you K Y Mom,
Those articles just scratch the surface of the experiences I have had, real life survival, teaching Map and Compass, travelling domestically and internationally on next to nothing in my wallet, and many other experience I cannot share. It is heartening for me to read that you found my writing encouraging, that is what I am trying to achieve. To help others.
By the Way KY is a beautiful state, at least from the viewpoint of being on Fort Knox in training,
All the best to your family,
Matt