Preparing for Hyper-Inflation - Part I

Most students of history are aware of the runaway inflation that took place in Germany during the 1920's where a wheelbarrow full of German Marks was needed just to purchase a loaf of bread.  By the end of this nightmare it took 100,000,000 German Marks to buy one US dollar. More recently the African country of Zimbabwe has faced a similar situation.  The Zimbabwe dollar is literally not worth the paper its printed on. Shop keepers will no longer accept it as payment so people spend their days panning or digging for small bits of gold with which they can buy food.

Could this happen here?  Many people, myself included, feel its a real possibility. The National Inflation Association is predicting that America could be faced with hyper-inflation as soon as 2014 or even 2012. And they are not alone in this belief. If these predictions are correct, there are things you and I should be doing right now to prepare.

First of all, every family should begin immediately storing non-perishable food and water.  Find a spot in your basement, a closet, even under a bed if necessary and begin to sock away food items. This can be done by purchasing extra items each time you grocery shop or you can purchase items from any of several different disaster preparedness merchants who offer food specially packed for long-term storage.  I've used a company called Emergency Essentials several times and been very pleased with them. 

The items you'll want to consider are those that can be easily stored long-term, are filling and nutritious and that your family will eat (though what they are willing to eat may change in an emergency situation!).  The staple items in our food storage plan are rice, pasta and pasta sauce, canned meats and dried beans.  Beans and rice are especially easy to store in quantity. If you choose to store these out of the original packages (recommended) you will want to be sure the buckets or containers you use are safe for food. 

Conventional wisdom is that you should have enough food stored to feed your family for six months in case of emergency. So, if you don't have a food storage plan, you should start one immediately since building up to that level will take time.

Next time we'll talk about some other things you will want to do right away to prepare for a possible hyper-inflation scenario a few years down the road.

For more information on the basics of food storage, watch this short video from NIA: