Everyday Cheapskate

There's a lot of talk these days both on the street and in the news that the United States is poised to enter a season of inflation. Some insist that things are so economically serious we need to get prepared for "runaway inflation." That is an ominous prediction, but what does it mean?

Every area of this country is prone to some kind of natural disaster. It might be hurricanes, tornados or flooding. Where I live in Southern California, we face earthquakes, fires and mudslides. We don't live in a constant state of panic. Instead, we do what we can to be as prepared as possible.

That is the way we need to think about inflation. It's coming, so get ready.

Inflation is, by definition, "a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money." Imagine that you wake up tomorrow morning and everything you buy (food, gas, clothing, medication, heating fuel, electricity, water) has doubled in price, while your wages remain the same. What would you do? Could you survive? "Runaway inflation" would have you waking up next week to find that the cost of everything has doubled again. And then again and again.

It is not my intention to panic my readers. Are we about to enter a season of serious inflation? No one can predict with certainty. What we do know is that that Federal Reserve is printing a lot of money and the United States is going into debt at an unprecedented rate. Both are contributing factors to inflation. We need to be prepared.

— Get out of debt. Never has it been more important for you to pay off your credit card debt than it is now.

The money you are paying in double-digit interest to your credit card issuer is money you will need to pay for the basic necessities of life if we face inflation.

— Stock up as you can. As you are able, you would be wise to stock up on nonperishable items at today's prices. Get your storage space organized. Fill it with canned goods, dried items like rice and beans and toilet tissue.

— Learn a skill. During seasons of tremendous inflation when money is scarce, people barter to get the things their families need to survive. What skills do you have? Can you repair cars? Make clothes? Can you bake from scratch and grow vegetables? Start learning. Perhaps you need to enroll in trade school at nights and on the weekends. It couldn't hurt.

— Buy silver. Many people have purchased gold as a "hedge" against inflation. That's great, but at about $1,100 per ounce, gold has become a pricey commodity for most people. Silver, however, remains at about $17 per ounce. Should U.S. currency become devaluated, experts I respect say that gold and silver will retain their buying power. To learn more, I recommend that you go to http://www.silverseek.com and read "How to Buy Silver, & Avoid Getting Scammed," by Jason Hommel.

Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including her latest, "Can I Pay My Credit Card Bill With a Credit Card?" You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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