My Dad
 

My Dad was a Depression era guy, as a result of that trauma the only place that he would put his money was in a FDIC insured bank accounts. I remember him complaining when interest rates were lowered, that they were robbing the older people who had saved their money in order to subsidize the spenders. I can not imagine what he would say today when it does not matter whether you are a responsible saver or a complete wasteral spendthrift. Everybody is in the same sinking boat. Buffet may have 137B in cash but with the FED action it only means that he has more toilette paper. That is the thing that most people don't get, the Central Banks are taking everybody down. Ya see Buffet and the other big boys are just minnows in the scheme of things. They are inconsequential when the FED is pumping up the balance sheet by Trillions in a month. The banks are consequential because they are a conduit of cash flow which enables the economy and thus civilization to function. You have to think bigger than the box you are in.

My dad was a Depression era guy too, and as a result of that I have a lot of his 'thriftiness' instilled in the way I live. I have a really hard time tossing out things that might be useful in the future.
I imagine I'm feeling a lot like the way your dad would be feeling right now.

My dad was a depression guy too. He was a real scrooge, except for when it came to him. He'd say, "I think I deserve it." One of the many, many examples of his scrooginess, was an example involving his aged mother who was on welfare. The welfare department asked him to contribute $25 a month toward his mother's income. Of course he refused.

My Dad was growing up in the Depression, fighter jock in WW2. Learned to squeeze the dollar from my seriously thrifty Grandparents. He worked for everything he got from a early age. Despite having a bit of swagger (never backed down if he thought he was right) insisted his boys earn what they got. He had two new cars his whole life- both in the 50s. Mr Fix-it. Got my car thing from him.
Sadly he died -- 3 months after he bought his dream retirement home and probably a year short of getting the Cadillac Eldorado he had his eye on. All this 9 months from full retirement.
SO -- don't put off for tomorrow.

Dad was a spender of grandparents wealth as well. Many big things he did were good investments such as real estate which broke slightly more than even, but there were a slew of projects which went nowhere sadly. Those were pretty farsighted and beneficial but was implemented wrong, imo. Too many pies juggled. He was mostly missing while growing up, feelings and larger topics were simply not discussed with children in his strict overbearing grandmother world, but I've gradually realized the slew of mistakes I made as well.

Mom is a carry-over from her depression era parents to an extreme sometimes. Go on an expensive vacation to the other side of the world but kids don't get that unique one-of-a-kind $2 ice cream. Even once. Go to an expensive restaurant once a year but only a small side salad is allowed. What's the point? Meanwhile maintaining two abodes both at very high overhead cost. Won't spend $10k to fix a basement water leak creating long term damage but then sell it for $50k under value. Random. Overall she's made good choices and I'm proud of her.
(edit: When dinner was put on the table, you damn well eat it, and eat all of it, because you won't get a second chance.)

Some of it all didn't make sense, but it did instill a sense of thinking twice about purchases vs. investments.

My great grandfather had a large estate and owned a very large ranch. His oldest daughter was born in 1899 and drank up and used drugs and used up the family inheritance. Her younger sister, my grandmother got $100 and a lot of photographs and historical family paperwork.

My parents were both born in 1930 and grew in the depression era, and then the rationing of WW2. I knew growing up they loved me, they never abused my brother or I, and I knew I had a bed to sleep in at night and food on the table. They sure taught me a work ethic. That put me miles ahead of so many others.

No one ever gave my parents anything, they had to literally fight and struggle for everything. They saved every dime that they could, living way behind their income curve. The only credit they ever used was the home mortgage where they put down 75% in cash on the house. . They could have paid all cash.

As a consequence I am a twisted fk when it comes to money..but in comparison to my parent I am a wasteral spendthrift. A regular TABS...a Throughly Azz Backwards Son..As for making mistakes I am a walking talking cluster fk...a real fkin loser...

Now maybe..just maybe what I did for all of those years has turned out to be pretty smart after all. Especially when Buffets 137B in cash has turned out to be toilette paper.

Honestly sit down and figure it out..the FED went from 3.7T in 9/19 to 6.7T+ in 5/20..That is 3T more on the books..the US Treasury just spent 2.5T more than normal in a month...with another 2T or so to come...The FED is prepared to go another 5T if need be...And every other CB is doing the same thing..

That means everything conventional has turned to fking shyte...

The FED is buying up everything, they would even lend me money on my dog. It is fkin staggering, and that is why it just does not matter anymore if you have a house made of Straw or a house made of Brick..we are all fked.

My Grandfather told my Dad when he was a kid and he told me the same thing.. "They can take everything you have away from you, but they can not take away the knowledge in your head."

My GD did not have the opportunity to have an education but he saw that education was the key to having the opportunity for success in whatever form it might take.

At this juncture in time even Buffet is standing naked in the street. The only thing that matters now to the powers that be is that the institutions survive so that the structure of society remains intact and is at least fairly stable. Everything else is inconsequential...they do not care..

Ted Ain't Bull Schittin'...

Hard for me to fathom it all too :(

I know some doubt the way inflation is measured, but overall I am always surprised that the inflation that was supposed to result from such government profligate spending/printing hasn't materialized.
I'm 56 and inflation has never been as bad as it was in the mid to late 70's.
Why?

Tabby - I was thinking these same thoughts earlier today. The BS going on in the world right now is the grand equalizer.

I think some of the stuff going on is on purpose to create a society of dependents.

I will sleep better tonite.
If they don't care...ditto here.

The race to the bottom by the Central banks of the world printing money like mad is their way of maintaining currency equilibrium so that their various economies remain stable in the face of a wholesale devaluation of the USD by the FED...and this is the reason why you don't see a blow out hyper inflation with so much currency being printed.....TABS 5/2/20

You opened the door...and here is your reason.

The Boyz at the FED and else where may not know this, but they understand it when they think about it.

Seems to me it matters. We still have a pantry with a good supply of food we grew and canned last summer. Three freezers have fruit and vegetables we grew and beef, pork, chicken, and turkey we bought when it was on sale.
It will be a while before we sit in the Speedster in line at the food bank to get a box of handouts. My parents grew up during the depression and they didn’t raise any fools.

Good to hear you again TABS, you've been remarkably silent lately!

BTW- My grandparents never owned a car for same reasons mentioned above. Walked/rode Cabs/Trains (pre-amtrak) everywhere. As a kid who has never been in an economy with currency tied to a gold standard, the irony is not lost.

Our grandparent's education forged an importance on learning, which was pressed upon my father, who put his face to the grindstone, got one, and benefitted from it. I was fortunate enough to get the same education as my dad. It certainly helped, but not to the degree that it benefitted my father.

You are a WAGE SLAVE..and have been one just about forever. You want a car, a house you need CREDIT...a credit rating..

The opposite is true they are losing control.. The NEW WORLD ORDER aka THE GLOBAL ECONOMY OF SCALE..The American Empire of commerce backed by the muscle of the USD..is collapsing.

Imported autos are sitting at sea for 2 extra weeks cause they have no place to park em, as all the unsold cars are already filling up the available parking space..

You need to look in the right places and it ain't here much anymore...

I wonder what it means for the author of a piece that the boys at the FED read and consider as reflected in the FMOC minutes?

U must be Mormon...You are speaking locus specific.

My metaphor has to do with a go getter who has a billion or two to spare and the guy who is in debt up to the eyeballs because he spent all his money on hookers and blow...it do not matter anymore, because there are so many that are going to default that there is no moral hazard. The FED is going to back stop the banks so that they do not fail and are able to keep the doors open inspite of being a Zombie bank in a zombie economy.

What you are talking about is a subsistence lifestyle of survival-ability.

We call it life - with the added benefit of lots of toys. They aren’t mutually exclusive.