Preparing for Coronavirus?

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Yeast is in critical shortage. The suppliers of the stuff simply cannot keep up with sudden, massive demand.

You can also catch wild yeast and make a sourdough starter. It just takes longer.

[FishProf]

Is it legal to trap-bait the wild yeast?

[clean]

Ive been watching "Mountain Men" on Sunday nights.  I wonder what size trap one would use to trap the allusive and willy 'Wild Yeast'?

[apl68]

I've heard wild yeast can be dangerous when cornered or defending its young.

[Cheerful]

Be careful if you use a butterfly net as wild yeast often rises high enough to escape the net.

[spork]

Who has enough cash to get through the coronavirus crisis?

I have enough savings to cover two years of expenses, which includes mortgage, utilities, and food but not medical care (I'm lucky to have a full-time job that comes with health insurance benefits).

[dismalist]

I hope to have a net wealth of zero at the time of death. This raises a delicate question of timing... . :-)

[pigou]

This whole genre of articles about people having no savings isn't internally consistent. Something is going wrong with these surveys. From the article:

Fewer than half of American adults — just 47 percent — say that they have enough emergency funds to cover three months of expenses, according to a survey conducted this month by the Pew Research Center.

Okay, so 53% have less than three months of expenses saved. But also: 40% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency expense

This implies that 13% of Americans have savings somewhere between $400 and 3 months of expenses. That strikes me as exceptionally implausible. That's a really big range of savings and it can't be that so few people fall into that range.

Then it turns out we're not considering retirement savings as savings... why not? If you lose your job, you can make withdrawals with no penalty. If you have a Roth IRA, you can withdraw contributions with no penalty at any time. You can borrow against your 401(k). This is much more "I don't want to withdraw my savings" than I cannot. That makes me wonder what else people don't think of as savings. Maybe they have a brokerage account and a 529 plan, but that money is earmarked for something else. Well... that's not how savings work.

But more importantly: why do they assume you have to cover 3 months of expenses from savings? Someone who lost their job due to COVID would receive unemployment insurance, which is now up to $8,400/month in California (including the $600/week increase). The argument to give a basic income to a single mother who makes only $110,000 per year because she'd hit the limit of unemployment insurance is just insane. The median household income is just over $50,000. Those people pay taxes, too, and asking them to pay to subsidize someone earning $110k is just insulting.


Edit: ah, yes. The survey asked only about cash funds specifically set aside for emergencies. That's just a nonsensical question. By that metric, I guess I also don't have emergency savings for 3 months -- or even one month. That's what a brokerage account is for. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/04/21/about-half-of-lower-income-americans-report-household-job-or-wage-loss-due-to-covid-19/

For example, while 58% of upper-income adults who don't have rainy day funds say they could cover their expenses for three months by tapping into other resources, only 34% of middle-income adults and 16% of lower-income adults without emergency funds say they could do the same.

If you spend $100k/year, 3 months is $25,000. In a savings account earning no interest vs. stocks earning an average of 7%. After 20 years, that emergency fund cost you $100,000. I question the financial literacy of high-income households that do keep that much in cash.

[downer]

I hope to have a net wealth of zero at the time of death. This raises a delicate question of timing... . :-)

I hope to have a net wealth of -$100,000 by the time of death. I will be applying for credit cards at the appropriate time.

[clean]

I hope to have a net wealth of zero at the time of death. This raises a delicate question of timing... . :-)

That is laudable.  (too) Many believe that "If I die in Debt, I win". 

[clean]

Then it turns out we're not considering retirement savings as savings... why not? If you lose your job, you can make withdrawals with no penalty. If you have a Roth IRA, you can withdraw contributions with no penalty at any time. You can borrow against your 401(k). This is much more "I don't want to withdraw my savings" than I cannot. That makes me wonder what else people don't think of as savings. Maybe they have a brokerage account and a 529 plan, but that money is earmarked for something else. Well... that's not how savings work.

"If you lose your job, you can make withdrawals with no penalty."
Im not sure what you are referring to here.  Im not aware of the opportunity to make withdrawals with no penalty. I know that you can 'roll over' (from your current retirement account) to an IRA or another retirement plan. However, you do not have access to the money without taxes and penalties.  What am I missing/what are you referring to?


"You can borrow against your 401(k)."
Usually you can borrow from a 401K from your employer, but the loan comes due when you separate.  If you are laid off, Im not sure if the clock starts on the repayment, but Im pretty sure that borrowing from your terminating employer is NOT going to work.  (Usually, 401k loans are repaid from future earnings at a fixed amount for a given time period.  IF you earn nothing from the employer, then no loan will be made).

[ciao_yall]

I hope to have a net wealth of zero at the time of death. This raises a delicate question of timing... . :-)

When you are getting close, take up skydiving.

[ciao_yall]

Yeast is in critical shortage. The suppliers of the stuff simply cannot keep up with sudden, massive demand.

You can also catch wild yeast and make a sourdough starter. It just takes longer.

Shhhh. Be vewwwwy quiet. I'm hunting weast.

[dismalist]

I hope to have a net wealth of zero at the time of death. This raises a delicate question of timing... . :-)

I hope to have a net wealth of -$100,000 by the time of death. I will be applying for credit cards at the appropriate time.

Careful: If you live in  Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, one should get a divorce before death if one likes one's spouse, or not, if one doesn't! [These are community property states.] :-)

[clean]

Related to the savings post... I saw that Discover today cut a lot of credit limits for people that may have income issues related to CV19.... SO those that were counting on credit cards as their 'emergency fund' are in just about as bad a shape as those that 'invested' their emergency fund in the stock market prior to March of this year!  It just aint there anymore!!