Preparing for Coronavirus?

[pigou]

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).

The CARES Act waived penalties for up to $100,000 of withdrawals from 401(k) and IRA plans this year: https://www.thestreet.com/retirement/cares-act-impact-on-retirement-plans

If you lose your job, you can roll over your 401(k) into an IRA and make a withdrawal from there.

In normal times, you can still make hardship withdrawals, but you may be stuck paying a 10% tax penalty (though there may also be no penalty). One more reason to use Roth 401(k)s and Roth IRA over their traditional counterparts, where that's not an issue for withdrawing contributions.  :)

[clean]

Thanks, I think that I was thinking 'penalties' = Taxes + 10% penalty
I suppose I didnt read the original as carefully as usual.

[dismalist]

And, no, we may not be able to easily borrow as individuals, but the government is doing that for us, giving cash to many people in the present.

This should not appear sinful. Speaking with St. Augustine: Please, God, make me good, but not just yet. :-)

[Aster]

I have some spoiled grapes and a bag of sugar. Now I can make prison wine.

[apl68]

I can believe that a large proportion of Americans would have real trouble coming up with $400 in an emergency.  Many people have so little income that they really do live hand-to-mouth.  And there are a lot of workers with better incomes who seem compelled to spend every penny they have as it comes in.  I was speaking to a local food pantry volunteer after a series of layoffs some years back, and she saw an immediate bump in food pantry visits.  She said "Come on, guys!  You were laid off last week and you're already here?"  These were workers who had just recently been making pretty fair money.

On a possibly related note--a staff member here claims that on a recent Wal-Mart visit she saw a number of customers besieging the jewelry counter.  She also says that she saw children with armloads of toys.  Stimulus money in action? 

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Is it legal to trap-bait the wild yeast?

Well, they're in season now, so it's ok, but there is a limit of 100 grams per person.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

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

Always approach with caution.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

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

Can size #2, or a wide-mouth Mason jar.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

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

Mason jar to the rescue!

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I have some spoiled grapes and a bag of sugar. Now I can make prison wine.

Pruno!

[pigou]

I was speaking to a local food pantry volunteer after a series of layoffs some years back, and she saw an immediate bump in food pantry visits.  She said "Come on, guys!  You were laid off last week and you're already here?"  These were workers who had just recently been making pretty fair money.

People going to a food pantry doesn't necessarily imply that they can't afford to buy groceries. They may just be looking for all ways to cut back on spending. If you can get $50/month worth of groceries for free, that's money you don't have to cut elsewhere.

[secundem_artem]

I have some spoiled grapes and a bag of sugar. Now I can make prison wine.

Pruno!

All you need now is a homemade shiv and some cigarettes to bribe the screws.  3 hots and a cot.  And if you can get yourself put on the isolation unit, you'll be safe from the virus as well. 

[clean]

you'll be safe from the virus as well.

Somehow I dont know how safe from the virus one would be.  Some state's hotspot is the prison.  After seeing the Diamond Princess in Japan and the Grand Princess off California, and something recently about the spread of it from an  AC unit, I think that you are better off hungry at home  ... .(though really.... Really, IF you were stuck eating what you HAD to eat in your house, how long would it last.... Seriously, I have a can of Spam that I have had for a while. How long would it take to get to actually eat the last scrap of food in your house?)

[clean]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/farmers-are-starting-to-destroy-their-pigs-after-factories-close/ar-BB136Shz

And so it begins!
pigs for fertilizer, I suppose. 

[Parasaurolophus]

How long would it take to get to actually eat the last scrap of food in your house?)

Geeze. I have to guess at least 4-6 months, and considerably longer with light rationing and all the wild edibles here (especially if I started gathering and preserving them now, since there's a ton of stuff out already).

It's easy for me to shrug off my hoarding-survivalist-instinct, though, because all the kelp and seaweed here could feed an army year-round, no problem.