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October 20,1999________________________
FOCUS
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JJortUttil (BfcwttW
Y2K on a budget ! Making vour dollar stretch into next millennia
B y S harif A bdullah
C ontributing W riter
My friends are in various stages
o f Y2K preparation. For m ost,
“Y2K preparation” means to laugh
and sneer when they hear someone
talk about Y2K. For others, prepa­
ration is staring in bewilderment,
like a deer caught in the headlights
o f an on-rushing car.
For others, “Y2K p rep aratio n ”
means making themselves, their
homes and communities less depen­
dent on “The Grid” and more self-
reliant. They are putting in:
*
Electric generators
■ Water purification systems
and composting toilets,
* Wood stoves and solar heat­
ers,
■ Growing, canning and stor­
ing food, and learning how
to rely on their neighbors.
These are my middle-class friends,
people with available incomes.
How about the rest? How do people
who are not making RIGHT NOW
prepare for a potential emergency
like Y2K? How can you think about
investing in an alternative energy
system when you are late paying
your existing light bill?
Preparation for those with limited
resources is not necessarily more
difficult, but involves much differ­
ent THINKING. This three-step
p rocess can be im plem ented
right now, and can help you be­
come more financially and so­
cially stable, regardless o f what
happens with Y2K or any other
emergency.
#1: Find the Money - In
Your Own Pocket!
By cutting back on how
you sp en d , you w ill
have money to prepare
for an emergency like
Y2K.
If you think you are al­
ready at rock-bottom re
g a rd in g y o u r fin an ces,
think again. I highly recom­
mend the process detailed in Vicki
R obin’s book, “Your Money or
Your Life.” Keep track o f every
penny you spend for awhile. Every
single penny. I f you spend a nickel
for a piece o f candy, write down “5
cents - candy”. Do it as soon as you
spend it.
I did this for just a few weeks and
was ab so lu tely am azed at how
much money I spent unconsciously.
Our society WANTS you to be un­
conscious about how and when you
spend - that’s how rich people get
ennia
richer. For poor people, that is a
luxury that you cannot afford.
I had a friend who ate six meals a
day. She thought she only ate 3
meals a day, until she started keep­
ing track o f every penny she spent.
She ended up spending less money
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spend two to four dollars per month
Be examining your own money pat­ just for the “convenience” o f not
terns, you may be able to save $20, waiting 10-20 seconds for your tele­
$30, or $40 in a month. T h a t’s vision to warm up. Nowadays, TV ’s
enough to buy bulk food to store are always “on”; pushing the “o f f ’
for your family for a button merely blanks the screen. All
month, or a water pu­ the electronics inside are still suck­
rification system for ing energy, electricity that you have
months o f water stor­ to pay for. This also goes for your
age.
stereo and other electronics in your
#2: Stop Paying for house.
“Convenience”
How do you stop this? Go to the
H ere’s a really simple store and get a “surge suppressor”
formula: the less “con­ pow er strip type extension cord,
v e n ie n t” (p re -p ro ­ one with an on-off switch. Plug your
cessed) your food, the television, VCR and stereo into it.
more food you get. When you are done watching and
The same amount o f listening, push the “off” switch on
money you pay for a the extension cord - everything will
hot
and
re a d y
REALLY go off! And the power
“McBurger” would pay company will get that much less o f
for ham burger for your your money.
whole family - but you have So, what’s five dollars a month any­
to cook it. You can buy one serv­ way? Between now and the end o f
ing o f a microwave rice dish for the the year, i t ’s a C o le m a n -sty le
same money as ten pounds o f rice. campstove and enough propane to
(If there’s no food in the store be­ cook that rice you bought.
cause o f Y2K, ten pounds o f rice #3: Know Who You Can Depend
tucked away in your cabinet sounds On.
pretty good.)
This is one that doesn’t involve any
The same is true for electricity: You (“Budget” continued on page 5)
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John Wolf
Owner
A
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Seaside, OR 97138
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