Off The Grid News Better Ideas For Off The Grid Living
Dear Editor,
Hi! I just finished listening to your Friday, March 11th episode of Off the Grid Radio with Greg McCoach. Thank you for your informative presentations! My question is about what Mr. McCoach said about having 25% of liquid assets (does this mean cash or savings) in precious metals. Let’s say that my family purchases a good amount of gold and silver to have on hand for when the dollar crashes. How are every day transactions going to look in the marketplace at that time? Am I going to go to the Walmart checkout and give them a gold coin for my $100 purchase? How will the actual market value be assessed on that day’s transaction? Will I be loosing money because the real value won’t be known?
I’d love to prepare in this way before the death of the dollar, but my family would like to know ahead of time how to be smart about this. What are the best kinds of coins to have on hand when this happens?
Trying to be Gold and Silver Savvy
Dear Savvy:
You ask a lot of great questions. We aren’t financial experts and as such, really have to advise that you speak with someone more versed in the financial markets than we are. There are many great websites that you can go to and ask questions, websites such as https://garynorth.com, which is an excellent resource for financial questions. You can also go to the website of the NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (https://www.napfa.org/) to find someone in your area that can help you with your questions. Financial planning is something that is unique to each family, and no “one size fits all” solution will do. Thanks for writing!
The Editor
===============================================
===============================================
Dear Editor,
What can be done about stinkbugs? They are making it almost impossible to grow a healthy garden.
Tomatoes are becoming next to impossible to raise.
Thank you,
60 years as a regular gardener
Dear Regular Gardener,
You aren’t the only one with a stinkbug problem! Thirty-three U.S. states now have an epidemic stinkbug problem! It seems that Allentown, Pennsylvania is the epicenter of the stinkbug outbreak. The brown marmorated stinkbug arrived in 1998 as stowaways in packing crates from Asia. There are few natural predators in the U.S. for these pests. Diatomaceous earth is reported to be effective against them. Pyrethrin-based insecticides are moderately useful (and the least harmful to our dwindling population of honeybees). Wasps and spiders are two of the few natural enemies these pests have. Another solution you may have to consider is netting your plants. I wish we could come up with more solutions, but unfortunately, the stinkbugs are making everyone miserable!
The Editor
If you’d like to contact the editor, please send an email to [email protected]