Making preparations for Eurozone collapse?

[knowal]

Are you making any contingency plans?
Store extra food?
Keep more cash rather than in the bank?
Any other ideas - stocking up on fuel, batteries...

Or perhaps we all just hope it won't happen.

[quebin]

I've stocked up on Vino Tinto,the OH is stocking up on tinned tomatoes!

[Mowser]

Can't see it happening.

[Martin Page]

Once they kick Greece out the Euro will probably be stronger still

[anyroads]

Well,

If Greece goes, the spotlight will turn somewhere else.

"Lazy, do not pay their taxes".I just wonder who the Germans can think of, to fit the bill next time around ?

anyroads

[Mowser]

Once they kick Greece out the Euro will probably be stronger still

Except ... Greece owes Germany 15.9 billion, France 41.4 billion, Portugal 7.6 billion, Italy 2.8 billion. If they're kicked out, they'll never repay this debt.

In addition, Greece owes the UK 9.4 billion and the US 6.2 billion.

[Mowser]

Interesting looking at foreign debt owed by various countries. Figures in euros and correct as at June 2011.

UK: 7.3 trillion
France: 4.2 trillion
Spain: 1.9 trillion
Portugal: 0.4 trillion
Italy: 2 trillion
Ireland 1.7 trillion
Greece: 0.4 trillion
Germany: 4.2 trillion.

[olive]

I am normally an optimistic glass half full type but as far as the Euro is concerned I believe we would all be very wise to make preparations. Store cupboard full of non perishables. Garden full of veg. What is the worst that can happen? You don't have to buy much stuff from the shops when the euro survives?

Robert Peston has a programme on Uk Tv on Thursday night about the Eurozone crisis- 9 p.m. Uk time BBC2 I believe. I read somehwere that the Germans are exposed to something like 642 billion euros of Eurozone debts. Frightening stuff for your ordinary German.

It will be interesting to see how Hollande and Merkel got on today, I would have loved to be there. The first "growth" conference for the EU is on 23rd May. I wonder what they will come up with and whether our man Rajoy or Osborne for that matter will buy into it.

[Julie]

If Greece go, then I think the focus would be on Spain, if I was resident in Spain I would be keeping a few k in cash at hand just for incase and as said before stock up on non perishables etc, I think the whole think will crash eventually, but when, who knows.
I personally would also like the UK leave Europe, maybe in time we could become Great Britain again in time and not gb.

[anyroads]

"If Greece goes, the spotlight will turn somewhere else.

"Lazy, do not pay their taxes".I just wonder who the Germans can think of, to fit the bill next time around"


If Greece go, then I think the focus would be on Spain,

Julie, how could you !

anyroads

[katy]

If Greece go, then I think the focus would be on Spain, if I was resident in Spain I would be keeping a few k in cash at hand just for incase and as said before stock up on non perishables etc, I think the whole think will crash eventually, but when, who knows.
I personally would also like the UK leave Europe, maybe in time we could become Great Britain again in time and not gb.

I would be pleased if the UK left the EU. Not bothered about Britain becoming "great". Would like to see it withdraw from the world scene and just be a prosperous country with tighter border control.

[El Cid]

I can't see the point of stocking up with anything apart from cash!

If Spain reverted to the Peseta the shops would still have to trade and they would love to take your Euros off you at a very good rate compared to the new Peseta.

The biggest problem would be getting cash in any form until the banks sorted it out. Cheques and cards would probably not work initially.

If Spain exits the Euro I can't see that expats on a UK income will do anything but profit from it - apart from property values going even lower in sterling terms.

Sid

[katy]

Exactly, not much use paying top price for stocking up the freezer etc when it may be possible to buy everything 50% less if things go pear shaped. Just keep a few thousand readies in the safe, there is always Gibraltar too in an emergency for cash.

Positive things are a (much) better exchange rate and the tourists and buyers may come back.

Negative is for the people selling to return to the UK. They will get even less and may not be able to buy in the UK. Also services will suffer in Spain such as health. There are already reports of hospitals cutting back and they will not be able to buy imported medicines....also other things like oil imports will be through the roof.

[annfoto]

If Spain reverted to the Peseta the shops would still have to trade and they would love to take your Euros off you at a very good rate compared to the new Peseta.

If they can buy the stock with the new Peseta's. There would be no problem with goods made in Spain but one area that might be a problem for a little while is prescription medicines.
In other countries that have defaulted in the past there has always been difficulty getting hold of certain medicines.

[knowal]

I think I'm going to keep a bit more cash in hand, rather than at the bank. We have improved our stocks of foods, tinned and dry, and flour so that we can make bread.
If a collapse does occur, it is difficult to predict the scale of disruption, public disorder if the banks freeze accounts, and the supply chain being broken.

If Greece leave the Eurozone it will set a precedent which can then be followed by other "poor" nations.

[anyroads]

Bloody Hell !

This is 2012.

Not the End of the World.

anyroads

[Mowser]

Should I start building an ark?

[olive]

Exactly, not much use paying top price for stocking up the freezer etc when it may be possible to buy everything 50% less if things go pear shaped. Just keep a few thousand readies in the safe, there is always Gibraltar too in an emergency for cash.

Positive things are a (much) better exchange rate and the tourists and buyers may come back.

Negative is for the people selling to return to the UK. They will get even less and may not be able to buy in the UK. Also services will suffer in Spain such as health. There are already reports of hospitals cutting back and they will not be able to buy imported medicines....also other things like oil imports will be through the roof.

A lot of people don't have a few thousand readies, me included to have in a safe.(haven't got a safe either)!

I think people are missing the point with all of this. Sure after a few months those with foreign income in sterling will get a good rate on exchange (assuming there are no controls!) but for those first few months there will be pandemonium. The shops won't have stuff in them as inflation will disrupt supply lines and as you say there will be limited fuel available to ship stuff about. Spain doesn't have its own oil and gas in any quantity. Imagine securing supplies with a currency devaluing by the day? Also how would people get to Gibraltar without fuel.

The Greeks did an exercise to look at the mechanics of leaving the euro two years ago. It would be interesting to read the scenarios they came up with. You can bet your bottom dollar that other countries have also done the same exercise. DelaRue Money printing company say it would take two months to bring a new currency in but of course the old euros can just be stamped with "worthless pesetas" in the meantime.

Get the basics in, not ready meals etc for the freezer. Can you be assured the electric won't be off more than it is on? And yes it is 2012.

[knowal]

Should I start building an ark?

Frigiliana is about 300m above sea level, so I wouldn't bother, Mowser.
Get some extra wines and spirits in though.

At least Olive gets the point, and takes it seriously, all this is not impossible, all civilisations collapse from time to time.

[Julie]

I think your right Olive, last night there was a programme on TV, showing what some of the big companys are doing in order to be ready, so never say never ! It may well happen.