Coronavirus

[Fiery Winds]

I've got 6, and usually see 3-6 months recommended by my coworkers, especially given the cyclical nature of construction.

How many folks are considering throwing any potential surplus UI into the market? Given that I'm not working/contributing to my retirement, and everything is currently at discount prices, how would you approach the volatility?

[Podaar]

I think they were talking about money/savings, Katt. Not supplies.

[KevShmev]

As someone who used to tend bar, I feel bad for restaurant workers and people in that industry, many of whom do not work paycheck to paycheck; they work shift to shift. 

[jingle.boy]

Hookers and blow. Obviously.

I'm in recovery, so twice the hookers.

I'm married, so twice the blow.

So, TWO Winger albums?

[The Walrus]

I think they were talking about money/savings, Katt. Not supplies.

Yup, my bad. End of the work week skimming 

[TAC]

I think they were talking about money/savings, Katt. Not supplies.

He's the only one that has 2 month supplies of shampoo and conditioner.

[The Walrus]

That should be a joke but I have 6 different kinds of shampoo and conditioner in my bathroom right now and most of them I bought at LEAST 4-6 months ago. Not counting the beard and other hygiene stuff. There was a bottle I brought to ProgPower that I bought 2 months before that, and I only finished it a couple weeks ago.

[TAC]

Yeah, you're right. It SHOULD be a joke.

[bosk1]

  Yeah, 3-6 month emergency fund, not 3-6 months of supplies.  Or, as many of our grandparents or great-grandparents would say, "saving for a rainy day."  The point being, if you lose your job or face some other disaster, having enough money to live on for 3-6 months to get back on your feet. 

[jingle.boy]

Pfft.  My haircare product supply will last me my lifetime.

[King Postwhore]

Lisa will have to buzz me. I hope i can get bandaids and ointment then. 

[Adami]

  Yeah, 3-6 month emergency fund, not 3-6 months of supplies.  Or, as many of our grandparents or great-grandparents would say, "saving for a rainy day."  The point being, if you lose your job or face some other disaster, having enough money to live on for 3-6 months to get back on your feet.

I'd love to be able to have a 3-6 month emergency fund. Maybe not possible for a post-doc in New York. I have maybe 1-2 months if everything goes to hell, but that's it.

Hopefully once I get a real job that pays well.

[TAC]

Lisa will have to buzz me. I hope i can get bandaids and ointment then. 

I thought we were talking about hair.

[King Postwhore]

Lisa will have to buzz me. I hope i can get bandaids and ointment then. 

I thought we were talking about hair.

Unfortunately,  we are talking about hair.   

[Nick]

I'll be putting me check right into the stock market, assuming it comes before any huge surge back.

[JayOctavarium]

Our checks will probably replenish some savings that will be dipped into (it's not a lot to dip into) and just go towards living expenses. I've got unemployment coming soon (hopefully soon that is), but my other half has lost some income. It'll be nice to not feel like we're drowning lol

[mike099]

My wife’s retirement took a big hit the last recession and it took a few years to get back to the original principle.  I told her to sit down when she gets the end of quarter statements.  Hopefully it will not take too long to come back.

Also, King my wife gives my hair a number one buzz every month and no blood yet.

[Chino]

I'll be putting me check right into the stock market, assuming it comes before any huge surge back.

I'm putting all of mine into Ford

[Ruba]

Till Lindemann is reportedly hospitalised in an ICU in Berlin.

However, he tested negative for covid-19 and has been released from ICU. Apparently he has pneumonia.

https://metalinjection.net/news/rammstein-releases-statement-on-vocalist-till-lindemann-says-he-does-not-have-coronavirus

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/updated_rammstein_frontman_confirms_spending_night_in_intensive_care_says_he_tested_negative_for_coronavirus.html

[Elite]

Pfft.  My haircare product supply will last me my lifetime.

[DragonAttack]

A DT fan came to a preshow I was hosting in Baltimore a couple of years ago.  He ended up helping me big time, we became friends, and together hosted the recent preshows in DC in April (over 80 attendees) and Baltimore in October (over 50 attendees).  If anyone here attended, he was the bearded guy with the skulls.

Last night, him and his wife took their two year old daughter to the E.R., because she had a 104.7 temperature.  From his Fbook

Coronavirus screening was in being done at Carroll County Hospital, before we even walked in the door. We were asked questions about travel and symptoms. Also, w visitation/escort procedures had been altered- my wife had to go back with her alone while I waited in the car.  My daughter's fever was brought down with Motrin and Tylenol, and she is currently OK.

She tested negative for the Flu and RSV.

Since fever is a symptom of COVID-19, it is a possibility. But my daughter could not be tested for it because the doctor said they are only testing critical patients, because there aren't enough test kits yet. He recommended we self quarantine for 14 days, and we will.

Downright scary, as most people who get COVID-19 will not be critical. We should be doing more testing. The quarantine is just a recommendation. I am sure some people won't follow if they have the same experience.

Quoting my own post from a few days back.  Well, my friend's daughter became worse yesterday, they took her back to the hospital, they finally tested her, but won't know the results for days.  And yet again, the friend and his wife didn't get tested, because there are not enough kits.

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/03/24/coronavirus-test-shortage-latest/

Nicholas' daughter's test came back negative an hour ago!

"She is healthy now, about 48 hours since her last fever. Doctor said it must have been some other virus for her fever to last that long while on antibiotics.
It sure was scary to go though all this during a pandemic. A 104.7 fever out of nowhere would have been scary during normal times.Now to continue to self isolate.
Any of us could still get it. At least every time she coughs a little now I don't worry quite as much. Also, we are relieved we didnt unintentionally spread it around before she became symptomatic."

She was tested on the 24th.  This also shows how overloaded Maryland's testing is at this time, as to the number of days it took to receive the negative results. 
(just wish I could visit them and hug them all, but......)

And I think back to when I was an assistant maintenance supervisor at Johns Hopkins for four years.  The SARS scare was stressful enough, as well as dealing with all the aspergillus (ceiling mold) room cleanouts we had to do...so I cannot envision what working life is and will be there.

I feel for anyone going in for dialysis, chemo, etc.  with the surrounding fears.  And anyone who has a relative in a nursing home.  Our friend has not seen her husband in two plus weeks now.

889 deaths in Italy, 674 in Spain, the USA ...well... no need to type further....     https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Cool Chris]

Without getting way off track here, I half-heartedly wish there was some way banks could restrict peoples' discretionary spending until they accrued at least 3 months of cash in reserves. Totally goes against my principles, but so many people aren't prepared for financial emergencies.

Having spent periods of my life where I got by on family generosity, cash advances from my CC, and a personal loan, and never having a solid career, I would ideally have 12 months cash in reserves. Doing a quick numbers check, if we really tightened our belts, we are at about 12 months. My wife thinks that is silly, but she has a well-paying union job that will never be in jeopardy, and has never faced any financial difficulty or shortcomings.

Fortunately we will not need to rely on this stimulus payment at this time so it might all get invested.

[jingle.boy]

The greed of capitalism has escalated.  $4+ for Starbucks coffees; $250 for concert tickets; triple digits for sporting event tickets.  We buy for and pay for things that we really shouldn't.  I think far too many things that should be luxuries are viewed as necessities by many.

[gmillerdrake]

I think far too many things that should be luxuries are viewed as necessities by many.

True dat.

[Lonk]

I think far too many things that should be luxuries are viewed as necessities by many.

True dat.

Yup.

[lordxizor]

Without getting way off track here, I half-heartedly wish there was some way banks could restrict peoples' discretionary spending until they accrued at least 3 months of cash in reserves. Totally goes against my principles, but so many people aren't prepared for financial emergencies.

Having spent periods of my life where I got by on family generosity, cash advances from my CC, and a personal loan, and never having a solid career, I would ideally have 12 months cash in reserves. Doing a quick numbers check, if we really tightened our belts, we are at about 12 months. My wife thinks that is silly, but she has a well-paying union job that will never be in jeopardy, and has never faced any financial difficulty or shortcomings.

Fortunately we will not need to rely on this stimulus payment at this time so it might all get invested.

Yeah, it's pretty sad that something like 75% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Granted, it's difficult for the really low income people to manage to save, but the majority of Americans should be able to have a few months of bare bones spending in savings. We're thankfully sitting on about 5 months of regular spending, and could easily stretch that out a few months more by cutting back. Heck, if I had to collect unemployment, we'd probably be able to live completely off the 60%, or whatever it is, of my regular pay. A disturbing amount of Americans are spending more than 100% of their income on a monthly basis.

[axeman90210]

Without getting way off track here, I half-heartedly wish there was some way banks could restrict peoples' discretionary spending until they accrued at least 3 months of cash in reserves. Totally goes against my principles, but so many people aren't prepared for financial emergencies.

At the risk of taking it further off track, I'd whole-heartedly sign up for this if businesses had to do the same

[lonestar]

 

[wolfking]

I simply couldn't imagine living week to week.  Some of my workers I know do and this situation of them getting stood down is hitting them very hard.

[Phoenix87x]

I simply couldn't imagine living week to week.

Me either. I wouldn't be able sleep at night.

[bosk1]

Posted this on Facebook, but since I am not Facebook friends with a lot of you, I will re-post here: 

A dear friend of ours who is a nurse is helping fundraise to get more PPE supplied for medical personnel in our area. They were able to raise $1000 in cash and are planning to buy simple masks. But they need money for plastic to make face shields to order them as well. Anyone interested in helping can donate at their GoFundMe page:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/face-mask-makers-with-love

[SystematicThought]

Stay at home order in Minnesota Day #1. I think I saw the same amount of cars out and about today

Today was the first day at our store where it was calm. I managed to cut my usual 12 hour day I've been working 6 days a week for the past two weeks into a 9 hour day. Managed to get a lot done that I've been neglecting the past few weeks--my produce section has been falling apart. It'll be interesting to see where the next week takes us. I don't think we'll be crazy like we've been, but I think it's going to be quite steady.

I'm still amazed at how people still aren't paying attention to covering their cough. This lady yesterday had a basket in her hand and was looking at my three tiered basket of bagged baby red and gold potatoes. Just stands there and without covering her mouth just coughs multiple times--no cover. I looked at her, walked over and said "Ma'am, you need to cover your mouth when you cough" I grabbed a pair of gloves, grabbed the potatoes out of the basket and threw them in an empty box I had nearby. Brought the rack outside and just doused it with disinfectant. When she finished shopping, I grabbed her basket and brought it outside and did the same thing. I don't mean to make her feel bad, but it absolutely disgusts me that people are still open mouth coughing and coughing into their hands.

Also, thanks for the Corn Huskers Hand Lotion recommendation, lonestar and Kattlekox. I ordered some and it should be here next week. My hands are all cut up and raw, I'm hoping it helps

[lordxizor]

Stay at home order in Minnesota Day #1. I think I saw the same amount of cars out and about today

I thought it was quite a bit less than it has been in my neighborhood. I went for a walk for about 30 minutes and only recall seeing one vehicle the whole time and only a couple dog walkers. Hopefully people will take it seriously.

[DTinTX]

The greed of capitalism has escalated.  $4+ for Starbucks coffees; $250 for concert tickets; triple digits for sporting event tickets.  We buy for and pay for things that we really shouldn't.  I think far too many things that should be luxuries are viewed as necessities by many.

The USA is the greatest country on Earth because of one thing, Capitalism.  You’re fortunate enough to have the option to buy a cup of Starbucks or attend a concert.  People here and across the globe are willing to pay $4 for a cup of Starbucks.  That’s the going price.  If you feel like it’s too much do what I do and make your own cup of Joe for pennies per cup.

[Elite]

The USA is the greatest country on Earth

what the hell does this even mean?