Food for 1 year for 2-3 people, about $3,000 (includes shipping).

With all the volcanoes, earthquakes and so on, I'm considering a food experiment.  Could I use my tax refund to buy a year's worth of food and eat only my purchased supply (plus water) for a year? Would I stay more healthy? Would I save money? Would I be ever so slyly properly preparing for the apocalypse?

A friend of mine with a Mormon family said her family keeps enough food not only for their immediate family but also for the few select friends the would like to save.  If I keep a stash good enough for 2 to 3 people that gives me something to trade and also a bit of an insurance policy.

I spend way too much money on food each year because I eat out constantly. I love the variety and the convenience, but although I don't eat fast food, I am perhaps opening myself up to more colds and flus with this habit.

The 895.0 lb Pioneer Pack Plus from YourFoodStorage.com seems like a good starting point. But before making such a large purchase, I obviously want to do some research. Have any of you out there tried something like this? Recommendations?

One comment about YourFoodStorage:  "Not cheapest, but you want the nitrogen packaging."

Assuming this would meet all of your needs, a year's supply of food at $3,000 would be $8.21 per day. That's for two to three people. So, more like $4.00/day. You'd have to figure in the cost for water, but this is certainly less than I spend per day now.

Speaking of planning for the future...

If you purchased a 1 oz Canadian Maple Leaf Palladium coin from me a few weeks ago, you made money. Palladium is up to $530 today.  Look at the history. I think these coins will reach an all time high due to world economic instability.

If you want to get one, my sale price today is $576.38 (While supplies last. Subject to change. Price includes tax and shipping to most places. Compare to elsewhere! I think mine is the best total price you will find for an individual coin in mint condition. Individual coins sell for $650 in some places.)

The price could go up or down, but with a record number of US banks folding this year, I don't think any precious metals are a bad bet.

Another reason I think Palladium is going to keep going up:

(Hot tip) The World Cup is going to be in South Africa in June. South African mines are the second biggest palladium source after Russia. If South Africa shuts down the electricity to the platinum and palladium mines to power the World Cup, this will slow production of these metals and drive prices up world wide in June, July and August.

A major power outage to the mines does not have to occur to drive prices up. Even temporary glitches will make people remember this happening a few years ago and the price could jump due to fear:

South African miners are confident annual platinum output will not be hit by power disruptions linked to this year's football World Cup, but there is still a risk of short-term price volatility in a sensitised market. And in the longer term, the fragility of the republic's power supply is set to keep production under pressure, adding another layer of support to prices which have already hit 20-month highs this year amid expectations for a rise in demand. South African power issues have been high on the agenda of platinum traders since the last major power crisis in South Africa in early 2008 resulted in weeks of rolling blackouts and a shutdown of the mining sector. This sent the price of platinum, four out of five ounces of which originate in South Africa, to a record $2 290 (R17 038) an ounce. "Power is a major issue, given that South Africa is such a dominant player on the supply side," said Societe Generale analyst David Wilson. "That is a longer term issue than just this summer." ...

Power utility Eskom said it will need an extra 275 megawatts of electricity to supply the tournament, for which 2.24 million tickets have already been sold. While both Eskom and the republic's miners say they have taken steps to address power issues linked to the event. Even minor disruptions during the peak-demand South African winter may have a disproportionate impact on prices, analysts say. Barend Ritter, a Cape Town-based platinum analyst at Sanlam Investment Management, said power shortages are likely to hit big electricity users like miners the hardest.

"One-off events could mean a loss of a few percent in production, but in terms of sentiment, the market will take the view that there is likely to be a constraint in production, and prices will spike," he said. ... -  br