It seems like America’s financial problems are set to continue with Best Buy reporting major price increases, declining sales and an economic downturn for the rest of the year. Just a few years ago Best Buy stores were filled with buzzing shoppers huddled around displays carrying the latest gadgets from the likes of Microsoft and Apple.
Every aisle was busy, video game counters were filled with gaming enthusiasts, and employees were racing to help out customers. From flat-screen TVs to the latest mobile phones, there were lines at the checkout counter. However, in recent years, it has all gone wrong for the Biggest American retailers who are now facing a nightmare scenario.
High inflation has forced shoppers to cut spending on not just non-essential items but also some of the necessities. One of the great American Success stories “Best Buy” is caught up in this retail gloom which will hurt American consumers further.
Telsey Advisory Group expects Best Buy sales to drop as much as 11 percent for the current quarter. The falling profits are backed up by the company’s own figures showing a 28% decline from last year. The drop in sales is not a recent phenomenon either. As this will be the sixth consecutive quarter where sales have fallen at Best Buy.
These trends are particularly worrying because personal electronics were a hot seller not so long ago. Any update from Microsoft, every new gadget launched by Apple resulted in massive lines of shoppers waiting to get the newest item on the market. With more innovative products on the market, Americans rushed to upgrade their devices. But right now, Americans are thinking of consolidation.
They are going for fixes rather than upgrades and for a business like Best-Buy that relies on selling the newest gadgets, this spells disaster. The downwards sales pattern is reflected in sales forecasts from every retailer in the country. Home Depot, Walmart, and Target are all in the same boat and are sharing disappointing outlooks for the year.
As for Best-Buy, the company is scrambling for answers.
Shares of best buy are down nearly 14% so far this year, a considerable drop in the current economic climate. The company is trailing many of the S&P 500 companies during this slide. Pushed by the circumstances, Best Buy has decided to end its popular rewards program and made it exclusive to only those who have a store credit card.
Despite all the clamorings about strong employment numbers, Best Buy has cut down its labor force. During the last two years, they have reduced overall numbers by 20%. So more than 25,000 people have been laid off and those numbers are still increasing. In a restructuring effort, the company also plans to shut down 30 large format stores.
The truth is that inflation-induced anxiety has taken over America. Everyone is planning to save up which puts the country’s economy in a desperate spot. Despite continuous claims of improvement from the officials, no one is entirely sure how much longer they have to continue on this pattern. America’s best-known retailers are reporting a loss of earnings, the shoppers are contending with stubbornly high inflation, and all forecasts point to a grim conclusion: Conditions are about to get much, much worse.
Article and video cross-posted from Epic Economist.
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
It is not popular to say, but TrumpWhiteHouse ’15 days to slow the spread.’ created a supply chain crisis that will take decades to fix. It was absolutely an avoidable problem.
It definitely started it. But there will be no fixing it.
Trump did not cause this. This has happened many times before Trump. All of this is the result of a central bank and a worthless paper currency. The creation of money always involves the extension of credit by private commercial banks. It is created by lending, but the money to pay the interest is never created with it. The money to pay the interest must be borrowed. The only way to keep the system going is to keep borrowing. It’s no wonder the national debt is $32 trillion. The only way to fix it is to abolish the current system and switch to commodity-based money. The debt money system is a FAILURE.
The unconstitutional lockdown. Destroyed our Country. People have such short memories.
You meant Fauci and birx right?
You people lie. Best Buy has been on life support for at least the last 10 years. The only reason they’re still in business is because all their competition went bankrupt first. Why do you media do this, lie when you don’t have to?
I can tell you that it is NOT inflation causing these price hikes. It is theft.
Where I live, in the twin cities, the home of George Floyd, since 2020, retail theft has cost retailers billions. This is how they pass the cost of doing business on to their customers. You cannot tell the truth. The truth is that we have a community of people who use mobs of people to steal huge amounts of merchandise.
The best buy store I go to occasionally was ransacked every weekend for about 7 months after George Floyd. I stopped going there. But it continues. You have almost everything in theft proof containers and they still walk in and walk out because the courts won’t prosecute unless it is felony theft. Then if you do steal something worth more than a grand, their security won’t stop you.
So everyone who thinks it is Trump’s Fault, our fiat currency or covid, you are all wrong. All retailers right now are where Best Buy is. Grocery stores too. All because one group of people are stealing whatever they want.
There is why Best Buy is raising their prices.