Are you taking any steps because of the Ukraine situation?

[DetailMouse]

The situation for those in the country is heartbreaking, I've sobbed at several news stories this morning and my heart aches for a Ukrainian friend whose family is still there.

On a far more selfish, practical level have you "done" anything to protect yourself and your own situation? If nothing else I can see an impending deepening of the financial crisis. A friend has taken all her money out of the bank, for example, but it's true she's prone to a bit of drama. Gas supply worries me a lot.

Is there anything we should be doing now to help a bit if the situation is prolonged or worsens?

Why are you worried about gas? We get ours from Norway, not Russia.

The worst thing people can do is panic and start emptying shelves, banks and petrol stations.

@Vimto1991

Why are you worried about gas? We get ours from Norway, not Russia.

Because, as I've explained, Europe gets 50% from Russia. If they suddenly need a new supplier the impact worldwide will be huge.

But you cannot control that. So why are you worrying about it?

You friend actually told you she took all her money out of the bank? How many more people did she tell? It's not very safe going around telling people you've taken all your money out of the bank!

DH's cousin was keeping a large sum of cash in the house (hiding it from the tax man I suspect). Only close family members and friends knew about it. Inevitably he got robbed and never got it back. Very few people knew about it but he's convinced it was an inside job.

I just think it's a bit weird that someone would take all their money out of the bank and then tell people about it.

@NobodysGonnaKnow

But you cannot control that. So why are you worrying about it?

I can't control it but there may be ways to mitigate the impact it has on me, or there might not, but it's not unreasonable to think about it.

@NobodysGonnaKnow

So are going to try and stockpile gas? Where are you planning on keeping it?

rushes out to buy all the party balloons

If there’s a cyber attack on our banking system, all account information will be wiped. You won’t be able to spend via card as there will be no account information. This would probably be a temporary thing, but I think it’s a good idea to just withdraw some cash and put in in your knicker draw in case you do need access to cash. There’s nothing wrong to just do a bit of prepping, but to be sensible and not remove all your cash, as that would be silly.......

With regard to my friend, she's an actress (really, a real one you'll have seen in small film and TV parts) and prone to exaggeration and over dramatics. She told me and two other friends this is what she'd done, but I don't know if it's true or how much. I've no plans to do the same, but it made me wonder if there are things we should be doing

I have topped up my oil tank rather than waiting until our usual fill which is just after Easter.

You must have some people in high places if you think you can mitigate gas supply issues. Perhaps if you were a hermit on one of the islands off Scotland you might be okay. Ben Foden does a good program regarding people living completely self sufficiently.

There are so many pointlessly hostile responses on this thread. OP isn’t suggesting anyone take action or trying to rule anyone up, it seems like they’re asking conversationally whether anyones doing anything. It’s an interesting topic!

There’s a broad stretch between the war not effecting us in any way and having a nuke dropped on your head.
At the very least, the war is already causing the cost of fuel to go up.

Personally, I always like to have the car half full if I can and some cash out in case of emergencies. We always buy in bulk just because it’s cheaper so we always have a big bag of rice around.
War-wise though, I’m just keeping an eye on the news and despairing at the plight of the people involved.

No need to panic or do anything rash. We are very protected here in the West; the people in danger are the Ukrainians. The best thing to do is to be rational, and show as much support for Ukraine as you can.

@Livelovebehappy

If there’s a cyber attack on our banking system, all account information will be wiped. You won’t be able to spend via card as there will be no account information. This would probably be a temporary thing, but I think it’s a good idea to just withdraw some cash and put in in your knicker draw in case you do need access to cash. There’s nothing wrong to just do a bit of prepping, but to be sensible and not remove all your cash, as that would be silly.......

Anonymous have declared war against the Russian hackers. Apparently taken their television station offline. Will be interesting to see how it all goes down. They’re not the only country with people who can exist in the dark web.

I think it might be handy to have a little extra cash lying around as I do rely on my card 💯 at the moment.
I've also been thinking that buying me and ds a decent torch and some batteries might be a good idea in case of power cuts. Otherwise I'm not sure there's much in the way of sensible things I can do.
As pp said, praying (if you believe in that) and donating to charities helping Ukraine are probably the most useful thing you can do at the moment.

@Honeymint

There are so many pointlessly hostile responses on this thread. OP isn’t suggesting anyone take action or trying to rule anyone up, it seems like they’re asking conversationally whether anyones doing anything. It’s an interesting topic!

There’s a broad stretch between the war not effecting us in any way and having a nuke dropped on your head.
At the very least, the war is already causing the cost of fuel to go up.

Personally, I always like to have the car half full if I can and some cash out in case of emergencies. We always buy in bulk just because it’s cheaper so we always have a big bag of rice around.
War-wise though, I’m just keeping an eye on the news and despairing at the plight of the people involved.

But your post just proves there’s bugger all you can do. Keeping your car topped up only works I If you can access fuel. Buying extra rice only works if the supermarket has rice. Watching the news only works while your televisions still work or your phones can stay charged.

@NobodysGonnaKnow

You must have some people in high places if you think you can mitigate gas supply issues. Perhaps if you were a hermit on one of the islands off Scotland you might be okay. Ben Foden does a good program regarding people living completely self sufficiently.

Why? I couldn't stop it having any affect at all, but we can think about things like power cuts becoming more frequent and how we might cope with that.

But your post just proves there’s bugger all you can do. Keeping your car topped up only works I
If you can access fuel. Buying extra rice only works if the supermarket has rice. Watching the news only works while your televisions still work or your phones can stay charged.

But that's why you do it now. Obviously if any shortages were very long term, we're all in a whole heap of trouble, but we can be prepared for some eventualities.

Why? I couldn't stop it having any affect at all, but we can think about things like power cuts becoming more frequent and how we might cope with that.

Absolutely! I think I mentioned extra torches up thread. We ordered some months ago when power cuts were mentioned. That’s a worthwhile thing to do.

War tends to be a long drawn out process. Hence my posts. It’s not a short term issue.

Avoid hyperbolic pish and maybe have an extra loaf in the freezer.

@Livelovebehappy

If there’s a cyber attack on our banking system, all account information will be wiped. You won’t be able to spend via card as there will be no account information. This would probably be a temporary thing, but I think it’s a good idea to just withdraw some cash and put in in your knicker draw in case you do need access to cash. There’s nothing wrong to just do a bit of prepping, but to be sensible and not remove all your cash, as that would be silly.......

That's the first place a burglar or looter would look for cash and jewellery.

There are so many better places to hide/keep money.

Although fifty quid and a fake Rolex in a knicker draw is probably a good decoy.

Also it’s perfectly normal to be prepared without being hysterical.

All those people buying up the loo roll and food a year or so ago were obviously selfish wackjobs, but there’s nothing wrong with buying a few extra bits every now and then if supplies are good, that’s just common sense surely?

This is what I done so far:

1. watched the news

2. made a prayer for all the people who will/ have already been affected negatively by the war.

3. It is payday and I was planning on doing monthly shopping on Sunday. Now I'm thinking it might be better to do it earlier. Avoid people panic buying. Or is it to late for that?

I don't believe anyone outside MN is panicking, frankly