Getting prepared just in case

[Olympeagal]

Is anyone else preparing or making plans, in case the situation in the Middle East escalates?
Ive filled my car up with fuel. Should i be doing more?

Yep. Im feeling slightly like i want to scream 'told you so'!

The best thing you can do to prepare is grounding your anxiety - coming off social media or locking down who you follow so you can’t be panicked by all the AI videos and doing some
mindful breathing. There’s nothing you can do

Strange they've not gone up at our local petrols station. It's a farce as the petrol in the pump was prepaid for before all this started

If you fill your car up- you will still use it, I fill mine weekly cause use it, isn’t that just good admin?

Unfortunately people have started panic buying already - I wish people would prepare in a sensible/measured way.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/2177522/petrol-station-queue-fuel-prices

But if everyone filled up their car when you “told them so”, lots of people would still need to fill up again in 1 or two weeks. Me included. So all you’d have done was push the issue back a week or two. Everyone will still have higher prices just a week later than you “told them”.

A tank of petrol lasts me 2-3 months so I didn't want to leave it a week or two and pay more.

It's the media hysteria that causes fuel shortages

Has the price at the pump increased much???

And how long will that petrol last you?

I have to fill up every 2 weeks regardless.

If the pump price soars I'll just be paying it in 2 weeks time.

As far as I know there aren't any fuel shortages. That will only happen if people panic buying the fuel.

that's a normal Costco forecourt on a pay day weekend

I can't get a taxi where I live, so that's pretty moot for me. There is one taxi driver and he is too expensive to use for something like food shopping.

I can't walk to a shop either, so I guess it would be a train into town to get protein powder as it's light to carry back home for the kids. Or the kids could eat each other?

We get food deliveries from Tesco some times. I wonder if they could keep their fuel supplies back for deliveries?

If things got desperate, there were lots of wild deer and rabbits to eat ( I just couldn't).

That's why I always have some food in. It's not like we have takeaway deliveries either. There is nothing like Uber Eats or deliveroo. You have to be prepared. We aren't even that rural compared to some. There's a train station, so that's handy. It's better than walking three miles to Tesco express. Because it's three miles back up a hill.

So no petrol wouldn't change the fact we have no deliveries unless it's a supermarket or Amazon. I can't rely on taxi or fast food now.

I'm now keeping an eye on when to refix the energy bill, we are on a fix until August but will keep a firm eye on it. Talk of it maybe going up 1st July price cap.

Of course the oil price has increased. However, there is always a lag in the increase at the pumps. Our prices still haven’t moved around here.

Our prices haven’t increased at all. The panic buying is ridiculous. You can’t stockpile fuel, obviously, so as you say you’ll be paying more next time you fill up.

The answer is to drive less.

Yep. It’s up to 89p per litre locally. The companies are only taking orders at the moment, payment will be taken the day before delivery at that days price.

Well yes but you cant store it, and if you commute, you have to use it regardless.

It is too easy to get drawn into listening to or reading every news update.

During COVID a friend "rationed" her news intake by listening to the news in the morning, then the daily evening update.

I'm thinking of adopting a similar approach with the Iran war: Listen to or read the news first thing, then watch the general news once each evening.

That easier said than done if you need to for work. And I don't mean commuting

Local panic buying idiots used up all the unleaded in our local petrols station last night.

Well...yes, I am.

But the mess in the middle east is not an immediate reason for everyone to go out and strip the shelves bare. Everyone should, at all times, have enough to be able to manage for a minimum of 3 days. That's the 'official' advice. Some can't, of course, but the majority of the population can and should. That's just sensible.

Needing stocks beyond that would only be relevant in the event of an actual disaster that affects the UK. Reality is that we're more affected by cyber attacks (JLR, M&S, Coop) than the use of heavy ordnance a quarter of the world away. I'd be more worried about sneak attacks by Russia on our undersea cables while our attention is elsewhere, than panicking about Iran.

There will be knock-on impacts that will filter through. And petrol prices will rise. But the UK is capable of dealing with those shocks.

It's amazing how little worry you feel when you move yourself away from the mass media hyperbole. I highly recommend it.

Went t physio this morning. Petrol station had two customers, I think there are 16 pumps, so I filled up. I thought it best not to actually wait for the warning light to go on. A full tank lasts me about two months and if I'm good and walk or catch the bus more it will last longer. So I won't be adding to queues and hopefully by May/June things will be calmer.

Shame I dont have much food in but we honestly arent big eaters and no hungry kids so we should survive. I might go mad and pay for a delivery next Monday instead of doing click and collect.

I got some petrol at mson today as going to the office tomorrow, price still the same and no qs. I also got toilet paper (because we need it, not panic buying!)

No issues with getting petrol here but most local places are out of diesel.

Who has time to watch more than this?