Alpha Strategy in action

One of the lessons I've learned over my two year hiatus from blogging is having implemented the Alpha Strategy is effective, but not completely so. Reason being is stockpiles of increasing in cost commodities does not cover for monthly living expenses.

Such storage does help to mitigate a lack of cash for things you need such as laundry detergent and toilet paper. Another finer point is having the necessary equipment such as food processors is also a must. Huge cans of tomatoes are nice, without a way to quickly turn them into tomato sauce means they will not be used.

Another point is ones family has to like the food or it will not be used.

A few items of food processing equipment that would have been helpful:

-Bread machine, these save hard cash
-Food processor, for making everything from tomato sauce to jalapeno mustard.
-Crock pot, for making everything from frijilos con porco to lasagna to onion soup

All three items can be easily found at most thrift stores such as goodwill and at local community free cycle locations.

Overall however, the Alpha Strategy has worked as long term unemployment and underemployment is a fact of life in Asheville North Carolina. Several of my coworkers have remained unemployed for two years now. A family member has been under employed for at least a year. My fellow coworkers who have found jobs are making much less then they were prior to being laid off.
Some have grown extra large gardens, others have opened online businesses. The ones whose spouses have remained employed weathered the financial turmoil, the family member has been forced to go deeply into stockpiled Alpha Strategy goods such as canned hams. In my case the food has not been an issue, the problem items have been household goods such as toilet paper and laundry detergent, these cost hard cash and there are no substitutes that seem workable such as homemade laundry detergent.