I don’t plan on making any last minute purchases at this point.

The tariffs (and other recent economic decisions) are purposefully inflicted economic chaos and disruption. I am not smart enough and do not have enough inside information to make truly informed decisions. I do not trust my ability (or really anybody else’s ability) to make long term, last minute plans around the deranged actions. Most, if not all, good plans should have / would have been executed a while ago anyway.

It doesn’t make sense to me to go ahead and buy stuff like a laptop, cellphone, car, etc right now “just in case”, spending lots of money I might not need to spend and which could be put to better use later. And for less expensive necessities, I already stock up on that sort of stuff as much as I can afford to buy and store because I live in a disaster prone, rural area so it’s always been a reasonable and rational thing to do for folks that have the means.

My plan, which began pretty much as soon as the election results were clear, was and is to make do with less. I’ve put off all non-essential “big” purchases I was considering. I’ve given up or significantly reduced luxury and impulse purchases. I’ve switched to less expensive brands, even if I like them less. I’ve switched to cheaper alternatives where applicable. And now I will buckle down, encourage and support others to do the same as best they can.

I kind of already did that all that stuff. During the pandemic I saw the writing on the wall: the united states is doomed to fail unless we get major reforms that are never going to happen.

I bought a cheap lathe. I then built a furnace and a burner. I then built an end mill out of scrap metal which I then used to build a forced air intake burner so I can melt stuff with less fuel. I’ve researched and experimented with electronics to the point I can build just about anything. Electric motors, computer logic, you name it. It helps that I have a computer engineering degree anyway. I found a decent way to produce my own double layer circuit boards which is going to pay off now that custom pcb services will become 100% unattainable by normal people. Right now I’m engineering a way to build a brushless motor controller, completely out of trash without buying anything of course.

I’ve learned how to make my own lead acid battery plates. I’ve figured out enough chemistry on my own to make all the bases and acids in at least some capacity out of stuff I can acquire for either free or really cheap.

I still have a lot to learn and a lot to do but i’m far enough along I can continue doing that no matter how much worse and more expensive society becomes.

I’m ready for the bitter fucking end of modernity. I’m not living like people did in the 1600s, period. And I definitely won’t be helping people who supported things I oppose.

DS9 station from BlueBrixx

buying dental hygiene products, items for my newly persisting PDs, that should last me a while. Rx will be more complicated though. i got most of last years prescription, just refilled each month eventhough i havnt finished the current ones, so i can just ration that for my dermatitis.

i recently bought oneplus12r which is a chinese product, glad i bought it before he began the tariffs, this has a large battery life so it would last a while, better than pixels and iphones. hate to say i do have to use prime for most of my shopping, only way to get things on the cheap without be gouged by big chain stores.

I bought some screen protectors off aliexpress. 1 week shipping instead of 4 weeks. Aliexpress has seriously improved since I last bought from them.

Might upgrade to a Pixel 8 from my current Pixel 6. I want to get security updates until at least the end of this administration.

I have everything I need, but my partner bought a massive bag of rice.

We are buying supplies to do fixes in our home like fresh paint, to get it up for market.

Audio gear. Car parts. Laptop. All were due for an upgrade anyway.

RAM

I ordered a Powkiddy RGB30, although I’m not really sure how the tariffs will impact this since it’s coming from China (I bought it before the 104%)

I’m stocking up on Penguin eggs from Heard Island.

Too late. I have no money.

None, because I don’t live in a country with an orange moron at the helm.

I can’t afford to get any real last-minute stuff, unfortunately. What I did do was stock up on rice and the spices that I largely use, and got some new shoes from walmart earlier than I normally would.

I put off the things I had been saving for (like a vero v), canceled everything but my basic phone service, and I’ll be seeing how much stuff I can get by with repairing/cobbling.

What’s sad is that the billionaires who control the only grocery options for 90 miles will be getting a LOT more of my income, and the small businesses (music stores, thrift stores, things like that) will be getting left. Thereby amplifying the wealth extraction already happening.

F this, and f everyone who voted for it.