Stocking Up?

Here's something new and disturbing...the Wall Street Journal is weighing in on more than the stock market. They've recently published an article about stocking your pantry as a means of getting a better return on your money.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120881517227532621.html

Apparently food prices are rising at a much faster rate than the best interest rates you can get on CD's and money markets these days. And I guess it must be true, my savings account in paying out a whopping 1/2 percent interest, and eggs have gone up almost $0.50 a dozen in the last few months. But isn't fearmongering like this putting us further into this position? Scare people into thinking rice is doubling in price, or becoming scarce, and won't people buy in bulk, stockpile, and make that a self fulfilling prophecy?

And since when is WSJ a valid resource when it comes to matters of the home? They have their niche, reporting on all things financial. But this is a new territory for them. Should we take them seriously? To be honest, WSJ weighing in on this is a little scary for me. It lends validity to the "rumors" of recession, something which I've heard and understand in abstract, but still don't take as reality. But am I going to take up a bomb shelter mentality? Absolutely not. Thanks to my genetic makeup, I'm already predisposed to OCD, and my pantry and storage freezer are already pretty full, thank-you-very-much. My husband has enough of a hayday rolling his eyes at my "crazed-squirrel-in-autumn" mentality. He doesn't need any more ammo.

More important to me right now is finding other ways to economize. My brother is a true inspiration to me...he's taken to riding his bicycle to and from work, instead of starting up his SUV and burning a non-renewable (and very expensive) resource. While that's a great example, emulating is just not very feasible living in the 'burbs with a preschooler. What we do is just try to consolidate our errands as much as we can. It's important to me to reduce our grocery bill and still be able to serving healthful food to my family. And if I stumble on a great deal along the way, well, I can put on the crazy squirrel hat for awhile.

So does the Wall Street Journal dictate what we'll do about this recession? Yes and no. Sure, it makes me worry a bit, and maybe pay more attention to my spending habits. But am I looking to buy a survival kit yet? Maybe instead I'll just buy a few more cans of green beans....