Inflation 101: Take control of your existence

Gas and food prices. Everywhere we turn today, those are the pocketbook issues facing Americans. They are the topics in beauty salon and barber shops, across America's back fences and 24/7 on the TV and in the newspapers.

We don't have to be victims. We can take control and live smart. We can be strong Americans, not a easy marks. Consider these:

Buy lots of shelf-stable and non-perishable foods to stock up the shelves, pantries and deep freezes. Not because the world's ending, but to make the best of inflation.

Food price inflation, at its highest rate in the United States since 1990, presents an easy investment opportunity that almost can't go wrong. Food is an inevitable future need for all humans. Considering the cost of oil futures, the cost of food is almost certain to soar for the foreseeable future. Food and fuel prices are inextricably entangled, because trucks and trains burn fuel to get food from farms to processors to stores.
Smart individuals, given even modest cash reserves, will convert their cash into goods during times of inflation. Buy it low today, and consume it in the future when the cost will be much higher. It's a no-brainer, as the interest rates available on savings accounts are lower than inflation on most goods and services.
This does two things: 1. It protects the value of your money; and 2. works against future inflation, by reducing future demand.

Merchants can bolster sales during times of inflation, offering today's price for tomorrow's service or good. A hair salon may anticipate raising prices nine months from now in response to the increasing costs of goods and services. The business may want to offer certificates, each good for one hair cut, that sell for today's price but don't expire for years. That gives the merchant liquidity today that can be used for purchases that will hedge against inflation, while guaranteeing the consumer a bargain down the road.

Hedging fuel spikes gets more troublesome. Few consumers have massive storage facilities needed to purchase fuel today to avoid tomorrow's price. But here's what some can do, especially during warm weather: Fill every vehicle you have with fuel. Then explore all imaginable options to avoid burning it. Store it at today's price in the tank of the SUV, and start riding a bicycle, scooter or bus to work. Do anything tolerable to avoid consuming fuel. Don't consider it a burden, but a liberating choice. View it as the freedom to avoid getting pushed around by soaring, unpredictable prices. Realize that you're getting paid to ride a bike.

If tens of millions of Americans would dramatically reduce consumption of high-priced fuel, the price would drop. The rules don't change during times of inflation. A price is nothing more than a control on the release of a commodity, services or goods.

Finally, allow inflation to serve as a wake-up call. Let it remind you that basic needs may not always be easy to get. Have a wood stove? Consider heating with wood. Have a yard? Consider growing food. Consider the potential of solar and wind.

Only the weak whine and buckle during inflationary times. Smart consumers see inflation as opportunity, just as sage investors view a turbulent stock market as a time to sell high and buy back low. To the wise consumer, tomorrow's $15 peanut butter is today's $7 investment opportunity, to be stored on a pantry shelf.