My grandparents do have some money in their bank account, but they are of an older generation and don’t trust modern technology much. That’s why they keep a lot of money around the house. I have discussed this with them several times, but they always argue that if anything should happen, it is better to have somewhere to go and not rely on banks. When I ask them what would happen, they have a number of answers in the form of catastrophic scenarios. Unfortunately, it turns out that they are not the only ones. In the world, even the authorities often see it that way.
Not just cash, but also enough fuel and a food supply just in case. All this is now recommended by the Swedish government to its citizens. The Swedish authorities warn of emergency situations and point out that in the event of payment system failures and threats related to armed conflict, it is important to have everything nice and close at hand.
Large investments
Sweden recently allocated €131 million for generators and emergency equipment. A large part of this is expected to go mainly to food reserves, with the rest going to equip cities, petrol stations and various emergency preparations. In addition, Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin would like to educate the population on how to react in the event of any danger.
“The Swedish government has made SEK 1.4 billion available to strengthen the defence and preparedness of municipalities, including the purchase of equipment such as generators, building up local stocks of everyday essentials and investing in infrastructure for emergencies,” Bohlin said specifically. The Swedish Central Bank then recommends that every adult carry at least 94 euros in cash.
━━ Today we usually have large sums of money in bank accounts. However, according to some authorities, it is not a bad idea to have a larger amount of cash as well.
( Source: Jp Valery / Unsplash+ )Support for stockpiling
If the people around me started buying up canned food in large numbers , filling their garages with gas cans, and taking larger sums out of their bills, I’d probably worry that something might actually happen. But the problem is that in the current situation, it is. So perhaps the actions of the Swedish authorities are causing a little panic, but on the other hand, people need to be prepared.
The government there supports such stockpiling, indeed encourages it. At the same time, however, all the measures are a strong warning that there is no need to escalate the situation too much, that they are rather precautionary measures to prevent disaster and confusion if anything serious were to actually happen. In any case, according to the authorities, this does not mean that Sweden is in any way in any great danger.
L. Novak
O. Müller
A. Urban