If you are retired from the workforce there is a good chance that you are now living on a fixed income each month. You are proud of the fact that people are now paying you to have fun, and that you are free to do what you desire.
However, how much fun you have depends upon on how much money you can spend and still be able to pay your current expenses for those things that keep you healthy and alive. You notice that the cost of crude oil has caused the price of almost everything else to rise higher than a kite in a hurricane. What is not rising is your monthly retirement income.
You search for ways to preserve the purchasing power of your life savings. Along the way you discover that some items have become less expensive because people need extra money in which to pay their current expenses. The reason being is that they might have lost their primary means of employment so now they must sell some or all of their personal property that they can easily live without.
You know that sooner or later the price of crude oil will decrease and so will the cost of food and transportation. The prices of other products will also decrease but time must pass before some items become less expensive.
Many of those thing that can now be purchased for pennies on the dollar will, most likely, increase in value after the economy improves and more people are working and paying taxes. Those working people who find jobs will have extra money to spend on things that they can easily live without.
Being a person who wants to save the purchasing power of your life savings it is wise to purchase personal property from people who are in need of money. Such items include art, coins, postage stamps and other collectibles. So too, since the price of gold and silver is rising it is wise to purchase a quantity of gold and silver in the form of jewelry. Used furniture that is in excellent condition is also desirable because the population is growing and those extra people will need furniture.
Increasing inflation within any economy causes the prices of new goods to increase, thus increasing the prices of used goods. You can increase your life savings as much as 200% when you sell those items that you purchased for pennies on the dollar. That does not mean that you have to convert all of your intangible assets into tangible assets. You need cash money in order to pay your current living expenses.
Make a hobby out of your new economic plan. The profits from your hobby can easily pay for that vacation that you wanted but never had the money to do.