One of the things we people tend to do when we see things going bad is we operate in a cognitive dissonance and pretend we can do normal stuff when things around us are falling apart. I see a lot of brothas and sistas out here in 2020 trying to buy used Range Rovers on the cheap, trying to snag a house or apartment complex or at the mall shopping big ticket items. This is a big mistake.

The reality is those materialistic things continue to be worthless or become an extra burden like that used Mercedes or Range Rover at CarMax you be looking at right now thinking you going to shine while the rest of the world goes to sh*t. You seriously think the price to fix a Range Rover is going to be cheaper when the economy goes really bad? Yeah, all someone did buying a used Range Rover right now is showed how materialistic but financially stupid they are.

COVID-19 has changed the way supply chain works and also how we do business. I have personally witness so much sloppy handling of business in this current point in time, especially on big ticket items and I’m telling you from experience – do not run out and buy big ticket items and instead, focus on getting through this situation in the best, low-frequency way possible and prep for the worst case scenario – that’s all you should be spending on right now.

Purchasing Problems

If you look at the real estate industry, you will see people buying homes off the web totally unseen meaning they just submitting offers to purchase and never looked at the house. They see pretty pictures on the real estate web site but don’t know about foundation issue, termites, flood and sinkholes or the crime and the neighbors. Then you have to compete against people over the web submitting offers over homes you cannot even see.

If you look at the car industry, you will see people buying cars off the Internet or the lot that are cleaned and shined up. As someone said before, they don’t show you the picture of the engine on web sites like Carvana. People are buying right now sight unseen and you see nothing but complaint after complaint about the car or quality of service. Also, people are buying up these used luxury cars and you can tell they stupid because they don’t realize the reason luxury cars are cheap is because the cost of labor for maintenance is more expensive than the cost to acquire.

What people don’t realize what they doing in this economic is creating more financial burden on themselves. Get a new house means you have to spend money on other things to get the house ready for you and to keep that new home upkept. Get a new car means the same thing – have to do maintenance stuff to pay for to keep the car working. Look at the workforce labor to fix homes and fix luxury cars – you either have super-cheap labor or super-expensive labor needed because service companies are understaffed or cost more to do business while COVID-19 is around.

New Models of Logistics

We are now looking at buying online, picking up in store as the new normal while restrictions are in place. We are also looking at virtual selling with people video conferencing over the Internet instead of talking in person. The problem is everything seems cool until a human comes around and show how awkward and messy the workflow is.

This happened to me plenty of time. I would see something online used in stock and order it because the new version is not around. Web site said shipping would be 5-7 days. Then 10 days past and no problem or status. I call and they tell me the local store they sourcing from was closed down and people not there to pack the item. Then 3 weeks later tell me it shipped. This is what I have been experiencing over and over.

We looking at stressed out working who have to work in warehouses and other places trying to buy online and pick up and store and these workers have nasty attitudes dealing with folks who don’t want to wear masks and want to talk and ask questions at the counter without a mask. Many of them can’t make the bills or the rent. Then there is the biggest factor – illiteracy.

Most minimum wage people have to read tech documentation and instructions to learn how to handle inventory readers, barcode scanning and tagging and use computers and a lot of people don’t have these basic skills for the near minimum wage pay offered for those jobs. You going to experience a low quality of service as a result as the new normal of delivering products.  

Buying Big Things in 2020

To buy big things requires a level of clienteling and socialization that you need to build up personal trust and confidence this big-ticket item transaction will go smoothly. What I seen and what many people experience is they are online and they guide themselves through the process. Then when the online purchase process turns to physical fulfillment, they deal with a person less sophisticated than them and have an attitude and the experience goes really bad.

We are in a current state of transformation on buying and selling. You simply not going to get the best service and even if you “just get the item”, the support ecosystem to maintain your big-ticket purchase is not going to be up to par with the current economic and COVID-19 situation we are going through. Also trying to look fancy when the economic situation goes down is going to just put a big target on your back among desperate people – and I’m out here in these streets and these folks are very desperate with no job and trying to find a way to eat and keep a roof over their head.

What You Should Do Now

The best move you can make is to look at prepping for the worst-case scenario which is most likely you are not prepared. That worst-case scenario is the advancement of artificial intelligence and automation to take your job; Joe Biden is elected and he open back up visas and “global citizens” who got more money than you pretending they black like you calling themselves people of color; COVID-19 mutates into a more deadlier variant and you are now in an apocalyptic like state of affairs.  These are some real scenarios that are very likely to happen. And trust me, no one cares about your 13mpg used Range Rover if this is what happens to the world in a year or two.

Instead this is what you should do.

Focus on Financial Safe Havens. Look towards precious metals like gold. Negative interest rates in America is very likely and this means your savings account will be charged an interest fee instead of giving you interest. Stocks are too risky as companies need to compete with tech firms who are fully digitalized and have huge cash reserves and global scalability everyday firms cannot compete with.

Focus on Refinance. The interest rates are very low giving you the opportunity to refinance when needed. This is probably the most important thing you should be doing right now to save money and this is more important than the stimulus packages by the government.

Shore Up Your Existing State. Do not recommend moving to a new place unless you are in a bad situation where crime is increasing and jobs are bleeding. If you in a place that is okay, stay there and focus on saving and securing your home and surroundings. Start stockpiling food and supplies and learn to stay in the house and find activities at home to engage in.

Maintain and Downsize. There is no need to buy new stuff, either maintain what you have right now or buy used off someone else. Look at downsizing and selling off stuff that are considered excess in your household.  Having a simple home with the minimum things to get by is going to give you a peace of mind that you really need when things outside start going bad.

Learn New Skills, Learn New Business Models. You need to learn the skills of the future which is technology that support automation and logistics and payments and memberships as well as cybersecurity. In addition, there are new paradigms of business models such as experiential third spaces, digital trade and consulting firms based on the new paradigm are good backup ventures you need to learn and focus on.

Let me explain – you know these brothas and sistas out there doing basic stuff and not really focus on what’s next out there. Most of them are focus on clout-chasing and chasing status because that’s all they know. Others are focus on doing some outdated technique that the future will have no room for. Then we got those special brothas and sistas that want to show me and you they got a little money and they buying houses and buying cars acting like they got it going on.

You got to focus on staying afloat and do some cutting and downsizing in your own personal life. But at the same time, realize you need to spend money on that new business model or new skills needed for the transformation and paradigm shift we are facing. That’s what you really need to be doing in 2020.