Got the parts to fix my air conditioner in my car, and a used phone, and a retro handheld I had been putting off.

All used, of course. I’m not contributing back to this corrupt hell government.

  • @GooberEar@lemmy.wtfEnglish
    13•7 days ago

    I don’t plan on making any last minute purchases at this point.

    The tariffs (and other recent economic decisions) are purposefully inflicted economic chaos and disruption. I am not smart enough and do not have enough inside information to make truly informed decisions. I do not trust my ability (or really anybody else’s ability) to make long term, last minute plans around the deranged actions. Most, if not all, good plans should have / would have been executed a while ago anyway.

    It doesn’t make sense to me to go ahead and buy stuff like a laptop, cellphone, car, etc right now “just in case”, spending lots of money I might not need to spend and which could be put to better use later. And for less expensive necessities, I already stock up on that sort of stuff as much as I can afford to buy and store because I live in a disaster prone, rural area so it’s always been a reasonable and rational thing to do for folks that have the means.

    My plan, which began pretty much as soon as the election results were clear, was and is to make do with less. I’ve put off all non-essential “big” purchases I was considering. I’ve given up or significantly reduced luxury and impulse purchases. I’ve switched to less expensive brands, even if I like them less. I’ve switched to cheaper alternatives where applicable. And now I will buckle down, encourage and support others to do the same as best they can.

  • @MyNamesTotallyRobert@lemmynsfw.com
    11•6 days ago

    I kind of already did that all that stuff. During the pandemic I saw the writing on the wall: the united states is doomed to fail unless we get major reforms that are never going to happen.

    I bought a cheap lathe. I then built a furnace and a burner. I then built an end mill out of scrap metal which I then used to build a forced air intake burner so I can melt stuff with less fuel. I’ve researched and experimented with electronics to the point I can build just about anything. Electric motors, computer logic, you name it. It helps that I have a computer engineering degree anyway. I found a decent way to produce my own double layer circuit boards which is going to pay off now that custom pcb services will become 100% unattainable by normal people. Right now I’m engineering a way to build a brushless motor controller, completely out of trash without buying anything of course.

    I’ve learned how to make my own lead acid battery plates. I’ve figured out enough chemistry on my own to make all the bases and acids in at least some capacity out of stuff I can acquire for either free or really cheap.

    I still have a lot to learn and a lot to do but i’m far enough along I can continue doing that no matter how much worse and more expensive society becomes.

    I’m ready for the bitter fucking end of modernity. I’m not living like people did in the 1600s, period. And I definitely won’t be helping people who supported things I oppose.

    • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 English
      8•6 days ago

      I can’t help but imagine a scenario where someone can Minecraft together a computer starting from punching trees; but then they starve because they never learned how to farm.

      • @ILoveUnions@lemmy.world
        2•6 days ago

        It’s a funny scenario to think about, but the skill would be so in demand someone with it could not touch a farming tool the rest of their life and still eat good

    • @derpgon@programming.dev
      2•7 days ago

      What if - hear me out - Trump is gonna hold world by the balls, waving tariffs, and then canceling them. It is not only gonna boost spending, but also put more money in the billionaires pockets.

      Wait, that’s not right either!

      • @AA5B@lemmy.world
        3•6 days ago

        The first half, sure.

        • Why talk or negotiate with someone when you can start with a shakedown?
        • why let someone talk to you as if they were your equal, when you can start by threatening them, to ensure proper respect/obsequiousness?

        I really don’t see how Trump has any plan beyond that, any ability to make deals beyond shakedowns

      • @Ledericas@lemm.eeEnglish
        1•6 days ago

        he has done it in his first term, and the reuslts were disastourous, this is 100times worst.

      • @EaterOfLentils@programming.devEnglish
        1•6 days ago

        I think he has no idea what he is doing or what he is going to do. I’d rather get my important purchases out of the way before the chaos inevitably hits the supply chains.

  • @Ledericas@lemm.eeEnglish
    4•6 days ago

    buying dental hygiene products, items for my newly persisting PDs, that should last me a while. Rx will be more complicated though. i got most of last years prescription, just refilled each month eventhough i havnt finished the current ones, so i can just ration that for my dermatitis.

    i recently bought oneplus12r which is a chinese product, glad i bought it before he began the tariffs, this has a large battery life so it would last a while, better than pixels and iphones. hate to say i do have to use prime for most of my shopping, only way to get things on the cheap without be gouged by big chain stores.

  • /home/pineapplelover
    4•6 days ago

    I bought some screen protectors off aliexpress. 1 week shipping instead of 4 weeks. Aliexpress has seriously improved since I last bought from them.

  • @Ibaudia@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4•6 days ago

    Might upgrade to a Pixel 8 from my current Pixel 6. I want to get security updates until at least the end of this administration.

  • @Brotha_Jaufrey@lemmy.world
    1•7 days ago

    I ordered a Powkiddy RGB30, although I’m not really sure how the tariffs will impact this since it’s coming from China (I bought it before the 104%)