Prepping for economic collapse

[daddymikey1975]

So, there are some indicators that our economy is heading for an adjustment. I have read that this one may be worse than in 2008/2009.

What are you folks doing, or what could we do to prepare?

I'm recently finished with my divorce so things are getting back to some semblance of normal, so I'm looking to the near future.

 

[indyjohn]

To be honest, I am more concerned with sabotage to the nation's electric power grid. If a section of the country was down for more than 72 hours, THAT would have a catastrophic impact on the nation as a whole.

Not trying to argue what event to prepare for. We continue to stockpile food and I've been researching how to at the very least heat my home if I have no electricity. Followed by having adequate water. Followed by how to boil water.

And we really, really want a place to stay outside of Marion county.

 

[pitbulld45]

No matter the situation prepping for or every day life you need food, water, shelter and security.

 

[indyjohn]

No matter the situation prepping for or every day life you need food, water, shelter and security.

QFT.

Allow me to quote from the Heartland Trading Post website:

"We believe there are tangible, realistic reasons that warrant being prepared. Things like tornados, floods, power outages, and maybe even a house in your neighborhood blowing up. Being prepared doesn’t have to be expensive, or difficult, or time consuming. But having a few essential items, knowing how to use them, and having a plan for your family can go a long way towards preventing an emergency from drastically changing the way you live your everyday life."

 

[Hkindiana]

TOILET PAPER, can you imagine how uncomfortable we would be without it?

 

[GIJEW]

TOILET PAPER, can you imagine how uncomfortable we would be without it?

pfft, just a luxury! if you use them like a squeege, cardboard ammo boxes work OK

 

[actaeon277]

TOILET PAPER, can you imagine how uncomfortable we would be without it?

My submarine suffered flooding that included the locker TP was in.
So yes, I can imagine.

 

[guns and groceries]

I prepare so I don't have to leave the house for awhile. Food, water, ammo and such. I don't fear the "event" as much as I fear stupid people and the way they will react to any hiccup in their daily life. I can heat, light, and cook with my kerosene stores for a few months and I have enough water to make it too. Serious SHTF and I am outa here (Marion Co.) heading a bit north with friends.

Economic wise, I have enough silver that I can sell some to pay the mortgage ahead a bit if needed. Food, water, and shelter in their many forms needed to be my first priorities. Security as well. Once I had that handled I started to think about things I would rather not get killed for because I had to run to the store. Like TP and coffee.

My parents have finally seen the writing on the wall too and they are stocking up a bit more. Some of my friends too. All with food, water, and protection.

I agree with indyjohn, after a few days with no grid and the bodies will start to pile up.

 

[GIJEW]

IDK but from what I've read, 2015 might be ok, with the effects of cheap oil lasting even after the shale-oil shuts down because of production cost vs cost of oil. Our real economic troubles will happen if china and russia get the IMF to replace the dollar with the yuan maybe, as the reserve currency.

 

[indyjohn]

g&g, save your silver for other needed items of value. Look at it this way:

Your mortgage will not be a concern. Stay as long as you want. If we suffer a significant economic failure, those that enforce vacancy of a property (law enforcement) I think will have greater things to devote their time to. Now, if the banks hire JBTs to enforce property occupation, that may be another story.

 

[pitbulld45]

First aide items including medication.

 

[Steve]

Winter in Indiana? How about the ability to stay warm for a few days to a few months? Storm, grid going down, makes no difference. 20 degrees is 20 degrees regardless of the reason. Food, water, TP, ammo, all are worthless if you freeze to death. Come Spring, your priorities can change.

 

[indyjohn]

Winter in Indiana? How about the ability to stay warm for a few days to a few months? Storm, grid going down, makes no difference. 20 degrees is 20 degrees regardless of the reason. Food, water, TP, ammo, all are worthless if you freeze to death. Come Spring, your priorities can change.

I believe that is what g&g was referring to when he said "no grid and the bodies will start to pile up".

 

[bobzilla]

Not sure why we have waited so long, but today I'll finish the generator install. Gas fireplace (36k btu) is up and running. So, no matter what happens, we'll have heat, water and enough electricity to surf the internets, watch TV, keep the fridge and freezer going and the furnace fan running and a way to prepare meals almost indefinitely. Considering we're rural, and total electric I'm not sure why it took us 10 years to get this ready. We always have a stock pile of TP though.... that NEVER gets low!

 

[Sailor]

Be the best employee, boss, business owner etc you can.

Finding good reliable people for work will always be in demand.

Have a plan B, broaden your skills/education.

That is my take.

 

[spencer rifle]

Don't plan on doing this alone. Have an MSG and communicate often. Update your common inventory frequently. Know where to go and when.

Oh, and OPSEC. That's all I'm going to say.

 

[daddymikey1975]

These are all some great ideas.

Keep them coming.

My concern about oil being low is that it could be an intro to a new currency. A bank holiday could be a hard hit for some.

Ideas on this and how to better prepare?

 

[cop car]

I just have some food and water, and a way to store more water. As well as water sanitation ability. If it ever got really rowdy out there I'm just staying home. I have a pistol and a rifle to be able to defend myself. Like someone else said, having friends and backup is important. Another important thing in a large economic collapse is to not look like a target. I'm poor, so no one thinks I have money anyways , but if you do have money, and it all goes south, stop driving new/nice/expensive cars. And hope that you don't live in a really nice house that people can see and say to themselves "I bet they have nice stuff we can steal" rual areas will fair much better than urban areas. Even with severe collapse, Indiana isn't going to be nearly as bad as Chicago NYC and other big cities. Northern Indiana might get a little rough.. Same around Louisville.

 

[dusty88]

Tough to say. I think it's practical to expect something worse than the Great Depression in terms of the economic shifts. And how are the effects on society different than they were then?

I wish we had done a better job of being financially prepared. I would like to have zero debt, and have cash stored as well as other assets.

It's definitely a good idea to have all of your needs at hand so you never have to be one of the people rushing to the store before the price goes up, or trying to decide whether to buy more food or toilet paper when everyone else is.

I also think that if you do have debt, that you should have some methodology to be able to make your minimal payments plus living expenses for a few months.

As far as 2015, I obviously don't "know" but I have long felt this would be the "year". I have a very poor record when it comes to predicting random feelings, lottery numbers, etc, so that doesn't mean a thing. I will say though that I delved into macroeconomics after 2008, trying to predict how it might affect me or my business. Since then, I've been reasonably accurate with the trends. I expected the stock market to make a downward turn before this though. I still feel that things won't get significantly better until society's economic growth outpaces the growth of debt. Until then I think we can plan on either:
- continued worsening of real incomes as compared to cost of living OR
- a more cataclysmic change that brings about the correction

To be honest, I am more concerned with sabotage to the nation's electric power grid. If a section of the country was down for more than 72 hours, THAT would have a catastrophic impact on the nation as a whole.

I don't know but I know it's not unrealistic to have a midwest ice storm that could cause us to lose power for a few days, so it's sensible to be able to function at home without power. As far as a larger segment of the grid down for a long time, I'm skeptical but can go on functioning if that happens. We haven't even invested in a generator yet, so our survival would be laborious in a long-term outage, but we can do it.

That's why the term "zombie apocalypse" is so appropriate, and not just silly. Preparing for a fictional zombie apocalypse allows you to think of things you need for the most mundane emergencies as well as the possibility of several happening at the same time. It has sometimes been natural disasters or political events that precipitate economic problems including energy shortages.


[quoute]These are all some great ideas.

Keep them coming.


My concern about oil being low is that it could be an intro to a new currency. A bank holiday could be a hard hit for some.


Ideas on this and how to better prepare?[/quote]

I think it is very difficult to know if there might be severe deflation, inflation, or a surge of inflation followed by price collapse. Or none of the above if things keep happening gradually. It depends on the FEDs response as well as plenty of unforeseen global events.

I would not assume that you won't have to pay your mortgage in an economic disaster. The natural market forces are deflationary. If that math finally "wins" you could find yourself with fully-functioning banks and a paycheck to low to make your payments. Even in the case of inflation, your mortage won't go up but any variable rates will skyrocket.

I suspect very few people are debt-free with several months worth of cash PLUS several months worth of metals. Aside from that, I think you at least try to get in the position you would want to be in if you were unemployed for a few months.

Having some cash at home is smart but obviously at risk of theft or loss. People argue over keeping accounts at large banks vs small credit unions. Some will say that the large banks will always be most protected by the government; others rightly point out that the government can't bail them out again anyway so you should not leave money there.

Basic life needs, minimal debt is the starting point IMO.

 

[cop car]

I don't know why you wouldn't want a lot of debt in a financial crisis. I'd want to have as much as possible, and as little paper currency as possible. Just look at post ww1 Germany. Hyper inflation. Basically over night everyone got their house and debts paid off.. However everyone who had saved money lost everything. Rate of inflation is one of the reasons why I don't bother keeping cash savings.. That and I find gun stuff that I just have to have more. Lol. But really, guns, mags, ammo are something that's always going to have value, even if nothing else in the world does. And besides the sandy hook dum bass blip, guns have never gone down in value. Ever.