The a to Z Guide to Prepping for an Economic Collapse

With the state of the world today, one of the things many preppers can agree upon is an economic collapse is likely. With the near collapse of the U.S. economy in Sept 2008, followed by the crises in Greece, Argentina, and Venezuela, it’s becoming harder to deny the likelihood that an economic collapse is inevitable.

It’s nearly impossible to predict exactly what will happen when an economy begins to fail but an economic collapse can certainly have a domino effect on a country and its people and can impact many different areas of life.

Signs of an economic collapse include:

  • High Unemployment Rates
  • Increased government debt
  • Government Instability
  • Less Consumer Spending
  • Trading on Wall Street higher than ever

Some Things Impacted by an Economic Collapse include:

  • Banking
  • Transportation
  • Food Production
  • Shipping
  • Retail Sales
  • Government and public utility shutdown
  • Housing Market
What Will the Global Economic Collapse Look Like? Chaos, Panic, Hyperinflation, and Debt?

So for those who are looking to be more prepared for what may come and the impact it can have, we’ve put together an A to Z guide to prepping for an economic collapse with some suggested advice and/or actions to work toward being prepared to survive and even thrive in an economic collapse.

A

Analyze your current assets, income, and expenses. You can’t measure improvement unless you know where you’re starting from. Set goals with an eye towards increased self sufficiency.

Consider implementing long term resources such as aquaponics gardening system or planting apple trees or other fruit trees that will provide food for your family. Stockpile antibiotics and other OTC medications as well as any addictive habit items such as cigarettes or alcohol for your own use and for trading.

B

Band together with friends or family and make a plan to get fit and stay physically ready to do what is needed to survive. Prepare a comprehensive bug out bag in the event you need to leave home. Plant berry bushes which will produce fruit that can be canned or dehydrated to add to your food stockpile. Gather items to be used for bartering for items you may need and can’t produce.

C

Cash on hand is important because experts agree that banks will be one of the first systems to shut down. Having cash on hand in the initial days following a collapse could help you secure last minute items for your stockpile.

Also consider stockpiling gold and silver pieces which almost certainly will become more useful than cash in an extended crisis. Home canning produce and meat can extend the shelf life of your food stockpile and reduce your dependence on refrigeration. Install a composting toilet to improve sanitation in the event public utilities are shutdown.

D

Durable goods are more valuable when cash loses value. For example, a pile of lumber for building has value but a sawmill has more value to someone because it allows them to create additional lumber. Fresh chicken eggs will be scarce and thus will have value but one or more chickens to continue to lay eggs is more valuable. Hand tools, batteries, solar panels, rope, nails, and stoves are durable goods.

Dryer Lint and other materials for fire starting are good to stock up on for your own use. The ability to dehydrate vegetables and meat will help reduce your reliance on refrigeration and be a source of lightweight food in the event of a bug out situation.

E

Establish an emergency fund with 3-6 months cash to cover expenses. This should be one of your first steps to preparing for an economic collapse. The first three steps of Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps are a great way to do this. EveryDollar is a free tool to assist you in creating and maintaining a budget to achieve your goals.

F

Fire-starting is a crucial skill for anyone who wants to be prepared for an economic collapse. Those families who have a stockpile of firewood and an axe or log splitter as well as fuel for their generator and equipment, will be furthest ahead when it comes to being able to cook and heat their home following a complete economic collapse.

Being frugal, and the ability to reuse and recycle items is one way of prepping for an economic collapse. Many families who survived The Great Depression did so because they were able to practice frugality to save precious money for items they really needed. Finding freebies in your neighborhood and even online can help you save money to pay off debt or grow your emergency fund.

stock exchange

G

Generate additional income through side projects, a second job, or supplemental earnings through craft or other homestead products (excess produce, jams, worm farm, eggs, raise livestock to sell, etc.) Go Grid Free Gradually by taking small steps you can now while paying off your home or property, reducing debt, and planning for self sufficiency in phases.

H

Habits can make you or break you following an economic collapse. If you don’t make the effort to break bad habits and replace them with good ones now, you’ll struggle in a crisis situation. Reduce your use of electricity as much as possible. Hit yard sales garage sales, and flea markets to find great deals on quality items to help you reduce spending habits.

I

Investments that you make should be easy to liquidate so that you can get access to additional cash quickly, hopefully ahead of a banking system crash if you’re paying attention.

J

Jams and jellies make great additions to your food stockpile if you home can them for long term storage. Just keep taking one step at a time toward self sufficiency.

Join local or online groups to learn the skills you don’t already have.

K

Keep practicing basic survival skills such as fire starting, shelter building, foraging for food and wild edibles, hunting, trapping, and fishing. The more comfortable you are with all of these skills, the better off you will be following an economic collapse.

Kindle apps and books can be a great resource when prepping for an economic collapse. Invest the time to load your kindle with apps and books that have information you’ll need in a grid down or financial crisis situation. There are apps for first aid, wildlife and plant identification, and many other topics.

Many books can be read for free through Amazon or from Gutenberg. These can be important references for you if you find you’ve forgotten something you’ve learned or just want to confirm what you think you know.

L

Learn about our economic system. The more you understand the economy, the better you will be able to see signs of an economic collapse before it happens. Study the events that followed economic crisis around the world to get an idea of what types of threats to prepare for and how to survive them.

Book suggestions include:

M

Prepare for and understand the procedures for Martial law, which is likely to be enacted in part or all of the United States in the event of a widespread economic collapse. Know what to expect and how to protect yourself and family when this occurs.

N

Nature can provide a vast amount of resources if you simply learn how to find them and tap into them for what you need. From firewood and wild edibles to deer meat and even power from the sun, you can get it all if you know how and plan ahead.

O

Organic gardening is a great step toward prepping for an economic collapse. Be sure to start your garden with heritage or heirloom seeds (non GMO) which will produce a better yield year after year.

P

Properly save seeds from your organic garden so that you will have seeds for future years without having to depend on purchasing seeds from a supply store.

Purchase property, build a home, and get it paid off to reduce the chance of losing it following an economic crisis.

Q

Quality tools and equipment can go a long way toward making your family self sufficient following an economic collapse.

Quit waiting for the perfect time to get started and make a plan to gather manual tools you may need to rely on to survive after an economic collapse.

R

Reduce expenses as much as possible. This includes conserving water and power until it becomes habit to just use less.

S

Stockpile canned vegetables, dehydrated fruits, and other food and supplies to sustain your family for at least 6 months to 1 year. Determine a food rotation system that works for your family and know the biggest threats to food storage to ensure that if an economic collapse occurs, the food in your pantry will be the freshest possible.

T

Talk to like-minded family and friends about how best to assist one another in surviving if a crisis occurs. Those who form mutual assistance groups will be in a better position to survive long term following an economic collapse.

U

Understand the types of dangers you are most likely to be confronted with in your area or location and focus on defending against likely threats first.

Uncertainty will become the norm when the economy collapses. Prepping for an economic collapse means being able to make decisions and act quickly even in times of great uncertainty.

V

Verify that your passport is valid. If you don’t have one, make sure to apply and get one as this process can take several weeks or longer to complete. Even if you don’t plan to leave the country following an economic collapse, a passport could become valuable in getting through martial law checkpoints.

Seek valuable insight into what to expect from an economic collapse from countries such as Venezuela, Greece, and Argentina which have recently experienced economic crisis.

W

Watch the wealthy for signs that they are prepping more actively or liquidating assets. Many of the networks the elite are part of will be the first ones to get word that something big is threatening the economy.

Wheelbarrows and other equipment and tools will be vital when the grid goes down and everything must be done manually. Make sure you have manual tools to accomplish survival tasks and any other chores you’ll need to get done around the house.

X

Prepare for Xtreme increases in violence following an economic collapse. Desperate people will do desperate things. One critical component of prepping for an economic collapse is knowing how to defend yourself and your family and having the firearms, ammunition, and other weapons ready and working to help you do that effectively. Stockpile as much of the common ammunition as possible (9mm, .45 ACP, .22) or for even more value, learn to make ammunition and stockpile those supplies.

Y

Yesteryear can be a source of knowledge for how to survive hard times. Study the skills and techniques used by people who survived the Great Depression and other difficult times in the past. Learn the skills that early pioneers and Native American tribes used to survive when resources were lean.

Z

Zero in on critical resources like shelter, water, and food first. When prepping for an economic collapse, your ability to provide the basics for your family to survive can greatly increase your odds of long term survival.

Are you ready for an economic collapse if one occurs in the next five or ten years? What if your local economy fails within the next 12 months? Or if you or your spouse lost your source of income in the next 6 months? How ready are you? Let us know in the comments below.

21 thoughts on “The a to Z Guide to Prepping for an Economic Collapse”

  1. I am wondering about P, getting a passport. Ohio started a ‘new’ system for drivers licences this year, and I opted out of the ‘federal’ ID option (it states right on my drivers license that it is not a federal ID). So why would I want a passport, to travel freely in my own country? I know my information is already in the ‘system’. Why would I want to ‘ramp up’ interest, by applying for a passport? Counterpoint, did I ‘flag’ myself by opting out of the ‘federal’ ID option? Just throwing that out there…

    Reply
    • Grammyprepper,

      So why would I want a passport, to travel freely in my own country? I know my information is already in the ‘system’. Why would I want to ‘ramp up’ interest, by applying for a passport? Counterpoint, did I ‘flag’ myself by opting out of the ‘federal’ ID option? Just throwing that out there…

      I have no passport nor do I plan to have one; but, the ”Federal ID” is a potentially good idea. It’s actually not a Federal ID; but, a state ID that meets the federal standards for issue. In part it’s because states like California are issuing drivers licenses to non- citizens that in some cases are illegally in this country. The only problem you may run into is flying on a commercial aircraft since:
      Starting January 22, 2018, passengers with a driver’s license issued by a state that is still not compliant with the REAL ID Act (and has not been granted an extension) will need to show an alternative form of acceptable identification for domestic air travel to board their flight.
      I will personally opt in for the new license type which basically means I need to provide more information as listed here:
      https://www.bmv.ohio.gov/NEWDL-ID/faqs.aspx
      Obtaining a compliant card requires more documentation than the standard card. You will need to provide documents to prove identity:
      Full legal name
      Date of Birth
      Social Security Number
      2 – Proofs of Ohio Residency
      Proof of Legal Presence
      Proof of Name Change if applicable
      I already have my state ID, my EMA ID & CHL, both of which required background checks, so this one extra step is no problem. The only difference in the two ID’s is that you take the DL home with you and the compliant DL is manufactured off site and mailed to you.
      The cost of either is the same.

      Reply
      • Actually, TOP, either form is mailed to you. You get a paper from the BMV that ‘allows’ you to drive until you get the physical license. DH renewed in June and didn’t have to go through this process, I renewed in July and did have to. For some reason, the state decided a central processing system would be more effective than local BMV processing. Go figure.I personally think it was just a move to get more money for a ‘new’ company, I can’t imagine the printing is that darned expensive to take that away from local offices. Just another layer of bureacrcy, someone in somebody’s pocket, and another affront to privacy, IMHO.

        Reply
        • Grammyprepper,

          Actually, TOP, either form is mailed to you. You get a paper from the BMV that ‘allows’ you to drive until you get the physical license. DH renewed in June and didn’t have to go through this process, I renewed in July and did have to. For some reason, the state decided a central processing system would be more effective than local BMV processing.

          As I understand it, the manufacture of the compliant <strong”Real ID” has some extra steps; but, I was evidently misinformed by the local news a while back when they covered the procedure. The CHL has always been mailed and you still have the old one in that case to cover you.

          Go figure.I personally think it was just a move to get more money for a ‘new’ company, I can’t imagine the printing is that darned expensive to take that away from local offices. Just another layer of bureacrcy, someone in somebody’s pocket, and another affront to privacy, IMHO.

          You could well be right on the additional company; but, I understand that the printing is a bit more complex. As for privacy, what is that? Welcome to the Internet age my friend.
          My state ID expires on my birthday (April) next year and I’ll opt for the new one then.
          The new ID will be required for domestic flights and access to federal buildings on October 2020 and after. For us old folks, federal buildings include meetings at the Social Security office.

          Reply
  2. With the state of the world today, one of the things many preppers can agree upon is an economic collapse is likely. With the near collapse of the U.S. economy in Sept 2008, followed by the crises in Greece, Argentina, and Venezuela, it’s becoming harder to deny the likelihood that an economic collapse is inevitable.

    I hate to disagree; but, we did not come near to a collapse in 2008 and a full on collapse is I think far from inevitable. There will however be some sectors that get hit in any downturn or recession, and we are guaranteed that those will happen as part of the standard economic cycle.

    Your Signs of an economic collapse include: is a good list; but, most of these items are not currently an issue.

    High Unemployment Rates
    o True; but, our unemployment rate is now hovering between 3 & 4%, while historically, 5% is the average. A good economy actually needs a few unemployed people, since those are the ones temporarily unemployed between jobs, and thus showing mobility.
    Increased government debt
    o I can’t argue with this one; but, if we all kept track of our congresscritters and held their feet to the fire, instead of expecting handouts, we could change this.
    Government Instability
    o This is a big one if you look at Venezuela and similar countries; but, it simply does not apply here.
    Less Consumer Spending
    o Actually consumer spending is up, with an estimated $1,000,000,000 in sales for Amazon and it’s marketplace vendors on Prime day alone.
    Trading on Wall Street higher than ever
    o That could be the case; but, I don’t see that happening either, since the volatility we’ve been seeing lately is the normal trend with this current bull market running for the longest time, since the 1990’s. On August 22, the bull market turned 3,453 days old; putting it one day beyond what was the longest bull market, which ran from October 1990 until it ended with the bursting of the tech bubble in March 2000. I opened my first brokerage account in 1994, and have watched the market ever since. The volatility we now see is just normal.

    Some Things Impacted by an Economic Collapse include:

    Banking
    o With safeguards put in place after the 2008 problem, most banks are now doing rather well. As long as the government keeps it’s finger off of the scale and doesn’t try another outcome based debacle like the failed “Community Reinvestment Act” that resulted in the NINJA loans of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the economy should continue to do well
    Transportation
    o It would depend on what you mean by this rather simple; but, broad statement. As long as people can still purchase fuel and can make plans, there will be transportation. Growing up in the 1950’s & 1960’s there was a class of wealthy people known as the “Jet Set” while we common folk rode the Greyhound Bus or the train. Today flying is often less expensive than that Bus and much more convenient. My DD will be flying home for Christmas from Boston, and round tripp airfare over Christmas was less than $600.00 and with a little better planning could have been less than that.
    Food Production
    o Aside from producing our own, we like in farm country and food production is all around us. We have not grown nor purchased sweet corn in years, since neighbors and relatives who plant Field / dent corn, will generally plant a header row (6-12 rows) of sweet corn and share with everyone.
    Shipping
    o This one still boggles me a bit, with Amazon Prime and their arrangements for low cost and fast shipping. Worse case, USPS still works and I was able to send a package to Almost There with full tracking, for not much money. We still live in an amazing time and place.
    Retail Sales
    o These have been going strong and year over year are exceeding last year’s numbers for many vendors. A few old line places like “Sears & Roebuck” are not doing well; but, they spent $150,000,000 on their Chicago Tower in 1973 instead of looking to the future as companies like Wal-Mart have been doing, trying to compete with Amazon.
    Government and public utility shutdown
    o These could be a problem; but, I think private utilities will continue to go on, with public/government Utilities perhaps just getting more expensive. The state capital Columbus is in Franklin County, and the county is considering raising both water and sewage rates in the upcoming year for those who use it. I thankfully still have my own well and septic.
    Housing Market
    o That market is also subject to fluctuations like any other aspect of a capitalist economy. One needs to be frugal, plan, and not move around too much. Our location is the second home I’ve owned, purchasing both at a discount and doing a lot of upgrades over time, with cash, as we lived there.

    On you’re A-Z guide; We do or have done the following: (BTW, I like lists)
    A: We analyzed our economic situation years ago and now in retirement we are heavily cash flow positive, meaning we pay all of our bills and still have savings at month’s end. Next month we’ll get a little boost in the SS and that will go straight to savings. The key thing here IMHO is a lifestyle where you don’t try to keep up with the Joneses
    B: We have a large MAG that consists both of relative and friends / neighbors, all with a variety of skills. We have berry bushes, mulberry trees, and maples ready to tap this spring. The maples were planted as twigs some 30 odd years ago, knowing that someday they would pay off.
    C: We keep cash on hand as well as some PM’s; but, unless you have some of the old timey stores around, even cash may not work, since most places no longer individually price items, and if the computers cannot read the UPC codes, most people have no idea what or how to charge for them. We have several local stores that do have the scanners @ the checkout; but, still place prices on the items, for such a problem. I suspect that some places have people who could not even make change.
    D: Living in one place for more than 30 years with several large barns and other outbuildings means we have literally tons of this ”Durable” Junque, all of which may be useful to someone. We have ways to Freeze Dry, Dehydrate; Smoke, Can (water bath and pressure) that are things we’ve done for decades (accept the FD). We have absolutely no plans to Bug Out except in the case of a house fire and in fact have others who would join us here with their skills and resources added to ours.
    E: I haven’t taken the formal Ramsey course; but, we have more than enough cash and other monies available to run the household for a year or more, however, Christmas and Birthdays during that year would get a little lean. Having no mortgage for 20+ years and driving our vehicles until they no longer run, also helps here.

    F: (Fire) We have several well seasoned cords of wood stashed around the place with tools and skills to make more should we need it. We also keep about 2000-3000 gallons of propane on hand for heating, cooking, and fueling the generator. The wood is primarily for backup heat; but, in a real downturn would become a main source of heat and allow the propane to be used for the generator, heating, hot water production, and cooking.
    F: (Frugal): That would be us. Which is why we have so many durable goods around in the outbuildings? We throw away nothing that has value and are lucky enough to have additional space to store it all.
    G: I have always done engineering consulting work and I’m still available to so little projects; but, with 7 steady income sources, extra work and cash from this kind of work is just supplemental or for special purchases.
    H: I really have no serious bad habits other than liking electricity; but, have numerous alternate ways for heating, lighting and Communications in an emergency. Don’t forget some kind of communications methods. In reality, my Landline will probably still have dial tone, long past the time there are no bars on the cell phones, and will work at least for local calling.
    I: Diversity works here. I have several investments that pay a monthly stipend, and I can get a fair amount of cash from another with a simple web access or telephone call. Additional cash would mean liquidating some equities that would require the markets to be running and open; but, would not be a tragedy if that took a while.
    J: We have a supply of Jams & Jellies and quite honestly, they are perhaps the easiest skill to learn for new people, and were the ones I first learned 50+ years ago. A good supply of both Honey & Maple syrup are also useful, as well as a stock of peanut butter or peanut butter powder..
    K (Keeping Skills): I’ve been training and teaching wilderness skills for more than 50 years, and still often practice here on the homestead. For me, they are just fun, especially when seeing the excitement from younger people when they make that first fire without matches or lighter or construct a Figure 4 trap.

    K (Kindle): With my vision issues I no longer use books all that well; but, I have tons of audio books as well as digital copies of books and documents that the computer can read to me. I think Kindle can do the same; but, that’s still in the future. I also still have a large library of more than 500 books on tons of subjects, and physical copies of The Mother Earth News, from #1 to a just few years ago.

    L: Economics is tricky and I learned a lot from my late kid brother who had degrees in Economics, History, and Political Science. His claim, that I think is correct, is that you need to know all three of those subjects, to understand any one of them.
    You list of books is nice; but, there are others you missed:
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    M: Martial law is something IMHO more likely to impact the city centers, since that’s where we are likely to find the least prepared masses, which can mass together and cause problems like looting. I expect in our little community that things will be rather kept at arms length if you don’t cause trouble to get noticed.

    N: We live smack dab in the middle of nature and I can and have hunted both small game & deer right here on the property. Foraging for wild edibles is something easily done, although I’ll admit I don’t fo it often enough.

    O: All we do is organic gardening; but, I have to say that heirloom seeds do not always produce true or in great volume. I have replanted hybrids on occasion and while they may not produce the true hybrid, they generally do give us a useable yield.
    I have several of the Survival Seed Vaults and we always stock up on the seed packets at year end when the $1-2 packs are on sale for $0.15-0.25 each.

    P: (Seeds are already covered. Purchasing the home is also done with no mortgage for 20+ years and renovations and maintenance paid out of cash flow.
    Q: Quality tools? Where do I begin? We’ve been collecting various tools for 50 odd years and have many in duplicate or triplicate, with a few tools many have never hear of. ”Draw Knife” anyone?
    R: We conserve power; but, don’t really think too much about the water, since it comes from a well for next to nothing and ends up in our septic system. The tradeoff is that you can’t have a garbage disposal (other than chickens, hogs, or the compost heap) and there are some chemicals you dare not flush.
    S: We could easily feed 4 adults for 2 or more years and longer if we start getting back into “real preps”, which I define as opening the long term stored grains and grinding our own flour. We still have over 300 pounds of beef in the freezer from the half Angus we purchased nearly 2 years ago. This is the easy one for us; but, I understand that many may have storage issues, so you might ad Storage as part of this one. I have some LDS friends who stack cases containing 6 #10 cans of stored food in the living room, covered with a towel or other cloth and use it as an end table with a nice lamp sitting on it.
    T: Talk is cheap; but, actions work great and we have a MAG that is full of skills and resources, all welcome in our large house. This has taken almost 30 years to accomplish, so it does not come easy.
    U: Understanding your threats is of utmost importance. Everyone should construct a threat matrix. This lists all of the threats in priority order, starting with job loss or illness and on down to zombie apocalypse. Decide how to mitigate each threat and work down the list. As you work, you’ll find you need fewer and fewer things to accomplish in the way of skills and resources.
    V: I don’t have a passport and don’t plan to leave my area. I have numerous forms of government issued ID including some issued to me that will work quite well as an internal passport. The $290.00 for passports for the DW & I can be much better spent on other preps. As to looking to countries like Venezuela, Greece, Argentina, Italy, and even France, these are poor examples of what may happen to the USA, since they are already socialist democracies, that have overspent well beyond their GDP / GNP, and have cultures much different than our own. One of the best kept secrets and untold stories about our (the USA) culture, is our many people who volunteer their time for various activities. Volunteerism in Europe is almost unheard of
    Comparing the USA to the socialist democracies is like comparing a long term prepper, with deep stores, lots of savings, and no mortgage or other debt to someone just out of school with a new mortgage, car loan, and maxed out credit cards, and these are simply not the same people with the same potential outcomes. We have to compare apples to apples, not to oranges.
    W: I don’t know too many wealthy people and those who are wealthy already have plans in place that are stealthy and not likely to be seen by us. You BTW have covered manual tools several times, and while a wheelbarrow is nice, a garden cart is better.
    X: My MAG all has firearms and know how to use them. I’ve been an NRA trainer for nearly 30 years, and have freely trained people who are welcome to come here to shelter and to help with security. Once again however, I think most of the extreme violence will be in the city centers, since to get out here is a long somewhat perilous walk
    Y: We live in Amish country and I have learned much from them over the years. Although it’s been a while, I worked on a barn raising cutting mortise and tenon joints with dowel rods for cinching.. Question: Does anyone know why you use green willow for the pegs, and what trick you use when you install them?
    Z: I’ve been zeroing in for nearly 60 years, and the DW and I have been for more than 30. I was lucky enough to find someone who already had lived the rural lifestyle from birth, and we now live quite comfortably and happily on our homestead.
    Being retired, we are as ready as anyone, and the only way we’ll lose all source(s) of income is for a complete collapse of the system, in which case we’ll all be riding in the very same boat with no anchor and only a few paddles

    Reply
    • I think green willow is used, because as it dries, it shrinks, and pulls the joint together. Not sure what other trick, other than a fox wedge on a blind tenon joint.

      Reply
      • Babycatcher,

        I think green willow is used, because as it dries, it shrinks, and pulls the joint together. Not sure what other trick, other than a fox wedge on a blind tenon joint.

        You get the Gold Star & the A-
        Would have been an A+; but, close enough for an A.
        Prior to drilling the bore hole for the peg, the joints are pushed apart just a bit, so when the hole is drilled and the joint pushed back tight, there is a slight offset in the bore hole, so looking through it you would see a “kink” instead of a smooth hole. When you drive in a ”green” willow peg, it is flexible enough to bend around and on through the slight corners of the misaligned holes; but, once it has seasoned with that permanent kink in it, it cannot fall out of the hole and becomes permanent. I’ve helped to take down old post & beam barns and you cannot even drive out those pegs. You have to cut them off flush and then bore out the hole and the peg with a slightly oversized bit. Old technology had it limits; but, forced those people to be very creative. I suspect today we would simply bore the hole and glue the peg into place without giving it a thought.

        Reply
  3. “• High Unemployment Rates
    o True; but, our unemployment rate is now hovering between 3 & 4%, while historically, 5% is the average. A good economy actually needs a few unemployed people, since those are the ones temporarily unemployed between jobs, and thus showing mobility.”

    I have to argue this one with you, TOP. The ‘official’ unemployment rates do not take into account those who’ve fallen off the unemployment rolls, those who’ve taken part time jobs, or who have taken jobs outside their field of expetise and/or taken major pay cuts just to pay the bills. I am not talking about the recent college grads flipping burgers. because they chose stupid majors.

    I know you know a bit of my story, but for those who don’t, I ‘aged out’ and maxed out pay rate for my field (it’s much cheaper for them to hire new grads), lost a job and spent several years unemployed. I finally got a job at minimum wage, and was thankful to get it. It is not in my field of expertise (well sort or, simce it’s close to what I did before I got my degree) and and now make 1/3 or less of my previous income.

    Suffice it to say, I do not trust government unemployment statistics. Nor do they take into consideration ‘underemployment’ (again, not the college grads flipping burgers because of stupid major decisions)

    Reply
    • Grammyprepper,
      “• High Unemployment Rates

      I have to argue this one with you, TOP. The ‘official’ unemployment rates do not take into account those who’ve fallen off the unemployment rolls, those who’ve taken part time jobs, or who have taken jobs outside their field of expetise and/or taken major pay cuts just to pay the bills. I am not talking about the recent college grads flipping burgers. because they chose stupid majors.

      Actually the rates do take those factors into account if you know where to look.
      U1: Percentage of labor force unemployed 15 weeks or longer. U2: Percentage of labor force who lost jobs or completed temporary work. U3: Official unemployment rate per the ILO definition occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively looked for work within the past four weeks.
      U3 is the official unemployment rate. U5 includes discouraged workers and all other marginally attached workers. U6 adds on those workers who are part-time purely for economic reasons. The current U6 unemployment rate as of October 2018 is 7.40.

      I know you know a bit of my story, but for those who don’t, I ‘aged out’ and maxed out pay
      rate for my field (it’s much cheaper for them to hire new grads), lost a job and spent several years unemployed. I finally got a job at minimum wage, and was thankful to get it. It is not in my field of expertise (well sort or, simce it’s close to what I did before I got my degree) and and now make 1/3 or less of my previous income.

      In the past people got high school diplomas or college degrees and stayed at one company for decades; but, that seems to no longer be the case, as continuing education and additional training always seems to be required. The technician gets more accreditations or an engineering degree. The LPN becomes an RN and the RN becomes an NP. I was lucky enough to stay in one field (engineering) for a 40+ year career; but, I was constantly learning new things, from microprocessor architectures, to computer languages, to new devices (integrated circuits) and technologies. In our modern world one cannot be stagnant and expect to keep up.

      Suffice it to say, I do not trust government unemployment statistics. Nor do they take into consideration ‘underemployment’ (again, not the college grads flipping burgers because of stupid major decisions)

      As I stated above, there are various statistics for unemployment and you have to know which ones to look at. Unfortunately the politicians and the MSM cherry pick the once they want to spin their narratives.

      Reply
  4. Saving your change is something that I do each month and roll quarter’s. Also buy canning lid’s each, month if your a canner, and pickling salt, for your pickles.

    Read and learn new subjects even if you think you may not use it or it’s useful it could be a good thing for someone knowledge.

    Know your neighbors, if they are kind and helpful, you may have good people, to depend on.

    Learn about medicine, and Herb’s, I have a great herb book, I read and learn new things from to help with many ailments.

    Great Article thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • mom of three,
      You present a good concise list and I like lists.

      Saving your change is something that I do each month and roll quarter’s. Also buy canning lid’s each, month if your a canner, and pickling salt, for your pickles.

      We roll everything from pennies to quarters; but, I always carry some dimes and quarters with me. Since pickling salt is just plain salt (Sodium Chloride: NaCl) we don’t buy it special; but, keep lots (as in hundreds of pounds) of plain water softener salt on hand. I have a heavy duty table / bench I built in the basement for storage or the 40 or 50 pound bags. We always have it for the softener; but, can use it fir pickling, dry aging meats, or even for deicing the sidewalk in a pinch. It’s cheap when you purchase in bulk. If you purchase 10 bags from Home Depot, they give you the 11th bag free.

      Read and learn new subjects even if you think you may not use it or it’s useful it could be a good thing for someone knowledge.

      I keep both paper books and digital copies on hand and constantly refresh my brain. Also consider keeping useful videos on hand for the same.

      Know your neighbors, if they are kind and helpful, you may have good people, to depend on.

      My neighbors are all great people. Some are farmers with equipment I can’t afford who help us as we help them. One couple is a Paramedic / Nurse Practitioner and her Fire Chief Paramedic husband. We have discussed them coming here in a power down for showering and charging equipment or actually moving in short term if needed.

      Learn about medicine, and Herb’s, I have a great herb book, I read and learn new things from to help with many ailments.

      We do some natural medicine; but, with medical professionals available in our MAG and a stock of some medications on hand, those would be a last resort.

      Reply
      • Pickling salt is different from table salt. It is uniodized, and will not turn the picking liquid cloudy. We get separate salts, for this purpose. Just an FYI.

        Reply
        • Babycatcher,

          Pickling salt is different from table salt. It is uniodized, and will not turn the picking liquid cloudy. We get separate salts, for this purpose. Just an FYI.

          I know. Pickling salt, Kosher Salt, and plain water softener salt are just plain Sodium Chloride. You can also purchase non iodized table salt and we do keep some of that around also.
          The biggest difference between pickling or kosher salt and non iodized table salt is granularity. With water softener salt you start with large pieces and make it the size you want; but, it’s a good way to keep a large quantity on hand for future use if unavailable.

          Reply
  5. Hi all, Late to the party again, but that’s what happens when working on call shifts so often. LOL
    I would suggest a good place to seek some great info on econ collapse and preps for monetary and such (investments etc and protecting them) is Len Pen’s Blog.
    https://lenpenzo.com/blog/
    He has some great info and suggestions, as well as insights into everyday personal finance etc…
    He does respond back to, which is nice.

    My personal opinion is that it will happen. We are just too far into debt and there are some out there who are already screaming about the Bond Bubble, the govt and corp debt bubble and the debt issues in EU.
    These are some of the same people who called out the issues in housing “before” it happened.
    One lady I follow and listen to (Danille DiMartino Booth) was actually in the Fed….(of course they ignored her warnings- LOL)….she’s stating the slowdown is already here and the bubbles are rising…
    Beware…Be prepared.
    I know I am already in the process of trying to move my govt pension OUT of the pension system and into something a bit more accessible and stable. Whether I choose to cash out and buy PMs on my own, or put it into my RothIRA, or a PM IRA is still undecided. I am weighing my options now. But, I do know that all the econs suggest to hold at least 20% of your assets in PMs (gold/silver)

    Cheers

    Reply
    • TechQn,
      I took a look at the site you listed and I’m pleased with the outcome, since it appears all of the suggestions made there are things I’ve been doing for a long time. Some of his numbers are however, a bit high, so I suspect this site has an urban / suburban target audience. For instance: ”According to Numbeo, one pound of chicken breast is $3.84 “, that is way high for our rural agricultural area.
      He mentions to limit Dining out, which we do rarely, and when we do , it’s generally Burger King, Wendy’s, or White Castle and we always get the senior discount. We do meet once per month with our local Amateur Radio group for breakfast, and a second time per month with an adjacent county group, also for breakfast; but, nearly all other cooking is done at home and mostly from scratch.
      He then mentions cutting down on vices. The DW makes coffee each morning; but, I generally drink only ice water or Gatorade made from powder. His calculations were for someone saving a ton of money perhaps limiting their trips to Star Bocks for that $5.00 coffee. No $5.00 coffee in this house.
      He also mentions the expense of a Gym membership and while we do pay for Tai Chi for both the exercise and the social interaction with friends. As retirees our Medicare supplemental has the Silver Sneakers program that allows us to go to the local Wellness Center at no additional cost to us.
      For general money matters, as an engineer I learn math decades ago, and doing budgets and taxes is just a part of living.
      I’ve been doing personal finance since I graduate from college in 1973. I purchased my first house in 1975 on a land contract and have always done my own taxes; however, I have on occasion used tax programs on the computer. This year we will be using Free Tax USA (https://www.freetaxusa.com)
      Personal finance is just looking at your income and expenses and planning how best to spend your money on the essentials, and planning or saving for the extras while remembering that: “When your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall.”
      With some will power, it’s as simple as that, LOL.

      Reply
      • Hey OP, Hope all is well!

        Yeah I figured it was urban/suburban since I’m in the same boat as you and rural. LOL

        He does have some older blog posts though that had great insight into an econ collapse and really emphasized things most of us who prep already do.
        Which in an of itself is a really good thing, as it pushes others to learn to prepare and do things like store food for the hard times etc….his explanations are on the same lines as most of us (prepare for unsettled times when/if things go into the crapper economically).
        He does really emphasize the need to have PMs..which of course is necessary, in order to protect one’s wealth etc. It’s what led me to really look at my pension and the fact that pensions are on a collision course, which will really hurt many of us looking to retire in the next 5-8 years.
        As well as talking about Debt and how ensuring you have none (except for a mortgage) is paramount to surviving….I tend to agree with him on the whole econ thing….the world is on a collision course with corp debt, govt debt, EU debt, bond bubbles, liquidity issues, the fed etc…

        In the end for me….its just all about reading and educating myself from different aspects on what may, or may not happen and to be prepared for it.
        Cheers!

        Reply

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