Prepping For Economic Collapse
September 3, 2011, Submitted by: Ken Tweet
So, your main concern and reason for prepping and preparing to ‘make it’ when times get tough, is because of the threatening economic situation (house of cards) in Europe and the United States.
From the standpoint of survival preparedness for economic survival, what are the specifics that may be unique to this type of preparedness versus say, preparing for a hurricane?
Economic collapse. Money collapse. Purchasing power collapse. Net worth reduction. Bank failures. Inflation. Deflation. Stagflation. Job loss. Loss of confidence for the future. Heavy loss of investments. Limited income. Bank runs. Cash hard to find. Foreclosure. Overwhelming bills. Fewer services. Higher taxes. Higher prices. Higher unemployment, Lower home values. Product shortages. Dwindling savings.
How do you specifically prepare for economic collapse?
First think about the money. We all need some amount of the paper funny money because that’s what most of the stores take in exchange to give up their goods. You’ve got to save up some money. Sure, all bets are off if it turns into a zombie apocalypse, but until then, for goodness sakes, save some money…
Cash will be King in the early stages of a major collapse. Most funny money is in the form of digital dollars. But if the digital system is in upheaval or unavailable for a time (a.k.a. ‘bank holiday’), people will always take cash, until and unless they lose complete confidence in it. Therefore, keep an ample supply of Cash at home, not at the bank. Do not keep 100′s. Keep 20′s, 10′s, 5′s, and also 1′s. It’s kind of funny looking at a $1K stack of 1′s versus the same stack of 20′s.
The poor man’s gold, Silver. Keep some silver at home. If the dollar devalues rapidly (inflation), then the price of silver (and gold) will continue to go higher and higher. You will hold your value through the storm with gold and silver commodities. Whatever comes out the other end, will surely transfer your silver and gold to the new currency. Silver will be simpler to barter with, because a one ounce coin is currently worth $43 whereas an ounce of gold is currently worth $1882 (as of this post).
The less money that you owe, the better you will survive through the economic storm. Be wary of taking on any new debt at this time. Debts eventually come due. Lower your monthly expenses. Look closely at your regular bills and your regular habits. Find ways to trim them back, save the cash or buy a silver eagle or two…
Do not invest in Wall Street. At least I wouldn’t at this point. Even though the Fed and US government is doing what they can to keep it propped, the problem is, it could and probably will suffer another very serious drop soon – probably worse than 2008. If it doesn’t, it will only mean that the Fed has decided to pump Trillions more into the system and your dollar purchasing power will be going down and down as prices go up and up.
Don’t keep all your money in one bank. Even though you may feel confident that your bank is too big to fail, who’s to say what will really happen. Be aware of which banks are in the most trouble. Often you hear their names in the news. Here is a good website to check on the financial strength of your bank.
Think of the things that you will need, before you ever become short of money, and buy those things now, before there is a problem. In other words, stock up! Your regular weekly consumable supplies, your food and other items that you consume each month.
Reduce your debt. Work out a plan to eliminate your debt. Don’t get discouraged, keep plugging away. The big thing though, don’t use your cards anymore, for anything! Pay cash for everything instead. Seeing cash leave your hand is harder to part with than handing over a credit or debit card.
Think about other ways that you could earn some money, should you have to. Examine your inner self and the things that you enjoy. See if any of those things could be put to work ‘on the side’. Starting a little side ‘hobby’ / business, could lead to a great backup plan for income.
So, there were a few ideas about how to prepare for economic collapse. If you have more ideas, please add a comment to this post!
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Prior to 1966 Australia used the old British system of monetary value – i.e. Pounds shillings and pence.
The coins of circulation were actually minted in silver and copper. Prior to 1946 (Bretton Woods) the silver coins were minted at Sterling silver levels – i.e. 92% silver – post 1946 the silver content was reduced to around 50%.
Copper coins were …..copper.
These pre 1966 coins have now become valuable property and change hands on ebay at good rates. The old face value of the coins have been dumped and are now worth the silver content.
My mother – ever the horder thought that these pre decimal coins would have collector value in the future so in the years prior to 1966 collected many of these. Some of the individual coins are indeed valuable as collector pieces however the content value is creeping up.
I recently weighed the hundreds of sterling silver coins that she had collected – 14 kilograms
There is also another 16 kilograms of copper coins but these will are more or less keepsakes.
Fortunately I lived in Asia for many years during the seventies and early eighties. I have collected many small 22 and 24 carat gold pieces.
I suspect that my wedding ring (20 grams of 22 carat gold) would probably pay off the rest of my mortgage in a serious economic collapse.
The real worry. During the thirties depression holding private gold bullion was made illegal. I suspect that this same restriction would be bought into legislation by totalitarian regime governments we are likely to inherent in the event of economic collapse.
If anybody ever wonders why the western populations have to put up with 9, 14 and 18 carat gold plated jewellery, this is a hangover from the ’30′s depression regulations.
Many people have been brainwashed by the idiotic media that keeping cash money in your home, under the mattress analogy, is foolish because you don’t make any money doing so. Those imbeciles, especially that bald head character would have you put all your money into stocks because you will “eventually” make money. When something happens depend on your credit card to charge everything you need. This type of attitude is being fed to people like poison from these so called experts everyday on the news. Thge simple fact is that when something happens and IF you don’t have cash money you will not be able to purchase anything unless you are lucky enough to find a merchant that is stupid enough to accept credit.
Silver coins are an excellent idea for even purchasing what you need after something happens because there will definitiely be individuals that will see those silver coins and accept them as payment because they actually have worth behind them. This is of course that there are still places available for customers.
I still say that everyone should have BARTER ITEMS available in case the world really goes to the cess pit and those that do survive will ONLY accept items that they can use to trade for what you need. Addiction is still a wonderful barter item and alcohol and cigarettes are going to be their weight in gold to those that will have items that you need. It is not really a nice thing to do in feeding someone’s addiction, but in a survival situation someone’s smoke or drink could be a tool or even food that you need.
Also good barter items that will serve as money are salt and sugar which will be in massive short supply. An extra supply of toilet paper and other items that people depend on to keep themselves clean will also be of extreme value.
When stocking items for barter just think about what a person depends on and really cannot live without and this will be what you can use for money. There are situations in which cash money will be as useless as pieces of paper. Gold and silver will not have any value. There are still items that no matter how bad it is will ALWAYS have value to most people. People become desperate when what they are accustomed to is gone. If you can supply those people with what they need, even temporarily, they will trade just about anything that you need for it. Not to be crude, but it is so much better to have toilet paper than to have to use leaves or newspaper or something worse
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An economic collapse should be remembered that it could be as bad as a Jericho TV series type situation and cash money and precious metals might just be totally worthless. People if they have extra should have some good barter items on top of cash money and precious metals. People (70%) as of this poll are preparing for an ecomonic collapse and IF ONLY this occurs does not mean that society will ever recover. Economic collapse can and does also lead to OTHER horrible events, a catalyst. The human civilization right now is hanging on a thread and does not have much going for it, especially an exploding population that will demand more of food and resources that are simply not there. An economic collapse could be the first domino in a long chain of the collapse of the whole civilization.
@BI; You have a special knack for cutting through the bovine excrement and hitting the nail on the head. I will, however, have to disagree with you on the precious metals issue. If one is gathering supplies for survival then obviously food and weapons will be of primary concern as would your living location. If you have sufficient supplies and other barter items, then I would highly recommend that you obtain silver and gold as well. When things sort out, if you have all the XXXXs that you need and someone has a gold wedding ring, silver quarters, etc., take them. If you have the supplies for barter, the end of Armageddon will come and you could be well off in the end. At some point there has to be a method of transferring wealth around without dragging all of it with you, that is a fact. Now alcohol and tobacco are valid trade items, but when you have all the .30 cal rifles you need and someone has silver/gold or another .30 cal rifle what would you take. You should have some scales, calipers and and a notebook with the weights of regular U.S. silver coins and their silver content as well as knowledge of the 5 main gold coins around. If you know what their weights and measurements are, you can’t be fooled. Barter is great, profit is greater. Good Luck. Just my two gold eagles.
I entirely agree regarding ‘coming out the other end’ of such an Armageddon. So long as you are covered re: supplies, etc… silver and gold will be the transferable wealth to the next ‘system’.
@ TripodXL. Valuable advice as usual. I just wish that more people out there like yourself and a few others took the time to comment. Everytime someone makes a comment it adds new ideas and insight to what many of us never thought of. Besides all of that, it is fun to hear what others have to say. I love some of your clever wit.
Gold is the money of Kings.
Silver is the money of the Middle Class
Fiat Cash is the money of slaves.
I always keep a stash of cash for emergencies. But I also realize one day it will be toiletpaper…….
Yeah, well I still say take your one ounce gold bullion to Walmart and pay for your purchase with it. What? They won’t take it? And if they did, how would they give you any change? and this is today, just imagine what it would be like if the shtf.
Keep small bills on hand, 1′s, 5′s , 10′s.
Walmart would have to pry that one-ounce gold bullion out of my cold dead hands… I would reserve only my paper funny money for them. The gold is a preservation of wealth such that if and when we come out the other end of the collapse, it’s value will be retained, as it has been for many thousands of years.
Walmart will not exist after an economic crash and ensuing chaos.
You will need to buy food off some local black market trader who has access to supplies. (or the government handout if any)
You need to have lived in a third world country or Asia 20 to 30 years ago to see how barter and bullion trading operate.
My wife’s family operated under Japanese occupation during the second world war. The black market was the only hope of survival for many of her relatives.
@Beano and Ken; Yes, Gold and Silver, even in a full on collapse, at some point someone will have all the “stuff” they need and will ONLY take real money (gold and silver). You better have some. And no, you can’t eat it, you should only have it after you have all the guns and food you need. Also, you can’t eat FRNs either. Good Luck.
In the event of the above, ammunition will be worth more that any currency.
Depends on the extent of the collapse scenario (which I didn’t specify in the article). Certainly, if it is a full on collapse leading to social chaos, you are entirely correct, and my list would change. This particular list is more or less having to do with being ‘this side of social chaos’.
@Chiller; Sorry, clicked the wrong tab. Chiller, I have all the ammo I will ever need and then some. First, I will not sell any ammo that I deem a threat to me, that is any ammo over .22 cal rimfire. I have stocked up on .22 rifles and will trade them and ammo for other center fire rifles and the ammo that goes with them. Two reasons. One, it removes a potential threat to me and mine, locally. Two, it is a more useful rifle for foraging and trekking due to the weight of the rifle and ammo and the lack of report. I don’t care how much of anything else someone has, I will not sell them more ammo. Stupid. I will, for gold or silver, or something that I desperately need (been prepping 13+ years) sell a .22 with some ammo. I have all I need and PMs are all I will probably take. Good Luck. It has its place. You ignore it at your own peril.
One thing to think about, while yuou have money is paying off a mortgage early. An extra couple of hundred each month against the principal of a loan can take years off a loan.
If you don’t own a house, either don’t buy one now, or buy a foreclosure if it’s a real bargin and keep the mortgage as low as possible.
Yeah the interest rate is higher on your credit cards. But because of the length of the loan, most of what you are paying the mortgage company is interest. Unless your credit cards are out of control, start paying down the mortgage.
Yes, we should be ever preparing for an economic collapse. Good thing it hasn’t happened yet! I think this was a good article. However, I don’t think it is necessary to completely stop using credit cards. Simply don’t spend more money than you have, and pay your credit cards off as soon as you use them. They aren’t evil like a lot of people think they are. Just use them wisely and they can do you some good.
@Kami; You are right on. I have a low interest CC that I use instead of a debit card, they are dangerous. It accrues airline miles that I use to go se my kids and I pay it off every month. That’s how it’s done.
Like Kami says above credit cards can be of use as long as people pay off what they charge. The problem is that most people do not pay off their credit cards and accumulate more and more “compound” interest each month. Many people also do not understand spending and do not see their money disappearing from their wallets or purses when they purcahse something, only some credit slip and receipt that usually disapppears into the trash can at home. Credit is not bad for someone like Kami that is responsible. Credit for the vast population is an evil curse to them that grows like an infection each month until it has to be painfully fixed.
If only I had understood this several years ago. Unfortunately, I am only now realizing the problem. I think I would have rather been one of the blind masses that don’t see what is coming than be one of the “enlightened” and not be able to do much of anything about it.
@m..fly; LOL, are you saying that you would rather have taken the “blue” pill instead? LOL
I was always taught by my family, “put your money in a couple of different national banks (ie BofA, Wells Fargo, etc) so that if SHTF locally, then you can go to another state & get your money.” My grandmother went so far as to put a good portion of her cash in a Texas branch of the national bank she belonged to in CA.
It’s a great strategy if it happens locally. But what if SHTF nationally or world wide?
Sure the big national banks get bailouts but that’s only as good as there’s something to bailout with… the FDIC insurance is nice but good luck counting on that if SHTF (although good to split $s between accounts)…
I’m honestly starting to wonder if I should put part of my $ into a credit union. If the dollar starts to crash I have a feeling it’ll be much easier to get $ out of a bank that actually knows you rather than a cold computer driven national bank. Or do you end up with a “It’s a Wonderful Life” situation where they honestly don’t have the money on hand?
I guess if nothing else it doesn’t hurt to put the eggs in different baskets…
thoughts?
What difference does it make where your money is located if the DOLLAR is worthless. People are still trying to hord something that would not be worth the paper its printed on. Folks, money would lose its value RAPIDLY! There will be nothing to BUY approx. 3 hours after the economy sink! By the time people realize that the dollar has lost its value, the government would have blasted their “breaking news” lies in order to give business owners and the rich time to flee and board up their storefronts. Why not take your money and invest in stockpiling food, water, ammo, etc., radios, batteries, flashlights, rotary LANDLINE phone….start storing these things NOW!!!
As of now, I would recommend that people start to just keep enough money in their accounts to pay bills. The rest should be taken home and put in a secure place. I do not care what bank you use, commercial or credit unions, if a global meltdown occurs the doors are going to close and the bank machines and cards are not going to work.
The minute things look as if there will be a stampede to withdraw funds, they will shut it down. So if you do not already have things in hand and most of your cash at home, you are going to be S.O.L.
An actual collapse can happen very quickly and so you really need to be on your toes and paying attention.
Bottom line, get out of debt and keep a good supply of cash on hand. With the current interest rates and bank fees it is not like you are losing out on interest income or anything like that. LOL
@K.J.; If we were playing charades, that would be a nose tapper. Yes, you should have a LOT of FRNs, I suggest 5 rounds of change (search my other posts) and another few thousand dollars in 5s, 10s and 20s. No 100s or 50s. In the beginning FRNs will still be taken and then when barter takes over it will be hard goods (ammo or tp etc.) or PMs and nothing else. Smart young lady!!
Most stores will not take cash after the dollar plummet. Especially your Asian owned stores. The asians already know the dollar is sinking FAST. Have you ever wondered why Asians are buying U.S. property in CASH! They already know and have been preparing for years!
I’m also preparing for a coming slum-boom in many parts of the country like Phoenix, Arizona. And preparing accordingly to get out before the slum-boom swallowes me alive.
Well I have done all I could think to do. I have paid off all my debts. I have about a years supply of cash in the bank and a silver coin horde stashed. I have a small farm and now have all the equipment I need to raise food to feed my family and some others as well. I have an irrigation system, I need only electricity, diesel and seeds. Anybody else got any pointers? Oh I stocked up on some dried beans and rice and bullets too.
Take the cash out of the bank and keep it nearby.
Dont put the silver in a safe deposit box, keep it nearby also.
Last thing — figure out how to do what you must without electricity or fuel
…For ReLocation Purposes With “Bug-OutBag”…Make Multiple Copies Of Your Certificates/Documents Et Al…Birth, Marriage, Driver License, Auto/Mortgage Titles, Insurace Policies, Social Security Cards, Proof Of Current Address/Utility Bills, Right To Bear Arms Registration Etc…
Economic crash-cut down your budget,eat turnups.
Social crash-cut down your profile,lock and load,
“SHTF” collaps, mobile units, fortified “castles”.
No Commodity ie Gold, Silver, Cash, Savings, Investments, Share trading or any other form of monetary value is worth anything at the end of the day. We live in a world where Money has become of more value than human life itself. Its simply either paper with ink on it, or a number on a digital screen. Central banks create money out of thin air, on promissory notes (with interest) made by governments, or in other words, debt. Ultimately, It was created to keep us apart from each other; in various forms some being profit, competition, and ultimately how we can be of more value than somebody else, at the cost of somebody or many people (slavery). We cant have a unified, human existence, or solve anything of the issues today if we are to place our values and continue using a system which only benefits the few people in the world who created this monetary system. We need to think at a higher level and not think as we have been because of the institutions we all have all be indoctrinated into, As Albert Einstein said “The problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them”. I believe that Jacque Fresco of the Venus Project and Peter Joseph of the Zeitgeist Movement have got it right with moving from a Moneyless Society, to a resource based economy where there will be no need to consider the basic needs of a humans anymore, as these will be completely taken care of giving us the ability to place our energies on higher level thinking for all people and not anymore for ourselves only.