Being Ready for Economic Collapse & Economic Depression

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Background

I don’t remember exactly the moment when I made the decision to be actively preparing for a disaster of some kind. I remember as a kid, I had a bag that I put in all of my most precious things that I could grab if I needed to make a quick escape. At the time I was somewhere around 7-10 years old and the worst thing I could imagine at the time was a fire or someone breaking into the house. These days, as devastating as a fire or a burglary can be, it’s actually a low-key disaster considering all the things that seem more within the realm of reason than they did in the 90’s.

As I got older, my preparations for a disaster shifted and changed. I learned a lot of preparation things growing up in Florida and having to prep for hurricanes on an almost regular basis.

I am one of the millennials that is in the second “once-in-a-lifetime” event in an approximate 10 year span. (Interesting how it follows the economic cycle, don’t you think?) I remember graduating in 2007 where THE major to have was Finance. I remember a good number of those in Finance went to go work for Lehman Brothers, and everyone was excited for them given the reputation of Lehman Brothers. I decided to continue my education, so I was still in school during the 2008/2009 economic collapse that later became known as “The Great Recession”.

Looking back, I think that it was the once-in-a-lifetime economic collapse of the Great Recession that boosted my prepping and survival plans. Granted, they aren’t anywhere near what some people have, but compared to what they were, they are certainly boosted.

When the 2008/2009 Great Recession happened, I remember not agreeing with the actions taken by the Federal Reserve with any of the four Quantitative Easing rounds they used to prop up the economy. The more I learned about the economy and the Federal Reserve, the more I became an “end the Fed” proponent and a supporter of using the Gold Standard that ended in 1971 with Nixon.

The Great Recession

In the stock market, there are triggers of market movements that stop trading during major market moves (interestingly, only when the market goes down – rarely used for when a stock or the market goes up). If certain triggers occur within a certain period of time, it will shut down trading for the remainder of the day. These are “safety features” put into the system to help avoid a market free-fall like what was experienced in 1929 and in 1989. Due to these triggers, the stock market can fall, but it just takes longer than happening in a single trading day.

With the 2008/2009 Great Recession, we had the stock market (Dow Jones) begin to make triple-digit moves on a daily basis and all the experts called it the “new normal”. The thing that was interesting to me was that then, and still to this day, the market will make triple-digit swings in a trading day if the right person sneezes. The movement of the market seems to move in tandem with various surface level headlines that are knee-jerk reactions and then may look at actual financials later.

Things to Come….Get Ready

When the stock market started going back up, it went up almost with a perfect relationship to the quantitative easing that the Fed was doing. But the interesting thing was that no one seemed to point that out on the financial news stations. That set off red flags in my gut that something was happening. I couldn’t explain it, but “DANGER WILL ROBINSON” was screaming in my head….and no one, if anyone, seemed to be voicing concern on mainstream media sources. They all seemed to have drank the kool-aid and said everything was fixed and great!

My view of what was happening told me that another economic collapse wasn’t a matter of if, but when. I still see that as a possibility. Given the actions of the Federal Reserve during the Great Recession, I think that they had two options with that crisis:

1. Fix the systemic problems in the economy, which would cause pain for everyone
2. Kick the can down the road and make it the next guy’s problem

As usual, they chose option number 2.

By choosing option number 2, they decided to band-aid the broken system instead of cleaning out the festering stuff under the surface and claimed victory. The “fixes” for the economy that happened as a result of the Federal Reserve actions in the Great Recession is nothing more than financial smoke and mirrors that gave people the warm and fuzzies, making them feel better while making the underlying problem worse for a later time.

Of the various things I have and continue to research, everything tells me that we are in for an epic economic collapse. There are bubbles all over the market – auto, housing, student loans, consumer debt – anything tied to interest rates essentially. The stock market is essentially a house of cards that will fall like dominoes. How hard and fast depends on which bubble breaks first and how those dominoes fall based on that first bubble. When that happens, it will make the Great Depression that occurred from the 1929 crash look like a carnival – we will wish we had it that good.

Do I say this to absolutely terrify you? Yes.

Why? Because it will hopefully get you to start getting your plans into action so that you are ready should it happen.

Can things be manipulated further so it won’t happen? Yes. However, I don’t think there are many tricks left hiding up the sleeve of the Federal Reserve before they will have no choice but to go into negative interest rates and possibly bank holidays (Remember Greece where they were only able to get out max 50 Euros a day?).

People have endured the loss of wealth with the fiat currency (US Dollars – the paper money) that we use in our daily lives. Since the Federal Reserve has come into being in 1913, the US Dollar purchasing power has lost at least 80% of its value. This is where “inflation” comes in. As inflation increases, the purchasing power of the US Dollar decreases.

Since the Great Recession and telling some people about this gut feeling, I have been told I am insane and crazy. Perhaps I am wrong….but what if I am right? Am I willing to allow myself to not try and do anything and everything I can to lessen the blow of what could possibly happen?

Considering the number of once-in-a-lifetime economic disasters that have happened in my lifetime thus far, I am not willing to take a chance. Yes, it is possible that I am crazy and it won’t happen. But I have found that you’re only crazy until it becomes true. Then you are a genius.

Personally, I would rather be crazy and prepared in the event something happens than one of those that waits til the last minute and tries to comprehend what is happening and create a plan as things unfold. By preparing now, I will be less like those that went through the grocery store in a panic. I will have plans in place that will have alternate options to employ depending on the situation. Everything will be ready and only action will be required. In some situations, the ones that are fastest to make decisions and take action are the ones that have the best opportunity to come out stronger.

Do I have everything as a well oiled machine right now? No.

Am I doing what I can with the resources, time, energy, etc. that are available to me and my group? You bet!

When another economic downturn occurs, whether from the continued effects of Covid-19 or whatever else could possibly happen, a little bit is better than nothing and more is better than less. Do what you can and make slow progress toward whatever you have decided is your ultimate goal.

Preparation Considerations

Some questions I invite you to think about and have an answer for considering your individual situation:

1. Do you have enough cash on hand to survive if the banks shut down for an extended holiday?
2. How much do you need each month to sustain the absolute essentials?
3. What is the minimum amount that you can keep in your account out of necessity?
4. Do you feel safe keeping anything in safe deposit boxes in the bank?
5. If you were to have cash on hand, gold/silver bars, etc. in your home, do you have a way of storing it securely? If you keep it outside your house, do you have a way to quickly and easily access it?
6. How much food do you need for you and your family/friends/survival group?
7. What skills or items can you use to barter in the event fiat currency or other money options become irrelevant?
8. How is your health? Start getting into better shape now. If you are on medications, talk with your doctor on ways to get off as many as possible (this is usually accomplished through diet and exercise). Make it a family and friends goal to help encourage each other.

Start thinking about the home, neighborhood and area you live in differently.

1. If you didn’t have running water, internet, power – where would you get your water? Once the batteries are all used, do you have the ability to make a fire? If there is no internet, do you know how to do anything?
2. Can you read a hard copy map? Or use a compass?
3. How long does it take for you to walk a mile? Run a mile? How does heat and humidity or other weather aspects play into that speed?
4. Do you know where and what you can forage from other locations and how far away they are? Do you know multiple routes in the event they are needed?

Conclusion

These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself. The answers are different depending on the needs of you and your group.

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