Wanderings and Musings

Hard times are coming… the only question is: How hard will they be?

The financial meltdown was predicted a few years in advance along with the mortgage crisis that precipitated it, and even though the majority of people want to remain positive (or blind) and turn their head from the coming years of hardship, the fact remains that there is no good news on the short term horizon. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

I just don’t know how far “worse” goes down the ladder at this point. I mean, is this a worse as in gas costs $6/gal and people have to start tightening their belts, or is this a worse as in complete financial collapse and another great depression, or is this a worse as in zombies rule the world and you’re the only remaining human alive?

Let’s start with defining some levels of hardship, because you have to know what the possibilities are before you can plan for them.

Level	Money	Services	Law	Community	Trade
No crash	About 3% inflation	Everything normal	People are secure in their houses and on the streets.	There is none. We are all separated by our houses and cars and jobs.	Very little trade. Money is the rule of the land.
Economic downswing	This is hard to predict. There could be inflation (goods cost more) or deflation (goods cost less, but money is harder to come by…)	Services are still present, but costs will rise on most things.	Physically still secure, but increased economic pressures will increase scams and monetary crimes.	Not much changes. But possibly having less money will mean more time spent in your own community and getting to know your neighbors.	Slight increase in trade between friends and neighbors.
Depression	Money for the average person is going to be hard to come by as jobs go away and prices are likely to be out of reach.	Services that can be easily done or have little worth will go away and needful services will cost much more.	The huge increase in economic hardship will likely cause increase in crimes like theft when people need to resort to them to survive.	Successful communities will start to band together to help each other out with food, and other resources. Reducing the cost for everyone.	Much more trade will take place.
Economic Collapse	Money is almost worthless. Gold and other hard currencies are too as the farmer down the street will have a hard time figuring it’s worth.	Most services will cease to exist that we are familiar with. Only the absolutely necessary will remain.	Law will mostly revert to the community level instead of the state. Most people will realize that the state laws have little concern with the good of their community at heart.	Only successful communities will survive to this stage. Those that don’t work together will disintegrate under the harsh conditions	Almost all of the economy will be in trade. When an item such as the dollar value can change rapidly and is controlled by others, it loses it’s meaning.
Survivalism	Money, gold, and other forms of value storage are completely worthless. If you can’t eat it, wear it, etc, then it’s a waste of space.	No services. You’re lucky to be alive.	Only the law that you or your community provides.	Small bands will be the only viable living arrangements.	If you can’t make it or gather it yourself or in your community, then you have to trade another community for it.

What you will need to do and need to know will depend greatly upon at what level we sink to, but there will always be a few actions you can take that will not go to waste and leave you prepared in any event.

For instance, stocking up on non perishable food items, especially can foods that will last for a few years… you just can’t go wrong. If nothing happens, you can eat them, if it goes badly, then you have food stored and won’t go hungry and if you have an abundance that is secured then you have items for trade.

Other actions may or may not be beneficial depending on the level of the crash. Putting your money into gold or other currencies may be a good idea in a financial crash limited to the US, but what if it affects the world… the currencies aren’t going to help… and gold sounds good, but is the local farmer going to know how much a chip of gold is worth and going to trade you his produce? Probably not. So using the monetary system only works to your advantage at the top two levels.

Something as basic as whether you should buy or rent your living space can have huge consequences during volatile times. The drop in real estate property is forecast to go on through 2010.

Awareness of what can happen and what actions to take and prepare for at each level is the smartest thing you can do.

Learn about how you can convert your money to and from whatever currency you are in to make the best of large swings in valuation. Don’t try to capture the small swings as you’re just as likely to get bitten by an unexpected turn of events.

Stock up on items that will definitely be usable by you in any case, like canned foods. Buy items that don’t take much space but can save your life in a pinch, like water filtration devices, solar blankets, first aid, oil lamps, matches, etc.

Be on the lookout for deals at your local grocery stores for cheap sales on canned foods, etc.

Learn what it will take to survive at different levels and whether you are prepared, and if not then how you can get prepared.

Learn technologies that can really make your life easier when services like electricity, gas, oil, etc go away. You’re going to be limited to cooking food with fire and something as simple as a rocket stove can go a long way towards making your life livable over having to create a camp fire just to cook breakfast. Or how about learning how to build simple but effective generators that can be made from scrap parts and powered using water or wind.

Learn the basics of gathering or growing your own food and have a book on hand that you can reference as you need it.

Learn a trade that people will really need as other services go away like bicycle repair, tool creation, plot farming, clothing repair and creation, or teaching others the basics of survival, etc.

Really learn and research your area… is is a suitable area for subsistence farming? Without whole house heating will it be too cold? Is it a hard to travel area by foot or bicycle or carting a load on a trailer? And learn about your options for leaving it and where you would go to live a more comfortable life.

Some good sources of further reading:

• What if US Collapses?
• Possum living
• Homemade survival kit
• Rocket Stoves
  • How to build a simple Rocket Stove
  • Capturing heat

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Resources List

The following list is what I have been thinking through and coming up with as some items to think about and start to plan for. Please feel free to help with this effort and spur discussion about what else should be on people’s minds.

• Eating and Stocking your larder
  • Water - the most basic necessity
    • Live near good water with a manual pump
    • Have high quality food grade water containers available. These can be filled as needed before hard times and stored for future use.
    • Water filters/purifiers + repair kit (this should be efficient, easy to clean, repair, and use)
    • Hand pumps and siphons
  • Cooking
    • Coleman fuel with an efficient burner for cooking with the need of a large heat source. Plus a simple wrapping to keep heat close to pot.
    • Learn the basics of creating a rocket stove which is a very efficient way of heating using small amounts of fuel (wood twigs, etc)
    • Cast iron cookware - Heavy but lasts, keeps heat for a long time.
    • Matches - strike anywhere and plenty of them!
    • Have the basic utensils available such as a whisk, a hand can opener, a knife, and eating utensils. Paper plates and cups? Paper towels, napkins.
  • Food to grow
    • Live where you can grow or find your own food
    • Rabbits and Chickens - Both are small and easy to keep. Quick growing. Chickens are smellier, but give eggs. Chicken wire and wood for pens. Easy and cheap to feed.
    • Stockpile seeds (non-hybrid) that will grow in your area.
  • Food to store
    • Basics: Rice, beans
    • Canned foods: Veggies, Fruits, Soups, Tuna, gravy (best ones are tasty and edible without heating)
    • Cooking: Olive oil, Honey, Powdered/condensed milk, vinegar, flour, yeast
    • Water enhancers: Instant coffee, tea, tang, cocoa
    • Seasonings: Soy sauce, bullion cubes, garlic, salt/pepper, small amount of other spices
    • Treats: Graham crackers, trail mix, gum, candies, popcorn, peanut butter, nuts, jerky
  • Storage
    • Insulated ice chests - Great for keeping things cool in summer and from freezing in winter.
    • Canning supplies (jars, lids, wax) for future storage.
• Shelter and Warmth and lighting
  • Seasoned firewood (wood takes 6-12 months to cure for home use)
  • Weatherization items - Window/door insulation, wall/roof insulation
  • Sleeping - Sleeping bags (high performance materials), mats, pillows. Cots and inflatable mattresses.
  • Lighting - Long buring candles, Oil lamps (oil - clear, wicks)
• Clothing
  • Washing - Clothes pins, lines, hangars, multi-use soap (Dr. Bronners)
  • Heavy work clothes - Jeans, shirts, boots, belts
  • Repair - Sewing supplies (scissors, fabrics, thread, needles, etc)
  • Wool clothing - High performance in all weather. Scarves, mittens, hats, socks, shirts, etc
  • Gloves - Work, warming, gardening, etc.
  • Rain gear
  • Cold weather gear
• Personal Supplies
  • Learning, education, recording
    • Writing pads/paper/pencils/pens
    • Solar calculator
    • Reading glasses
    • Books (learning and pleasure, survival book)
  • Health and Hygiene
    • First Aid kits
    • insect repel, vermin killing.
    • Toilet paper, kleenex.
    • Baby wipes, baby oil, alcohol wipes/lotion.
    • Atomizers - cooling and bathing
• Tools
  • Tin snips (for creating rocket stoves, and other things out of flat metal)
  • Gardening tools
  • Wood tools - Bow saw, axe, hatchet, sharpening tools
  • Animal capture tools - Fishing supplies, snares, hunting, etc.
  • Transportation
    • Personal - Bikes + repair (tires, tubes, pumps, chains, oil)
    • Hauling - Carrying large items (wagons, trailers)
  • General use tools - Aluminum foil, plastic Garbage bags, bleach, Paraffin wax (food, candles, etc)
  • Patching - Screen, rubber, wood, bolts/nuts, etc.
  • Solar charging system - Useful long term? Hard to repair? Useful charging of items?
• Safety and Security
  • Protection - Guns, ammo, Pepper Spray, Knives, Slingshots
  • Safety - Baking soda as fire extinguishers, Carbon monoxide alarm, fire alarm
  • “Survival in a Can” - Good for having on hikes, traveling, trading, etc.
• Trading
  • Liquor, food, tp, cigarettes, bikes, books, humanity (toothpaste, rouge, soap, cologne)

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Tags: Economy Life

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