14 Questions People Ask About How To Prepare For The Collapse Of The Economy

I don't think worrying about debt collector calls should be much of a concern in a collapse.

So pay off debt and become cash poor, or hoard cash as he recommends in bullet #2? I think there is a slight contradiction.
I know the answer , available for three silver dimes ;)
 
I just had to give away some of the canned foods I hoarded in 2008. Some people are comfortable eating expired cans, I wasted $100 max. But was going to last me about 2 weeks if I actually needed it. I don't consider food preparation alarmist or apacolyptic, maybe because I'm used to eating at home and know what it's like when power goes out.
I would not worry about it , open it , smell it, taste it , I ate K rations from the Korean war in the mid 70's and early 80's .....
 
If you can't walk a few miles carrying a kid- what are you going to do? What if you need to run?

I walked the entire perimeter of our new property carrying my very dense 1+ year-old...my back still hurts. I'll be doing some strength training after the move.
 
Switch as much cash as you can afford to to physical gold and silver. What I would really like to do if I ever get the cash in time is stock up on silver dimes. I think the smaller the denomination the better. You don't want to spend a gold coin on a loaf of bread simply because the store didn't have change.

http://www.midasresources.com/store/store_item.php?i=mercbagDimes

I bought 50 ounces of silver shot (used to make jewlery and other stuff) just for this reason. I figured it would come in handy one day for small purchases if thisgs go that route. If not I'll just have silver coins made up with my face on them. :)
 
I say land ownership is best. In any scenario where you have to leave your home whether rented or not who cares about whether you are breaking a lease or leaving your mortgage behind. The fact is you have to leave and in those circumstances, I doubt paying any sort of bill (even student loans) is going to be a top priority. At the very least, own some land where you can pitch a tent and grow some food and maybe raise some live stock. This is why procuring some land is of the utmost importance to me and building anything on it is secondary.
 
Yeah, definitely.

We had quite a drought this year, so I'll just add that folks need to think about a good, effective water catching system. I've already thought up a few designs for the place when we move. And if you're up North and have the land--a greenhouse.

ETA: And practice doing these things now.

Done and done.
 
If you've got canning questions let me know. We grow about 1/2 acer of food and eat it throughout the year, fresh when we can, canned when we can't. As you said it takes years to learn what you like what you don't like. You need knowlege on your area, the bugs you have, how to effectivly grow what you can in different environments.

The drought taught me that its better to over plan then under. We got things in very early this year and were some of the lucky ones who actually had a harvest.

Yes, best to get the learning curve out of the way while times are relatively easy. If you wait until things are really tough, you may find that you've waited too long and have a tougher time because of it. I've had a garden now for a couple years and it has been a learning experience, for sure. This year I'm going to try canning and next year I'm going to expand the garden, and probably again the year after that.

I'm finding that this stuff is actually pretty fun and satisfying, so it isn't like I'm doing something just for a doom-and-gloom scenario, I'm doing it for fun now! (munching on a juicy garden-fresh homegrown 'mater, wiping the juice off my chin)
 
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I walked the entire perimeter of our new property carrying my very dense 1+ year-old...my back still hurts. I'll be doing some strength training after the move.

Good for you! That 1 year old is more important than anything you own and if you have to run with that tyke, strength and health is primary.
 
I say land ownership is best. In any scenario where you have to leave your home whether rented or not who cares about whether you are breaking a lease or leaving your mortgage behind. The fact is you have to leave and in those circumstances, I doubt paying any sort of bill (even student loans) is going to be a top priority. At the very least, own some land where you can pitch a tent and grow some food and maybe raise some live stock. This is why procuring some land is of the utmost importance to me and building anything on it is secondary.

Just remember that as long as the gov is in control, nobody really owns their property. Stop paying taxes and the real owner will show up and take what you have deemed as yours.
 
#7 is meh?

That is the single most important prepping you can do.

If you can't walk a few miles carrying a kid- what are you going to do? What if you need to run?
Been fortunate I guess , no concerns with number 7.
 
I don't want to derail your guys' thread, but I also don't want to start a new thread all about me, and this is mostly on-topic.

I want to prepare for 'the' collapse/hyper-inflation/doomsday/whatever you want to call it, and I'd like some input.

I'm 17, will be a high school senior this year, live with my parents, earn minimum wage working part time, and going to college in the Fall of 2013.

I have some disposable income - my car insurance/gas is about $200 a month (my only living expenses right now), and I make roughly $800 a month.

I definitely have some expenses coming up in the near future (college) that I will need cash on hand for (versus an investment/hedge of some sort), but I think I have some money to start building a hedge, considering I will probably get a near full-ride scholarship to a couple of the colleges I'm applying to (thank God for good grades/test scores).

What advice would you give to someone in my position who has nothing as a hedge currently? I found a PM 'dealer' in my area that I'm considering buying 10oz silver bars from, http://www.ajpm.com/silver-bullion.html, maybe once a month. That's probably better than nothing, right?

One of my other ideas was opening an account at Scottrade, minimum deposit to open is $500, and investing in some various mining companies.

What do you all think? A combination of the two?

Thanks and sorry this is a little off-topic

-Nick
 
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I don't want to derail your guys' thread, but I also don't want to start a new thread all about me, and this is mostly on-topic.

I want to prepare for 'the' collapse/hyper-inflation/doomsday/whatever you want to call it, and I'd like some input.

I'm 17, will be a high school senior this year, live with my parents, earn minimum wage working part time, and going to college in the Fall of 2013.

I have some disposable income - my car insurance/gas is about $200 a month (my only living expenses right now), and I make roughly $800 a month.

I definitely have some expenses coming up in the near future (college) that I will need cash on hand for (versus an investment/hedge of some sort), but I think I have some money to start building a hedge, considering I will probably get a near full-ride scholarship to a couple of the colleges I'm applying to (thank God for good grades/test scores).

What advice would you give to someone in my position who has nothing as a hedge currently? I found a PM 'dealer' in my area that I'm considering buying 10oz silver bars from, http://www.ajpm.com/silver-bullion.html, maybe once a month. That's probably better than nothing, right?

One of my other ideas was opening an account at Scottrade, minimum deposit to open is $500, and investing in some various mining companies.

What do you all think? A combination of the two?

Thanks and sorry this is a little off-topic

-Nick

Bump ^
 
I don't want to derail your guys' thread, but I also don't want to start a new thread all about me, and this is mostly on-topic.

I want to prepare for 'the' collapse/hyper-inflation/doomsday/whatever you want to call it, and I'd like some input.

I'm 17, will be a high school senior this year, live with my parents, earn minimum wage working part time, and going to college in the Fall of 2013.

I have some disposable income - my car insurance/gas is about $200 a month (my only living expenses right now), and I make roughly $800 a month.

I definitely have some expenses coming up in the near future (college) that I will need cash on hand for (versus an investment/hedge of some sort), but I think I have some money to start building a hedge, considering I will probably get a near full-ride scholarship to a couple of the colleges I'm applying to (thank God for good grades/test scores).

What advice would you give to someone in my position who has nothing as a hedge currently? I found a PM 'dealer' in my area that I'm considering buying 10oz silver bars from, http://www.ajpm.com/silver-bullion.html, maybe once a month. That's probably better than nothing, right?

One of my other ideas was opening an account at Scottrade, minimum deposit to open is $500, and investing in some various mining companies.

What do you all think? A combination of the two?

Thanks and sorry this is a little off-topic

-Nick
I suggest smaller quantities , go with dimes , halves and dollars , worst case , you want to barter for something you need ( not something you want ) , that will cover it easily.
 
The Canadian mint also sells small gold coins, half gram , and 1/25th ounce . There is also some very small , affordable Japanese gold two Shu bars from about the 1830's to 1860's's that are silver , gold mix, probably pick them up around $60 ea or there abouts , from the time of the Samarai , probably run around 1.6 / 1.7 grams ...Pm me if you need ideas or a honest dealer for 90 % silver or Silver Eagles , I can send you my guy's phone number.He is , flat out best guy in the business, I have been all over the world , done business with him ( sold & bought ) for , at least , probably , currently , your life span . Good Luck young Man , glad to see you thinking ahead !
 
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I suggest smaller quantities , go with dimes , halves and dollars , worst case , you want to barter for something you need ( not something you want ) , that will cover it easily.

Good point, because everything you want to buy won't require 10oz of silver. Food for the day may only cost a half ounce (or something like that).

That being said, the collapse should trigger a massive sell-off of stocks, but would that include mining stocks? Wouldn't those companies almost benefit because of the rising nominal price of precious metals?

I almost think mining stocks would be nearly as safe of a hedge as precious metals, besides the fact that you don't physically own it, and you can't barter with it. Do you think mining stocks would do well during hyper-inflation?
 
I say land ownership is best. In any scenario where you have to leave your home whether rented or not who cares about whether you are breaking a lease or leaving your mortgage behind. The fact is you have to leave and in those circumstances, I doubt paying any sort of bill (even student loans) is going to be a top priority. At the very least, own some land where you can pitch a tent and grow some food and maybe raise some live stock. This is why procuring some land is of the utmost importance to me and building anything on it is secondary.

Yes, and away from the madding crowd.
 
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