Many stories have been written about the oncoming recession / depression but few have asked the most important question.
How will this downturn affect the average person and what can I do about it? First, a recession and or depression is not the end of the world.
It means that it will be increasingly difficult to find employment, locate credit and make personal financial progress.
Yes, times will be tough.
If you live a life revolving around credit you must consider changing your thinking NOW.
The Strong Will Prevail What does it mean to "be strong"? You need to ask yourself these questions: What is my current debt load? What savings are readily available? If your debt is high and your savings are low, you must change your habits now.
Strengthening your financial well being will pay dividends later.
Every penny sunk into eliminating debt will advance your tolerance to risk.
Are you the pillar of strength at your job? You must establish yourself as the "go to" person at your place of employment.
As layoffs occur, the "go to" people will likely survive.
The first several years of The Great Depression were recessionary.
If this occurs again, time should be used to prepare for a possible severe downturn.
Focus on creating your own position of strength.
What if a depression never occurs and you have gone to all this trouble? Simple ...
enjoy your new found wealth.
You will be paying less interest on your debt and perhaps eliminated it completely.
This puts you in a position to benefit when the market finds it legs.
Invest these gains and further empower yourself to deal with adversity in the future.
What You Purchase From Now On You need to focus on the essentials.
Everyone will have their own comfort zone on what they feel is essential.
Purchasing critical items now may prevent headaches later.
Save money by seeking quality used items.
Here are a few interesting ideas to get you started: - Gardening equipment.
Planting your own garden will have the benefit of creating annual savings and best of all ...
you get to eat.
- Carpentry tools.
This will allow you to look after your own residence and provide potential employment options for the future.
- Hedge against inflation.
If we hit an inflationary period, many items could be priced exponentially higher.
Purchase now to save big later.
Example: Your kids will grow out of their clothing each year.
Purchase in advance and store the items.
Use these advanced purchases as required.
Will prices rise this quickly? Perhaps your money could be better utilized against debt? You decide! Buy more than one of each of these items.
If prices inflate radically, you can bet others will be looking to purchase these necessities.
Strategies Work with your neighbors.
A strong sense of community will benefit you through bartering and trade.
Help look out for one another.
Gold and Silver.
If you are fortunate enough to have extra cash at this time you may want to consider converting a portion to gold and silver.
Why? Although prices do fluctuate, precious metals generally retain their value over the long run.
Stocks, Mutual funds, Retirement Investments.
You may want to consider using a portion of this to eliminate a percentage of your debt.
This may or may not make sense in your situation.
If you are not great at assessing your financial options ...
seek guidance from someone you trust.
Remember that certain experts can be helpful, but be careful accepting advice from someone that stands to gain from your decision.
Many "experts" got us into this mess! Seek The Elderly.
They are the closest thing we have to experts.
Learn from their personal stories of how they and their families survived the last depression.
What was it like for them? Many stories of the depression are available on the internet.
Research them and find out first hand what it was like.
Emulate The Successful.
In any crisis situation you want to carefully watch others who are succeeding.
Copy what they are doing.
Seek their advice.
Educate Yourself.
Read and investigate every potential method or strategy.
You will develop a comfort zone around particular forms of advice.
Embrace them and make sure you follow through.
No Job? Carefully Target Your Next One.
Specifically, you want to try to locate your new job based on necessity.
Is the product they are selling a necessity when folks don't have a lot of money? If not, you may soon be out of work again.
Start A Business Based On Necessity.
A couple of prerequisites ...
It must be a simple business that requires little to no capital.
What service will be required during a period of harsh economic realities? Radical Steps Some interesting ideas but definitely not for everyone.
These are very personal decisions that must be made independently.
- Immigrate to another country with a better balance sheet.
They may be in a better situation to help weather the financial storm.
Perhaps your unique talents are under great demand at this new geographic location.
- Make your life as self sufficient as possible.
Eliminate everything with the exception of absolute needs.
Try to produce all of your essentials independently.
When this is not possible, create relationships within your community and assist each other.
You will need to bring something to the table.
Ensure you have a necessary skill or valuable asset which can be dispersed.
- Sell everything and downsize.
After liquidating, take the proceeds and move to a location where it is the most economical to start a new life.
If this totally eliminates your debt, you will be as prepared as one can be if financial ruin is on the horizon.
Conclusion Each of us has to decide how bad the financial storm will get.
After taking the time to do some research, estimate where you think the fiscal crisis will end up.
Based on your own research and intuition, plan accordingly.