OK, no-one’s saying that you have to learn how to amputate your own head while biting down on a piece of willow bark for pain relief here; this is more about prepping for a period of financial uncertainty or even disaster.
The global financial markets have been a bit funny of late and while no-one’s sure about the outcome over the next couple of years, we can bet that food prices will rise, as will unemployment rates. If you’re worried about either or both of these things hitting you, then you should start prepping so that you can survive a period of time when the banks might be shut or you might be out of work. This is how you do it.
Watch the markets like a hawk
If things start falling suddenly, then watch even closer. If you have physical investments like the precious metals you bought from here in a bank vault, it may be time to remove some of them. Once you’ve got them in your grasp, bury them somewhere, or put them in your own safe. Be extra vigilant over them.
Of course, the markets could pick up; that fall could just be a big correction or the new normal. Or, it could be the start of the new Great Depression. If it’s the former scenario, then you dig up your gold and place it back in your bank vault.
If it’s not a correction…
Make another visit to the bank and withdraw most – not all – of your money. Leave some in to cover your bills for a month or two so you have some wiggle room and don’t get hammered by charges when payments fail. We’ve seen banks closing in Greece recently and while people could move money online to pay bills, they couldn’t draw cash out. This was alright eventually, but a lot of people were worried about losing all their money if the banks folded.
You should already have a stockpile of food, but if you need more – dried beans and lentils, tins and so on – then head to the wholesalers on your way home from the bank.
You should also visit the gas station to fill your tank and a few cans as well. You can expect fuel prices to go up after a market crash. You may also want to buy in extra meds, like inhalers and antibiotics.
You should also be ready for some unrest, even if it’s just frayed tempers at the gas station. If that’s the worst it gets, then that’s all good. However, be ready to hole up at home with your family and your defense measures.
Keep watching the news
Hopefully, everything will straighten out and your preps will have been for nothing – although it’s good practice and you’ve invested in some extra lentils…
If it looks like a SHTF scenario, then you need to find all your prepping websites and bookmark them. If you can, print off a few of the most vital pages just in case you lose electricity for any reason.
You also need to expand your physical library so that you have information and walkthroughs on hand in case you have no internet for a while.
Hopefully, you’ll already have quite a few, but if you need more, focus on books on sewing, animal husbandry, emergency first-aid, plant identification and scratch cooking, as well as carpentry and repair manuals.
If you hope for the best but prepare for the worst, you can’t go far wrong.
