Preparing for an Economic Collapse: When, Why & How

Most of you know that preparing for an economic collapse is one of my top priorities. The main reason an economic collapse is a big priority is because it could happen at any time, and it seems like no one even cares anymore that we are trillions in debt.

Politicians don’t care about the national debt, they care about getting reelected, and if you think they are going to be the ones who say “we need to make huge spending cuts” you’re kidding yourself. They would never get reelected because the people in this entitled society that we’ve become would have none of it.

First off, I have to say no economist by any stretch of the imagination. I understand that government economics and budgeting and home budgeting are completely different. With that being said, I am not so naive to think that this business as usual approach, and massive government overspending is just “how government works”, Regardless what they would like is to believe.

According to some experts, when factoring in unfunded liabilities like Social Security, Medicare, government pension plans and Obamacare, estimates put the real national debt somewhere around $200 trillion.

Let me got off my soap box here and just say, at some point, something has to give. How that looks, when it happens, and what the repercussions are no one knows. One thing is certain though, if we continue on this path, something is bound to give.

SPP243 Preparing for an Economic Collapse

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This week in the show Lisa and I talked about what an economic collapse might looks like, how we can try to prepare for it, and what might cause an economic collapse. I’ve listed some of the things we talked about in the show below, but make sure and listen to get all the details.

What Else Could Cause a Collapse

When we think about the dollar collapsing sending the United states into the next great depression, we tend to think about government overspending. The reality is, there are many things that could cause an economic collapse.

Just think what an EMP would do to our economy. An EMP would take out the power grid, bringing everything to a halt. This means people would lose jobs, manufacturing would stop, and the economy would suffer severely.

War and global conflicts, and even terrorism could also lead to an economic collapse. While terrorism may not cause a complete collapse, it could affect the economy. With our economy being more global as time goes on, there are a number of factors that could trigger a collapse.

Different Types Of a Collapse

As preppers we tend to think “worse case scenario” about everything. But there are so many variables that go into the economy, it’s tough to say how severe it would be. It very well could be a complete collapse, but it also could be a slow decline, a depression, or something that happens quickly for a short period of time.

Even if it is a depression type even, or something short lived, it could have dire consequences for you on a personal level. If you lost your job for as little as a month, that could affect you and your family for a long time after you get a new job. This is why having food storage is so important, it gives you a buffer until you get everything back on track.

What to Expect From an Economic Collapse

As we said in a past podcast, people will become the X-Factor in a crisis. An economic collapse is just the type of scenario that would cause people to become dangerous. Again, there are many variables that we need to consider, such as what caused it, how severe is it, and how close we are to population centers.

In a complete collapse there would be Civil Unrest, Martial Law, and crime would become a major problem. Desperate people do desperate things, and even the most virtuous person would do what it takes to survive.

In the initial stages there would most definitively a run on banks, and bank holidays. Just about everyone these days keep their money in the banks, and people without some cash on hand will be fighting to get their money.

Manage Your Money

In the show we talked about how there are a number of steps we can take to minimize the affects and economic collapse would have on us. The great thing about paying attention to your money, and being smart about your spending habits is that it’s good to do regardless whether a collapse happens or not.

Investing in silver, and having cash at home is something we have done for a while now. Some people say that silver and cash will be useless in a collapse scenario which is both true and false. In a large scale collapse yes, it would probably be some time before your silver had any value. But in a depression type event, it wouldn’t hurt to have saved a bit in advance.

Another side affect of the economy taking a deep plunge is job loss. In the show we talked about what jobs are “Collapse Proof”, and what jobs may be nonexistent. People in the medical field may still have a job, but at a much lower pay rate. People in construction or office workers may find it tough to find work.

This is a reason why having marketable skills is important. In the event you lose your job, you may find yourself bartering your skills and becoming a handy man of sorts.

Preparing For An Economic Collapse

Another reason I make preparing for an economic collapse one of my priorities is because it encompasses every area of preparedness. As you prepare for a economic collapse, you are inevitably preparing for other disaster scenarios.

Most disasters would be short lived, and you would know fairly quickly whether or not you were going to get through it. A collapse could be something that requires a longer term preparedness plan. How much you prepare depends on your situation, but this could last anywhere from a few months to a few years.

The most important thing is to stay vigilant and pay attention. Watch what is going on in Venezuela right now, and pay attention to how the government is reacting, how the people are reacting, and what the major issues are.

Reading books like The Modern Survival Manual by Fernando “Ferfal” Aguire is also a good way to get first hand information about what a collapse would look like. If you have any books, articles or other sources of information that would be helpful, leave a comment below.