Great Depression? 5 Things You Can Do NOW!
When the United States implemented a lock down due to the Corona virus, this forced numerous businesses to shut down and countless people to lose their source of income. This raised concerns that a recession or even a depression is on the horizon. The ones who usually suffer the most during a market downturn are the people, especially those who are not prepared and are living month to month. Unfortunately, a recent study revealed that almost half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Furthermore, more than half of Americans couldn't even safely write a check for over $500 though this may be concerning, it is not as dire as it sounds. Economies are cyclical undergoing ups and downs.
Many factors usually contribute to an economy going into a recession or depression. Create and corruption are typically the worst culprits as our history has shown, our economy always re-emerges from a downturn to less than the economic impact. We can look at the historical preparations that previous generations made so we can better prepare ourselves and our families from a potential economic depression.
In this video, we'll discuss five things you can do now if you're concerned about a potential longterm economic depression. The points we'll cover are from lessons learned, studying previous times in history where major economic downturns impacted nations. Number one, know how to change your diet. Food is going to be the most critical resource we will need during an economic depression. Not only because there may be an interruption with the food supply, but because many people can't afford the food they are used to eating. Many are very dependent on other people growing, gathering, harvesting, and preparing. Most of the food that they consume daily. They go to grocery stores and spend money to buy process and pre-prepare food that they can easily cook at home. Some people don't even cook at all. They go to restaurants and pay others to prepare their mills, but during a depression, these things become a luxury that numerous people won't be able to afford.
What this means is that you may have to learn to eat foods that don't have the big three. Soy, wheat, and corn. These three grains are the main ingredients found in most of the processed foods available in supermarkets reading the labels. You will find that at least one of the three grains or there are derivatives like corn syrup, corn starch, and corn oil is a main ingredient included in a majority of the foods you're buying. Skipping on foods that use these three cranes is also good for your health since you're adding variety to your food and more nutrients to your body. So what are the foods can you and your family consume that won't put you in a financial burden or make you sick during a depression? Early humans didn't rely on others to plant, harvest and processor foods. They forage, hunted and fished for the food that they and their family consumed.
Even if you don't live in the woods, it's still possible to forge. There are numerous different fruit trees found in people's yards or public parks that you can easily pick. In Oregon. For example, many city parks have trees that drop walnuts on the ground. Walnuts are just one example. There are many different varieties of foods that you can readily pick up in your environment. You can search the internet or go to the library and learn the different edibles found in your local area. Make sure you have a printout of the research or a copy of important pages in the book so you can readily look at them if needed. You should also know where you can hunt or fish and what are the requirements. If the land is public, ask your local government what you need to do if it's privately owned, try and build connections with the owner.
The key to foraging is knowing your environment and having a plan of action. I'll be working on a future video shortly about forging and the urban and suburban environments, so if you'd like to know when that comes out, remember to subscribe to this channel. Number two, build your library. Another thing you need to prepare for that can help you during an economic depression or books. It's important to build your library books that can provide you a critical knowledge and information that you can use during the depression. I already mentioned earlier the importance of having books about foraging, hunting and fishing to help you secure food when you are unable to purchase them at your local supermarket. Aside from forging books, you should also have medical books which you can use as a reference and guide in case you or someone in your family gets sick or needs immediate first date.
Other helpful books that you can include in your library are language guides for your region and atlases. You should also have cookbooks and books about gardening, which can help you get through an economic crisis and don't forget to add some novels or other fiction books that you've always wanted to read in your library. It's easy to get stressed out, anxious or overly worried during a depression. Having books that can let you temporarily escape your situation can help relieve your stress and keep you sane. Having your own small libraries critical since you never know how long the internet or electricity could stay down in your area. Now I've lived in impoverished parts of the world and I've quickly learned that the power may not always be up and having a reliable internet source may not even be an option, especially at your own house. It's not wise to expect that they'll always be available, so having a backup plan is crucial when we're discussing having hard copies of books.
Even a small library of different books ensures that you will still have access to information as well as other forms of entertainment. I'll put a link in the cards above and in the description section below to books that you might want to include in your prepping library. I'll also do another video about building a prepper library in the near future. Number three, build your skills in life and vocation. Financial security will be one of the biggest concerns during a depression. Keeping jobs is going to be hard, but finding a new one will be tougher, though it's a good idea to have an emergency funds so you'll have access to money in case you get laid off. It won't be enough. You may also need to learn new skills or further develop. The ones that you have having a new skill could potentially help you keep your job or make you an attractive candidate to other employers.
For example, you could learn a new language and become an interpreter. You could also learn to upgrade your skills were computer software applications. Being an attractive employee is not the only thing you should consider. You should also develop skills that you can use to help you start a side business or a new vocation. Building a side hustle has become more and more popular in this new gig economy we currently live in. I've personally found websites like linda.com can help provide you with so much quality information to learn a new skill set. I personally have used it to develop a lot of skills to help grow my company. You can even learn new skills that you always wanted to learn, like playing the guitar or baking. Try and spend at least an hour at night pursuing a new skill that interests you. Again, there are many educational websites that can teach you many skills even if there are no jobs available at the moment.
Developing a new skill can help make you marketable in the future when the economy is back on track, but aside from making you a marketable candidate for job opportunities, a new skill can also help keep you sane and provide you with a sense of accomplishment in an unstable world. As I stated earlier, stress and anxiety are going to be a common feeling during an economic depression. The books can help you relax and keep saying working on developing and improving yourself is also important according to an article from lifehack.com as you improve and develop skills, you also get to learn more about yourself, thus improving your mental health. Even a simple workout program you can follow during this period as a way to fill a sense of accomplishment and speaking of mental health, one class I begin to recommend a family members during this time or many of us are in quarantine, is Yale university's most popular online course, which is actually now free called the science of wellbeing.
I've gotten a lot of encouraging feedback from individuals. I've recommended this too. Again, I'll post the link to the course and the description section below. Number four, Work for necessity and not currency. Working conditions during an economic depression will be different. The traditional work for money scenario where you work for one employer and receive a timely paycheck may not be reliable in the current economic climate of the pandemic. Many businesses in a situation are folding and filing for bankruptcies. You need to think outside the box here and see what other side jobs you can do other than traditional employment. You should also be willing to work for necessity and not always currency. What this means is that you may want to work in exchange for other types of resources like food, water, and other items you may need. For example, if you are good at carpentering, there's a plumbing problem in your home.
You might find a plumber in your community and negotiate with him to fix your plumbing problem in exchange for any carpentry task he has, and you can also do a jobs in exchange for resources. You can negotiate a Milan in exchange for picking a few fruits off an Apple tree in your neighbor's backyard. You could offer to clean a neighbor's garage in exchange for some mix. Aside from manual labor. You can also use your knowledge. For example, if you have a degree in mathematics or English, you can use it to do tutoring services in your neighborhood and exchange for various resources. If you're knowledgeable about gardening, you can offer to teach people how to start a mini garden in their homes. There are many things you can do in exchange for various non-monetary resources. You'll be surprised to see that people are willing to work for you or exchange with you of currency, which may be scarcely available or does it hold any more value as removed from the equation.
You will also see that many skills will be in demand during a depression. In fact, many of them are likely to be more in demand than actual goods, especially if the situation last longer. Skills like first state medical, gunsmithing, weaving, sewing, mechanical knowledge, teaching trade craft like plumbing or blacksmith or electrical services and even survival skills are the ones which will be in high demand possessing at least one of these skills will ensure that you have something of value that people are willing to barter for. Number five, adjust your finances. The last thing you'll need to prepare for during a depression is your finances. Just because there's a crisis situation, it doesn't necessarily mean that your debts are automatically forgiven. They are still there and you'll still be asked to pay for them. Fortunately, there are programs that can provide Leif and help you manage your debts and loans.
During great depression of the 1930s the federal government passed the farm mortgage act, which was a program to help farmers who were defaulting on their mortgage payments to the lenders. Some of the key aspects of the program were low interest rates where farmers, in principle for Barron's. For Barron's is a program where borrowers allow a person to skip or make reduced payments during the duration of the agreement. It's a relief program that lenders and creditors usually grant to borrowers instead of foreclosing on their property. It's a win win situation. Since borrowers will get temporary relief from paying their mortgage while lenders won't have to shoulder the loss of the property because of the Corona virus, many Americans are already requesting forbearance on their mortgage payments. Debt deferment is another program that can help and adjusting your finances and managing your debts. Debt deferment is a program that gives you a period of time where you are excused from making any payments at all because of certain circumstances in your life.
The best program to really help your finances is debt forgiveness. Unlike the other two programs, debt forgiveness means you are no longer required to repay some or all of your loans. Now during the great depression, debt relief was one of the major reasons why some States recovered fast. According to a study from Yellen sites States that were more generous and providing debt relief to people through the consumer bankruptcy system had an increase in local employment during the recession. It's important to remember that each state will likely have different policies, programs, and requirements for their debt management programs. You should do your research and ask around so you know which programs you can take advantage of when the time comes. Aside from managing debt. It's also critical that you reduce your dependency on paper currency when the value of the dollar becomes worthless during a depression.
Other means of exchange available will be precious metals or electronic payment modes. In this scenario, gold and silver will be valuable since farmers and merchants will be more than willing to sell their goods and services for announced of precious metal bullion. Precious metals retain value and currency does not. I'll post a link in the description section and pin a comment linking to a website where I personally purchased my precious metals. Electronic payment modes like PayPal and Venmo may also be valuable, especially when banks fell. If you have some balance on your accounts, you can use Elma at least temporarily as a way to pay for goods and services. I'll be talking more specifically about precious metals in a future video. With the way the Corona virus pandemic is affecting businesses and economies. It's not farfetched to think that the next issue we might face is an economic recession or even a depression because economic downturns are cyclical in nature.
It's important that we properly prepare ourselves for that eventuality. To summarize, the main points discussed in this video, the first thing you need to know is that food is going to be the most crucial resource during the depression. The situation will have a significant financial impact on countless people, which means many can't afford to buy the foods that they want to eat. Changing your diet, knowing edible foods that you can easily pick up within your area will be a key to your survival. Second, you should consider building a library of books that can provide useful knowledge and information during a depression. You should also learn and develop new skills which can help you keep a job or make you an attractive candidate for companies during a recovery. It's important that you think outside the box when it comes to working during an economic depression. The traditional way of working won't be reliable during this period.
Being able to work for necessities instead of currency will increase your chances of surviving and even thriving in this situation. Lastly, it's important to remember to adjust your finances. There are many different programs you can search for that the government provides to help consumers manage your debts during a national crisis. If you're new to prepping and you don't know where to begin, you can check out the different videos on my channel to learn where to start and how to properly prepare yourself and your family for a multitude of events. Please feel free to like this video share on social media and post any feedback that you have in the comment section below. Typically, in the first hour after releasing a video, I try to provide feedback in the comment section below. As always, be safe out there.