If you rationally examine history, as City Prepping does, there are strong indications that another great depression is on its way. We are experiencing record high unemployment, weakening currencies, and a global reduction in manufacturing and trade. The time to prepare for a prolonged economic depression is now. As conditions deteriorate, you can expect disruptions to services and utilities similar to those experienced after a natural disaster. This means that you may not have electricity or the Internet all the time, or potable running water or natural gas for cooking. So what can you do today to prepare?

1. Economy to Economical

In general, people are extremely adverse to change. They want to believe that things will stay the same, but it’s just not true. Despite holding out hope that old ways will return, the resources that you require will change. 

Now is a good time to assess and restructure what you have vs what you use, and consider downsizing. Can your family get by with only one car? If you have subscriptions or memberships that you pay for on a monthly basis, can those be eliminated? If you have storage space that you pay for, can you get by without it? Lower your monthly bills as much as you can; you may even want to consider paying things off with your savings. If the dollar decreases enough in value, it won’t mean much to have it laying around in a savings account.

2. Spread It Out

Those who survive recessions and depressions with the most success are those that have diversified their assets. You can expect the dollar to lose value, and “beans, bullets, and Band-Aids” to be your most valuable assets.

A recovery will come, but it may take longer than you’d like. In the meantime, invest in a variety of areas. Precious metals retain their value but lack liquidity. Cryptocurrencies are limited (unlike the dollar), and so have value, but are hard to use for payment of real items. Spread your money out so that you have both spendable currency and currency with a higher value.

3. Invest Heavily into Yourself

Now is the time to learn skills and read books, not later. Learn how to sew, fish, hunt, forage, and garden. Remember that the Great Depression lasted nearly a decade; you will need to develop skills to make it through. Educating yourself will only become more difficult later, when you are struggling to pay your bills and your resources are more limited.

4. From Disposable to Durable

Our society has become reliant on disposable products, but you can expect for our supply chains to disappear overnight in a depression. You won’t be able to purchase cases of bottled water, so now is the time to get yourself some reliable water filters – while they’re still affordable. Expect prices on durable items to skyrocket in a depression, so purchase them now.

5. Develop a Survivor Mindset

This may not come naturally to you, but learn to be: resilient, hyper-alert, and flexible. Take some time to assess your weaknesses and make it a priority to tackle those. If you’re out of shape, start exercising. If you’re terrible at saving money, start a savings plan. Continually assess your progress and don’t let yourself off the hook. 

There are potentially troubling times ahead, and very few people will be unaffected. Preparing now is of the utmost importance to guarantee your ability to survive and thrive. Addressing your financial situation is a major factor in your level of success in the next decade.