Financial planning is the process that helps in managing your financial resources to achieve your long-term or short-term goals. It entails assessing your current financial situation, establishing financial goals and risk appetite, and devising a strategy to achieve those goals. It helps you in making informed decisions to allocate your funds. By: Tinesh Bhasin

Whether you’re a committed prepper or just thinking about living more strategically, creating a financial plan is essential to prepare for a time when you may no longer have a job, and the banking system — and perhaps the government — no longer function like it does today.

Why might you be facing such a time? Because threats pile up every day. Cyber crime and cyber theft are on the rise. If hackers can steal your identity, is it really a stretch that they could cause a collapse of the banking system or the government?

ATMs could become disabled around the globe as cyber-hackers gain control of your accounts. Governments could be disabled and unable to function — and that’s just the beginning.

Let’s face it. We’ve already seen situations where people have lost their homes in natural disasters, like floods and hurricanes. Others have become sick and unable to work because of radiation, like those in Japan.

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Job loss alone is a reason to have a financial plan, but across the world, people have been displaced by war, bombs and carnage. Think it can’t happen here? Think again.

On top of that, approximately half the people in the United States wouldn’t be able to come up with $500 for an emergency.

What would you do if any of the crisis scenarios above occurred? You need a financial plan. Here are three tips on how to create one.

Get a Handle on Your Expenses

Your first order of business is to create a budget. If you don’t know how much you spend every month, you can’t plan to either cut expenses or save.

If you don’t already have a budget, start with a spreadsheet. Enter all your fixed monthly expenses, like mortgage, utilities, groceries and any debts. Then, assess your budget. Sometimes, people find their budgets are fine and have disposable income to allocate to savings. But other times, people find they need to cut back on spending.

There are many ways to reduce your expenses. Simplify your cable package and stick to Netflix, or rent DVDs and books from your local library. Start a garden and grow your own food to cut back on grocery bills. Always shop on sale. Sew your own clothes. Reduce the number of times you eat out each week. Choose less expensive get-together and recreational activities. Can you hike with your family instead of going to a fancy lunch, for example?

The more you consider less expensive ways, the more cash you’ll be able to save. Plus, many of these methods will benefit you as a barter skill later on.

Create a Prepper Budget

Once you get a handle on how much you’re spending, you’ll need to create a prepper budget — that means you’re going to start saving and preparing for upheaval.

First, if you don’t already have a category for saving, start one. Your first goal is to have a three-month cash cushion in case you lose your job or banks are inaccessible. And, by the way, when we say cash, we mean cash — not digits in your bank account. Long and green and in a safe place.

Second, focus on paying down debt. You can either use the debt avalanche method or the debt snowball method. If you do a debt avalanche, you pay down the smallest amount of debt first. As soon as that is paid off, you move the debt service money to the next-smallest debt. If you do a debt snowball, you concentrate on the debt with the highest interest rate, as those cost more over the long run.

Third, start putting money toward what you’ll need to survive. Most people put between two and four percent of their income toward prepper activities. If you absolutely cannot save, consider taking a second job to generate income or relocating to a less expensive living area.

Stock Up on What You’ll Need

Once you’ve got your finances under control and a prepper budget started, it’s time to start stocking up on what you’ll need when a crisis happens.

Money

Although the banking system and the very governments that issue money may collapse, the fact is you’ll need some money, at least at first. Think about World War II in Europe, for example. People who had money to pay for transportation and even to bribe officials were better off than those who didn’t. If cities become uninhabitable here, you may need money to get to where it’s safer, to buy a home there and to buy whatever food and other supplies are available.

After your first three months of savings, keep your saving in cash. Ideally, you want at least a year’s worth of expenses.

Be sure to keep it in a secure place. It’s best to save a combination of small bills — for smaller purchases — and large bills — for deposits and more substantial expenses.

Precious Metals and Jewels

In times of peril throughout history, precious metals like gold and silver and precious stone jewelry have come to people’s aid. Why? Because you can use them as currency. Gold, silver and jewelry like diamonds hold their value throughout time, so you can trade them for items you need. Plus, they have a universal value — every society accepts them, no matter their currency.

You can save gold or silver in bars or coins. Silver is cheaper than gold, but both can be bought in small amounts. If you have jewelry, such as diamond rings or other precious stones, store them in a very safe place.

Bitcoin

Bitcoins are coins that can be used to pay for goods and services through a ledger called block-chain. Bitcoins are one of a class of crypto-currencies that rose considerably in value last year. They have been more volatile since then. Preppers who buy and hold bitcoin and other crypto-currencies do so because these exchange mediums are independent of government control. Although few merchants accept them as payment now, their usage might rise in the future.

Barter Skills

Banks and lending institutions like credit unions are, right now, the way we get what we need. We get money to pay for food, clothing, shelter and everything else. But what if we don’t have banks? What do we do when the money runs out, or if we’re trying to save for a more significant emergency?

The answer is simple. We will barter to get what we need. Bartering is a system people have used for centuries. Even during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, people traded chickens or produce in exchange for doctor visits.

Think about something you can offer other people in a crisis. Some examples are:

• • Planting a garden
  • Sewing, repairing clothing, tents, sleeping bags
  • Hunting for game
  • Wound care, holistic medical treatments
  • Gunsmithing, teaching survival skills

Food and Other Supplies

Stock up on food and other supplies, as well. Ideally, you should have a year’s worth of nonperishable food items. Other supplies include:

• First aid kits and expendable contents
• Hunting gear, to include spare rifle and pistol parts and ammunition
• Survival gear like flashlights, binoculars, tents, solar batteries and rechargers
• Water and food
• Mobility gear, walking shoes, boots, walking aids
• Knives, sharpening stones

A strong financial plan will see you through any crisis that comes. Stay strong and follow these three tips to always be prepared!

With the global economy hanging on by one rusty and wobbling wheel to the triple loop roller-coaster rails we are on; paper money is no longer a wise investment. For those who see the writing on the wall and even the less pessimistic, holding precious metals in the form of Gold and Silver are a time-tested hedge against inflation, currency manipulation and bank defaults. You can’t help but hear the advice of financial professionals who are saying you should buy gold at the very least as part of a diversification strategy. There are numerous opinions about this and I for one am convinced that at some point in our future, the dollars in my bank will either be worthless or unobtainable for a variety of reasons. If the economy finally does go off the rails, precious metals are what we in the prepping community are looking to as our monetary bumper guard.

When this happens, people who have prepared by purchasing Gold and Silver for their financial security will be all set, right? That is what we all think about but it got me to thinking. Let’s take the hypothetical scenario that you have purchased 10,000 silver American Eagles and they are hidden safely away somewhere that only you and your spouse know about. You wake up tomorrow morning and we are hit with a Weimar Republic type of scenario. Banks are closed for weeks and thousands of dollars won’t buy a loaf of bread. The way of life we once knew is completely gone and now you have one of the only forms of money that will buy anything. You figure you can go down to the local market and buy or barter for anything you want with some of your shiny American Eagles. There may be a few problems though.

How do you know if the metals you are trading for are real?

One of the first issues I can foresee with a new economy based upon precious metals is the risk of forgery. I assume this has been the case throughout time since money was invented and began to be circulated as a suitable method for payment. Do you know how to test a gold coin to make sure it isn’t fake? What if a total stranger offers you a gold coin for two of your best shotguns you were keeping for barter. Will you know if the yellowish coins he is giving you are real? What if a woman offers you two old-looking silver coins with some woman on the face and tells you that they have been in her family for years. Will you know if they are real or forgeries from China? These could be more risks with bartering that you need to consider.

Testing precious metals is fairly easy if you have the knowledge and supplies. There are several methods for each and I will go into a couple for Gold and Silver. If you think you may encounter a situation where you might be faced with trading large or even small amounts of precious metals, it may be wise to invest in a digital scale to verify the weight. A silver (troy) ounce coin should weigh 31.10 grams and simply being able to verify that the coin someone is trying to trade you for weighs close to what it should weigh could give you a quick indication as to the authenticity.

To quickly test gold you can purchase a Gold testing kit which comes with a variety of acids. These acids are in marked bottles and each reacts differently to different types of metals. With one of these relatively cheap kits you can test Gold, Silver and Platinum and even know the quality of the metal from 10K to 22K.

To test the gold you simply drop a small drop of the acid onto the coin or bar and the acid reacts when the gold is real and the correct acid will react to the correct Karat or purity of gold.

You can test Silver with the same kit mentioned above or there are some other less sophisticated methods that are supposed to work also. I found a nice article that describes 3 quick ways to help tell real  Silver from Fake Silver.

The Ring Test

Silver has a nice ringing sound when it is tapped. If it is a coin, you can flick it into the air. Alternatively, you can gently tap it with another coin. In both instances, you should hear a high-pitched bell-type ring that lasts about 1-2 seconds. A fun way to try this is with a U.S. quarter from the years 1932-1964, which is 90% silver, and with a modern U.S. quarter (post 1965), which is 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel. The silver quarter ring will be much higher-pitched compared to the dull ring of the copper quarter. Be careful when doing this with whatever coin you are testing so as not to ding or damage it.

The Ice Test

In addition to having the highest electrical conductivity of any element, silver also has the highest thermal conductivity of any metal. If you place an ice cube on a silver coin or bar, the ice will begin to melt immediately. Obviously, ice will melt if placed on anything at room temperature, for example, but if placed on silver it will melt much more quickly and impressively. Try it!

The Magnet Test

Silver is not magnetic. If you place a strong, rare-earth magnet called a Neodymium magnet on a silver coin or bar, it should not easily stick to it. If you are testing bars, you can angle one at 45 degrees and let the magnet slide down. It should slide down very slowly. If it sticks or it slides very quickly, it is not silver. However, keep in mind that just because the magnet does not stick does not necessarily mean that it is silver.

How will you carry your Gold and Silver?

OK, now you know how to verify if gold or silver is fake but in a post collapse world there will still be risks that you might want to consider. You will be your own ATM because there won’t be a strong building to store your precious metals in until you need them. You will be responsible for storing, hiding most likely and keeping your wealth safe from people who want to take it. There will no longer be the illusion of safety that the FDIC provides to your deposits. If someone steals your gold and silver, it’s gone. There isn’t any getting it back unless you find the person who stole your money and take it back.

There are a lot of strategies for hiding your money but probably the most important concept would be to make sure you do not hide everything in one place. If you are going to hide your silver, make sure there are several locations. I would recommend a minimum of 3 locations with varying sizes in there.

For example if you were bugging out on foot and had to take all of your money with you the risk that you might be confronted on the road is higher after the SHTF. Do you want to have all of your silver in one pack? Probably not. If you aren’t alone, you could have different caches of your money so that if the bad guys ask for your money you could give up one bag but the other two would be OK. I might recommend having three so when you give them the first bag and they inevitably ask for the second you still have your third in reserves. Who knows if this will work but it does give you options. You could do the same with weapons, food or any other survival cache you have planned.

Hopefully this gives you something to think about as you prepare for whatever is in our future. If you are considering stocking up on precious metals, the points above may help you out one day.

If the catastrophic event you’ve been preparing for does one day come about, it will be a fearsome test of your survivalism. Like any test, some will not pass. But in this case the consequences for valued loved ones might be heart-rending. Preparation may be the answer, but whether it’s civil war, war with a foreign power, economic collapse, or social unrest, centralized money will have in one way or another been the root cause. Because whatever the event that tears apart the fabric of this country, the policies fueled by our fractional-reserve banking system-inflated fiat currency, and its petrodollar role, will certainly have taken us there.

Individual interests tend to focus in different directions than centralized ones. There are few parents, for example, who if given a choice would elect to have their children go hungry, thirsty, sick, or uneducated so they could spend money-making war with their neighbor. Their interests are naturally aligned to prioritize the well-being of their children. In a centralized government the vast majority of decision-making power does not rest with us or the people around us. In the absence of this authority decisions must by necessity follow money. And wherever the money is, whether it is in governments, corporations, or private individuals, if it is not with us it is always by definition aligned separately from our interests.

Through currency inflation, centralized money is not only then a means of extracting wealth from all who use it, but also a tool to further the interests of the centralized entities controlling it. Because money naturally moves public policy and broad societal and cultural changes in the direction in which the money flows; like an irresistible tide. There will of course be broad patterns to the directions that the flow of corporate money causes both popular culture and public policy to move in. Centralized money will flow towards policies and social changes that lead to the further centralized accumulation of money. A broad swath of society drifting with this current will move with amazing synchronicity, as if connected to invisible strings all pulled by the same hand. In the bigger picture, compared to this centralization, the leader, party, or system of government you believe you are electing may not even matter. It doesn’t have to be a conspiracy. Every act of this centralized tide of money will be in its own interest. That power will centralize this way should not be hard to imagine. It’s already doing so.

Decentralized money is a key part of any model capable of ensuring a better alignment between the decision-making process and individual interests, the alignment that best ensures a tangible focus on the well-being of the people and environment immediately around us. This may seem like a radical idea, but it was only this century that bank promissory notes (in effect a type of currency issued by each bank) gave way to the centralized Federal Reserve system.

This finer point of decentralizing cash among different currencies is often lost. Though currencies like Bitcoin may be decentralized in their technical operation, they are still single currencies that permit one individual’s stored value to be speculated away by another person who did not earn it. They are still a means of wealth extraction.

A truly decentralized system of currency carries its value around with it independently of the guarantee of any centralized entity or of any single network to uphold that value. Gold and silver are options of course, but gold is heavy and having the waiter at your favorite restaurant divide your gold bar into change is inconvenient.

Technology may soon come to the rescue, enabling individuals to store and exchange value using a sophisticated system of IOU exchange in which value is stored in terms of IOU contracts held between members of the community. Such a system would track the collective collateral of the community, using that aggregate value to back the value of an IOU between two parties so that value can be transferred to a third. This system will allow the value of the currency to be guaranteed by the community itself as a whole when trading externally. During actual physical exchange the existence of sufficient collateral to cover an IOU document could easily be verified. In the absence of a telecommunications or other network the recipient will simply choose whether or not they trust the certificate embedded into the IOU, and whether they trust the community that issued it before deciding to accept the IOU as payment in a transaction. Like we do now.

These IOUs will of course be documents you can print out. But imagine they look like dollars. And the certificate of authenticity from your community, the community guaranteeing the value of the IOU … imagine that certificate looks just like the fraud protection features of the dollar. And finally, imagine that your signature is a serial number. All of this brings us to a pretty counter-intuitive realization. The ideal system of currency is printing your own money.

Printing your own money is a key part of the peer-to-peer, decentralized, user-centric, and collaborative economy we’ll have to depend on to create stable prosperous employment that can survive a currency collapse.

How specifically will a peer-to-peer, decentralized, user-centric, and collaborative economy serve your local community?

• Design of products for local manufacturability by unskilled workers will create a more inclusive economy.
• Design to allow for operation in areas disconnected from any infrastructure will create more equitable development.
• Injustice results when demographics are under served. Key requirements of massive collaboration are algorithms that harvest the collective wisdom and motivations of groups. Collaborative motivation algorithms will identify the most powerful interests of each demographic to align services with their collective interests. Collective intelligence algorithms will quickly identify the most effective services to achieve those interests for each demographic. After identifying the most effective services for each demographic, peer-to-peer, user-centric, decentralized infrastructure would enable separately customized services to be deployed regardless of infrastructure limitations, thereby best serving the needs of each individual in each demographic.
• In addition, we need to simplify work and simplify collaboration in ways that lower the bar to involving more people in internships and other training programs, as well as simplify the deployment of business models for collaborations that allow participants to earn a living wage. This will benefit all demographics through, for example, making education more effective, cost efficient, and accessible, through the creation of job opportunities, and through increased access to services like health care.

With this blueprint, independent communities can quickly build all the services they need in a way that’s customized directly for them, and that prioritizes their own family and loved ones rather than the interests of centralized bureaucracy that undermines their needs.

In this article I’ve laid out a vision for taking back control of a country that’s gone way off course. For me, this vision was one that demanded to be shared. As part of the audience who understands the magnitude of what may be coming, if this vision inspires you, take the opportunity to share and inspire others as well. Some of them just might be the makers who dream big enough to build it. The blueprint is there. The next step is yours.

What would you say is the number one threat to lead to an end-of-the-world-like scenario? A terrorist attack? An EMP strike? A natural disaster? An economic collapse?

All of these are possibilities, but in each one, a thick population density will make it far worse. There’s no denying that people panic when a crisis occurs, and that panic is only multiplied when more people are living closely to one another.

More people will be killed in a shorter period of time in the major cities, the roads will be clogged as people and families try to escape, and furthermore, just look at the other threats that we listed first. Many of them are directly connected to population density.

If an economic collapse were to occur, then urbanized cities would be simply unable to rebuild their economies as fast as more rural areas (with coal mining, logging, farmer’s markets, etc.) could.

There are other factors that make certain areas in America unsafe and unsuitable for outlasting an apocalypse:

• Strong natural disaster risks
• A weak economy
• High crime rates
• Strict gun laws
• A high cost of living
• High taxes
• Heavy traffic
• Unfertile land for growing crops
• Close proximity to nuclear/chemical power plants
• Low populations of wild game and edible plants
• Limited fresh water

In this story, we’re going to list out the five very worst retreat areas in the United States. These are the areas where you will definitely not want to be when disaster strikes, and if you live in or near any of these areas now, you may want to consider moving or have an alternate plan:

1. East Coast

Many survival and disaster experts agree that the East and West Coasts together are among the worst locations to survive a long-term disaster in the United States. This is because both meet the “unsafe factors” we just outlined. High population density? Check. High cost of living? Check.  Strict Gun Laws? For the Northeastern states, check. High crime rate? In many cities, yes. High taxes and regulations? In the Northeastern states yes. Heavy traffic? Check. Threat of natural disaster, namely hurricanes? Check. Low populations of wild game and edible plants? Check. Potential enemy nuclear targets? For the major cities, definitely.

As a general rule of thumb, avoid anywhere along the East Coast if you can. It’s simply not a safe place if you want to survive a disaster. If you do live on or near the East Coast, fall back to retreat areas in the Appalachian Mountains or northern New England, like New Hampshire or Maine, when worst comes to worst.

2. West Coast

Many of our concerns expressed with the East Coast apply to the West Coast as well. The largest state along the West Coast, California, is already an economic disaster and thus not somewhere you would want to be in an economic collapse. Washington and Oregon are both, by far, better off economic-wise, but they still have their problems with high taxes, tough regulations and large government spending. The major cities of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle have extremely high population densities and are potential terrorist/nuclear targets.

In addition, the West Coast lies along the Ring of Fire, which adds earthquakes to the list of natural disaster risks to worry about. If you don’t think earthquakes are that big of a deal, well, just look at what happened to Japan in 2011. Plus, in Washington, you have volcanoes. All in all, both the East and West Coasts are dangerous hotspots in an apocalyptic-type scenario and are not recommended.

3. Florida

Florida, in general, is not somewhere you will want to be during a disaster. Not to mention the ever looming threat of hurricanes in the state, Florida also endures a high crime rate, a collapsed housing market and high costs of living, a very dense population, and the fact that much of the state is actually below sea level (the parts of the state that are higher aren’t above it by much).

There’s no denying that Florida has nice weather, which is why many people move there in the first place, but its negatives far outweigh its positives to the point that it’s one of the worst retreat locations you could be in for outlasting a long-term disaster.

4. Alaska

Woah, woah, wait, Alaska? The so-called “last frontier” in America is one of the worst places to survive an apocalypse? First of all, Alaska does have a few positives (not to mention the beauty of its geography) that would make it an initially attractive place to live for someone who wants to be in a safe region from a major disaster. It is true that Alaska has the lowest population density of all 50 states, along with low tax rates. It also has a great abundance of rivers, lakes, wildlife and edible plants.

But when we come to economics, Alaska is practically cut off from the rest of the United States. A lot of the supplies that Alaskans rely on are either flown or shipped into the state. In a disaster scenario, these planes and ships will likely no longer be making shipments, greatly limiting available resources. Furthermore, those who live more inland in Alaska will be extremely limited in what they can do with commerce.

Remember when we noted that the West Coast of the USA is prone to earthquakes due to being situated along the Ring of Fire? Well, so is Alaska. There’s also very limited transportation to get oil from the North Slope to where it needs to go, and much of the fuel that Alaskans use is already brought in from the Lower 48 states. The winters in Alaska can also be quite cold and brutal.

Alaska may seem like the prepper’s haven, but on closer inspection it becomes apparent that you’re going to have a much tougher time surviving there than you would think. This is one place you may want to avoid, unless you know how to live 100 percent off the grid.

5. Hawaii

Like Florida, Hawaii may be a great place to vacation, but it’s an utterly terrible location to be in during an apocalyptic scenario. Most of Hawaii’s resources, as with Alaska, are shipped in.  This includes food and fuel. That’s on top of a very high cost of living in the state coupled with generally poor farming soil.

Gun laws are very strict in the state, and there are many military bases on the islands that could be the targets of enemy attacks. Let’s also not forget one more thing: Should a big enough natural disaster ever happen to Hawaii, how will you escape? After all, it’s a series of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Unless you have access to a plane or a ship, you may be toast.

Every region in the US certainly has its pros and cons, but these are the areas where the cons outweigh the positives the most.

Recessions are a natural part of any economic cycle, but they can still result in serious financial hardship. Luckily, even during a recession, smart money habits can help you protect your finances and weather the storm.

Believe it or not, there is an upside to all of the current recession confusion.  The opportunities have never been more exciting for people to venture out of their current jobs and reclaim authority and control over their personal finances to secure financial freedom and independence.  But if you are currently concerned with how you can save money in this economy there are some great options for you to consider immediately.

Here are the Top 4 Ways to Save Money and Make Money During the Recession:

1) Stay Informed

If you want to know how to overcome the recession, you will need to keep alert as to what is happening in the financial industry.  A recession can disrupt things very quickly, causing old industries to collapse (like the housing, automobile and travel industries), new industries to be born (like the alternative energy market) and existing industries to suddenly do even better than ever (like the Online Marketing Industry).   The information you acquire could save you a significant amount of money as well as lead you to new money-making opportunities.  Make it a part of your daily routine to read a few current events articles each day and a few books each year.  Being prepared for financial opportunities may be the best defensive strategy you can have. 

2) Create a Budget and Reduce Debt

If you do not already have a budget, then now is the time to create one.  Use your budget to determine and reduce your unnecessary expenses.   Pay down your debt and build a savings account of three to six months of your living expenses.  Get out of consumer debt as fast as you can.  Your mortgage payment is likely to be your largest monthly bill.  You can reduce your mortgage with one of many options including downsizing, doubling up, renting, refinancing or even foreclosing.

3) Cut Food Costs

Reduce your food costs, by eating out less and buying more food from the grocery store.  Plant a small fresh salad and vegetable garden this summer to increase your health and save some money.  Food costs are going up for many reasons:  Ethanol, population growth, rising cost of oil (falling dollar), increase in natural disasters, etc.  A small garden investment could result in a large savings.

4) Create Another Income Stream

To do this you may consider taking a second job for a month or two or selling unneeded household items on ebay, but these options are not likely to bring in a significant enough income to really help you out.  What if you really want to be proactive and do something that won’t just be a partial fix?  Well, one of the most profitable ways to supplement and increase your income especially in our current economy may be with the Internet.  Many online businesses have low-start up cost, are convenient and you can work at home on your own schedule and still have the time to spend with your families and do the things you love.  Times like these are absolutely ideal for making the decision to start your own online business and take control of your financial future.  There is so much freedom and relief in not having to count on a paycheck as your only means of providing for your family during times of financial and economic strain.

While the recession is certainly nothing to celebrate, it may give many enterprising people the opportunity and freedom to examine other methods of earning money.  For those people, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise and the beginning of a bright and prosperous future!

Other than the obvious consequences, what might we expect from a partial economic collapse? A total collapse of the economy would throw the nation into utter chaos. But what if we endure an economic depression, or a severe and long-lasting downturn? I think that some of the effects are not so obvious.

1. The college and university system will collapse

As I explained in this previous post, the system of higher education is a house of cards. The cost of getting a college degree has risen sharply and steadily, while real income has remained relatively flat. The price rise is due to the easy availability of grants and loans for education. But with so many persons getting a college degree, its value in the marketplace has plummeted. Many college grads are out of work, or they are working in a job that does not require a degree. Eventually, this practice of paying more and more, for something that is worth less and less, will collapse the system. Colleges and universities will not have enough paying students, and professors will not agree to a drastic pay cut. Overhead expenses are far too high.

All that is needed is an economic collapse, or partial collapse, to topple this house of cards. Many universities and colleges will be forced by economics to shut down.

2. Agricultural yields will plummet

The current U.S. agricultural system is based on the expectation of high yields. But high yields are obtained by high inputs — all the things that go into growing the crop, including lots of fertilizer, perhaps irrigation, herbicides, pesticides, labor, machinery. Then those high yields are sold and the money is then used to fund the inputs for the next crop cycle.

An economic collapse will mean that farmers will not be able to afford all the inputs needed for high yields. And when yields fall, the amount of money from that crop will be less. Then the next crop cycle will have even less money for inputs, resulting in even lower yields. And the process will continue — lower yields, less money, lower inputs — until many farmers are out of business and a food crisis results.

3. Violent crime will increase

When people lack money and food, they become desperate. And desperate people do desperate things. Theft and robbery will skyrocket, and people will be afraid in their homes, and afraid to go out in the community. Even a quick trip to the market will become risky. Sales of most goods will plummet, causing the economic crisis to worsen. Protests will turn violent. Home invasion robberies will become much more common. Many people will be killed or injured as a result of this increase in violent crimes.

4. Law enforcement will be overwhelmed

The law enforcement system in the U.S. is commercial. Officers are paid. We don’t keep a large excess of officers on the payroll, just in case crime sharply increases. So it is relatively easy for the system to be overwhelmed. And that means a call to 911 might not bring the police to your door in time, if at all. Those who have firearms for home defense will be much better off than those who rely solely on the police. But many households have no firearms. And that means that robberies will increase, and so will the economic damage and the number of injuries and deaths.

5. The healthcare system will be overwhelmed

The healthcare system is also commercial, and lacks a safety margin in the form of excess doctors and nurses. Hospitals operate at close to capacity. A sudden increase in persons who are sick or injured will overwhelm the system.

The aforementioned increase in violent crime will undoubtedly increase injuries. But it is less obvious that a disruption to the food production and distribution system will increase illnesses. Plenty of good healthy food is the first line of defense against illness. Malnourished persons are much more likely to get sick. So an extended disruption to the food supply will cause an increase in illnesses.

6. Travel anywhere will become dangerous

As a result of all the above described problems, travel will be dangerous. Want to make a quick trip to the supermarket? You risk having your house robbed, if it is left unoccupied. And you risk being attacked on your way back from the market. Robbers might wait outside the market and follow anyone who looks like they purchased a lot of food.

There will be protests in many places, and violence will often break out. People who are hungry and afraid do not make the best decisions. Then there is the cultural aspect of the situation. We live in a culture that tells us to expect the government to take care of us, and to protest whenever anything doesn’t go our way. Ironically, self-sufficiency is abhorrent to our narcissistic culture.

I expect that the roadways will be dangerous, as violent criminals will see travelers as easier targets than homes.

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7. The death rate will jump higher

People will be malnourished because of the disruption in the food supply, so they will get sick more easily. Violent crimes and violent protests will result in many more injuries than usual. And yet healthcare will be much more difficult to access. There will be a shortage of hospital beds. It will be difficult to get a doctor’s appointment. There may be a shortage of prescription and OTC medications.

All of these factors will make life a riskier endeavor.

Now if you are a seasoned prepper, who has long considered the dangers inherent in an economic collapse, you may have anticipated some of the above consequences. But I hope I’ve added to your understanding of the possible problems that we may soon face.

This article was first published in 2022 and recently updated.

Each time I go to the supermarket or the gas station, I am reminded of the fact that prices for daily needs have not gone down. As I look around me, I also see more and more pan handlers, homeless, and poor people in areas where they were not seen before.

On the other hand, mainstream media keeps pointing to increased participation in the job market, rising stock values, and other indicators the US economy is booming. This, in turn, has led to an increase in interest rates in a time when people are still trying to get back on their feet. 

While there may be some promising signs that our nation is becoming more productive, there are also some very troubling signs that simply making money isn’t enough.  In fact, we may well be headed for a time just about every prepper dreads – a time when you cannot use money to buy the necessities of life simply because things like food, water, and even clean air are no longer available.   A nation’s economy is like personal finance in the sense that money counts for nothing if you don’t have something useful to buy. From that perspective, the United States, and perhaps the entire world may be close to an epic economic collapse. Have a look at these six signs and see if you can spot them in your own town or city.

1. Food Insecurity

No matter whether you are concerned about a blizzard, a hurricane, or civil unrest, the first supplies you are likely to think about revolve around food and water.  In fact, you may have a few cans of beans, pre-packaged foods, and other items on hand that you don’t even bother eating because you are saving them for a crisis. 

If you have ever gone to the supermarket just a day or so before a hurricane or other pending weather event, you already know that it becomes just about impossible to get certain items.  For example, just about all the water will be gone, including the more expensive brands that collect dust for months on end. Likewise, you are likely to find empty shelves that usually hold beer, alcohol, (I always find that one to be a surprise because commercial alcohols have very little, if any medicinal value when compared to the historical herbal wines!) canned food, tomato sauce, and just about anything that doesn’t need heat for preparation.  

During and after a relatively short-term emergency, the shelves may be restocked in as little as a day or two, or FEMA or some other organization will begin delivering foods as quickly as they can get into the area.  While these occasions may cause you to give some extra thought to having larger food supplies on hand, they can also lull you into a false sense of security.  By this I mean no matter how bad these situations may be, you will always have the hope that someone in a less damaged area will find a way to deliver food to you or rescue you from the situation.

These days, relatively few people realize a food shortage catastrophe is looming, and, of those, even fewer believe it’s serious enough to take steps towards self-sufficiency. For food and water needs.  Here are some signs that even mainstream media can’t hide when it comes to the looming food shortage:

• Catastrophic floods, droughts, and other severe weather prevent the planting of spring, fall, and other crops.  You have only to look at the weather this spring to see that there are many areas where food crops cannot be planted.  This won’t just affect produce and other plant-based foods, it also affects animal farms that rely on grains and other plant-based foods for their livestock.
• We can’t close off trade with Mexico because we import too much food.  Of all the obvious signs that our nation cannot feed itself; this is one of the worst. The fact remains years of bad trade deals and improper regulation of farms in the United States got us into this mess. Getting out of it is likely to cause food shortages and a few other problems.
• Many foods, including meat, are shipped to China for processing before being sold in the United States. If you thought losing the capacity to grow food was bad, the inability to process it is even worse.  Nevertheless, once again bad trade deals signed by other administrations make it cheaper to send our farm goods overseas instead of keeping the food, and the jobs in this country where they belong.
• The cost of staple foods is going up. While the cost of garbage, toxin filled foods like soda and junk food are constantly going down, the prices of whole meat, canned vegetables, dried grains, and other vital foods is going up steadily.  Right now, the average price of canned vegetables has risen anywhere from .10 cents to .20 cents per can. You can expect that to double or triple by the fall and go even higher in the winter months. If the prices stay the same, rest assured, the can size will be smaller, or the cans will have more liquid in them.
• The quality of fresh produce is going down.  Fresh produce doesn’t last more than a day or two, if you can get it to ripen without it rotting first. These are all signs food is being kept in cold storage, and only released in smaller quantities.

Now, let me tell you a story.  I grew up in a community where many people provided food for themselves and their family through hunting and gardening. For us, the garden wasn’t a hobby, it was a serious (albeit enjoyable) endeavour that was meant to provide enough food for both short term meals and longer-term preservation.  As a child, I could not fathom a place in which you couldn’t just go out to the garden and pick a few beans or wander off to another place and grab some wild strawberries or raspberries while they were in season. 

At the risk of sounding old, I remember well events like Live Aid and Hands Across America.  Nevertheless, I could not imagine what it meant to be in a place like Ethiopia or other nations where famine took millions of lives, and still does. In school, we had a teacher that asked us what we thought could be done about the famines. Here are some of the answers my classmates came up with, and what our teacher told us:

• Grow plants for food – that wasn’t going to work because most of the areas where the famines were hitting had a severe drought or flooding, so no crops could be planted.
• Hunt animals for food or raise them – no help there because the wild animals were either all dead or had moved on well beyond the famine zone. Likewise, the domesticated animals had all been consumed because there was no grain or other food for the last of them.
• Walk (if you had to) out of the famine zone and get to some place that had food – Right about there our teacher sighed and went silent for a moment.  He finally said, what do you not understand about starvation?  Toddlers and young children cannot simply walk miles to get to food, and adults already weakened from weeks of limited food access can’t carry them. They are trapped where they are, because there is no food nearby, and possibly not even in the entire country. 

From that day forward, I have asked myself repeatedly, what do you do when there is no food anywhere?  What happens when the supermarket shelves are permanently empty, there is no edible food left to dumpster dive, no wild plants to consume, no animals or fish to hunt, and just flat out nothing left to eat? If there is one thing, I learned at school that day, it was you must think hard about these things and figure out how to grow food in impossible situations.   Here are some things that I have tried and worked with over the years that may be of use during extended periods of food insecurity.  The sooner you try these things and develop them into fully sustainable systems, the better chance you will have of being able to feed yourself and your family. 

• Indoor and container growing – it does not matter why global weather patterns are shifting drastically. The fact is, they are happening, and if we and our families are to survive, we must have food.  Rather than try to garden outdoors, you will need to be able to grow food in an indoor setting. This will reduce the risk of loss from flooding (if your home survives, the plants will too), drought, and theft. 
• Micro gardening – chances are, you already know that MRE’s often have a much denser nutrient profile than regular foods. However, when those, and your other supplies run out, you will still need to find some way to feed yourself.  Seed sprouts can have as much as 5 – 50% more nutrients than full grown plants.  Learning how to micro garden and storing viable seeds for that purpose can offer you a tremendous advantage in times when no other food is available. Every part of a sustainable indoor garden should include at least a few plants that produce prolific seeds, that will, in turn, make edible sprouts.
• Aqua and hydroponics – You would be amazed at how small water based growing systems have become these days.  When combined with just one or two fish, you can grow a larger number of plants in a very small area.  Depending on the species of fish, you may also be able to breed them and then use them for food.  While it does take some work and effort to set up a water-based food production system, it is worth the effort.
• Insect farms – If you don’t have a lot of money, and are limited in room for growing plants, insects are some of the most nutrient dense organisms on Earth.  Grasshoppers, ants, and other small insects can be raised on garbage scraps, in shoeboxes, or even small aquariums.  As an added benefit, if someone does invade your home looking for food, they will never think to steal the insects.  Just make sure that you buy insect eggs from places where they have not been exposed to pesticides.  Unfortunately, the rampant use of these poisons is making it harder and harder to rely on wild insects as a food source.
• Don’t waste food.  Did you know that almost 1/3 of all food that people purchase in the store is thrown out?   There are many places where people waste food. Here are some places where you might be wasting food. If you can tighten up on these areas, and focus on alternatives, you will save money and have a better chance of choosing supplies that will help you get through until you can grow enough food sustainably.

2. Water Shortages

When you hear about floods, hurricanes, and rising ocean levels, it may be hard to believe that potable water is becoming a rarer commodity every day.  Here are some things that are rapidly leading up to a water shortage of epic proportions:

• Not so long ago, the Midwest was a “dust bowl” that could not be used to grow many of the foods we take for granted.  This was all changed by the discovery of aquifers lying beneath the surface that were used to irrigate the land. Today, those aquifers are being rapidly drained, and will soon fail to produce sufficient water for the crops growing above them. Because aquifers can take decades to centuries to fill up, there is simply no way to fill them back up. Given the amount of land that needs to be irrigated, it is neither feasible nor practical to pipe water into these areas.
• Major waterways are polluted beyond use.  No matter whether dumping trash, factory farm runoff, mines, pipeline leaks, or nuclear reactor leaks contaminate the waterways, the fact remains it takes a lot to make contaminated water fit to use for daily needs.   Today, every major river, and most streams, ponds, lakes, and other natural water resources are polluted. To add insult to injury, underground water sources have also been polluted by leaks from factories, fracking, and other industries.  The bottom line is when there is no clean water left to drink, none of these activities will matter to those who are left in the area and are dying of dehydration.  If you think it can’t happen in your town or city, take at the water supplies that haven’t been treated by municipal water treatment companies.  Sadly, many people that have well water near towns, cities, or major industrial projects can tell you that surface water, and even many of the deeper water wells now produce foul smelling, cloudy water. 
• Increasing number of laws making water capture and water wells illegal.  When someone else controls your access to water, they effectively control every area of your life, and your ability to survive.  The more laws aimed at preventing you from securing water, the surer you can be that some major economic crisis is coming in which those who control the water intend to do whatever they want with you and your loved ones.

As with the people dying from famines, there may be no place you can go when potable water supplies run out.  If you are to have a sustainable source of food, you must also have water.  Here are a few ways that you can ensure a steady supply of water:

• If you have a rain capture system, make sure you also have a means to purify the water as well as distil it.  In most cases, purification is enough, and will also help keep vital minerals intact in the water.
• Build or buy a system that will capture water from the air.
• Make sure you know how to use plastic and pits in the ground to pull water from the soil.
• Learn how to conserve and reuse water as much as possible.  As a place to start, consider that 20% of the average water usage in the home goes to flushing the toilet. 
• Grow some edible cactus and succulents. These plants all store water in their leaves and other areas and can do so for years on end. If you can find plants that will also store away cleaner water than they take in, you will be even better off.  For a faster growing plant that also stores a lot of water, try watermelon.

3. Fuel Insecurity

Today, many people think nothing of going 10, 20, or more miles to go shopping, seek medical care, or work.  We also live in an age where others think nothing of flying hundreds to thousands of miles to travel. Or receive products from all over the world.  This includes purchasing food online as well as many other household goods that used to be purchased primarily from local stores that were within walking or bicycle distance.  Quite frankly, even a small fuel shortage would have immense repercussions for just about every household.  Here are some signs that we may have a major fuel shortage within the next 2 to 5 years:

• Russian aid and advice are being accepted in Venezuela.  Aside from being an oil rich nation, Venezuela is also one of our closer neighbors geographically. We have already seen this chapter of the Russian play book at work in Syria.  Russia steps in easily to support dictators such as Assad and Maduro, and then goes on to decrease US power in that nation and the region.  Given how much power Russia now exerts in the Middle East via Iran and Syria, our options for obtaining foreign fuel at an affordable price are becoming dimmer by the minute. 
• When Sarah Palin and others said “drill, baby, drill”, liberals across the nation said it was a useless option because it would take at least 10 years to get oil from those new wells. Instead, they wanted to invest money in solar power, which relies heavily on Chinese manufactured solar panels and semiconductor materials.  While liberals also wanted to make use of wind technology, they never acknowledged just how tricky wind power can be to   capture, or the cost of noise pollution from the wind farms.  As sad as it is to say, if we had followed  “drill baby drill” in 2008, we would now have oil from all those new wells instead  of  having to deal with increased consequences (like water pollution) associated with trying to get more oil from older wells.  Remember, no matter how much people hate being tied to fossil fuels, the fact is most cannot live without it.  When millions of people are dependent on these fuels for transportation, home heating, and other needs, it doesn’t make sense to have an energy policy that puts at the mercy of foreign countries. 
• We have no viable community level replacements for existing fuels.  From the Solyndra scam to the fact that we no longer have the factories and technology to turn rare earth minerals into solar panels, it should be abundantly obvious that decades of insane energy policy and trade agreements have left our nation in a bad way.  A few hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico or that region, large earthquakes in Alaska, or continued severe weather patterns in the Midwest that are bad enough to disrupt oil production, refining, and transport are just three possible ways our fuel infrastructure can be crippled at any moment. 
• Increased regulations aimed at preventing home-based power generation or increased taxation on home-based power generation systems. Once again, when the government taxes or regulates a necessity of life, you can rest assured it is not a good thing. When you cannot do for yourself in good times, the loss of capacity in a crisis can easily lead to loss of life.

As you look at these grim signs of a coming fuel shortage, you may not want to think about  steadily rising gas prices as further proof that we are in for some serious problems in this sector. That being said, the window for taking control of your personal fuel needs hasn’t closed just yet. Here are some things you can do to reduce reliance on commercial fuels:

• Try to carpool or use other transportation methods. 
• Work from home as much as possible or find a job that is as close as possible to your home.
• Make sure that you can survive without buying tangible objects such as food, clothes, or other necessities online. 
• Upgrade insulation and other parts of you home so you can reduce heating and cooling costs as much as possible. 
• Use as many passive heating and cooling methods as possible to help reduce reliance on heating fuels.
• Build a solar cooker or oven and other devices that will enable you to cook without using electricity, gas, or other fuels that must be paid for.

4. The Southern Border Crisis

Anyone that thinks thousands of people demanding entry to the United States without proper processing isn’t a major crisis has no idea what it means to have to try and absorb all these people into our economy in a time when it is still struggling from endless bad foreign trade deals and other problems.  For an idea of just how bad it is, consider what happens when a major disaster like Hurricane Katrina, which displaced upwards of 770,000 people, causes a massive influx from one state to another. 

At the end of the day, the strain on the economies of the hosting states and the entire nation was enormous.  Nationally, economic growth dropped by 1%, and taxpayers had to foot the bill for an enormous part of 215 billion dollars in uninsured damages.  Consider these things:

• If we cannot take care of our own people, cannot give the best education to our own children, cannot afford ever soaring medical costs, and have veterans living on the street, how can we even think about making it easier for illegals to come into our country?  
• When our own people cannot receive help from safety net programs such as food stamps and temporary housing aide, how can we even think about making a pathway for immigration to this country? 
• Even though our economy is improving in some areas, vital high paying jobs in technology and other industries, and lower paying but stable customer service jobs are still being held by overseas outsource companies.  The bottom line is we don’t have enough good paying jobs for our own people, let alone immigrants that have the potential to take those jobs.
• Many people in favor of relaxing immigration laws point to the fact that illegals are the only ones willing to work on our farms and other places where the work is hard or dangerous.  Here again, our nation is at a horrible disadvantage because we don’t know precisely how many illegals are being killed by deadly pesticides that may ultimately be destroying our own health over time.  When we cannot rely on a documented work force of American citizens that recognize their rights and are willing to fight for them, deadly foods find their way into our society where they lead to endless damage and death.   The fact is, we need our own people working these jobs and in a position where they can reveal what is going on, because illegals and newly arrived legal immigrants aren’t likely to speak up and take a risk of being deported or ostracized.

No matter whether you are talking about healthcare costs associated with treating sick illegals, dealing with the diseases they bring in, coping with increases in rape, robberies, murder, and narcotics flow, or the sheer amount of space they occupy in housing and schools, the fact is illegal aliens cost taxpayers billions, if not trillions of dollars. 

To add insult to injury, more than a few members of various militias have gone to the border.  While these people are sincere in their efforts to back up the military and border patrol agents, they have received absolutely no thanks or acknowledgement for their efforts. Instead, border patrol, law enforcement, and other government agencies are slowly, but steadily disavowing the service of the militias. 

The current case of Larry Mitchell Hopkins precisely illustrates what I’ve been saying for years about gun grabber policies, and why we should never allow the government to judge someone unfit to have a gun; including criminals and those who are mentally unstable.  In his case, it is clear enough that impersonating a law enforcement officer is a crime.  Sadly, it will not surprise me if he has mental or emotional challenges that lead to these behaviors. 

These things, however, don’t mean that he doesn’t know when something is very wrong, and that action, possibly involving the use of firearms, must be taken to resolve the matter.  The very fact that his group captured many immigrants illegally crossing the border is proof positive that border patrol and the military assigned to these areas are overwhelmed and unable to properly do their jobs. 

The fact that his group did not kill the detainees and simply held them to await the arrival of law enforcement is also proof that they are simply trying to help in a way that is similar to the way any citizen can make an arrest in the absence of law enforcement.  Instead of discouraging the militias and prosecuting them, it remains my contention they should be integrated into the response to illegal immigrants and used to their best capacity.  This could be anything from helping with paperwork and documentation to helping to build the border wall; while those that can prove sufficient skills in capture and detainment should be integrated into various units for that purpose.

When our own citizens are arrested and prosecuted for sincerely trying to help our nation instead of redirected to a more useful response to a crisis simply because they are not “members of law enforcement, etc.”, it sets an unnecessary and dangerous elitist barrier between our people and the government.  It is also proof positive that irrational gun grabbers have set our nation on the wrong path and will lead to the rise of blood thirsty terrorist groups like Boko Haram right along with, a very likely bipartisan dictatorship that will wind up dragging our nation into a full economic collapse within the next 5 to 10 years (if not sooner) via extremist controls of the population.

The crisis at the border involves every single citizen of the United States in one way or another.  Gun rights, access to medical care, and many other aspects of our lives are impacted by this problem.  It is very important to let local, state, and federal leaders know that you do not support increasing immigration quotas, nor do you support policies that make it possible for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship.  With the notable exception of DACA recipients that can prove they were promised a path to citizenship, we, as a nation must face the difficult job of finding ways to seal off the border and send illegals back to their nation of origin as quickly as possible. 

Many of the more recent caravan members claim they are seeking asylum from drug lords and other criminals that make it impossible to live in their own nation.  I do believe these people would not leave their homeland if they could live there in peace.  The problem is their home countries became dictatorships long ago, and these people have not had guns available for many generations for the purpose of self-defense against well-armed criminals.  As with any other kind of bully, you must stand up and defend yourself, even if that may mean you will lose your life. 

I often find it somewhat amusing when I find gun grabbers that are secretly armed to the teeth even as they try to limit gun access to others. If these people are so sure that guns aren’t necessary, perhaps we should make laws that take their guns away from them and give them to the illegal immigrants that they are also likely to support a path to citizenship for. I can think of no better way to use gun grabber paid for guns than to put them in the hands of illegals seeking to enter our country.  All we have to do is train them and encourage them to have some spine when it comes to facing the bullies in their own country, and then send them home with the guns and sufficient ammo to do the necessary.

Aside from informing politicians of both parties that you want the policies mentioned above made into law, here are some other things you can do to make your voice heard:

• There are well documented cases of “sanctuary cities” that think President Trump is a criminal for saying that he will ship illegals to their cities while they wait for processing. Since they are already complaining about how much it would cost, it would be best to avoid buying anything in their cities as quickly as possible. 
• If you do live in these cities look at things that have the highest tax rates and refuse to buy them.  Since many rely on tobacco product taxes for additional revenue, now is a wonderful time to stop smoking.  In a similar fashion, many of these cities may get state money from the lottery and gambling to help pay for other things in the state.  Rather than gamble, save your money, or spend it on getting ready for a major crisis.
• When you are making vacation plans, or other travel plans, do not patronize these areas.

5. Increasing Rate of Respiratory Diseases

Most people cannot hold their breath for more than a few seconds without beginning to feel uncomfortable.  As asthma and other chronic breathing problems increase, the cost of medical care also skyrockets.  Today, in my opinion, far too many political leaders either deny the impact of pollution on lung capacity and health, while others who acknowledge it have no tangible answers when it comes to solving the problem.  Simply look at the number of people around you using breathing inhalers, oxygen, or other respiratory assistance devices.  This alone should tell you that a major crisis is looming, because when you cannot breathe, you cannot live. When you must use these kinds of devices or aides, each of which must be manufactured by someone else, prescribed by a doctor, and costs money; your life is in danger. 

Contrary to the beliefs of socialists and communists, capitalism is a glorious thing because it puts the power of the purse in everyone’s hands.  When you are not forced by government to hook up to the electric company, the water company, or purchase health insurance, those businesses must go back to old fashioned marketing and product usefulness to make money.  Likewise, there are an endless number of polluting industries that you wind up buying from simply because you must satisfy some government regulation or building code or lose your home.  It is, and remains, my belief that if people could actively choose to stop doing business with polluting industries, they would; and that it is excessive government control of the population that prevents the people from using capitalism to force changes in what these businesses produce; and how they do it.

Each time you breathe polluted air, you are one breath closer to having a chronic lung condition that will rob you of your capacity to live a normal life.  Use air filter systems in your home and vehicles, and wear activated carbon masks when you go into stores or outdoors. 

It is absolutely necessary to get rid of laws that prevent you from wearing appropriate breathing gear that will assist you in preventing polluted air from damaging your lungs.  It is also just as necessary to get rid of laws whose result forces you to patronize businesses that pollute.  Remember, every politician must eventually come up for election.  During the time they are in office, you can still make your voice heard by writing to them and sending petitions, as well as investigating their professional alliances, as well as personal, investment, and business finances.

When elected officials do not comply with your requests, make sure that you and everyone else in the area choose someone in the primaries that will meet these demands, and then carry out your wishes once elected to office.  Your power as a voter isn’t just one day of the year when you vote for a leader.  It is also focused heavily on those you choose during the primaries; and how well you get to know each leader before and while they are in office. 

6. Infrastructure Collapses

In the last few years, there have been a number of gas explosions in different cities across the country.  It should come as no surprise that cash strapped cities full of homeless people and illegal immigrants cannot afford to maintain gas lines or other important infrastructure elements.  While one or two gas explosions may not seem like much; consider that the piping and other resources were all installed around the same time decades ago. In a sense, gas explosions may well be like an infectious disease.  They may start off in small numbers but will quickly mushroom across the nation.  Here are some other signs of infrastructure collapse that can easily create a deadly economic collapse:

• Streets and bridges in disrepair.  In 2018, it was estimated that at least 10% of bridges in the United States were deficient.  At the same time, highways, thruways, and private streets are all crumbling and filled with potholes and emerging sinkholes.  We cannot survive without viable roads that enable us to go to work, shop, transport children to school, and ensure emergency personnel can get to places where they are needed. 
• Increased number of church shootings, bombings and desecrations. Even though Notre Dame was not set afire by arsonists or terrorists, it brought to light the fact that many churches have been desecrated in the United States and abroad. The terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka should be yet another warning that we are on the verge of a global economic collapse as well as a national one.  When criminals seek to destroy places of help, peace, and worship, it is a sure sign that people in our society have become incredibly sick. 
• Rising crimes against the elderly, mentally ill, and the disabled.  From nursing homes where the elderly are beaten, underfed, or abused to city streets where teens play games such as knock down, our nation has become a place where the elderly and disabled rightfully fear for their lives. 

These and other signs of infrastructure collapse can be very difficult to deal with at the individual level. Nevertheless, some of it still comes down to demanding changes in various laws, and paying attention to how money is spent at the local, state, and federal levels.  Here are some remedies that you should be pushing for at all levels of government:

• If you see roads in disrepair, call your leaders and tell them you want the money spent on the roads instead of paying for illegal immigrants, or anything that may appear in the local budget that you think is wasteful. Before you call, make it your business to find out how much your local area is spending on illegals or various budget items such as spending accounts for politicians and various officials. Remind politicians that you are a taxpayer, and you want your money to go on infrastructure needs.
• Today, some church leaders are, as the saying goes, “defending their flocks with a Glock”. If your church leaders are supportive of gun grabber policies, do not want you to carry a gun in their church, or do not have armed security guards, it is time to stop spending money and time in their establishments. Never forget that paying to pray is not praying at all. Instead, it is just others preying on your vulnerabilities, needs, and desires.  In a time of need, you may be praying on the side of a road, in a broken-down vehicle, or in a hospital bed.  You may be frightened, in pain, or have nowhere to turn.  No church, congregation members, or religious leader may be on hand, but God will hear you just the same; and He may send help via people and methods well outside of the church systems.  He may even empower you and inspire you to live through a situation unaided by others.
• Time and again, I have noted that gun grabber policies do more harm than good because they intimidate people from owning and learning how to use guns safely and effectively. The laws surrounding self-defense must be changed so that potential victims of a crime can shoot, with lethal force, if necessary, without fear of prosecution by the government.  Laws surrounding gun types and accessories must also be disposed of as quickly as possible.  It is also very important to investigate gun grabber politicians, gun grabber organizations, and gun grabber advocates to find out if they are gun owners themselves; and the kind of guns they have on hand.  For example, if you find a gun grabber politician or organization that has “assault style” guns, large capacity magazines, or security guards with those kinds of weapons, it is important to inform everyone of voting age. If the media will not help you get the word out, then use word of mouth throughout the area. It is also very important to make sure gun grabbers are recalled, or at a minimum voted out of office, and pro-gun leaders put in their place.

As you look at these six signs of looming economic collapse, you may be thinking you see them all over the place. Unfortunately, simply seeing them and knowing of their existence is not enough.  This is the time to take action to protect yourself from these problems as much as possible.  Growing food, social engagement, and taking part in government processes may seem mundane, however these are the best tools for heading off these disasters as well as ensuring you can survive them.