I do not want this to be a political debate nor an opportunity to post recent headlines. However, in my opinion, this administration seems to be taking actions which history suggests may lead towards a near or total economic collapse. Whether you agree with this or not is irrelevant.
This post’s question is: If one were to have a concern that they’d no longer be able to afford common household goods or that mainstream (S&P, Nasdaq) financial investments were no longer sound, what can one do to prepare for “the worst”? What actions could someone take today to minimize economic hardship in the future?
I would also like thoughtful insight from older adults to offer younger adults about how they should be better preparing themselves for an uncertain future, outside of current events or place of residence.
Spend some time learning to fix everything. EVERYTHING. Knowing a little bit of plumbing, electronic repair, woodwork, carpentry, and cad can save you tremendous amounts of money. Contractors cost crazy amounts of Money, even for simple fixes.
Yoy dont even need to practice, just read up on it. Recently my sink started leaking, so I though I’d just mess with it. Fixed it with 30$ worth of parts. Dishwasher broke and I fixed it with a 70$ PSU.
Dont learn how to do oil changes though, most of the time it won’t save you any money. Autoshops save a lot of money with volume oil changes.
Woodworking is a hobby that can pay for itself, and yoy dont even have to sell anything. Wood is everywhere, and free. You have to wait months for it to dry but afterwards you can make anything.
Ive made spatulas, spoons, snack clips, furniture, tools, storage, cabinets, bookmarks, bowls, cutting boards, knife covers, drying racks, shelves, etc. It gives you a level of self sufficiency that can never be taken from you. It shouldn’t even be called woodworking, it should just be called “making shit”. It’s an extremely useful and valuable skill. Ive even used it to fix computers by making custom brackets and stuff, and a special heatsink mount for an old heatsink.
What kind of tools do you use to woodwork? And where did you learn? I’ve done some light building but never figured how to do the small detailed stuff you mention.
most notably also everyone who wants to get into “total martial law” territory where people are locked in their houses, I heavily recommend looking at Zims and Kiwix. I have a separate operating system just for it called (Endless OS) that comes pre-loaded with encyclopedia stuff and it’s pretty great.