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The time has come to prepare for a possible economic collapse. If there is indeed a financial meltdown within a few years, then at least we won’t be caught unawares.

FOUR STEPS ABOUT PREPARING FOR AN ECONOMIC COLLAPSE.

Cash on hand

This means as many $20 bills as you can put together—hopefully a hundred of them. For Americans, if you live near a border, you might wish to have some Canadian dollars or Mexican pesos on hand as well. Don’t plan to get the cash at the last minute from a bank or from an ATM because a global financial crisis could shut down banks overnight.

Silver bullion

Why silver instead of gold? With silver rounds (.999 percent pure silver in a round shape similar to a silver dollar), you are dealing with a volatile unit that bounces up and down with a value between $30 and $50 dollars—just the right amount for filling your gas tank or loading up a small shopping cart with groceries during a global financial crisis. What would you do with a one ounce gold coin, which may be worth anything from $1400 to $1900?

Food and water

Although we do not keep a year’s supply of food on hand, as do some survivalists and religious groups, we do keep enough food on hand in our basement to feed ourselves and friends for at least a few weeks. (Since most of our friends are Latinos, this includes many liters of olive oil and large bags of rice and beans from Costco.) We mark the dates on each item and from time to time bring them up to use in our kitchen. Then we replenish the food stores downstairs.

Gasoline

We have two cars, an SUV, and a pickup. When any of them get even close to the half-full mark, we fill them up. Thus, should gas stations run out of gas during an economic collapse, or fail to work due to a power outage, I figure we can keep on driving for some time.

If you have only one vehicle, I suggest you keep an extra 20 gallons in five-gallon cans. I know it’s a bother, but gas doesn’t age well, so you need to rotate. Fairly often, pour the cans into your car’s gas tank and then refill the cans and mark them with the date.

Living off the grid

In the past, I’ve bought cargo trailers, converted them for camping, and then sold them. I no longer do this but you might wish to check out OFF THE GRID: Living and Traveling in a Van, Truck, or Converted Cargo Trailer.