There are noises being made about increasing tariffs and 2TB in cuts to government spending. The results of the Smoot-Hawley tariffs deepening the Great Depression, and that Musk has admitted that estimates that the spending cuts will lead to "severe overcorrection in the economy" and &qu...
I'm planning to get out in front of this and cut my personal spending and start building up some liquid assets to ride out a potential economy weirdness (which many have been predicting for well over a year now). Worst case I've built up some savings (most of my money is tied up in retirement plans that I can't pull money from).
I'm also thinking about finally implementing some of the plans I've had for the better part of a decade of getting ~100gal of water storage, but there's nothing I see being necessarily any worse over the next year, it just seems prudent.
Thoughts on the above? Any plans people are taking or have taken to improve their posture?
Comments
Keep a level head:
1. Get/renew your passport. Unlikely to be needed for anything other than leisure, but prudent to have.
2. Talk with a financial advisor about diversifying your portfolio. Make sure your financial investments aren't completely US dollar based. In other words, make sure you have investments in foreign markets. Realize the bulk of your investments will still be in American markets.
3. If you live in an area that has required FEMA assistance, realize that assistance may not be forthcoming. It's never a bad idea having a few days of food and water on hand in case of emergency - but you're preparing for natural disasters, not political disasters. Just expect to deal with natural disasters on your own with little to no federal assistance.
4. It never hurts to invest in defense. You're not preparing for war, but since you may be on your own when dealing with natural disasters that may result in increased looting, you need to be able to defend yourself. Whatever defense you invest in, make sure you've also invested in the know-how for how to use it.
5. It never hurts to keep more cash on hand, as you've said. Consider keeping a small cache of cash safely in your home. If you need to make a quick getaway due to a natural disaster, it's advantageous to have some cash. As you've mentioned, keep more cash in your bank as well to help weather larger storms.
6. Grow your own food. Develop your green thumb. Gardens kept a lot of people fed during the Depression. Learn how to can as well.
7. Work on having a survival pack. Collect everything you need for an emergency and have it ready to go. There are a lot of "prepper" YouTube sites to give you ideas of what's useful to have in the event of an emergency.
8. Identify another area in the US you could go where you would be impacted less by these kinds of events. Ideally, you should arrange to go there before you need to, but at least have it in your back pocket.
9. Doesn't hurt to identify a country you could go to should it be advantageous to leave the US for any reason. Keep in mind that all Americans are thinking Canada and Western Europe. I would recommend finding a place that would be thrilled to have you and would be more advantageous to be there than the US. Make sure if you have to leave for whatever reason, you won't be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. While it may be rare for most people, you may find it advantageous to emigrate there now.
10. Don't lose hope. Though the Depression was certainly bad, there was still business being done and gains to be had. Take stock in the things you enjoy and ensure you have them in your emergency pack.
Forgot to mention - get new electronics now. Tariffs will increase the price of electronics. If there's anything you're thinking you might need over the next couple of years, then now is the time to get it.
By linsomniac 2024-11-0618:161 reply Actually, I was this close to pulling the trigger on a refresh for my M1 Macbook, but decided to bank the money instead. The current box is still doing just fine, it was more a "I'm 4 gen back" preemptive, trying to get the sweet spot of refresh and money I can get back on the old one.
By taylodl 2024-11-0621:18 I'm on a 2012 MBP and I was ready to pull the trigger on a new rig a couple of months ago and ended up waiting for the M4 Macs to come out. Now that they're here, it's time to pull the trigger.
By orangesite 2024-11-0618:32 Don't tie your future to the new (but transient) economic opportunities that will open up.
By wumeow 2024-11-0616:37 Get/renew your passport.
