The world today is odd, to say the least. If you think that everything is "progressing" in a positive direction and things are gonna be better tomorrow than they are today, then this article is probably not for you.
For the rest of us, let's move on.
I believe many feel concern, doubt, panic or just a sense of blah when thinking about their futures and the future of this country. Most professionals today are not doing as well as they did 8 years ago and in fact with mildly accounted inflation the average wage is less than it was 27 years ago. However, today we know that virtually all costs outside of gas and maybe a mortgage (if you have a nice 3% rate) is going up, way up. If you take each individual category in our lives such as healthcare, beef, dairy, rent, insurance, tobacco, alcohol, taxes (assuming you are in the lower middle class and up), titling a vehicle, utilities, etc, etc we are facing much higher inflation than what is being released by the Feds. Combine this with the insane college loan bubble, subprime auto bubble, housing bubble, very very high bond market bubble, and stock market bubble a not so pretty picture begins to paint itself. But Wait!! There is more, much more. Severe drought and/or water shortages in many western states, lack of clean drinking water, poor air quality, the largest marine die off in history, mass degradation of food quality, massive increases in autism, cancer, and other autoimmune disorders, mass deforestation globally, 97% of U.S. nuclear reactors are leaking, immigration issues all over the globe, terror threatening most countries on a consistent basis, the de-dollarization of the global economy and yes, that last little one called direct military conflict between the U.S., Russian and China.
Ok, that may have been a run-on sentence, but you get the drift.
Lastly-Peak (cheap) oil. Yes I am sure we will continue to find oil pockets on this earth but the easy to get, economical stuff, is almost gone. This will mean a serious change in lifestyle for most people on this planet as return on units of energy continues to decrease. There are several articles on this that I will link to. Or just do the easy thing and subscribe to the youtube channels I previously wrote about.
So what in the hell does someone do both professionally and on a personal level to protect the people they love.
First, I am not going to get into why all this is happening or the geopolitics/banking, etc behind it all. We will simply discuss what we can do as U.S. citizens to feel secure and continue to be an asset to our communities.
I think the most important thing anyone can do is to invest in themselves. This can mean several things depending on your situation, but to me it means spending time and extra cash on gaining new skills in areas that interest you. In the times that are coming, running a business from your own property (even part-time) can make all the difference in world. This will give you the option to use cash or crypto-currencies for sales and hide income from state and federal authorities. Yes, some people will frown at this, but much harder economic times are coming and the ability to use cash and barter at a local level will give you a buffer against rising costs from taxes and other daily expenditures.
Second, I would recommend having some land and buying that land based upon what you may consider doing in the future. This list could be raising livestock, agriculture, lumber milling, steel work, beekeeping, etc. So picking the right property can set you up for years of success in whatever business venture your aiming toward. All of these primitive type careers will be more necessary than ever in the future and can be much more lucrative than you may think.
That brings me to my third point, start doing it now! Start acquiring the tools and executing your plan on a small scale while you can still youtube anything you can dream up or visit local farms and shops to gain knowledge. When an economic reset happens it may very well mean global war, martial law or other scenarios that may severely limit ones ability to acquire knowledge with the ease in which we can today. Also, it does not do you any good to buy everything you think you will need to run a business from your home and not utilize it while the getting is good. There is no substitute for actually executing your plan. Failures will occur, no matter the task, that you did not foresee.
Do your research, acquire the skills, purchase the items and execute. Also, go meet your neighbors! Learn your local market now. You can find excellent opportunities when learning the needs of those who live near you and making those connections and TRUST now. No one wants to have someone they have never met roll up on their property in a tense time trying to sell, barter or deliver an item.
Certainly the chance to earn side incomes will vary greatly. Perhaps a job on the side as a book keeper will still be an option, who knows. I simply believe owning assets and the skills to utilize those assets will bring a higher chance of financial security and community benefit then most options.
Please let me know what you all foresee!
Thanks for reading,
The Weather Man
