Lola Jo Lipe by Laura Moncur from Flickr

This is a photo of my grandmother as a young girl during the tail end of the Great Depression. If she could live through that, then so could I, but articles like this make me paranoid:

• Economic Survivalism: 12 Ways To Prepare For The Next Great Depression

Here are some great ideas to survive a economic downturn:

• Avoid debt at all costs.
• Get out of your mortgage before the housing market collapses any further.
• Buy some cheap land in a rural area.
• Go off the grid. Get your own power generator or some wind turbines.
• Cultivate some skills that will always be in demand.
• Offshore yourself.
• Invest in the ultimate counter-cyclicals.
• Invest in some Euros, or some other currency that’s not the dollar.
• Have some liquid funds on hand.
• Plant a garden or take part in a community garden in your neighborhood.
• Learn to hunt.
• Stockpile medications.

I was raised by 1970’s Jehovah Witnesses. Armageddon was always around the corner back then. Now, I don’t fear God’s wrath. We humans can make each other far more miserable. I guess I better find some land in the middle of nowhere and a wind turbine…