5 Alarming Ways Economic Collapse Will Affect You

The coronavirus pandemic will push the global economy into an Economic Collapse with the deepest recession since the Great Depression, with the world’s poorest countries suffering the most, said the head of the International Monetary Fund.

So I of course started to wonder what do I need to prepare myself for because of an economic collapse?

That should give you some much-needed assurance. You won’t have to go to a FEMA camp with everyone else so that you can survive. When your neighbors are depending upon the government, you’ll be able to depend upon yourself and no one else.

We anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday in remarks previewing next week’s virtual meetings of the 189-nation IMF and its sister lending organization, the World Bank.

Economic Collapse Definition

An economic collapse could be any of a broad range of bad economic situations, ranging from a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment, to a breakdown in normal commerce.

When that financial collapse comes, it’s going to affect a lot of things. How many aspects of daily life it affects will depend a lot on how serious the collapse is.

Of course, the longer it takes for the collapse to come, the worst it will be when it finally gets here. Politicians think that they can just put it off indefinitely – but for them, indefinitely equals when they leave office.

Economic Collapse Checklist

Let’s look at those top five concerns of an economic collapse so you might start now to prepare for one.

Money will become worthless. Runaway inflation always accompanies a financial meltdown. The money you have so carefully saved over the years will become worthless in a matter of days.

People will stop accepting American dollars in payment for goods and services. Why would they accept worthless paper, when they might not be able to spend it? Bartering will become the normal way of doing business when SHTF.

The items you have stockpiled will be worth much more than their current cash value. You can barter a roll of toilet paper or a can of chicken. You can’t barter with worthless paper money.

Gold and silver will retain their value as well. Actually, precious metals will increase in value astronomically. However, you may not be able to cash in on that increase in value until the crisis is over and things return to some semblance of normalcy.

The supply chain will break down. With the loss of income, companies won’t be able to pay their bills. Since most businesses operate on a net-30 basis, after those thirty days, their suppliers will realize they aren’t going to get paid. The next step will be to cut off credit.

This will be the onset of a domino effect. One business will fold because it can’t pay its bills. That will cause financial strain on its suppliers. If enough of the suppliers’ customers fold, they’ll run out of money and go bankrupt as well.

It won’t take long before businesses all over the place will be closing their doors. Oh, it might take a few months for that to happen, but that’s really not all that long.

A general breakdown of the supply chain means that the things that we buy on a day-to-day basis won’t be available. We’ll go to the grocery store and find the shelves empty. It will become harder and harder to buy the basic necessities for survival.

That’s why you’re building a food stockpile. You’re going to have to depend on it – and the other survival gear you are stocking up on – because you won’t be able to find anything in the stores.

Utilities will become unreliable. With the reduction in income, utility companies will have to find ways to cut costs. The first place will be in replacing outdated equipment and performing preventative maintenance. These are great when the money is there to do them, but a burden when it isn’t.

With reduced maintenance, you can be sure that there will be more blackouts, brownouts, and times when the city water service is shut down. How much that happens will depend on how long and how severe the collapse is.

As the crisis continues, these problems will increase in frequency and duration. There will be more and more problems caused by these services going out.

The only solution is to have alternate means in place so that you can get by without electrical power and city water. Many preppers install solar power systems, wells, and wind generators to prepare for this eventuality.

Riots and lawlessness will become common. Countless thousands of people will lose their jobs. Being unprepared to face the situation, they will be angry and scared. That will increase when they find that Big Brother isn’t going to be there to help them out.

Mobs of protesters will become commonplace. Those mobs will quickly turn violent, as people vent their anger and fear. Rioting, vandalism, looting, and destruction will become the expressions of that mob. It will be what is called a social collapse.

A funny thing happens with mobs. Those who are peaceful, law-abiding people in everyday life will commit all kinds of crimes. People who never even got a parking ticket may do some of the vilest, most violent things, all because of mob mentality and the unruly emotions of that mob.

The only way to deal with a mob is to avoid it. I realize that is easier said than done, but that’s what you have to do. If you ever find yourself in a mob situation, flow with the mob, and gradually work your way to the edge. Once there, you can slip quietly away.

Police and emergency services may abandon their posts. If the financial crisis gets bad enough, there may not be enough money to pay police and other emergency services. While most police officers are people of integrity, who would want to go to work, putting their life on the line, when not getting anything in return?

Those police officers and other first responders can easily reach the point where they say, “I’m better off staying home.”

When that happens, the mob violence will become worse. Mobs that realize that they don’t have any risk from the police are the worst. Being totally unchecked makes it even easier for them to become violent.

The only protection in such a case is to be ready to protect yourself and your home. Having firearms and knowing how to use them might become an important part of your survival.

So, there are five things that we need to watch out for when the financial collapse comes. While you can’t control everything, you can control your actions and reactions.

And if all that is not enough to get all high strung about, let us talk about something else that will make your head spin: food issues during an economic collapse.

Breaking: The Food Supply Chain

So said Tyson Foods Chairman John Tyson in a letter published in several major U.S. newspapers during the coronavirus outbreak.. Tyson, one of the country’s top meat producers, has shuttered several plants after workers fell ill with the coronavirus. With slaughterhouses closed even temporarily, “millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain.”

And you thought money alone during an economic collapse would be a problem. Factory closures have severe domino effects on rural communities. John Tyson explained that “farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed.” Some have been forced to euthanize their pigs.

However, by prepping now, you can be ready to feed your family, even when the supply chain goes down. Stockpiling food is part of that, but there’s more you’ll need to do. And that’s what we’ll talk about in a couple of days!

Food Issues During An Economic Collapse

I hope your menu planning and calculations went well for you. I realize it’s a pain to do all that, but you’re going to be better off with that work behind you. When a disaster comes and you have to live off of your food stocks, your family will be much better off.

We’ve been talking about how to get your food stockpile built on a budget and a couple of letters back I gave you some ideas on how to save money. I want to expand on that a little by sharing some sources with you, that you might not have thought of.

One thing to keep in mind when you’re looking for places to buy food is that you’re buying in bulk. Even though you don’t buy most items in bulk for your normal grocery shopping, you’ll be buying large enough quantities to buy in bulk, which can save you a lot of money.

Part of every dollar you spend on food is to pay for packaging. That packaging costs the manufacturer money, which they have to recoup somehow. They do it by passing the charges to customers like you and me.

If you can buy food where you don’t have all that packaging, then you can save considerably on what you buy. You’d be amazed how much the same items are if you don’t have all that fancy packaging with them.

With those money-saving ideas in mind, here are the places to find food where you can get the best price:

* Warehouse Clubs

Sam’s Club, Costco, and other such warehouse clubs are a great source of food, especially dry goods like rice and beans. These clubs are set up to sell in quantity so they have 25- and 50-pound bags of these things you’d normally buy one or two pounds of at a time.

That’s not all, though. They have pasta in five-pound bags, spices in one-pound bottles and many other quantity deals. By buying the largest packages, you save a bundle on the packaging portion of the normal cost.

* Farmer’s Markets

Many preppers do their own canning because it’s a great way to preserve fruits and vegetables while saving money. It is possible to can foods cheaper and with better quality than buying it already canned at retail.

If you are going to can food, then you want to buy the food itself as cheaply as possible without sacrificing quality. That’s where the farmer’s market comes in. The vendors are often farmers who grow the food themselves.

Selling food at a farmer’s market is a great deal for the farmer. He gets more than he would selling it wholesale, even though he’s giving you a discount. So, it ends up being a great deal for you as well.

* Stores with Bulk Bins

Some grocery stores have an aisle of foods that they sell in bulk. They will usually have barrels with dry goods, and you scoop the items you want into plastic bags and pay by the pound.

This food doesn’t have any of the packaging costs that I mentioned earlier. Not only that, but the supermarket has bought it in bulk, meaning that they also got a better price. For things like dried fruit, you can’t beat the cost you can get by buying bulk.

* Craigslist

Yes, you read that right. You can find almost anything on Craig’s list, including food. I’ve found some amazing deals on large quantities of specific food there.

Often, the food that is sold on Craig’s list is damaged merchandise that needs to be disposed of. For example, a trucking company damages a shipment of ketchup, breaking several cases. They have to pay for the damaged goods and are left with the broken boxes. Instead of throwing it away, they try to recoup some of their loss by selling it.

* eBay

Just like Craig’s list, you can find pretty much anything on eBay, including food. Often, the items are seasonal, and people are trying to sell excess after that season is over.

If you’re going to buy food on eBay, make sure you know what it costs locally. You also have to figure in the shipping cost to make sure that you know what you’re really paying for it. Sometimes, the shipping makes it too expensive to be worthwhile.

* Dollar Stores

Most of the dollar stores now sell food as well. While it isn’t always the best place to buy food, there are times when they have some spectacular deals.

Once again, you need to know how much the same thing will cost in a normal supermarket. You’ll also find that there are times when the cost of the food at the dollar store is higher than the supermarket price. Just because it’s a dollar doesn’t mean it’s cheap.

* After Holiday Sales

There are certain foods that are seasonal. Easter and Halloween candy go on sale for half price the day after those holidays. But, that isn’t the only seasonal food sales you can find.

I told you in one of the other letters about the 30 summer sausages that my wife and I got such a good deal on. That was a seasonal sale as well. Those fancy sausage and cheese gift packages go on sale for a really good price the day after Christmas.

Now you’re ready to go shopping, armed with all my tricks for buying a bulk food stockpile at the best possible price. Just be patient. The one thing that will destroy any chance of getting a good deal is getting in a hurry.

So what type of disaster are you preparing for? Personally, I’m really concerned about our country’s financial situation. It seems like there’s a lot of manipulation going on, the kind that is done to keep a house of cards from falling down.

If our economy crashes, it will be bad; there’s no question about it. So whatever type of disaster you’re preparing for, you’d better include that in your prepping.