I strongly recommend that everyone who reads my blog go to this site:
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse
and watch his free crash course on the economy. It is stunning what is happening right now. I think we are facing the total collapse of the dollar. This means that a paper dollar will become worthless. When, who knows? Possibly very soon, possibly not for a decade. Either way, I feel that it is a very good idea to get out of debt ASAP and start turning paper dollars into food, shelter, and water, or things that can help you grow food, heat your home and procure water, or things of value that you can trade for food, shelter, or water. Seriously, I think that at some point you'd be better off with a warehouse full of cigarettes than a bank account full of cash.
Sounds extreme, I know. I'm just sayin'..........
We call it a project because there are lots of things going on here. We are a family of four living semi-rurally in our owner-built off-grid straw bale home, attachment parenting, homeschooling, farming and homesteading with two other family members on 10 acres. Our goals are self-sufficiency and sustainability as we prepare for the future while living joyfully in the present.
9 comments:
It doesn't sound all that crazy. Although we've got quite a bit of our retirement savings stored away in mutual funds, we've also started seeing the value in sustainability, should anything happen. Short of a nuclear holocaust, I'm fairly confident my family would still eat well.
There's nothing wrong with a little (or alot) or preparedness.
Thanks for this link -- I'll have to watch it later tonight.
yeah, I wish I knew more about the stock market, so I could understand it better. What I do understand is that when Paulson wants to give welfare to Wall Street, with almost a trillion dollars overall, it's not good.
We don't have a big pile of money stored away anywhere, but we're resourceful and Gary can get work almost anywhere. Unless things just stop moving altogether...
I wonder, too, if a crisis like that -- the complete meltdown of our economy (as some said it was pitched to Congress) would be enough to prompt some kind of martial law and a cancellation/postponement of the elections?
You know I've been expecting this election to be halted somehow...
I've watched videos of this sort before, explaining that money is actually debt and describing what that growth curve looks like to avoid defaults.
I worry some about our mortgage. Not it as such, but our ability to pay it if we all loose our jobs. I think we could keep paying our mortgage if only one of us remains employed, but the other three would have to work by trading time for food & materials.
Of course, if there is inflation, it becomes easier to pay our mortgage, *assuming* we can stay employed enough to make the payments.
All the same, I'm glad to have my assets in half a house instead of sitting in a bank somewhere. I've never had fewer US dollars in my possession in my life, which took some mental adjustment on my part, but it is in anticipation of them loosing value.
Oh, on the same topic: have you ever come across the ArchDruid Report? John Michael Greer was recently talking about the banking system crash:
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2008/09/effluent-society.html
I always enjoy reading his informed but level-headed articles.
Ummm, it's the New Ultimate Food Survivalist here - grin. I completely terrified myself the past month but as Dave says, "Even if things 'go well', we're at least prepared for some sort of act of god."
Jenny:
I'm half way through Martenson's Crash Course. You were right. Wow! I'm going to have all my family members and church friends watch it. Even if they don't buy it, it's a great homeschool lesson on our economy and how the U.S. govt. handles money.
Thank you so much for this link. I found your blog through an unschooling friend who knew I'd appreciate your beautiful homestead. I sat down two days ago and watched his entire crash course. I can't believe I haven't made myself investigate our economic situation before this. I'm stunned and the inevitable conclusions to be drawn from this information and I'm ready to start preparing for it. I *wish* we had a set-up as admirable as your family's, but we are luckily on a the right path at least.
Just wanted to let you know how valuable i found that site and your link to it.
Warmly,
Sue
Ive never been a "doomsdayer" or bought into y2k, but for the first time in my life im really aware of becoming self sufficient and prepared for the worst. Thanks for the link......great blog btw
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