Trying to prepare

Hello Ferfal:

A friend suggested I read your blog and it has really opened my eyes. I am sorry about all the suffering you and your family are going through.
I wanted to ask you a question. I live in the United States, more specifically, California.
Do you see the signs of an impending economic collapse like yours?
I am trying to prepare, but have limited funds and can only do so much each month. I have tried to locate a product you recommended, a solar charged hand crank battery charger and I cannot find one.

Thanks for the input.

Jacqueline

Hi Jacqueline,

My family and I aren’t doing that bad. We mostly worry a lot about the crime problem, just like every other living soul in this country these days. Dengue is also a problem ( it triplicated in the last 15 days) and the unstable economy doesn’t help, but other than that we have each other and are truly blessed. I have a gorgeous wife that loves me and I love her back, and two wonderful boys. What more can a man ask for?
I don’t dare say there will be an economic collapse in USA or not. One thing I know for sure, you’ll experience at least a bit of what we saw here in Argentina.
I know because in spite of not knowing what will happen in the future, I know the consequences of what has already happened, simply because we saw them here too and those things are following a surprisingly similar path.
You have to understand this: What already happened and probably will continue happening with the American economy will have certain consequences.
Crime will go up, people will have harder financial times, and life in general will be a bit more complicated.
Finances are a real concern. A lot of people are loosing their jobs and its important to be able to get new ones or make money on your own, reduce expenses as much as possible and sometimes that isn’t enough, you have to make more money.
Eventually the purchasing power will be affected by inflation (even if they hide inflation, it’s still there). In a nut shell, some people that are middle class today will become poor, and its not the end of the world, but it’s still hard.
Upgrade yourself as a person as much as you can. You’ll be better prepared for life in general, including an economic collapse, and if nothing happens or if it’s just a small slap on the wrist instead of a collapse, you’ll be a happier person anyway so it’s a win-win situation.
This blog has a lot of information, and of course I recommend you my book too. It has some hard earned experience that will no doubt prove useful to anyone getting started. It’s specially written to help you gain the required mindset, and includes a lot of tips and advice.
About the gadget you ask, I have a couple of those solar charged hand crank battery charger things listed on the right column (scroll down) sold by Amazon.
Don’t worry about spending tons of money, worry more about saving as much as you can.
Having said that there are certain things you should buy as soon as finances allow, check this miniguide.
As imperative as mindset and awareness are, they wont materialize food and gear when you need them. You need to get those in advance.

FerFAL