Financial Collapse in USA - Are You Ready?

About a week ago, I shared with you that I had a feeling I should look up Ebola and see what was going on with that in the world. Since I don't read the paper, watch the news or listen to the radio, I don't get much information on world events. When I read the "Time" article, the article after it was an article about the intelligence agencies reporting that there will most likely be a financial collapse in the USA in the next year or so.

Those two article were the only two I read that night and actually in a long time as I don't often go to news sites either. I was a bit scared by both articles and freaked out that I felt like I should actually read up on the Ebola situation. (Click here to see that post. )

However, I do believe that we get "feelings" for a reason and I think that reading that article and the next gave me some insight on what I needed to do or "get" to be ready if either situation got out of control.

It would be very easy for our country to have an economic meltdown if Ebola were to take off. People would stay home, or, if there were outbreaks, roads or entire communities would be under quarantine so getting items we may need could become difficult. Or, if we stopped ships from coming into our ports due to outbreaks in other countries, many things we rely on from other countries may stop coming which would cause shortages.

Or, even if Ebola isn't the cause, our country just keeps printing money and borrowing, increasing our nations debt to a point of no return and we could easily have an economic melt down. What if our country could no longer assist people through welfare, social security, medicare and medicaid payment, or unemployment. In our small town, most people are sustained through government jobs either through national parks, police and fire, roads, social services etc. If the government went under, the nation would as well. 

I have had the feeling in the past that I should have certain items in case of emergency. I have cold weather clothing, a trailer, food, water, fabric, thread, yarn and other items that may be difficult to acquire if we had nothing coming in. If we had a large national disaster, or even a large local disaster, I have bikes, trailer and food stored so we could survive if needed. 

When viewing these articles, I asked myself, "Do I have the items needed for this situation?" If you remember a post I wrote a few years ago, I wrote about how I asked God if I had the items I would need in an emergency and this is that post. 

Once again, this week, I asked myself and the answer I got was that I needed to get  more colloidal silver and cinnamon oil as I had bought bulk oils a few years ago but they no longer sell the bulk cinnamon oil at the health stores and I have used up much of my supply as we have traveled and I have sent girls to five different countries since then. 

I got the oil the other day and still needing to order the silver as if there were something huge, I would need to get enough to outlast the situation. 

When I watched the video on the economic collapse, I asked myself the same question. The first article was about keeping healthy physically, but the second is about providing for the physical needs during financial loss and stress.

If there were financial collapse, I would have some food to trade, medical expertise and treatments to trade, I knit and sew and have enough supplies that I could trade out sewing or needlework making socks, sweaters, gloves, clothes and other things. I can do hair as I cut my former spouses hair our entire marriage and have cut the girls hair and I color my own hair and have the supplies needed for that for awhile as well. I have sprouts stored which are one of the best sources of protein. I also know how to find bugs and how to prepare bugs if we were desperate enough to actually need to eat them as crickets are one of the highest protein sources as well. I have water filters and all sorts of hunting equipment, ammo, even bow and arrow. I also have books on herbs, roots and edible gardens and seeds stored in cans in the fridge.

The one thing I realized I didn't have..... Boots. We all have Ugg boots which you know we LOVE if you have read this blog for long but I didn't have rubber soled canvas boots that will fit over the foam foot socks that will wick the moisture from your feet in the cold and snow. 

Ugg boots are great if the ground is dry but if you are walking in snow, they get wet and DON'T dry for a LONG time if you continue wearing them wet. 

So, the answer I got was that I don't have sufficient footwear for my family for cold. If we had to walk in the snow daily for water, bathroom use, or hiking to civilization etc, Ugg boots are slick bottomed and would freeze your feet. So, I asked my Father in Heaven to help me find the boots I would need in that situation for as cheap as possible as I hope we actually NEVER need the boots but in case we do, it is what I need. That next day, I went to a second hand store and they had about 15 pair of boots just put out. You know I go to the second hand stores often and they NEVER have that amount of boots in all sizes and they were in great condition and were from $3 to $8 as I got some marked down with a little tear in the seam. I was able that day to purchase five pair of the exact boots I would need to go with the foam clothing I made and purchased for cold weather living if we have no heat. 

The type of boot you need is a rubber sole boot that has traction but canvas sides and upper. It needs to lace up the front as you need to tighten the foam around your feet to keep air from getting in and it needs to have a removable insert so you can take that out and have room for the foam insert. 

You can see these five pair of boots had the inserts I can take out and the lace up fronts and the great rubber bottoms and canvas tops. 

I am grateful for "feelings" or "promptings" or whatever you like to call them so that I can feel confident that whatever comes, I did what I could to be prepared for my family. Even if my home is destroyed and I lose everything, I know that God will provide for my family because I did everything in my power to be prepared. 

Here is a link to the article about the economic collapse they are predicting. Link to that story here.

Here is a link on how to get gold and silver if the dollar no longer has value.

Here is a link again to the Ebola post only because I link to all my other posts on medical issues as that is the only place were all the information is together.

Here is a link to a sprouting post. I thought I have posted more on this subject but haven't so I will have to do that at some point. If you have good wheat, sprouting it can save your life. It is higher in protein than any meat but salmon and has a high content of vitamin C so to prevent scurvy and have protein in case you can't eat meat due to nuclear or something, this will give you that. Canning jars and plastic canvas or even a basket will work to sprout seeds. Dehydrated food will fair better than canning jars in an earthquake and will last much longer with more vitamin content than canned foods. Click here for my main post about that. 

Being educated is the most important thing. If you wait until there is a problem to try and figure out what to do, you WILL panic. You have to rely on what you know in that case and panic will be the biggest problem in those situations. Educate yourself now for things your family may need. If you have someone with asthma, you can't think that there will be any medication available. There are lung asthma trigger points under both armpits and by shoving your thumbs up into those spots hard, you can turn off an asthma attack. Not the best solution but if is all you have... Or, there are plants and trees that can help that. I know my sister had a Lindon tree and the nuts and leaves are good for headache pain and can be used like chocolate! Which is good to open passages in the sinus and lungs! However, you would need to know how to make the tea. By getting books now or doing research now, you can be prepared by planting the trees, plants and herbs in your yard that may be needed for your family in an emergency.

Having the right clothes for your climate is important. In Pakistan, the earthquake happened in winter (Click here to see pictures and now envision that with snow in the U.S.) and by having items of clothing stored that can be reached in that situation would be important. Foam clothes are amazing and wick away the moisture that builds up when working in a cold environment and many of the "thermal" clothes have a water proof shield that will cause ice to form on the inside of the clothes if you have to work in the cold due to your body sweating and the moisture can't escape out due to the waterproof exterior. We have down coats but also foam inner coats with breathable outer shells for winter. Also, I have several wool long john sets that are amazing in the cold. Think of watching your children having to sleep outside if all the homes are destroyed. How would they make it? Being prepared for your climate is important.

Having lots of daily use items on hand is important. hand soap, needle and thread to mend clothes, stitch up some shelter etc. medical supplies if people get injured, prescriptions etc. These things should be built up so you can at least have enough to get through a month or two if emergency help can't arrive right away. 

Lastly, one would hope that you have some savings or safe items in a safety deposit box but if you can't access them in an emergency, it may be nice to have a small stash at home. Also, if there is an economic breakdown, in 1933 FDR made it against the law to have gold bars or coins and people were forced to turn it in at the rate the government set as "fair". (Click here to read an article about that) With the dollar being as scary as it is, having some gold or other valuables stashed away seems important but remember, silver was not taken but gold was and jewelry was considered "heirloom" and was not seized. Many put their money in over sea accounts but if the world economy isn't doing well, good luck getting that gold or money back into the US. I think more people will be burying their money in the hills to keep it safe as in an earthquake, it would be buried if in your home. Also, thiefs could come and take the items but if you have them buried somewhere off site, good luck finding it. I know someone that has a stash of money, food, medical supplies buried near their home. I am not that "prepared" but I know I have at home what I need for my family but we can't always be prepared for every situation so I would suggest you pray for guidance as to what you need to do to be prepared for YOUR family. 

Best wishes in any situation!