Economic Disaster

By Keith Rawlinson

Many people are worried about the possibility of a collapse of the economy, society, and life as we know it. But what can someone with little money do to prepare? How can people with limited funds make sure that they and their loved ones are ready for an economic collapse? This book discusses things that the average person can do to prepare for economic disaster. No matter how much, or how little money you have to work with, there are many things you can do to be ready. In this book, you will learn what needs to be done in order to prepare for everything from mild economic disasters, to severe disasters, and even for complete economic collapse. You will learn what kinds of difficulties to expect at various stages of an economic disaster, and how to be ready for them ahead of time. You will also learn how to invest to make a good profit at a time when most of society is in a panic. When an economic disaster strikes, most people will be unprepared and desperate--make sure you are not one of them. With this book, you will have the information you need to start preparing without having to spend a fortune doing it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keith Rawlinson
• Release date: Apr 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310402258

Keith Rawlinson

Keith Rawlinson is an author, investor, financial counselor and volunteer budget counselor.

Book preview

Economic Disaster

What the average person can do to prepare

Keith Rawlinson

Copyright 2015 Keith Rawlinson, Published by Keith Rawlinson at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of contents:

What you need to know first

Preparing for minor economic disasters

What to expect in a minor economic disaster

Things to do to prepare for minor economic disasters

The Rule Of Threes

Supplies to have on hand for a minor economic disaster

What to do with your money in a minor economic disaster

Keeping yourself safe in a minor economic disaster

Preparing for moderate economic disaster

What to expect in a moderate economic disaster

The 72 Hour Rule

Things to do to prepare for a moderate economic disaster

Supplies to have on hand for a moderate economic disaster

What to do with your money during a moderate economic disaster

Keeping yourself safe during a moderate economic disaster

Preparing for major economic disasters

What to expect in a major economic disaster

The Unfair Anger Rule

Things to do to prepare for major economic disasters

What to do with your money in a major economic disaster

Skills will be important in the event of a major economic disaster

Learn skills that other people will need or want

Keeping yourself safe in a major economic disaster

Some final thoughts on preparation

How to invest to make money before, during and after an economic disaster

How to create a written budget

How to get out of debt

Recommended reading list

Additional recommended resources

What you need to know first

Why I wrote this book

There is a lot of information on the Internet and in books regarding economic and natural disaster preparedness. In my opinion, much of that information recommends preparing in ways that are either far too expensive for the average person, or are just plain over-the-top. What I mean by that, is that much of the disaster preparedness information out there goes to, what I think are, excessive lengths. For the average person, things like a steel bunker, a cache of assault rifles, an off-grid solar power system and living every day of your life as if the world is going to come crashing down around you any minute, is just impractical and going way too far when there are plenty of simple, inexpensive things an average person can do to be prepared for the most likely economic disaster scenarios.

For that reason, I decided to write this book for average people. I wrote this book for people who have very tight budgets and can afford to only do very basic, inexpensive things to prepare in case a disaster strikes. And, since there is already an abundance of information out there for surviving natural disasters, I decided to write not only about those kinds of situations, but also about economic disasters specifically. A disaster can be a physical disaster such as an earthquake, tornado or flood, but can also be a financial disaster such as sudden unemployment, recession, depression or total collapse of an economy. Regardless of the nature of a disaster, any disaster that affects us financially is an economic disaster of some sort. Most of all, I wrote this book to teach the average, everyday person some very basic things they can do, at little or no cost, to prepare themselves and their families for economic, natural and man-made disasters. After preparing in the way I teach in this book, people can go right back to living their lives as usual until a disaster happens. For the average person, being prepared for disaster should not become a lifestyle. If you are an average person who wants to be prepared for the most likely events without spending large amounts of time, money and resources, then this book is for you.

People are worried

I am a financial counselor, and in my practice I have had many people ask me about the possibility of economic disaster. All of the things going on in the world today suggest that the fear of economic disaster is probably quite justified. Unrest in the Middle East threatens the oil market causing severe fluctuations in the price of oil, plant diseases seem to be a constant threat to the world's food supply, and it is becoming more and more difficult for families to get by on their incomes. I believe that, sooner or later, there are some very big economic upheavals coming. In my opinion, it really is not a matter of if there will be some kind of economic disaster, it is a matter of when.

Because I am a financial counselor, I try to stay on top of what is going on in the world financially. It is plain to see that many people are worried about the possibility of a looming economic threat and are very concerned about how they would survive. The key to surviving any kind of disaster, economic or otherwise, is to be prepared for it before it happens. That is what this book is all about--how the average person can prepare for economic disaster. Over the years, I have seen plenty of news stories about some rich family building a bunker-style house with three-foot-thick concrete walls and a year's worth of groceries stored in the basement. I have also seen stories of eccentric people building underground fortresses in which to hunker down and wait out the turmoil that would ensue after an economic collapse.

Over-the-top preparation like that may or may not be justified, as we will discuss shortly, but the question still remains: how can the average person prepare for economic turmoil? What can the person who is not wealthy do to be prepared? What should the family who has pretty much no money in the bank be doing right now to get ready? That is exactly what this book is all about--helping the average person prepare for economic disaster. You do not need a bomb-proof house or an underground bunker to prepare for the most likely scenarios of economic upheaval. The average person, with very little money, can still prepare.

You can only do what you can do

Concern about possible future economic turmoil can bring a lot of worry and stress into a person's life. When some kind of disaster or economic emergency actually does occur, it brings with it even more worry and stress. Being prepared ahead of time takes away much of that stress now, and will continue to take away much stress after the disaster actually happens. As far as getting ready is concerned, remember that you can only do what you can do. A billionaire can easily afford to build an underground bunker and stock it with enough food and supplies to last a year or two, but most of us cannot afford such extremes. This book is written for common, everyday people with only modest amounts of money to spend on disaster preparation. The most important things you need to do in order to be prepared for economic disaster are not expensive, and some cost nothing at all. Regardless of how much or how little money you can spend on disaster preparedness, always remember what I said; you can only do what you can do. If you have only $10 to spend, then use it to do ten dollars' worth of the most important things we will be discussing. If you have $1,000 to spend on preparation, then do $1,000 dollars' worth. Any preparation is better than no preparation, so when preparing for economic disaster, do as much as you can with whatever money you have available. Preparation is important for everyone, but even more important for those who live in a higher risk environment such as a large city. Do as much as you can afford to do, then be proud of yourself for having made the effort to prepare as best you could afford. Let us now begin talking about economic disaster scenarios and how to be prepared ahead of time.

As we discuss preparation, it is important to understand that any disaster, natural, man-made or economic, affects the economy and is therefore still an economic disaster. If you are prepared for a severe natural or man-made disaster, then you are also prepared for a purely economic one as well. Also, know that there are different levels of economic disasters and that some are much more likely to happen than others. As you are preparing to survive economic disaster, you must be sure to not get carried away or obsessed with preparation. You need to be concerned enough to prepare, but not so concerned that you allow yourself to become obsessed or overly fearful. It is, in my opinion, possible to be overly prepared. There is some preparation that everyone should do, but almost no one needs to build an expensive survival bunker. In this book, I am going to divide economic disasters into three categories: Minor, moderate and major economic disasters.

As we go along, remember that I said that disasters that are of a physical, destructive nature have an economic component as well. Along with the damage and fear, a physical disaster will also bring with it economic consequences. Any serious disaster will cause at least some disruption in economic activity at least for a while, so a significant disaster of any kind, is also an economic disaster of some kind. You need to be ready to deal with all aspects of an economic disaster whether a physical, destructive disaster or a disaster of a political or economic nature. Throughout this book, it might appear that we are talking more about destructive disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and so forth than we are economic disasters, but that goes back to what I just mentioned: any significant disaster has an economic, financial effect. The things that need to be done in order to prepare for a purely economic disaster are the very same things needed to prepare for a natural or man-made disaster. Follow the suggestions given throughout this book, and you will be surprisingly well prepared for an economic disaster, a natural disaster, a man-made disaster, or any combination thereof.

What you are about to learn

In this book, you will learn a variety of things which can mean the difference between surviving or not surviving should disaster strike. Some of the things you are about to learn are:

The different levels of economic disasters and what to expect in each one.

What supplies to have on hand, and in what order to acquire them.

How the Rule Of Threes, The 72 Hour Rule and the Unfair Anger Rule can help you avoid trouble and save your life.

The importance of being ready for medical emergencies at a time when help may not be available.

What skills you should learn in order to give yourself a huge advantage if things get bad.

Things you need to know to keep yourself safe during a time when society may be falling apart.

Items you can use as barter when an economy fails or even collapses completely.

What you need to know about providing yourself with food and water in a disaster.

How to best keep your money safe during a minor, moderate or major economic disaster.

How to invest before, during and after an economic disaster to make money during difficult times.

Preparing for minor economic disasters

Minor economic disasters are the type most likely to happen. Not just likely to happen, but pretty much guaranteed to happen sooner or later. A minor economic disaster is one which effects a small percentage of people, does not disrupt life much or does not last very long. Most minor economic disasters last from a few days, to a few months. Some minor economic disasters are specific to you and your family; thus, you may be the only one experiencing it. Here are some examples of minor economic disasters, but there are many more.

A minor downturn in the natural cycle of the economy which can involve such things as a slow job market, low return on investments, low confidence in the economy, low consumer spending, low economic growth and economic recession.

Being unable to leave your home. This minor economic disaster would be things such as a severe storm, blizzard or sand storm making it impossible to travel. Flooding or wind damage severe enough to make the streets unusable, temperatures so cold or so hot that it is not safe to be outdoors.

Being unable to leave your home because of a natural or man-made disaster. This would be such things as roads being washed out, mud slides, moderate earthquake damage, chemical spills, a major fire, civil unrest.

A temporary national tragedy such as the death or assassination of a high-profile political figure, domestic terrorist attacks, the tragic death of a large number of citizens, disruption