[greenworm]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ctually, stage 1 is usually denial. This sounds more like...stage 3 (bargaining) or something.

[allenwrench]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kernull', '.').. few give precise solutions. ?

[allenwrench]

Gold?

Gold is good for those worried about inflation hedges. But it all revolves around our world not crumbling too much, as gold can be near worthless as you mentioned.

Let me tell you people in need don't want gold they want water, food and shelter and warm, dry clothes.

Try cig lighters, seeds, 22 ammo, matches, sewing needles, soap, etc., for barter.

You know sewing needles, fishhooks and 22 LR can't be made easily at home.

22 LR may be the small change currency of our future...not bars of gold and silver.

What you going to buy anyway when TEOTWAK arrives?

We go through tons of seeds in a year and they would make good barter items and we get em for free in our food. Especially the high seeds yielding squashes and melons seeds.

Another for 'free area' of barter goods is the disposable plastic bottles we drink from. Our family goes though 20 - 25 bottles a week. They can be saved if one has the room (which we don't) and used for barter if need be. (People will need empty bottles.)

If gold makes you feel good then go for it.

.."In a shipwreck, one of the passengers fastened a belt about him with one hundred pounds of gold in it, with which he was afterwards found at the bottom. Now, as he was sinking--had he the gold? Or had the gold him?" ~ Ruskin

[AgentR]

Just to add some commentary...

After catching your breath and slowing down so that you can act purposefully rather than like a nutball.....

Examine your current situation from the point of view of calmly extending the amount of time you could keep yourself and family up and lively without modern conveniences like stores, power, tap water, fuel, engines. It'll feel like hurricane/earthquake prep to start with.

If you can get yourself into a condition where you could go 2-3 weeks in relative comfort (ie, not starving, or dieing of dehydration) then you are well ahead of the curve and can ask the question, "if I am to be without grocery stores, electricity, fuel, and tap water for a year, where do Kin and Me want or need to be?" The answer to that question can give you an idea of what to do next.

Oh. And at least for the near term... No talking about PO with relatives. They will designate you Family Crazy #382; which will remain your name for the remainder of eternity.

[truecougarblue]

My $.02.

As an aside to your question, let's assume that you worst case will not be realized, but that we will instead face an ever mounting wall of cost increases in everything we consume.

There is one action above all others that will help mitigate that situation. Buy and store consumables. There isn't anything that I've purchased and stored in the last 3 years that hasn't kept pace with inflation.

I agree with Pops that a pantry is of paramount concern. Go out today and buy a huge box of granola bars and 3 jars of peanut butter.

[jlw61]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kernull', 'F')reaking? Yoga?? What the heck!!!
Are you guys watching oil prices???
I thought it will do a correction to 80... NO WAY!
I thought it will do a correction to 115 after hitting 127 ... NO WAY!
It is not going down! And do you know what is going to happen when it crosses 150 level? A huge spike to 200! Thhaaaats when you will see the panic. Thaaats when you will see all the yoga teachers in the supermarket buying food. And thats when oil is goning to stay at 170-180, but no less.

[Ayoob]

Got any guns?

If you haven't done anything to prepare yet, you're probably too late. You're better off doing your part to decrease the world's population.

[Ayoob]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FptSc8Ow ... re=related

[SpringCreekFarm]

Tex is right. Yoga is a great way to unwind and get your mental focus back. Give it a try.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SpringCreekFarm', 'T')ex is right. Yoga is a great way to unwind and get your mental focus back. Give it a try.

[Jenab6]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'C')ool down as Joel suggested, have a beer and watch something stupid on the Tube of you choice.

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jenab6', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pops', 'C')ool down as Joel suggested, have a beer and watch something stupid on the Tube of you choice.

[madison]

"What do you do?"

Prepare yourself for a low-energy lifestyle.

Decide if where you are living (location wise and in the specific housing of choice) is where you want to be for the rest of your life. Do you live in a well-built house? Does your region/area require heating and cooling? Do you have access to wood and water sufficient for your needs? Do you have enough room to plant edible landscaping, a mini-orchard, perennial food plants, raised bed gardens? Does your town have a farmers' market? Are you nrear friends and family? Do you like your neighbors? Is your town walkable and have a good employment base? Are you located near farms and farmland? Do you know of any permaculture groups in your local area? Do you have an extenstion office with a Master Gardeners program?

Make your home as efficient and homestead-like as possible. Install solar power systems (or wind/microhydro) if you can afford it. Install cisterns, barrels, gutters and other rainwater capture and storage facilities and systems. Consider how you'd deal with grey and blackwater if the public sewer systems broke down. Think about lighting, cooking, heating systems in your home. Build outdoor cob ovens and BBQ pits. Install a woodstove. Weatherize your home to be as efficient with the cooling and heating systems you currently have. Fix your roof. Build a root cellar or make a cold-room in your basement. Plant fruit and nut trees and berry bushes. Think about food-fiber-fuel plants.

Find like-minded community. Search everywhere for people with similar ideas, even if they are not peak oil aware (yet). Find the permaculturists, the gardeners, the local-food advocates, the environmental activists, the humanitarians. Get counseling if you need it. Start your own group. Build bridges. Teach others.

Buy and save seeds of all kinds. Start a garden. Buy books. Buy durable goods (blankets, warm and appropriate clothing, water filters etc). There is a good article out there called "100 things that disappear in an emergency" or something like that; it lists good things to put away for a less-predictable future.

Enjoy life now, and enjoy the benefits of modern technology and civilization. Go to a movie. Drink coffee. VAlue the simple things that we take for granted that may becoem things in the past that we miss. Mourn the good things and the things that never will be. Mourn the lives that will be lost and the dreams that won't come to pass. Be mindful.

Basically, prepare to replace the everyday systems in your life with alternatives. Think outside the box.

[Ferretlover]

Yes, prep now. Those who refuse to think outside the box are, eventually, going to be buried in that box.
Learn now while there is still time.