[hope_full]

That's how I feel lately. My husband is ticked at me for spending so much time "online." What he doesn't realize is that I'm spending these couple hours a day reading world news, financial news, "how-to-prepare" info and then of course, my happy news (spiritual things).

My husband is also ticked at me for watching Glenn Beck, whom I find especially interesting these days. He says it's all "nothing but depressing news."

Early last summer - with the DOW at 14,000 - I begged him to sell off all his stocks and he refused. Now he wonders how I knew the market was getting ready to tank. Well, I "read all about it" at sites like this.

My husband is also surprised that Gold has rocketed up in the least few weeks. I'm not. He's also surprised that the stock market continues to fall. I'm not. And he was shocked when I predicted the failure of several of the big banks this summer. He finally asked, "How did you know about that?"

And the other part of my frustration is this: I no longer trust mainstream media. Everything seems to be a surprise to the MSM these days.

But back to the deer in the headlights. I'm not sure what to do NOW. A few weeks' supply of kibble isn't gonna help if there's anarchy in the streets. Having spent years trying to get out of debt isn't going to help if there's a large-scale collapse of the financial system.

If I were queen of the world, I'd sell our home and take the money and run away to a quiet beautiful farmstead RIGHT NOW. The real estate in our metropolitan area has dropped maybe 10 or 15% in value and we could still get a handsome sum for our house. I want to sell it, take our substantial equity and RUN. But he wouldn't hear of it. He has a very good job in a (currently) well-funded government bureaucracy and it's less than two miles from our front door.

The beauty part of the bloated bureaucracy he works for is it'll take them at least a year to get around to laying off their workers, or so I tell myself. Not *all* states are on fire, like California and I think Virginia is pretty fiscally sound, or so I tell myself.

All of which is to say, I don't know what to do. I'm married to someone who thinks we're in a minor dip and that's yet another complication. I think things will get worse before they get better. As the poet said, "Things fall apart. The center cannot hold."

While worried about the future, we still have to show up at our jobs and play these roles. How do you do that when you hear the news and read between the lines, "it's coming." Do you ever get paralyzed by all the information and all the financial upset and just feel like all the options are already being cut off?

Just sign me,
Startled Deer

[Micki]

Tough one.
One thing I would try is get him to watch all the Peter Schiff videos on his europac site.
Go throught the stuff chronologically from 05 onwards. It is quite entertaining also as all the other numbskulls are laughing at him for being a pessimist.
I think you need to avoid overloading him with contents so maybe just stick to somethign like that + show him shadowstats or somethign that clearly shows how the TPTB lie about all the stats they can and why mainstream media that just parrots this cannot be trusted.
Unless he is a completely changed man after that he will probably still hesitate handing over all the investments but maybe you can manage half and if you have any spare cash at every month end you should have a say in what is done with that.

[topcat]

Don't feel alone, on either case.

My wife does not like my on-line time either. Since I farm, now is my down time although there are many other projects that I could be doing around the house and farm. Unlike your situation, I gently remind her that if I had not spent/invested the past reading time, we would have lost tens of thousands more in our 401's.

As to the deer-in-the-headlights, I now have to come up with another rabbit to pull from my hat to make up for this year's reading!

I wish we each had the answers to our futures.

[oxj]

I remember growing up in the Washington area. I went to an all boys prep school with a bunch of kids who wore Izods back in the late 70's, and I felt so poor wearing the polyester checked pants which my mom found somewhere but they were all she could afford. Can you imagine going to prep school when none of your clothes matched? It was hell. We lived out in southern Maryland, they lived over by Dupont Circle up to Rockville. I couldn't stand D.C. because of this feeling of incredible poverty.

So, I left. I feel a great freedom being away from I-95 (I've heard that 25% of the population lives within 100 miles of I-95) and all that rush. I lost my job this year, and am looking at a few more months in this house before I can't pay for it any more. Anyway, my family is begging me to move back. One sibling lives out past Vienna in a house which was constructed and another in Rockville, you get the picture. They think the world will go on ticking like this forever, that they will never lose their jobs. They may be right, heck, I don't even know what kind of work they do.

So maybe I'll be coming back because it'll at least be a place to rest my weary head under a roof. But until then, I have to try to make it out here. I don't know what you should do, but I do know that if you can get rid of your property in Virginia you could probably retire elsewhere. For example, here's a listing for a house and 5 acres at 137k in my area (MLS 804325), and you can find even cheaper farmsteads west of Fargo...

[lowem]

Well, if this is a minor dip then what the heck is a major one, lol



We are in an all-out crash.

Singapore's exports have fallen 34.8%.
Japan's exports have fallen 35%.

For export-oriented countries, GDP figures will follow export figures.
A GDP contraction of 10% or more can be considered depression territory.

We need to get this in our heads :

THIS IS NOT JUST ANOTHER RECESSION

[cipi604]

hope_full, for the past 5 years I'm searching for a woman like you. You are gold, believe me.

[beamofthewave]

You hang in there girlfriend. I tried to post on a womyn's website encouraging them to garden and such and found out they thought I was "abusing it." So I requested they delete all my postings and they did. The way I look at it, all I can be anymore is a role model. I have strawberries in my front yard as well as a cherry tree, five blueberry bushes and the entire front yard is nothing but garden. The side of my house is a strawberry patch, I have two chickens and now also 6 apple trees and five grape vines. I also have a bunch of food saved up in case of collapse, 300 gallons of water too. I figure I am as set as I can be at this point and am just going to keep on preparing. I think mostly people just dont want to know, they just want to believe so badly it will all be okay and anything that tells them it is not is to be avoided at all costs or interfered with. My neighbor made sure to tell my daughter that all I am allowed is two chickens, I had been planning to add more and she is right, that is all the city says I am allowed. Whatever, it just annoys me no end that others people think they are the boss of me. I can have rabbits though and I can have bees so those are my next projects and that small minded loser will soon be begging at my door for food and I will give her one egg and tell her I could have given more if I had more chickens but decided not to get more chickens because I knew she would report me. I wont do that, it is just fun to think about and what a busybody. It is so obvious we are going into depression to me and I would rather be prepared than not. How annoyed is your husband? I am very surprised he doesnt hand over the finances to you and like theautomaticearthbogspot says, real estate is going down a further 50%. You can doomstead at your place too, chickens, bees, gardening. It really is great.

[miskatonic]

My own girlfriend didn't believe me for a long time either. I eventually wore here down. Some people in my family still don't believe me or the MSM about what is going on. Now I prepare in the dark. My girlfriend knows what I am doing. We just do not let the rest of my family in on the secret. I just tell people I am taking on hiking as a hobby.

Your marriage is important do not forget that. Just because your husband does not fully understand what is going on does not make him a bad person. Do spend less time reading about the impending doom of the world. This stuff can suck you in and acts the same way porn does on the brain. Resist the urge to do all of your research on the internet. What are those things that people used to read...oh yeah books! Pick up a few books!

There are ways to prepare anyway without your husband catching on to what you are doing. Mask any preparation of supplies with comments like "Hey let's go backpacking!" Buy the SAS books on urban and wilderness survival. Also get some books on backpacking and hiking. I suggest the DK books by Karen Bergen. Watch shows like Man vs. Wild and Survivorman with your husband. You can get all of that for less than $100 on Amazon. It will give you a complete education on how important preparation is.

Make a spending budget for your hiking gear and food. Then suggest that the two of you take weekly backpacking trips. At the very least hiking trips. Set personal goals for yourself on the hiking trips. Do things like identify edible wild plants or wildlife. Once you take on hiking as a hobby you will have two full backpacks with food and gear. You will be ready for the worst case scenario.

Just remember not to spend too much or go into debt buying gear!

[WildRose]

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While worried about the future, we still have to show up at our jobs and play these roles. How do you do that when you hear the news and read between the lines, "it's coming." Do you ever get paralyzed by all the information and all the financial upset and just feel like all the options are already being cut off?

[RedStateGreen]

Hope_full, you sound like you're in much the same situation as I am. My husband is not on board, thinks peak oil is bogus, and regards the current situation as a "normal downturn". I have to keep reminding myself that right now today, things are okay, and to reassess what could come as to the likelihood of it and what I can do to help prepare for it on a regular basis.

We can't do everything, but we can do something. What's worrying you the most? Figure out a baby step to prepare for it.

A news break might help. I had to do that just recently. Take a week off of reading or listening to anything negative or doomerish, and work on some projects that make you feel better about things. You'll make progress on both fronts.