How To Survive A Depression

With the economical downfall, learning how to survive a depression is turning into a new way of life.

The United States Department of Labor reports the unemployment rate in the United States went from 8.1 percent in February 2009 and to 9.7 percent one year later. The statistics are astounding and people feel the financial pressure.

Households have one, if not both parents, collecting unemployment benefits within the last twelve months. These families realize the need to change and get creative in saving money and surviving a depression.

1. Always have a plan of attack to prioritize your savings, assets and debt.
2. Gather all your information and bills. Start placing them in order of precedence. Mortgage is first, then your electric and gas, telephone (whether land line or cell phone) and groceries.
3. Now start looking at areas to cut back on. Do you really need 300 channels on your satellite subscription? Do you really need all the extra features on your telephone?
4. Deal with credit card debt. Call some of your creditors and explain your situation. Creditors may be willing to work with you and reduce monthly payments or late fees.
5. Talk to family members. More than likely everyone's in the same proverbial financial boat. Think back to the Depression of the 1930's--multiple generations under one roof. That generation learned new ways to survive a depression.
6. More families seem to be moving in together to help each other out. When learning to survive a depression this may be an option to consider.
7. Plant a garden. Fresh home-grown produce equals a major cost saving measure off your grocery bill. If you living rurally or in an area permitting it, raise small livestock (ex. chickens for eggs and meat, rabbits and pigs for meat).
8. Learn to hunt. One two-hundred pound deer feeds a family of four for up to six months and saves the budget hundreds of dollars for the cost of a shotgun and hunting license.
9. Regarding employment. Keep pounding the pavement. Jobs are beginning to open up in small increments. Watch education careers, the health field, federal government agencies and online resources.

Surviving a depression takes a group effort but it can be done.

Reference:

Unemployment February 2010