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Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#111

Post by FpUser »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #87

I've always found that "living at my means" has paid dividends. To many folks, 'round these parts, they'd consider it "living below my means," but that's mostly because they "live beyond their means." I avoid personal debt like the plague. If that means living in a small house, and driving an old car, then so be it. I've also found that learning to deliver software, as opposed to just "writing" software, has made me…

Being on my own for the last 20 years with ups and downs I can sign under everything you say. Personal debt being #1.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#112

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Shadonototra wrote: post #64
vbezhenar wrote: post #58

Buy house with few dozens of acres of land. Buy tools to cultivate the land. Buy few sacks of potatoes, learn how to grow them. Buy few sacks of salt, ensure it's stored safely. Learn how to weld with gas, buy enough gas to be stocked. Buy medicines. Buy guns. Buy bullets and vodkas. There are many thing to do to survive in harsh times. But first thing you need to ensure: your own home where you can live; defenses ag…

When nobody has money, the first thing governments will go after is land/houses, you can't move/hide them ;) It is a mistake, gold is the only safe bet

But I can't eat gold. I'd rather have a homestead away from population centers than an equivalent in gold, because how likely - government takeover of your home - is that scenario? Where / when has that happened in the communities that HN people are active?

I mean it's happened to Russian oligarchs, but those were investments that they didn't even live in. It's happened to Palestinians, who live under an apartheid regime. But other than that, I can't recall anything like that happening. WW2 Europe maybe, for specific demographics.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#113

Post by ddorian43 »

dmje wrote: post #74

Diversify in as many areas as you can. In income terms, diversify away from a single source by learning new skills, training up in areas you're a bit rusty in, learning totally new ones. In savings or investments: diversify where you put them, spread them around so you're not dependent on any one scenario. In eating: eat more interesting and cheaper things. Become vegetarian, if you aren't already. In exercise: drop…

> Become vegetarian, if you aren't already.

Try keto diet, or maybe even carnivore. Save yourself first, and then look up into saving the planet.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#114

Post by astrange »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #87

I've always found that "living at my means" has paid dividends. To many folks, 'round these parts, they'd consider it "living below my means," but that's mostly because they "live beyond their means." I avoid personal debt like the plague. If that means living in a small house, and driving an old car, then so be it. I've also found that learning to deliver software, as opposed to just "writing" software, has made me…

> I avoid personal debt like the plague. If that means living in a small house, and driving an old car, then so be it.

Going into debt that you can pay off and will make you a profit is good - because making a profit is literally the thing that gets you through bad times. (That's why having savings be 100% cash is riskier than investing - you are 100% guaranteed to not have it go up.) And recent years' zero-to-negative interest rates were the time to borrow.

But going into debt for a depreciating asset like a car is a bad idea, yes. A house is complicated, because land value likely means it's profitable, except that you can't sell it because you're living in it.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#116

Post by astrange »

ddorian43 wrote: post #113
dmje wrote: post #74

Diversify in as many areas as you can. In income terms, diversify away from a single source by learning new skills, training up in areas you're a bit rusty in, learning totally new ones. In savings or investments: diversify where you put them, spread them around so you're not dependent on any one scenario. In eating: eat more interesting and cheaper things. Become vegetarian, if you aren't already. In exercise: drop…

> Become vegetarian, if you aren't already. Try keto diet, or maybe even carnivore. Save yourself first, and then look up into saving the planet.

The question wasn't about saving the planet, it was about spending less on food.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#117

Post by CaptArmchair »

oDot wrote: post #91
dmje wrote: post #74

Diversify in as many areas as you can. In income terms, diversify away from a single source by learning new skills, training up in areas you're a bit rusty in, learning totally new ones. In savings or investments: diversify where you put them, spread them around so you're not dependent on any one scenario. In eating: eat more interesting and cheaper things. Become vegetarian, if you aren't already. In exercise: drop…

Diversification is indeed the best strategy, but please do not become vegetarian on a whim. Consider the health implications it involves.

Another avenue is just being more conscious about the meat you eat. There's a difference between having meat-based products as a staple food (e.g. preprocessed meat, fast food / restaurant / take-out,...) and reducing which types of meat you eat, the frequency and where you buy meat products.

For instance, a local butcher shop might offer local products, and will be more expensive. But you can offset the expense by only having meat dishes on, say, Sunday. That's just one strategy. Another is to use the left-overs in a next meal.

Historically, meat was expensive, and not eaten daily. For intsance, in the UK, "sunday roast" was originally exactly that: a meal that was only eaten on Sunday after service. Sheppard's pie was then a dish made from the left-overs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_roast

There's more to it then that, but it's a good idea to be aware that historic eating habits do yield many good ideas on how to move away from modern day meat consumption patterns predicated by the abundance cheap meat.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#118

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Havoc wrote: post #37

Been wondering this too without much of a conclusive answer. Gold is already jumped so that is too late. Crypto seems correlated with stocks. I’m counting on a large gap between salary and expenses to save my ass

Gold and crypto are means to make money, not to prepare for hard economic times because you put your money at risk.

Preparing for hard economic times will involve having enough of a buffer to survive the loss of a job, and to have a stable job.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#119

Post by darkwater »

fortylove wrote: post #98
CJefferson wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has there ever been a time in the last 100 years when this kind of model has been useful. I understand the attraction, but I can't imagine how we could end up in the kind of situation where what you describe would be useful, without say total nucular war, at which point what you describe isn't enough.

I mean, it might be useful in Ukraine right now.

I don't think it's useful if in the threat model there is also the risk to get a misplaced missile on your house. Yeah you can defend against some poor guy/group of guys looking for food/things, but that's about it.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#120

Post by CaptArmchair »

unionpivo wrote: post #100
danuker wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you consider the cost of healthcare in developed countries, it may be that meat is much more expensive.

With exception of USA, individuals cost of healthcare is not that high. I pay several times more for my phone+internet per year than for my healthcare (and I have 2 separate chronic conditions)

> individuals cost of healthcare is not that high

What you don't pay for out of pocket, you do pay either in quality of care or through your taxes, one way or the other.

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