Last year saw a savage convergence of elevated food costs, sky-scraping crude prices and the paralysis of the global credit apparatus. As a result, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden, the U.S, Canada and the U.K are officially in recession with more countries to follow this coming year.
With heads of state like Gordon Brown suggesting the world is slipping into the precipice of a 1930’s type depression, coupled with the looming and very real peak oil crisis, it’s time to start seriously considering rational preparations.
There is something desperately amiss in the world and no amount of collective or individual denial will alter the facts. Peak oil and financial hardship are at our doorsteps and they’re not going away. To ignore them blissfully because our own little bubble of the easy life is threatened is irresponsible and weak.
So what can be done? For a start, debt is akin to access body fat. It hinders healthy movement and in the current climate, lean is best. A fat burning strategy needs to be implemented. That means concerted effort on bringing down those credit card balances and at the same time practicing consumption diminution. Zero balance is the objective here, followed by an appointment with the scissors.
Think of it as an exercise in positive EROEI applied to your finances. A net surplus at the end of each pay period will in this case be accumulated savings or spare capacity. A portion of such savings may then be utilised to stock up on long-life food, milk powder, water purification tablets and candles for your lantern. The rest is saved for the purpose of liquidity.
The war-cry of the day is frugality. The goal is surplus. The practical application is saving for a rainy day. For those of you who continue to doubt the gathering storm clouds, step outside the illusory sanctuary of the main stream media and see for yourself that it has just started to rain.
Michael
Recent Comments