Preppers

That's pretty much what I'm doing. Make sure I'm fully stocked on non-perishable essentials (that I'll actually use); make sure my emergency fund is topped up; make sure my home is in decent shape.

There's no point trying to play the markets (as in: guessing when to switch from more aggressive to more conservative funds). Though I am hoping to scrape together a bit of spare cash to try to buy a bit when I think some stocks or mutual funds are at a low. But I doubt I'll get a chance to do that.

I'm not as worried about a huge recession as I am about the prospect of massive political/social turmoil. To me that's the true chaos factor.

Money will have to go further, so stop buying as many luxuries, save what you can, and for me, expecting the price of food to go up, expand the deep pantry.

My company is about to do a round of layoffs, and that will become more common as we enter recession, and yet more common when the recession continues. Too many people will be suddenly out of a job just when few places are hiring, including a good friend of mine who I brought into the company and is now on the chopping block. They’ll need all the savings, all the resources they can get.

While I’m safe from this round of layoffs, I’m stuck ANTI-preparing.

• College financial aid is already changing for the worse, and my kids’ colleges expect to start by taking my entire emergency fund, then keep squeezing more out of me.
• in the more immediate term, my chest freezer needs defrosting, so I’m not buying anything frozen but 8nstead trying to use up everything