I should note that the employment count used in my calculations are for “non-farm employees.” Years ago, if people raised their own food on a farm (even if they traded it with others), no one counted their employment. If more people start raising their own food outside of the traditional system, this would seem to be more or less a reverse of what happened in the past.
2. Stay as flexible as possible, since we don’t know how things will turn out.
If you are able to move quickly as conditions change, this flexibility has its advantages. Losing your job is probably the biggest risk right now. Think about how you might deal with the situation.
Also, we don’t know how things will change in the future. One area may be affected by a lack of water; another by an electrical system that no longer works, and can’t be repaired in any reasonable time frame, perhaps after a storm. If you are not too tied to where you are, you can make better decisions regarding changes.
Of course, flexibility comes with its downsides. In many ways, it may be better to stick with family and friends that you know, in order to have a suitable support system.
3. Take advantage of what you can do now; things may not be as good in the future.
While we don’t know about the future, we do know about today. If there are things you have wanted to do, now would be a good time to do them, while you still can. I visited China. There are shorter trips, and easier-to-do things possible as well. You can study a language, or visit family.
4. Find ways to be happy, even without material wealth.
Learn to enjoy nature, and the company of family and friends. Join a church or a club of others with similar interests. Start doing things to help other people. Learn to sing, or to play a musical instrument. It is not good to focus on all the bad things that might happen.
All of our worrying is not going to change anything, so we might as well make the best of a less than ideal situation, and do things we can do, even with very limited resources.
5. Plant a garden, if that is convenient for you.
Ideally, you will want to have a garden that can be maintained with little outside inputs other than those provided by nature. If water from your roof can be used for watering, that can be helpful. But don’t assume that you can drive to the store for all the amendments and sprays you have been used to in the past, even if they are “organic.” If you can learn seed saving, that is good too.
6. Consider buying a home with some land, where you can have a garden.
Obviously, such a choice is not for everyone, since for one thing, many people cannot afford this option, and for another, buying such land may make commuting to work difficult and expensive. Also, having a large garden is likely to require a considerable time commitment and will require learning many new skills. However, for some this may give peace of mind, and way to feel that they are making the situation better.
7. Don’t count on paper investments to do well.
We keep being told by investment planners that if you do this or that, and you will have plenty of funds for retirements. If there are fewer goods and services produced in total as energy resources decline (perhaps not starting immediately, but at some point in the future), then it is pretty likely that most of us will find our share of what is available is smaller than what investment planners have led us to believe. For example, pension plans are not likely to be able to pay out as planned, Social Security and Medicare will need to be cut back (or replaced with something that pays less), bonds are likely to have high default rates, stocks are likely to decline in value (at least relative to the things you need to buy), and bank deposits may prove unreliable.
You will probably need to expect to work longer, and to rely more on family and friends. Keep up good relations with your children. As times get worse, consider encouraging one or more to move back in with you, or offer to pay to move in one of them.
Concluding Thoughts
It is easy to get depressed when thinking about the future, but this is not really helpful. It is probably best if we can find ways to be happy now, even if it means ignoring the subject of what may happen in the future altogether. So don’t be too hard on family and friends who “deny” that the situation is likely to go downhill. Denial is a coping mechanism for many people.
If we want to see what may happen in the future, there are a number of countries around the world that seem to be leading the way. Right now, following what happens in Greece and Spain may give an idea what other debtor countries may be facing. With respect to oil countries that are producing less and less oil, Mexico, Egypt, and Yemen are models. Seeing what happens in these countries may give us an idea of where world economies are headed.
By. Gail Tverberg
Gail Tverberg is a writer and speaker about energy issues. She is especially known for her work with financial issues associated with peak oil. Prior to getting involved with energy issues, Ms. Tverberg worked as an actuarial consultant. This work involved performing insurance-related analyses and forecasts. Her personal blog is ourfiniteworld.com. She is also an editor of The Oil Drum.
