The bad old days

[wakosama]

Depression-Era Secrets You’ll Need Soon - Self Sufficient Projects

The most dangerous thing about the upcoming crisis is that it’s the FIRST ONE for our whole generation. Read more about depression-era secrets you'll need soon:

selfsufficientprojects.com

 

[OutlawStar]

Thanks for the website, it'll give me something to poke around while shirking at work. But I have some major problems with it. I have no idea if you're the author or just reposting; its not meant to pick on you if you did write it.

The most dangerous thing about the upcoming crisis is that it’s the FIRST ONE for our whole generation.

The first one? Did the author suddenly forget about covid lockdowns, 2008 financial collapse, late 80s/early90s financial stagflation, mega disasters like Katrina, Floyd riots, and other crises? I agree most average people have lost "crucial life skills" in that if something bad does happen affecting the entire zip code, state, or country most people just look to government and wait for them to fix something and keep them from dying. The 2021 ice storm in Texas was fairly indicative of that; people freezing to death in their own homes because they didn't even have winter clothing. However in the average persons defense, 99.9% of life you don't need these "crucial life skills".

Very few people, if any, lived with debt, and that taught them self-reliance and gave them focus on their own strength in providing for their families.

Its my understanding before WW2 mortgages as a financial product existed however were very rare and usually a mark of shame because you were in dire straights and needed money for housing but were very low income. Student loans were obviously not a thing, and similarly car loans were not commonplace for people to be underwater and getting a 72 month term to buy that Model T. Being in debt for your entire life appears to be a recent thing. I can't call it a trend because thats been what the average person does as long as I've been alive; need something like a house, car, refrigerator, education, anything? Just apply for financing and make payments! Someone older than me remembering back before the 80s would have to comment on debt being easy and so commonplace.

1. Start your own garden
Can't argue against that, I think gardening is a fun hobby and I personally take great pride in growing something in my own back yard (even though it is NOT economical) and eating it knowing it grew 50 feet from my kitchen. However even living alone I would have to tear up all of my back yard, spend thousands of dollars to get a full back yard of plants and spend probably 20 hours a week tending to it, then on top of that I get to spend even more money and time canning and preserving if I wanted to eat most of my food from my own yard. I think people should at least attempt something small but for many its just not possible because of soils, the learning curve, cost of water, cost of land, cost of a house, cost of everything involve with gardening now.

2. Repair and reuse
Okay, can't argue with some of their examples like sewing a new button on an old pair of pants, or cutting up an old shirt to use as a rag. However much of what we use isn't repairable, and cannot be reused. Think of all the 'disposable' stuff we all buy today. am I repairing an IKEA desk when it breaks? No chance. Am I re-using a broken cell phone? Nope. Can I repair a cast-zinc tool I needed for a hobby or one time repair at the house? No. The alternative is to spend significantly more money for better things which goes against living frugally especially for those somewhat struggling to make their household run.

3.cut back on waste
Yep, fully agree. Waste is literally throwing money away. However as I've been composting, it seems like half the time I find scraps disbursed in the yard and trees from squirrels and other pests.

Self sufficiency:
I'm striving to become as self sufficient as possible, but again some people just are not in a position to do that for many legitimate reasons. Self reliance is very important and unfortunately some people try their hardest not to be. I'm not sure if thats learned dependency or if thats how some people are simply setup in life. Do whatever you can but realize sometimes you just cannot be 100% self sufficient for the vast majority of your life.

Mutual help:
Thats a big one. I know I've seen many articles where most people don't even know their direct neighbors. I check in on my elderly neighbors but other than that I don't even know the names of the neighbors directly across from me.

1930s great depression was nearly 100 years ago so many of their lessons and ways of life are often irrelevant and so vastly different from how life (and the US as a whole) operates today. That doesn't negate their wisdom, however it doesn't exactly translate to today and preparing for disasters.

I do like these discussions and mental exercises.

 

[wakosama]

I just repost some of the stuff I get emailed or pick off the news sites. alot of it lacks the depth more expert folks would add, but most of them are designed to get people thinking about different approaches.

 

[wakosama]

I just repost some of the stuff I get emailed or pick off the news sites. alot of it lacks the depth more expert folks would add, but most of them are designed to get people thinking about different approaches.