What if this is it?

[Triple_sod]

You’re definitely onto something here lil, even before I got into prepping I had a strong feeling things weren’t going to ‘get back to normal’ because what we considered ‘normal’ was anything but..living beyond our means is probably a better term for it. So with a ‘gradual decline’ the higher you’ve floated in this bubble the further you have to come down when it pops.

In a roundabout way we’ve talked about a good many things people might want to do, from learning new skills and getting alternative incomes, to growing your own food and eating well cheaply. So as someone said, now it’s time to walk the walk.

Also I think the good news for a lot of preppers (and from what I’ve heard many locals) will be a substantial drop in rural property prices. Middle class job security has taken a hammering, that affects not only their ability and willingness to lend but also how long they can plan to stay in one area. That combined with the ever raising cost of that 50 mile a day commute in the shiny new 4X4........

So for me that’s a massive incentive to live frugal today.

[preppingsu]

I had a discussion with my OH last night, reviewing what we pay and what we could cut back on.
The only thing left is a sky package that includes our phone and broadband. We have the basic TV package, so the plan is to see if we can rid ourselves of that but keep the phone and Internet.

But we have nothing else left to cut back on. We are living frugally, we don't go out, we only use the car for work......but I know things will get tougher. I just need to make sure I have every angle covered.

I've also noticed more grey hair.....

[triffid]

An interesting thread. The consenus seems to be "The Times They Are A-changin' " I agree.


I think our 'advanced' western society has been doing a collective Nero -who by rumor 'fiddled while Rome burned'. The 'fiddling' in our case being of a financial rather than musical nature!
'We' as a society have been living beyond our means: individuals with ridiculous levels of personal debt, companies who borrow to grow (speculate), and governments borrowing trillions - and hiding even that with PFI & other financial tricks just to kick the can a bit further down the road.

I am positive about the change in our lifestyles we will have forced on us. And I hope most 'preppers' will think likewise. Opportunities for us all to live a simpler most sustainable lives. Am I a dreamer?

[bulldogeagle]

I am positive about the change in our lifestyles we will have forced on us. And I hope most 'preppers' will think likewise. Opportunities for us all to live a simpler most sustainable lives. Am I a dreamer?

nope, you are one of "us"- a realist!!

[hobo]

See thread posting.php?mode=post&f=14 for us to come up with practical things to walk the walk.

Hobo

[notrab99]

Here in the UK most of us have had it too easy and it will come as a real shock to turn a tap on and nothing comes out. I visited my brother in Australia a couple of years ago and mainly due to house prices he bought a place 20 mins out of town which means he lives in 'the bush'. Pretty much a dry forest area with occasional very heavy showers. They live day to day with the possibility of flood and fire.
They have only recently had mains water supplied which they use sparingly as they have all the free water they need from the sky and the equipment to collect it and store it. They have a wood burning heater for the cooler months powered by off cuts from a hardwood timber yard - $10 to fill yer trailer with as much as you can! The floods cause the telephone to go off for days at a time and there is no TV signal. They grow veggies, compost waste to feed the veg, keep plenty of food in the cupboards and are reassured that the kangaroos are in plentiful supply if there is no other source of food.
I think if we make changes to our own way of life now and move towards becoming self-sufficient and less reliant on the system, not only will we save alot of money but it will reduce the 'shock' of being forced into it against our will.

[diamond lil]

That's very true notrab - we here don't really know what we're talking about when it comes to self sufficiency. We think if we can get through a 12 hour powercut then we're magic
I was reading one of the Bony books - the author went to Oz in 1912 and worked as a boundary rider for many years. He talks about life in a wooden shed with a tin roof, living on mutton and damper cooked in a wee fire. Getting stores brought out once a fortnight - a sack of flour, tea, sugar, jam, and meat that was hung in a muslin bag for the flies. I bet nobody could do that now.
I think the ability to adapt and make the most of any situation is the secret to survival.

[PeteM]

No, is just a feeling that's all. Feels like the scene at the end of "The Italian Job"...

So preppers are the Self Preservation Society then?

Yes, I have a sense of foreboding also. Discovering Austrian economics a few years ago has not been reassuring! It simply shines a light on the stupidity and corruption of the priestly caste that is driving our economies over a cliff, a caste that will be quite alright whatever happens.

Could be worse. I take an interest in American affairs (I write for a political blog) and that place is going downhill faster than we are.

[bulldogeagle]

So preppers are the Self Preservation Society then?

i think you've just hit the nail on the head!

[buttystella]

I know i harp on about politicians and how they fail to plan for problems that we as preppers can see need action. We seem to have many more problems than a few decades ago, environmental, financial, social etc the list goes on and on. What i am trying to say is that in the past politicians where held in much higher esteem than now. Was it because they could easily solve past problems or are modern-day politicians less able? Whatever it is. i see the government of the day unable to address problems and this inability creates a feeling of what Dlil posts about. If they can't be at least seen to understand the problems and go some way to addressing them, then it makes me think something has already began or we are on the event horizon. I talk about our government but it equally applies to all governments around the world including the USA. Looking back in history was such a crucial time for the people such as what we have now, so all consuming and interlinked? i think not, which makes it all the more problematic.