(The Economic Collapse Blog)—The more dependent you are, the less free you are. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about how our system is designed to beat us down and make us weak and dependent, because when we are weak and dependent we are easier to control. Most of us don’t even realize why the majority of the population is so sick, exhausted, depressed and confused much of the time. Our bodies, our minds and our spirits are constantly being poisoned by the system, and those that are in control of the system know exactly what they are doing. If you do not choose to break free, you could end up under the oppression of their system for your entire life.
Of course for many people inertia seems like the easiest option. It is just so easy to keep doing what you have always done, and that is especially true once you get older.
But what are you going to do once the system that you have become so dependent upon starts to crumble all around you?
Over the past several years, our world has been getting increasingly unstable. Major wars have erupted, the cost of living has become very painful, pestilences have been raging all over the globe, and historic natural disasters have been hitting us one after another.
The chaos that we are experiencing now is just going to intensify in the months ahead. So what will most people do when the system that they depend on for their survival is shaken to the core?
The following are 12 simple things that you can start doing right now to become more independent of the system…
#1 Become Less Dependent On Your Job
For most people, having a job essentially means living in a state of “just over broke”. The truth is that it is incredibly difficult to become financially independent working for someone else. Of course most Americans would not be able to survive without a job, but you don’t want to settle for just surviving. I know that it can be exceedingly difficult to find the energy for a “side hustle” while you are working a full-time job, but a “side hustle” can eventually evolve into a full-time income. If you want to live free, it is so important to explore alternate sources of income and different ways to build wealth. And the truth is that any jobs we have now could easily disappear when economic conditions take a turn for the worse. But if you have put in the effort to build up a “side hustle”, at least you will still have that.
#2 Get Out Of Debt
The borrower is the servant of the lender. If you want to live free, get out of debt. No matter how far you try to run, your debts are going to continue to hang over you wherever you go. Getting out of debt can be completely and totally liberating. It will give you much more freedom and will make you far less dependent on your job. In fact, many Americans are already moving in this direction. Why not join them? When things start really falling apart and it is difficult for anyone to find a good job, the last thing you will want is a huge amount of debt hanging over your head.
#3 Reduce Expenses
For decades, most Americans have been living far beyond their means. In the future, times are going to be really tough and we are all going to have to learn to tighten our belts. Do you and your family waste money right now? If you can eliminate that, you can live on a smaller income and you will have more money to invest in the things that are really going to matter.
#4 Purchase Land
Real estate is a lot more expensive than it once was, but the truth is that you don’t want to wait forever to get your hands on a piece of land. When the system completely crumbles, you don’t want to be stuck in a heavily populated area with no place to go. You always want to have somewhere that you can “bug out” to if things hit the fan. In addition, owning real estate is a great way to build wealth. In some of the most desirable areas of the country that are not heavily populated, real estate prices have doubled or even tripled in recent years.
#5 Learn To Grow Your Own Food
Another reason why you want to purchase some land is so that you will have somewhere to grow your own food if that becomes necessary. 100 years ago, almost everyone knew how to grow their own food, and most people also knew how to raise farm animals. Today, relatively few Americans have those skills. A great way to begin is by starting your own “survival garden”. If you are not already doing this, why not start this upcoming spring?
#6 Find A Reliable Source Of Clean Water
Do you know what they are putting into your water? In many parts of the country, tap water is absolutely teeming with all sorts of nasty stuff. Drinking pure water is an easy change that anyone can make, and it can have a dramatic impact on your health. In addition, water is going to become a very, very valuable resource in the years to come. It will be absolutely key for you and your family to have a dependable source of clean drinking water. If you do not have water, you will not be able to survive for long.
#7 Explore Alternative Energy Sources
Have you noticed that your power bill just keeps going up? In some states, people are being hit with power bills that exceed $1,000 a month. Of course you may not be able to depend upon the power company at all once things get bad enough. The truth is that there are very good reasons why so many Americans have been trying to go “off the grid”. Without power, life gets really difficult very quickly. But if you are generating your own power then you won’t have to worry about that.
#8 Store Supplies
Every time there is a major disaster or emergency, store shelves get empty really fast. If an extended national emergency results in supply chains being disrupted on a long-term basis, you may have to get by on what you already have in your home. So do you and your family have enough food and supplies to survive for an extended period of time? If you don’t know where to start, there are guides that can help get you started. In America today, there are millions of “preppers”, and the “prepping” industry has been thriving. But of course most of the population just assumes that they will always be able to depend upon the system for what they need, and someday those people will be in for a very rude awakening.
#9 Protect Your Assets With Gold And Silver
Our leaders have been flooding the system with money for many years, and so it was only a matter of time before we experienced rampant inflation. The cost of living has been absolutely soaring, and that isn’t going to change any time soon. One way to protect yourself is by getting some gold and silver. In the future, your paper money may not buy much for you at all, but if you have some gold and silver coins you can always exchange them for the things that you are going to need.
#10 Learn Self-Defense
Do you remember the riots that happened all over the country just a few years ago? Well, the truth is that what we will see in the future will be far worse than that. When people get desperate enough, they will literally do just about anything to survive. Just think about it. What do you think is going to happen once people living in densely-populated areas have been without food for two or three days? Now is the time to think about how you will defend your home and your property from crazed looters. It is not a fun thing to think about, but unfortunately we are heading into times that will not always be pretty.
#11 Keep Yourself In Good Physical Condition
As Americans, we live such “cushy” lives. But when times get hard, things will not be so cushy. In fact, the years ahead are likely to demand quite a bit of physical activity. So keep yourself in good physical condition now. In the future, you will be quite glad that you did.
#12 Make Deep Connections
It is really, really hard to “survive” all by yourself. Those that will thrive the most in the future will be those that have a community that they can depend upon. The truth is that we are always at our best when we work together. It is time to build deep connections with family and friends, it is time to make new connections, and it is time to focus on what is truly important. In the times ahead the world will be a very cold place, and a little love and teamwork will go a long way.
Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
What Would You Do If Pharmacies Couldn’t Provide You With Crucial Medications or Antibiotics?
The medication supply chain from China and India is more fragile than ever since Covid. The US is not equipped to handle our pharmaceutical needs. We’ve already seen shortages with antibiotics and other medications in recent months and pharmaceutical challenges are becoming more frequent today.
Our partners at Jase Medical offer a simple solution for Americans to be prepared in case things go south. Their “Jase Case” gives Americans emergency antibiotics they can store away while their “Jase Daily” offers a wide array of prescription drugs to treat the ailments most common to Americans.
They do this through a process that embraces medical freedom. Their secure online form allows board-certified physicians to prescribe the needed drugs. They are then delivered directly to the customer from their pharmacy network. The physicians are available to answer treatment related questions.
This was well done and on point. Sound advice. One thing though, you need to have a plan of action. You plan for nothing and you will have nothing as a result.
How about not reading your clickbait?
The only survival skill you need is to know and love God.
The world tells men to prepare for hard times by securing gold, land, supplies, and alliances. These things have their place, but Scripture teaches us that true security is found in God alone. No army, no fortune, no strength of man has ever been enough to stand against what He ordains. Those who trust in numbers or wealth will fall, while those who trust in the Lord will be sustained, even if He must send ravens to feed them.
Regarding Numbers and Strength
“There is no king saved by the multitude of an host. A mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety.” (Psalm 33:16-17)
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses. But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7)
“There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.” (1 Samuel 14:6)
“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many, and in horsemen, because they are very strong. But they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!” (Isaiah 31:1)
Regarding Wealth and Mammon
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
“No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other. Or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)
“Labour not to be rich. Cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:4-5)
“Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” (Jeremiah 17:5-7)
Regarding Storing Supplies
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)
“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
Regarding God’s Provision for His People
“And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening. And he drank of the brook.” (1 Kings 17:6)
“The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail.” (1 Kings 17:14)
“An angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head.” (1 Kings 19:5-6)
“Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.” (Exodus 16:4)
“They did all eat, and were filled. And they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.” (Matthew 14:20)
This is by no means a complete list. Just the tip of the ice berg. But it should be enough to drive the point home.
“Watch therefore. For ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 25:13)
“Buy the truth, and sell it not.” (Proverbs 23:23)
A man may have land, gold, food, and weapons, but without God, he is no more secure than the beggar in the street. The world tells us to prepare in fear. The Word tells us to prepare in faith.