What's your plan to survive a deep recession?

[hotcouponmama]

Over a year ago, I can remember sitting in my MBA classes talking about the economy. The housing market was just starting to really come unhinged. A professor asked where he thought we were economically and I told him I thought we were well into a recession, even though the media had said we weren't yet. The prices at the grocery store told me otherwise.

Here we are and in the beginning of this month, not only has it been declared we are in a recession, but that we were in a recession over a year ago.

In my state, we now have the 3rd highest rate of unemployment in the nation at 9%, and expected to climb even higher here in the coming months. 1/10th of my state is now on food stamps, and the number isn't far behind nationwide.

So, with all the doom and gloom, and more jobs being lost, do you have a plan to survive what's surely going to be a deep recession?

I ask because I am curious if this economic event will be a catalyst for real change in our society - a sort of "back to basics" mentality or not.

My thought process is along the lines of things like pooling resources with extended family, rethinking what we eat and how we shop, an increase in people going back to school and changing careers, etc.

I really want to have a conversation with my inlaws because at some point, I could see a need for any one of my husband's parents or my siblings to be really in trouble, and what that would look like if we wound up taking family in.

So, I'm curious what kind of long range plans you have to stay afloat, what kinds of conversations you're having with your extended family, and if you think you've got a shot at getting through this ok.

[shetlandponyluvr]

I'm taking a wait and see approach. The reason why is because while things right now are pretty darned crappy I remember the end of the Carter administration when things were down right horrible with double digit unemployment, double digit interest rates, etc. Thankfully we as a country were able to pull out of that, after a long while, so I'm optimistic that we'll be able to recover from this as well.

[couponsmakecents]

Here is my plan thus far:

Paying down debt as quickly as possible.
Increasing my emergency fund to 3 months as soon as possible.
These are the big things that I need to do.

The following are the have to do right now:

Stockpile non-perishables for a one year supply
Stockpile 3 freezers with perishables for 6 months
Stockpile pet food for 1 year
Stockpile firewood for next fall/winter
Pay $10 extra each month on all utility bills to help pad the accounts.
Stash loose change to have in an emergency
Buy a generator and keep a rotating supply of gasoline. I.E. Fill the cans, use them to fill the cars every other week, and refill the cans.

Plans for extened family, church family, neighbors, homeless, etc.

Teach coupon classes to those who want to learn
Plans to move my mother and sister where I live in MS if my mom loses her job. Thank God she pays off her house this July.
Have stockpile bags to give to those who are traveling on the roads and who are homeless.
Set up a foodbank for my church members.
Help neighbors who are in need.

Above all stay positive and work toward cutting corners anyway possible. Work on bartering, having yardsales, etc. to save money.

[Cynthiabutterfly]

My plan:

Keep saving like I have been in the last 6 months.
Keep looking for deals and stockpiling like I have for the last 4 years.
Don't worry about what hasn't happened yet.
I do know that I will get my vacation paid out if I lose my job, which is a small comfort since I haven't been able to take a vacation in 2 years.

[oregoncactus]

When I was growing up, my grandfather always said he wanted enough land for all the family to live if times got bad. He thought we could survive if we could all band together in one location and have land to grow our own food and have a strong well that gave us plenty of water for people, crops, and cattle.

I have been thinking about this lately. I am going to keep an eye on land prices in areas that are remote enough for safety and that are suitable for crops and cattle.

I am also encouraging my children to consider careers that will allow them to work anywhere in the world.

I have also been reading blogs that focus on long term food storage and emergency planning.

Sadly, I think it will take a major dislocation to shift people into a new paradigm of back-to-basics living.

christi

[wannabefree]

This is a great thread. I think too many people are NOT THINKING LONG TERM! They will be caught off guard and unaware I'm afraid.

Lisa's ideas were great. (couponsmakescents) I think we could all take some lessons from her. Many of us are doing these things already but there are new folks joining us who are just beginning their plan.

Dh had lost his job and now has a good one thankfully BUT we are planning right now for a contingency. He is working on making an office in an extra bedroom and getting plans in place for moonlighting (he's an engineer) that can be profitable in a worse economy. We don't have it all worked out yet but we are taking steps NOW for later.

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas.

[billig]

Pay $10 extra each month on all utility bills to help pad the accounts.

Tell me how this works.
Is the utility companies holding extra money like the electric company now has a surplus in your account or something?
Why not have it in a savings account earning some measly interest in the meantime?

Thanks

[SeekingHeaven2]

I agree that we need to start watching what we spend and get the most out of our money while saving for the future (whatever that holds). I can totally see a lot of people being devastated by the recession. I don't think it will affect the thrifty, frugal people as much as those who have been brainwashed by society that "you have to have it now, and you deserve to have it your way". Even our government is basically teaching that it's alright to go further into debt, to get out of your problems today---what? Shouldn't we be learning to live according to our means (income). I think (like someone mentioned above) this is going to take a lot of us "back to the basics". What's really important anyway --- food, clothing & shelter are necessities. Personally, I would love to get back to the basics---less stress, more family time,and not being enslaved by debt. Materialism doesn't lead to happiness--I've seen so many families that just had to have the lastest vido game systems, the biggest TV's, the high dollar designer clothing, and whatever other "status" items that are hot on the market-----you visit them, they aren't happy, they are swarming in debt (have more going out than coming in), their cupboards and fridge are bare and the parents hardly have anytime with their families because they have to work so many hours (and still aren't making enough). Too me this is really sad. I've been blessed with being able to be a stay at home mom, my husband only makes around $40K a year (before taxes). However, we have always tried to live within our means---the only debt we have is our mortgage, I've alway shopped for sale prices on groceries, and shopped thrift stores/garage sales for other things. New things, are only purchased if we have he money to pay for them outright. Also we have taught our children to take care of their possessions (we know parents that when their children tear up their possessions, will run out and buy them another one). My husband got laid off on Dec. 5, 2008; he finally went back to work last Thursday. You know what our pantry, freezers, etc.... are still pretty full, our bills are all paid (except Jan. house--end of this week it will be). Of course, we preplanned knowing he'd be laid off at some point in the winter--came earlier this time. In October we talked with our children and told them that we weren't going to be able to afford to do Christmas this year--but we'd get them some presents later on when we could afford to. We had a family Christmas Eve thing so we got each of them 1 present ($75 spent for all 5 children)--our children never complained, didn't mope, --I have been blessed with 5 wonderful, understanding children. We saw other families spend over $600 on Christmas for 2 children--then last week DH got laid off and now they don't know what they are going to do because they have sooooo many bills (the wife says they can't shut the cell phones, etc... off because that would hurt their credit). OK, maybe I'm not in the "right" mind, my response, "So what if it hurts your credit, isn't credit what got you in this mess?" Ok sorry didn't mean to write a book ---NEXT!

[Maismom]

I'm one of lucky ones that I don't have to worry much about my job in this recession. My job is secured (my company is doing very good and actually hiring more people) and it provides decent pay and excellent benefits. I can't complain. However, I've been always loyal to my employer and did more than I was asked to do. As long as you have a good set of skills and positive attitude, there's a way to survive tough times.

In order to survive this recession, my plan is to "have goals and plans to accomplish goals."

Short-term goals:
1. Do not carry CC balance
This means I won't buy things that I don't have the cash for. I use CC to earn points, but I pay the balance off each month.
2. Continue stockpiling household items and food items
I have pretty good HBA stockpile going on (Thanks to HCW!) and want to work on food items harder this year.
3. Finish my accounting degree
This was my long-term goal before, but after 8 years of working full-time and going to school part/full-time, I am in my last semester and will be graduating in May with B.S in Accountancy. I chose Accounting degree because there's no company in the world without accounting dept.

Mid-term goals:
1. Send DD off to college
Our DD is junior in high school and wants to go to one of UCs. Since my DH is a disabled veteran, her tuition will be covered by VA (as long as she goes to public univ.) and we have the 529 plan set up for her (we've been saving $150 every month for last 10 years) that will cover other expenses, such as room & board. It will be a big financial relief for us once she finishes college.
2. Save $10,000 for next vehicle
I have Toyota Rav4 that has almost 100K miles but still going strong. I want to save about $10K in 3 to 5 years to get ready for purchase of next vehicle.
3. Get a CPA license/MBA
I don't know which will come first because it depends on my job situation, but this is my next academic goal.

Long-term goals:
1. Save 1M for retirement
I've been saving 15% to 20% of my salary to 401K plan. We don't want to worry about money when we're really old and cannot work. Between DH and myself, we will have several retirement accounts once we reach our retirement age. DH has retirement from military (22 years in the Navy), pension from his current employer (which is very very small), and his 401K. I will have a pension from my current employer (this one is pretty small, too) and my 401K. DH is not contributing to his 401K as aggressively as I am because he already has military retirement. My long-term goal is to grow this nest egg as large as possible before I retire. To be honest, I love my job and don't want to quit working, but oh well, who knows what will happen in the future.
2. Stay healthy
My mother told me "You can do anything as long as you're healthy" and it is very true. So, my long-term goal is to stay healthy to avoid expensive medical expense and maintain ability to earn money.

[loladooder99]

Even before the economy was declared a recession i knew that things weren't going well. For one the houses in my area are horribly high and i'll never be able to afford one. Especially since rentals are very gross and over priced so i have to pay alot to stay in something liveable. I have been and will continue to make cheap meals,stockpile and save as much as i possibly can. DH is planning on going to school when he has time or so he says and I also don't plan on buying a home till i have 8 months in emergency savings to cover my expenses and a 5-20% down payment.