Not So Crazy Now: How to Do Financial Prepping

In the past, preppers were seen in the same light as conspiracy theorists. People considered them to be one step away from being full-blown crazy. With the pandemic now affecting everyone, preppers are now more like prophets.

Prepping actually makes a great deal of sense. If there’s one thing that people are realizing now, it’s that they cannot be complacent. Things can go wrong all of a sudden. 

Now, more people are interested in prepping. Even when all of this is over, people will be more open to prepping.

Financial Prepping 

Prepping is not just about buying and prepositioning foods and supplies. It’s also about getting your finances in order and making sure that your money does not get wiped out when a crisis comes in. Here are a few of the most basic steps for financial prepping that you can take:

Money for Emergencies

Before you worry about the other complicated financial matters you need to make sure first that you will be financially ready in case of an emergency. You should be prepared not just for pandemics or natural calamities but for other emergencies when you cannot earn money.

What happens when you lose your job for example? What will you do if the company you work for closes down? What’s going to happen if your small business is forced to shut down, like what so many enterprises are undergoing today?

You need to have a fund that can last during the emergency period. There is no consensus on how much the fund should be. Some say it should cover for your expenses for several months to a year.

One important details that most experts fail to give guidance is how you can give access to the fund. Your emergency fund is not going to help you if it gets tied down in a system that can fail during the emergency. Should you keep it as cash? Should you keep it as assets that can easily be sold?

Precious Metals

So, how can you ensure that your money will be affected by emergencies and you will still gain access to it? Most people will argue that precious metals like silver and gold would be the best way to keep assets during emergencies.

They do have a point. While the value of precious metals was also affected recently, they do tend to retain most of their value even during the most difficult of times. If you would like to prepare for the worst-case scenario, then having some actual physical precious metals on hand can make sense.

That is a big “if”. That would only make sense in a total collapse of the market. Also, keeping a stash of physical gold in one form or another can be controversial.

Buy Less and Adjust Your Lifestyle

One of the best ways that you can prepare yourself for a financial crisis or an emergency is to adjust your lifestyle and to buy less stuff. Once you are used to less consumption then you will be better prepared for a financial crisis.

These are just some of the steps that you can take to prepare yourself for an emergency or a financial crisis.