How to Survive an Economic Depression with Self-Sufficiency

Self-sufficiency is important when learning how to survive an economic depression. From your means of support to your food, you will need to be self-reliant rather than hoping for government or charitable assistance. There are several simple steps you can take now to ensure your family survives the current economic depression, whcih many believe is an economic depression already underway.

1. Grow some of your own food. Between egg laying chickens and a well-rounded Depression Garden , you can provide your family with a portion of the sustenence required to maintain life. That is, you can help feed your family for less money while providing superior nutrition. Learn how now, while supplies are realtively cheap and widely available.
2. Learn how to preserve the excess from your garden with home canning, food drying and other means. (Find canning recipes online and in food preservation books). It is also wise to buy and store survival food in case of long-term need.
3. Purchase and learn to use a shotgun for hunting as well as line and tackle for fishing, if you live in areas where these means of food-catching are possible. Recognize that in areas close to population centers, there will be a rush to hunt or fish when times are tough, and wildlife will be scarce very quickly. Thus in many areas you can not rely on this for long-term survival, but the ability is important.
4. Diversify your income. Hold onto your job if it has any amount of job security, but start lookign now for side businesses, extra jobs and other ways to earn extra money . If you do lose your primary means of support, you will still have some money coming in from these other ventures.
5. Build some residual income streams, from vending machines to online websites with pay-per-click ads, to increase your overall income and create something that will keep earning somewhat passively. Residual income is key to maximizing your net worth.
6. Conserve what you have. Fix items that break, and hold onto worn clothes for working in the garden, lending to those in need or other uses. Think twice before throwing things out. If the items could be useful, clean and store in an organized fashion.
7. Keep an eye out for business and investment opportunities. There are many who made money during the Great Depression; and they recognized good opportunities when they saw them. Coupled with cash on hand, they were able to make investments that paid handsomly when it was all said and done.
8. Keep an emergency fund of cash and silver coins at home, in a secured spot. If bank runs and banking holidays take place, you will have the money you need at home and can leave the banks alone while everyone else rushes in to get money out of their accounts.

As you preare for a potentially lengthy economic recession or even a depression that will leave no country unaffected, think of your family's needs and find ways to improve your financial situation and food-producing capabilities now. It would not be unreasonable to make the drastic step of combining households with another family, typically one to whom you are related. That way, two families can split the mortgage, taxes, utilities and other household expenses. You can indeed learn how to survive the Great Depression II, but it may mean taking drastic steps for many families.

Learn about frugal living, practical homemaking, gardening, home canning and other essential skills to improve your chances of surviving the Great Depression II should it come to that.