Best way to survive in an 'Economic Depression'

I am interested in finding out what your opinions are on how best to survive during an economic depression. I guess this thread belongs in the survivalist forum, if we had one. During the great depression people still made a living, obviously some people did better than others. Best to prepare for these things in advance. If the US economy fails, I guess a war or two would be good for business. Maybe we should be proactive about going to war instead of reactive after the depression is in full swing.

I would think that foreclosures and repossessions would be a thriving big business during a depression.

Providing armed security for the rich might be another good business.

We can look at war torn regions like Iraq to see what business' are thriving.

What other suggesstions might you have for making money during bad times?

Another thing that's kind of wierd is the fact that the federal reserve keeps printing money at a record rate, but there doesn't seem like there is enough money to go around. Maybe the government needs to double the output of the printing presses.

[edit on 29-10-2006 by In nothing we trust]

First off, the government does not need to increase the speed of the printing presses, if anything they need to slow it. Germany tried the same trick to pay off their debts and that sent inflation so high that the paper became worth more than the supposed value of that dollar. Next thing is that although war tends to be good for an economy it also costs lives. Human life is just something that we shouldn't be putting a price tag on.

Next thing on how to survive economic collapse. Although I'm no economist, I think the best thing to do is to keep yourself in a financially stable position. Here's a few ideas I've compiled;
1. Avoid debts at all costs.

2. No credit cards.

3. Work out and eat a healthy diet so as to prevent medical problems as best you can later down the road.

4. Don't bother trying to stockpile gasoline, that stuff doesn't last more than a year at the most before it's no good.

5. It's probably best you don't invest in the stock market. But if you're going to, invest in the defense contractors since they'll never go bankrupt.

6. Walk instead of drive when possible.

7. If you own a car be sure to buy a slightly older car. Newer cars are way too hard to fix on your own. Some new cars you can't even do an oil change without technical expertise.

8. As implied by #7, do as much of your auto's routine maintenence work yourself.

9. Stockpile duct tape while you can. That stuff can fix anything and it's sure to be in high demand when the depression starts.

10. Get to know your neighbors really well. You might just need their help some day.

Good piece of advice. To be honest, never thought of this, but it makes perfect sense. With todays cars, if it doesn't throw a code, even the mechanics are left scratching their heads.

EDIT: Spelling

[edit on 11/2/2006 by DCFusion]