Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
Economic changes are nearly always painful. While I sincerely believe America is on track for great prosperity with regard to jobs, consumer confidence, and more reasonable prices, there’s a gap that must be bridged to get there. I wrote about this previously in the article Things Are Going to Get Worse Before They Get Better.
Let’s look at manufacturing as an example. Factories and plants won’t magically return from overseas at the snap of a finger. Facilities will need to be built or modified, workers hired and trained, and raw materials acquired. During that time, we will probably be paying more for our goods, but it’s sort of like personal finance. Paying off all your debt is strenuous, but the end result is worth it.
Consumers are stressed.
Currently, we’re seeing a shaky job market, as even more retailers and restaurants go bankrupt and other companies undergo mass layoffs to try and stay afloat. The prices of rents and homes are skyrocketing, and instead of the recommended comfortable 1/4th of one’s budget, the cost to reside is closer to half or even more of a family’s income.
The price of food is outrageous for many reasons, and the cost of a grocery store visit is higher than ever. Even sales are no longer as good as they once were. Today’s “great sales” were yesterday’s “no way in heck am I gonna spend that much money on a box of cereal” prices, and folks are scrambling to cut their costs in every way possible.
Consumers are spending less and less on things like entertainment, home decor, vacations, and meals out.
There are two ways to get through this.
Americans have survived worse than this, and we’ve always bounced back. I firmly believe we will get through it again. This can happen one of two ways.
We can grimly push through, eschewing all forms of fun while keeping our noses to the grindstone. We can bitterly complain about our circumstances and moan that we don’t deserve to struggle like this, and the whole thing can be an unpleasant blip on our lifes’ radars.
Or.
We can look for ways to save money without making ourselves miserable. We can turn our focus to entertainment that costs little to nothing. We can spend time with the people we love. We can add as much joy as possible to our lives.
This is happening, whether we like it or not, so we might as well like it.
Thrift begins at home.
Of the kabillion and one ways to cut costs, many of them are positively lamentable. But what if we focused on the ones that added quality and positive interactions to our lives?
This all begins in the home.
- Creatively doing things to improve our homes such as DIYs, upcycling, and mending
- Making the time we spend together positive, pleasant, and educational
- Remembering to feel gratitude for all we have, not grief for all we lack
Sometimes, I look back very fondly at the times when we were flat broke when my daughters were younger. We visited the library, went for hikes and walks, played outside, did crafts, and went to thrift stores and yard sales. I often believe that the struggles we went through are part of the reason we are all so close today. We spend a lot of hands-on time together, getting through it and being creative and that is a bond like no other.
How do you make this shift?
Getting your kids and spouse on board may not be as easy as we wish it was, but creativity and a good attitude can really help. I put together a 163-page anthology of suggestions covering the following topics:
- Keep your cash with a culture of creativity.
- Multitaskers maximize meager money.
- Homekeeping hacks are hugely helpful.
- Utilize utilities usefully.
- Frugal fun fuels families.
- Maintaining and mending manages money.
I admit it – I went kind of crazy on the alliteration, but this book is all about enjoying the lives we have, and if tongue-twisters help, then so be it.
In the spirit of everyone’s budget being different, you can grab your digital copy of Home Cheap Home for as little as $2 until the weekend. Your purchase helps keep The OP afloat and is part of our spring fundraiser.
Our finances are going to be what they will be during this transition. The question is, how do you choose to get through it?
What are your thoughts?
Do you think things will get more difficult before they get better? Are you working to cut your expenses now? Do you have other tips on keeping yourself positive and grateful during times of economic strife?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Daisy
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and X.
21 Responses
I have to ask, do y’all still think letting “president musk” send teenagers to reform all the departments he doesn’t like but force? Do you think a trade war with Canada is really a good idea? Do you think it is a good idea to alienate NATO and make friends with Putin? I understand the point of tariffs and would love to have America turn back to a manufacturing economy but that is something that should be done incrementally. We can’t just magically snap our fingers and have manufacturing plants and trained workers. These things take time. This could easily take a decade to turn around, are you willing to suffer that long? Do you think average Americans are willing? Do you see that America’s political system is now for sale? That Trump has basically extorted social media, traditional media, and now law firms. This is exactly what the constitution is against. This isn’t draining the swamp, this is selling out. If you are not a billionaire, you don’t matter. Or do you still think Trump is awesome? I really want to know. In my eyes our government has gone to HE double hockey sticks, what do you see?
The people MR. Musk hired aren’t your runofthemill kids. They’re brilliant and capable. The reforms are cutting the garbage from the system, grant it there’s an awful lot of it on all sides, so there are going to be grumbles all around. The truly necessary programs are going to stay in place. Maybe they’ll even work better if the money going to who knows what is actually going where it’s needed. We’ve always had tariffs with Canada. Nothing new there. They have tariffs on us too. Do you really think NATO can do anything for us if we were ever attacked here at home? How exactly? We’ve paid for their defense far too long. Friends with Putin? No way! We don’t have to be best buds with another country to have a business relationship with it. China is a good example. Do you like how China treats it’s people? Do you trust China to not take advantage of a weakness in another country? Do you know what kind of control they have over the world with everything they sell – from medications to weapons parts to so many things in your home right now? All they have to do is stop shipping those and where are we? Trump isn’t extorting anything. If you mean suing, they asked for it. Did the democrats control the media? Big YES! Our government was well on the way to it’s place on the new world order stage with Soros and the dark behind the scenes evildoers we don’t even know about. Give things time to start to function again without the waste and back in the peoples hands. We can make things better.
very well said all of it. many things cant be accomplished overnight, and some things will definitely cause some pain. but we all have to suffer a bit to accomplish a better life. look how much we’ve suffered the past 4 yrs…now its time to take the lead and make changes we think will help restore this country! grumble, lie, protest, be an asshole all ya want, but we are ALL in this together as we’ve been the past 4yrs. so we should make up our minds to band together, treat each other fairly, for the betterment and security of our country. we are still on the edge of destruction and wouldnt take much to fall into abyss. trump and his team are trying their best to help as much as they can; those “kids” under elon, arent kids as we think of them….they are some of the most BRILLIANT MINDS around, and elon is an acute businessman and entreprenor, he knows what he’s about. so stop bellyaching, get on board, and your life will get better, just growing pains right now. do what you can for your life, your family to cut costs, etc, and you’ll find it goes much faster and easier. good luck
Excellent response! I completely agree with you.
well written. I agree. The team has a long ball plan. Let’s give it time. We know what was going on was not going to save us.
THANK YOU!!! You saved me a lot of time typing out a response to this woman on my phone; and you said everything I (and literally MILLIONS of people) think…change doesn’t happen without challenges, but Majority of the American people are willing to work through it to get to the other side! We have faith in President Trump!
Well-said! If the dissenters would just give this current administration any kind of a chance, they will sit back, shut up, and let the man work his magic…Of course it’s going to take time, and a little pain…but look how many decades the Left has been at work to drag us down their rabbit hole…Most times, some suffering is needed in order to succeed. and that eventual success favors the strong and daing…aka our current leader~
First, Musk is not president. That is just a lie being spread around. Nor is Musk or his employees “reforming” anything. They are performing audits to see where money is going or how it is being spent. Then the department heads or President Trump himself make actual reforms.
It is well known that other countries have various tariffs against US exports. Trump is merely leveling the playing field and will no longer let other countries advantage of the US.
NATO has been taking advantage of the US since NATOs inception. The US pays for three quarters of their budget. It is about time those EU NATO countries pony up their own defense funds, military and namely troops. They want to get into another forever war, let them and their troops die for it. Not ours. And we are not making friends with Putin. We are normalizing relations after Biden nearly brought the US to the brink of World War Three.
Companies are coming back. Apple is investing $500 billion over the next five years. And estimated 20,000 are coming.
Clarios, a WI based company is expanding US manufacturing by $6 billion.
Johnson and Johnson is investing $55 billion over the next four years to manufacturing facilities in the US.
Nvidia is investing some $500 billion over the next four years to make US made computer chips and electronics.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will invest another $100 billion in new chip manufacturing facilities to the ones that are already here.
Hyundai is investing $20 billion to include a $5 billion steel plant in LA.
As you can see, these are all things happening over time. Not at the snap of a finger. Never mind all the construction jobs that will be provided.
The US political system has always been for sale. Just now, with Trump, Musk et al. it is not for sale the way the swamp likes it. With DOGE cuttings the source of many of the swamps grifts are getting cut. That is what we voted for. And our government went to H@ll a long time ago. Trump, Musk, et al are bringing back accountability and transparency.
Thank You 1stMarineJarHead for your excellent reply to Krispiemae an obvious victim of the msm brainwashing machine.
As the daughter of a lady who was a Marine Sgt in WWII….Dad was Army officer- combat engineer and partner -Marine – I’m retired LEO….you have it just right. They are unraveling in short order what took decades to create.
Another excellent and well thought out response.. thank you!
Krispiemae you clearly get your news from the msm brainwashing machine namely cnn, msnbc, cbs, abc, nbc, new york times, the guardian etc.
The msm brainwashing machine is not your friend. Their sole purpose is to promote the interests of the globalist corporations and to attack any threats to their power. The biggest threats to them right now are Donald Trump and Elon Musk who are patriots trying to do what is best for this country not the globalist puppet masters.
Joe Bidin is a globalist puppet. Everything Biden did to this country while he was in power was designed to destroy this country. Do you think we were better off under Joe Biden than we were under Trump who preceded him? All of his policies were anti-American – millions of unvetted illegals invited across the border, DEI a racist divisive policy, men competing in women’s sports and even allowed in women’s prisons if they “self identified as women” What could go wrong with that idea? I could go on and on.
If you want some honest news coverage without the anti-America bias then see
Dr. Steve Turley
https://www.youtube.com/@DrSteveTurleyTV
I am so glad that I have the ability to keep my own chickens! I do subscribe to the idea that goods hold their value more than cash, so I have stocked up on things like canning jars and REUSABLE canning lids from Lehman’s. I also am a great “scrounger” and have at least 6 canners at the moment. The idea was to host a canning frolic with friends at a church. My church only has one stove, so I also have those small portable burners to increase stove space. I will increase my garden this year, and am starting seeds now. (maybe a little late, but still worth doing to get a head start!) I also have a greenhouse that I have almost fully assembled (March winds are NOT helping!) Then to contact the tree trimmers to grab the wood chips for free! Grabbing cardboard for weed suppression too. 1st layer: Old trampoline, 2nd layer: Cardboard, 3rd layer: Woodchips. You put enough cardboard and woodchip down, it will even smother things like thistle, which sends runners underground.
I know some people use a pay for streaming service or cable. We have a big DVD collection, CD collection and the radio is almost always on.
My father had a old laptop that the Windows OS quit working on. He gave it to me. I loaded up a Linux Debian load and had it working in less than an hour. I now use it as a music server.
Spending time with friends and playing cards, board games, trivia is a good, fun and cheap source of entertainment. We usually will have a big dinner too using some simple, one pot dish.
I do think there is going to be a recession. Warren Buffet thinks the stock market is over valued and we are due for a correction. As bad as this may sound, a housing market may not be a bad thing. Housing and rent are unaffordable as it is. A crash would bring those prices down. Several companies have announced big investments to open manufacturing plants here in the US. It will take time to bring them online, but they are spending the money. They are talking about billions of dollars. If it is going to take a little pain on the front end, even moderate pain to get the US back into a better place with more Americans working good paying jobs, not the gig economy, I am willing to put up with that pain.
My car needs repairs and I decided to park it til I can save enough money to pay for the repairs in cash. I researched the cost of a car rental 90.00 a day plus additional insurance. So,I bought a commuter bicycle to have as a ‘back up” transportation. My workplace is 5 miles away and plotted a safe route using bicycle trails, residential areas.
I ‘m continuing doing the same things that works-buy when on sale, simple meals, DIY around the house, getting rest/sleep,etc
You are awesome Liz.
I worked away from my wife and boys for a long time.I slept on the ground in a tent and lived off potted meat and beans to provide.
Comments like yours, uplifting stories of real life individuals overcoming hardship is what I love reading in the comments section.
You are a winner and I do hope you post more.
There is always pain during times of transition and we are in such a time period now.
It’s now 2025 and some things are improving (illegal immigration is down for one, egg prices finally starting to drop for another), but shrinking our bloated Federal Government down to a reasonable size and making international trade more fair for us via tariffs, will cause us some short term economic pain. The emphasis here is on short term, probably no more than 9 months to a year. Those of us still in the stock market know that the CAPE ratio (Cyclically Adjusted Price to Earnings) is the most reliable indicator of stock market corrections. Anytime the CAPE is above 30 we expect market downturns. Right now the CAPE stands at 35.61 (which is down from more than 38 during the latter stages of the Biden Presidency). That means, in spite of a recent bounce back in stock prices, this pull back in stock prices is likely not over. There’s my glass half empty take, so the next 9-12 months should be “interesting” as the Japanese say.
But does that mean we should all panic and sell our stocks to buy durable goods or groceries? Up to you, but I won’t, because unless we end up in a war that destroys civilization, the market always bounces back. Historically Bull markets last 3-10 times longer than Bears. So I think it’s best to be patient and ride it out. Admittedly it may be easier for me to do so because my wife and I are pretty well situated, preparedness wise, but I do sincerely believe prosperity is coming and will benefit us all.
Those who have read my posts or my books know that I’m no Pollyana, so here are a few real world facts leading to my glass half full prediction.
John Deere was planning to move its operations to Mexico, but now is remaining in the USA. The reason for the change in direction? Trump’s tariffs. Taiwan Semiconductor and dozens of other international businesses are onshoring plants and facilities, again because of import tariffs. The same goes for several American companies that for the past 30 years have been offshoring. And while it takes time to re-build such manufacturing infrastructure, it’s great long term news for job seekers and our economy as a whole.
Due to changes in government energy policy, oil companies are in the process of bringing refineries back online, which will result in lower gasoline and diesel prices—and since fuel prices impact every tier of our economy, this is also good news for reducing inflation.
Deficit spending should decrease, meaning our enormous debt will shrink. Most of us have enough good sense to know that getting out of debt is one of the first steps to being well prepared for emergencies.
A more compact Federal Government will pay more attention to combatting fraud. It should operate more efficiently, with much less waste. I think it was Milton Friedman who said, “If you put the Federal Government in charge of the Sahara desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand.”
Stay the course and all will be well in the long run.
.
Learning to work creatively within the confines of our current resources is our greatest asset. That also means budgeting our time as well as our money toward the things that really matter in life.
Kids are hard on clothes. Many parents discard anything that is ripped or stained. Mending kids clothes as well as adult clothing is a big money saver. My daughter once tore a small spot in the knee of an almost new pair of corduroy pants. I carefully patched the knee from underneath and then embroidered a ladybug over the patch. To complete the look I embroidered another lower on the leg and one on the other leg of the pants. Everyone told me that the pants were cute without realizing it was a money saver rather than a fashion statement. I shortened things that were too long and took out hems to lengthen short ones. A line from an older hem could be covered with a strip of Rick rack. Other family members who sewed would sometimes give me large pieces of fabric left from their projects. Sometimes I could make something out of the piece alone or combine it with another scrap.
Kids usually wear garage sale clothes without complaint. We bought a nice fleece lined plaid jacket for our daughter that had belonged to the brother of a friend of hers. She loved it; her friend had refused to wear a boy’ s jacket but was dismayed that she had missed out when she saw another girl wearing it.
Things will be harder before they get better. As preppers, we knew this when we voted. I am okay with that. I want my kids and grands to have it at least as good as I have, if not better. And I feel much better now that they will, unlike the past 4 years. Doesnt mean I dont keep prepping, and encouraging their efforts. Just means we arent ‘rushed’ or scrambling. We can be more deliberate. God Bless America!
Here’s a first draft epilogue or prologue (to a screenplay):
*
THERE’S NO MORE ELECTRICITY
The EMP has hit. The famous ‘clean bomb’ invented by China over 20 years ago, which was supposed to explode at high altitude with shock waves circling the Earth, has had its effect. The Electromagnetic Pulse has fried all the satellites and everything on our planet that runs on electricity! Batteries, accumulators, and power plants have been permanently shut down.
Planes take 15 to 20 minutes to fall, cars and trains are stopped like elevators in buildings. Boats are immobilized, and missiles are shelved.
In the early days, the atmosphere is still ‘good-natured,’ even if we’re worried about the soon return of this energy. No good news! No more TV, radio, newspapers, internet, or phones. Hours and days pass! There’s trouble! Without electricity, no lighting or heating. Even more so, no water because the outage powers the pump motors! ‘Worse,’ the fuel shortage due to a lack of supplies! The pumps are electric, so unconventional means of subsistence quickly arrive: the manual pump. And then, a queue of one or two kilometers at the gas station, where they fill up a 10-liter container for 3 euros per liter and… payment only in cash! There, things get stuck (for some). Offers of watches, necklaces, or gold rings don’t help. Two hours later, it’s 4 euros per liter. 5 liters debit for everyone, off they go! Because the ATMs aren’t working, no one can withdraw money! The rich have no more money! They’re at the same stage as everyone else! It’s anguish.
On the 4th day, the streets, avenues, and boulevards are filled with pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers, skateboarders, and sometimes horses, moving silently along. Then, on the 5th day, these people are accosted, attacked, robbed, and murdered! Because only they can still run to the countryside! Drink water from streams, eat grass for lack of anything else in the middle of winter. Supermarkets, emptied of their shelves, are invaded and burned. The dead are no longer buried and litter all communication access points.
It’s only been a week. A week without electricity.
After the desertion of cafes where consumers were free to drink and smoke, came the smoking bans!! And, almost identically, the impossibility of having a drink, the price of which has exploded through the roof of wallets. The anguish then spread online, where this first path to democracy was undermined and censored, with comments removed, blogs deleted, and websites shut down around the world for daring to speak the scientific truth!
The terror didn’t stop there! Everything was done to make the peasants disappear and starve the population !
Products being scarce, very rare to the point of non-existence, drove prices to unaffordable, inaccessible, and unattainable heights.
Famine, along with daily assassinations, wiped out humanity until, as it has since, the day electricity was cut off.
In the absence of information due to a lack of batteries, rechargeable batteries, or accumulators, and also due to the lack of satellite radars, which were also destroyed by the EMP, the military exploitation of the dictatorship in power was no longer operational. Everyone focused on feeding themselves and, above all, protecting themselves. Not everyone knows how to feed themselves! Far from it! The smartest farmers had deserted their farms, leaving the animals and land at the mercy of the rent-seekers who were starving. These farmers, above the population, had understood what the EMP could do. Hundreds of Fukushimas! (March 11, 2011) Because, in the absence of water supply pumps for the reactors, the water level drops dangerously within a few hours. Then, after the formation of corium (melting of zirconium and uranium) in the tanks of the vast reactor vessels, the hydrogen, which until then had been contained in the 4-meter-high fuel rods, is released. Then comes the explosion of the reactors, which uncaps them and thus allows the radioactivity to spread into the air.
That’s why we have to act quickly to get out of the way. Quickly and without cars. Survival depends on everyone’s ingenuity in preparing for such events. For farmers, it’s the raft, the inflated canoe, or the boat anchored in the canal that throws itself into the river and sails out to sea. After that, everything will depend on knowing how to navigate by sail, row, or motor, because the engines of small boats don’t have batteries and start with a starter. The question remains whether there’s enough fuel to travel far.
No planes cross the sky, and in the ocean, large ships are stopped.
There is nothing more accurate, more precise, and more present than the truth. Just as science is not done, but observed. For millennia, there has been a general ‘curfew’ across our globe, where people with Down syndrome have taken power! Their inbreeding has led people to their decline because they thought they knew everything, understood everything, and explained everything. But the error actually lay in numbers. The exponential population! And, just as in the year 2000, there were already 4% of gifted people in the world (280 million), today this percentage has more than doubled, even tripled, thanks to communication. The ‘authorities’ feel inferior, diminished, eliminated thanks to global intelligence.
Was the EMP the salvation? It’s very likely; tensions were too high, and world war was bound to break out. The IEM established peace and the obligation to live well!
When the last candle has finished lighting, night comes like a flash. Humanity is familiar with transhumance, the trek over tens and hundreds of kilometers to the warm countries where it appeared a few million years ago when our star received a ball of ice that only melted below the equator. It was there, there that life appeared. Life on Earth. Then, intelligence made its way. From the stupid discovery to the most ambitious projects, anything was permitted! But the latter was still very limited. From Leonardo da Vinci, who designed ‘helicopters’ and who knew no more than his contemporary Cristofo Colombo that to have clean, drinkable water, you have to boil it and collect only the steam!
Yet, how many paths have been traveled in centuries of existence (I was going to write non-existence) since the first woman and the first man on Earth! And to think that the ‘cavemen’ had already discovered iron! Iron, fire, and water! And they didn’t even have central heating in those deep mountain hollows! They limited themselves to making knives, dishes, long swords, and shields, but not… pipes! Pipes to bring hot water deep into the caves!
The final race is that of intelligent beings, people who know how to distance themselves from the air and ocean currents and their radioactivity that crisscross the globe. These bipeds are the future of the planet, the future and what it may still hold for them.
One thing is certain: those who triggered the Electromagnetic Pulse have already planned everything. No HAARP in the world can stop them. They will create a different planet. An Earth governed by democracy where every citizen can have their say. A leaderless existence, free from slavery, swindling, and murderous wars. The perfect globe.
I’ve always asked myself, ‘Why do we want to eliminate, exterminate, and erase human beings from the planet?’ And I answered myself, ‘Removing the goose that lays the golden eggs is not and cannot be humane (!)’
Look at animals: carnivores eat meat, but… lions, wolves, crocodiles don’t eat each other!!! They observe each other, compete, but don’t kill each other!
So, what, who is our planet populated with?
The planet is populated by ‘gooses that lay the golden eggs’!! But, into this vast henhouse, it’s not the fox that enters, but a monster. A mentally deficient person who claims to be incorruptible. A madman, a murderer, a shameless criminal, without balance, without a head, and without a conscience. This dictator uses weapons he himself neither designed nor studied, and only knows how to use them at the touch of a button. His henchmen set to work without thinking about the consequences of their actions. They approve. They order themselves to raze our Earth. Even their families. Their mothers, their fathers, their children!
What’s next?