by the author of The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living and Lifestyles of the Flat Broke and Resilient
An unsettling survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute® found that the economic crisis is starting to have daily effects on Americans. Millions of people are now skipping meals, forgoing prescription medication, buying less nutritious food, and going without medical care.
It’s a concerning sign of the times when an increasing number of people can’t afford to eat properly and take their medications. Both of these things could have serious health impacts going forward, and if they can’t afford to prevent those, how will they afford to pay for treading them?
People are skipping meals.
Some would argue that Americans could afford to miss a few meals based on obesity rates in our country. But the poverty diet is no way to resolve health issues. Folks are turning to cheap, non-nutritious calories just to fill their bellies, leaving them even less healthy.
According to the survey:
Over the last 12 months, nearly two in five American households (40%) received food or goods from a food bank (22% for Millennials), and the same amount (17%) stopped buying healthier foods (organic or high-priced healthy foods).
Nearly one in five Americans (18%) say they skipped meals or didn’t buy groceries due to high inflation (including 28% of Gen Z and 23% of millennials).
One or two meals a day can meet a person’s needs if they’re nutritious. But for some, the entire concept of this is unhealthy. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, diabetics, and those with a history of eating disorders could find their health suffering.
Plus, if you are skipping meals because you can’t afford groceries, you are probably not dining on grilled chicken, organic veggies, and a green smoothie when you do eat. It’s more likely to be something along the lines of boxed macaroni and cheese or ramen noodles, just to keep the hunger at bay. I know this. I’ve been there.
People are skipping medical essentials.
Equally alarming is the fact that people are skipping medication and medical care in an effort to keep their heads financially above water. The same survey found:
Many have cancelled or postponed plans in the past 12 months to see a specialist (14%), take a prescribed medication (10%) or get an annual physical (11%) due to high inflation. Almost one-fifth of Gen Z (17%) and Millennials (19%) have cancelled or postponed plans in the past 12 months to see a mental health professional…
…As Americans brace for even bigger expenses in the future, the survey finds that one in ten (10%) have decreased their retirement plan contributions in the past year to pay for health care expenses because of high inflation…
…To find additional savings, 14% of Americans say they are considering downgrading their health insurance plan because of high inflation, which rises to 23% and 20% for Gen Z and Millennials, respectively.
These are alarming cuts. By not keeping chronic conditions under control, people risk the condition worsening, which, in the long run, will cost even more. At the same time, you can’t get blood out of a stone. If you simply have no money, you have no money. You can’t pay for these things. We can talk until the cows come home about “programs” and “assistance,” but have you ever tried getting help for medical care? Unless you are absolutely impoverished, it’s nearly impossible. And after the insurance industry caused our healthcare system to explode, paying cash for doctor’s visits and medications is a prohibitively expensive venture.
Not only are people unable to afford to take care of their physical health, but they’re also unable to take care of their mental health. We’ve posted before about the dangerous effects of medications running out in this article. As well, many who suddenly stop taking psychiatric medication end up even worse than they were before they ever started.
Add to this lack of medication and medical care all the stress of the financial crisis, and you’ve got a recipe for human disaster.
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Signs of the times
If your household isn’t directly affected to the extent mentioned in this article, you are very fortunate. Food and medical insecurity are stressful, degrading, and can make a person feel completely hopeless. It’s even worse when that person is unable to provide for those depending on him or her.
If you look at collapses in other countries, you’ll see that these are some of the early signs that things are speeding up. Remember how bad things got in Greece? In Venezuela? Parents were dropping their children off at orphanages because they couldn’t afford to feed them. They were committing suicide. It was awful, and that was during the early stages. Their situations lasted for years after the horrifying peak.
Could we be facing a similar future? The signs seem to point toward it. When people can no longer afford food, medicine, housing, and basic necessities, things are definitely going belly up, especially here in a “prosperous” country.
Some things we can do
If you are in a good situation, I urge you to offer a helping hand where you can. Invite someone who might be struggling over for dinner and send them home with leftovers. Donate to food banks. Teach them how to preserve or grow food. The help you offer may mean all the difference in the world for those folks. If nothing else, it will be a bright spot that reminds them that kindness still exists in the world.
If you are struggling, don’t be ashamed to seek help. Our social safety net, although it can be hard to navigate, is there for situations like the one you are facing. Consider making some radical changes to relieve some of the burdens. It’s really hard, but you can get through this.
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What about you?
Are you facing difficulties like the ones mentioned in this survey? If you’re comfortable with it, share your story in the comments. Have you seen evidence of these issues? What’s your best advice for getting through these difficult economic times?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
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, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
I am retired but not of Medicare age. I just received my proposed 2023 health insurance premium – almost $800/mo., up 10% from this year, which was a huge increase from the prior year. I don’t qualify for a subsidy. I’ve already picked up a part time job to help, but do I really want to pay $26/day for health insurance? Dropping my plan & downgrading to a temporary catastrophic plan is on the table, as is relocating out of the US. I am in better health and a better financial situation than most; the system is definitely at the breaking point.
We moved to Mexico to enjoy a higher standard of living in our early retirement. Been here 5 years now and we love it. No plans to move back to the US.
Your correct Daisy! Im one on a fixed income & retired on 12 meds. Im barely making it and winter is just starting! Biden admin/democrats are making it difficult for many people like seniors, veterans & those with disabilities to survive. I have a pension & social security but it only goes so far! Something has to give or these mentioned people above are going to suffer badly because of these failed policies of Biden!
Being on disability gives me just enough to pay my monthly bills. I get $200 a month in foodstamps barely enough to eat a healthy diet with food costs climbing. I’m on Medicare and medicade which make a difference, no prescription co pays by this time of year. I ran out of my prescriptions last week and I’m still waiting for my pharmacy to deliver them. I don’t even want to think of how difficult things will be for so many when SHTF. Especially those of us who need medications to survive.
Car insurance has gone up most anywhere, when a person hits 75 yrs old, it goes up again. Homeowners and renters insurance is going up all the time it seems.
Just read an article about senior citizens looking for roommates to make ends meet.
Another study found traditional Thanksgiving dinner prices up 73%.
Gas prices went up just over $0.20 cents in a week.
The wife noted in last weeks grocery store trip, lunch meat ham was limited to off the bone or black pepper ham. Maple or honey cured ham, not to be found.
Thinking of making my own.
I expect things to get worse toward the end of the year and the beginning of next year.
We have cut out pies, cakes, cobblers and won’t miss them for the holidays. Got turkey breast (on sale) now in freezer. If any desserts, it is reduced fat ice cream on occasion. It will be turkey, veg., mashed pot. We cut carbs, husband has medical issues. Watching sales weekly incl Walgreens and other stores, certain days senior discounts. People over 60 can get title III-C noon dinners or meals on wheels at senior centers. We don’t get them, tried it couple times, not that appealing, some say ok for them.
Laura Ann,
We are doing Friendsgiving a week early. But as most will be doing the turkey thing a week later, we are doing a seafood themed dinner and mostly tapas style, small plate.
I have really cut back on my sweets intake over the past, 10 or so years. Might indulge in sorbet once every few months. I do keep a supply of GORP on hand as a quick snack between meals or chores. Not uncommon for me to miss lunch.
Sales! Wife has noted fewer sales, or the buy one get one free promotions.
Wife also noted brown sugar is now coming in 1lbs bags and not at half the cost. Shrinkflation.
I’ve been blessed and fortunate most of my life. I have never experienced real hunger or lack of health care (until now, see below).
I’ve always been pretty much right in the middle of middle class. I didn’t buy lobster every week or expensive wines but I really didn’t think too much about scrimping on food cost. Just yesterday, my wife said that we needed to buy more ground beef and chicken thighs. This, with two incomes. Prices go up, income remains the same.
I can’t get decent health care no matter what I do. I was willing to use what little cash I had to entice doctors to help me. I guess my few thousands were nothing to what the government pays them to lie to and kill patients.
If you can’t tell, I absolutely HATE what md’s have become and it’s every damn one I’ve encountered in the last five years. I’ve been blasting their ass all over the internet and not one has responded to any of the accusations I’ve made. (I invite a good lawsuit, because discovery would be so much fun!) I’ve been waiting for one to get pissed enough to tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about and then explain their actions to me. But no, they hide behind their corporate shields. Like Byedimwit campaigned from the basement.
Imo, it’s the deep state that has RUINED health care in this country. I honestly believe that I can get better care in Mexico or India.
Are there any concierge doctors where you live?
I go to one such and she is not as tethered to the insurance companies, so she can focus on what I need, rather than what the insurance companies will permit.
Some have them here, people pay a yearly fee, they can call directly, etc. They seem to be near retirement, have fewer patients. We have good insurance, have good dr’s (older), younger dr’s more likely to , go along w/medical establishment like vaccines, pushing drugs, etc. people need to be informed and research online for alt. treatments.
I am retired military. My husband is medically retired military. Both of us have medical care through the VA. My husband has Medicare. I don’t turn 65 until next year. I have no plans to take Medicare. I see my husband get a social security raise, but then Medicare cost increases too. I have not applied for social security yet. Our VA doctors have said we are the only two patients they see that are on no medications. We prefer natural treatments as needed. We are blessed. I don’t sell my extra eggs, but gift them. My friend, who is on a very limited income, says eggs are running about 30 cents each where she shops. I am off grid, so I an not affected by blackouts or brownouts. I have my well running on solar with no batteries. When there is sun then it pumps. I have a small garden. My house is not finished, but I have no mortgage. My old cars are paid for. I am not rich. My husband is 100% disabled veteran, which means in Texas we pay no property tax. I am only rated 50%. As I said before “we are blessed!”.
You are blessed indeed!
I also gift my extra eggs and have a garden. Hope to have a hand pump put in next year.
No debt, but I do pay property taxes. Also take no meds, but I have been taking vitamins for years. I have a small pension and Social Security, and inexpensive health insurance through my former employer.
I am making more of my food from scratch and driving less and very seldom eat out. Dropped the gym membership and cut cable tv and some subscriptions. Will be trying “hay box” cooking this winter. Lots of videos on YouTube.
I think I can make it through this, and maybe help some others, too.
Fortunately I listened to my parents and grandparents while growing up, as they all survived the Great Depression.
Don’t despair, folks!
Lean on the Lord and each other. Our nation was founded upon great struggle. What out ancestors did, we can do.
I don’t have a tv or cable. I do have internet. I have a flip phone, not a smart phone. My car insurance is liability on my husband handicap modified van, not full coverage. I do have a little more on my car due to its age, which is older than me. I don’t waste money on make up or perfume. As long as I am conservative I will be okay. Even my cloths are not the latest fashion.
I have flip phone $10 a mo (pay by yr) use for urgent calls (running late from this or that) or short messages, have a desk phone (google voice is free w/ wi fi). I don’t use cell phone often. Watch old movies free on tubi, watch top rated movies from decades ago, drama, westerns, etc. old tv westerns ’50’s, 60’s on you tube incl old sitcoms from 70’s 80’s, vintage movies some free.
We have tricare (he is retired military) and medicare. He could get VA care in the clinic, but wants to choose dr. near us, ins. covers. We live near a larger city w/ medical specialists and several hospitals close by. Tricare covered several surgeries with no co pays.
I am retired, although I had a good side gig until Jan. 2020. Then the rules were changed and the business was not possible. So we get by on Social Security. Our health makes it pretty much impossible to work. I do manage to keep up a pretty good garden which God greatly blesses. We had to drop prescription drug insurance in January 2020 too. And hubby stopped taking two meds that helped with his COPD. That alone is saving us $500 a month. We own our house outright and have no bills other than the necessary ones. We have super-cheap house taxes, being low income. We also started going to the food bank in January 2020. That has been a God- send. The food banks here are excellent. With that and my garden, we hardly have to buy any food. But things continue to tighten up and I am looking for more ways to cut back. Going to review house and car insurance – again – to see if it is cheaper anywhere else. I have practiced frugal living all my life, looks like it is about to get serious.
If you are that broke you can call the manufacturer of your husbands COPD medication and they have programs to give you your medications for practically free or low cost. You should check into it because him not taking his COPD medication could mean a painful death. Also they have a place called inhousepharmacy.ca where you can get the medications from for a fraction of what they gouge Americans for, for the same stuff.
This is old news – it has been happening since the 1980s. The only thing missing from your story is the elderly buying cat food to eat themselves. In my area, there are a number of social security recipients who, in reality, can no longer afford to remain in their home. Driving force is leaving the house to their heir(s) but when they can’t afford food, medication, property, and/or maintenance, it is time to sell. No one owes their heir(s) anything. We already have enough run down properties that the heir(s) sold which are now run down rental properties.
Mortgage rates are at 7.20%. Unless they are paying cash, most people cannot afford to sell their homes as they cannot afford a 7.20% rate on a new home even if it is smaller.
People renting cannot afford even so call starter homes. The earn less than half of what it would take to move from a renter to a homeowner.
More and more American’s are living paycheck to paycheck to include those who traditionally would be considered as “middle class.” Economist Charles H. Smith noted if you think you are middle class, and living paycheck to paycheck, you are not middle class.
Unfortunately, inflation has put many Americans into the paycheck to paycheck situation.
More and more American’s are being forced to use food banks, surpassing the COVID lockdown records. 1 in 5 Americans are canceling Thanksgiving dinner as they cannot afford it. 1 in 4 say they are going to scale back.
Christmas is not looking much better.
They can’t afford a turkey for Thanksgiving? Cost per pound on a turkey is far more reasonable than buying chicken or beef around the holidays. Just more BS fear mongering and hype from the media to get people all riled up. If only doom and gloom porn was a substitute for food people would never go hungry because they eat it up with their daily dose of the news.
Why would you buy a can of cat food that is 90 calories to eat when you could turn around and buy a box of pasta for the same price? Plus you get more? Cat and dog food is not made for human consumption and if a person is stupid enough to buy it to eat rather than other lower cost food alternatives then stupid is as stupid does as Forest Gump’s mother would say. I mean a can of soup is more calories for Pete’s sake.
But I thought the communist Dem’s promised a freezer full of ice cream in every house……oh yeah, only their house.
Times are hard and a lot of folks are hurting, but there are things that can be done to make life better. It is possible to live a good life without much income if one tries to become self sustaining. My wife and I have been married for 46 years and she has always had chronic neurological problems. Together we have never made over $30,000 per year and half of those years we lived on under $20,000, having only $6,500 to spend in 1996. We had no health insurance from 1990 until we got medicare around 2016. We own a home and two older vehicles with no mortgage or payments. How did we do this and live well? We have done the following 8 things that people today would benefit from doing.
1. We grow and preserve most of our vegetables and half of the fruit that we eat, canning or freezing over 220 pkg. of food per year.
2. For years we drank goat milk from a small goat herd, raised chickens and ducks, ate two deer per year, and foraged some in the forest behind our home.
3. We negotiated with doctors and local pharmacies to get the rock bottom prices for treatment and meds. We found one clinic that will treat uninsured people for $30 per visit, including lab work. We have to drive 50 miles to get there, but it meets an uninsurred person’s medical care.
4. We had our doctors, including a neurologist, write to drug companies to get into some of their special programs. For example, my wife got big discounts on her several medications, ordering 90 day supplies, and just paying shipping and handling fees due to these types of programs. The doctor has to certify that the patient needs the meds and can’t afford them.
5. In 1980, we bought 28 acres of land by working out payments with the owner because we could not get a loan. That was when interest was 18% for mortgages. We paid the owner a negotiated 8%. We purchased a mobile home to put on that land for $300 from a man who was in financial difficulty and assumed his payments at 4% interest. Then ater a few years we sold the timber off of the land and cashed in all of our 401K’s and paid everything off, even though we had a substantial tax penaty and knew we had no retirement income.
6. We sold our land and mobile home at a profit in 2003 and bought a large house for cash on an acre and a half of land that backs up to timber land going up the mountain. We have no neighbors on one side for a mile and a half and only a few neighbors over a mile and a half in the other direction, so we feel secure from rioters or criminals. Our two dogs and keeping and training with firearms for self defence add to our security. Our property has a fig tree, apple tree, 3 peach trees, and a pear tree, muscadine vines and two pecan trees. We have a chicken pen and forage for several gallons of blackberries in the forest behind our property. The forest is full of game and are few neighbors scattered along several miles of rural landscape live similar lifestyles.
7. We took early social security at age 62. Now, we live comfortably on social security of less than $18,000 per year. We are able to do that because we continue to grow and preserve food, still try to get two deer per year, have a friend who is raising us a cow (costing us $300), and live frugally. We still take a monthly shopping trip and eat out. For recreation, we take monthly trips to state parks, low cost historical places, and have lots of picnics in those spots.
8. We have put together a small network of prepping friends in our area with whom we have frequent contact, helping and encouraging one another. We preserve food together, shoot together, worship God together in a small rural church, and socialize. It is helpful to be a part of a group that can support and encourage each other duing hard times.
I write these things to encourage other people to become more self sustaining. If we can do these things and live as we do on little income, other people can learn to do the same sort of things. Individuals and families are going to have to learn how to live differently, and by doing some of the same things that we have done, they will be able to whether the financial collapse that is beginning. Granted, it will be more difficult now for people that have not been preparing and who are not used to homesteading, gardening, canning, and foraging. We could not have lived the way we do, if we had lived in an urban area. That is why I left my home in Chicago at age 22, got married to a woman from near Nashville, and settled a very rural and undevloped county in Georgia. That is why we started learning to garden and preserve food shortly after our marriage. The millenials and gen. Z folks need to start learning those skills and ditch the sedentary urban lifestyle before it is too late. It may be much harder today for them than it was for us getting started in the 1970’s, but remember that the economy was bad then too.
Well done!
Amen, Fr. Bob
You are My HERO! Many could learn a lot from you. Thanks for your
contribution.
Wait until the universe kicks you in the behind and you can’t physically do all that you are doing right now. Then where will you be? Charity and help from church folk only goes so far as you cannot expect others to prop up a lifestyle that will not be tenable when you are in your 80’s and 90’s if you live that long.
Older people with limited mobility (O.A., etc) need to grow sprouts inside to have fresh sprouts all the time, also grow veggies in containers on porch. Some live in retirement communties because a house got to be too much to keep up later on. Some churches have charity outreach, refer some to homeless shelters in area. Others move into subsidized housing. If no family to help nearby this is what they have to do.
We’ve been at the one meal a day stage for two years now. Already trimmed the meds down to. I haven’t been able to afford the specialist visits my Doc recommends for that long as well. Medicare doesn’t cover enough, and lost our supplement when my wife lost her job due to CoVid. At 60, she’s been unable to find work.
Our car just broke down, and we’re having problems finding the correct part.
I could go on, but there’s not much point. It is, what it is.
“But the poverty diet is no way to resolve health issues. Folks are turning to cheap, non-nutritious calories just to fill their bellies, leaving them even less healthy.”
Amen Daisy. It is times like these, if skipping meals, that nutrient dense food is most important. Fasting has become a way of life for me. I couldn’t possibly do it if the one or two meals/day I do eat weren’t rich in vitamins, minerals, fats, good cholesterol, amino acids, etc.
“..just to keep the hunger at bay. I know this. I’ve been there.”
Same here. Nearly starving to death (172#’s to 112#’s and not that I could afford to either) had a deep and scarring affect on me. I will never forget that pain. I read this article and it’s hard to contain my rage with “food shortages” anywhere, especially here, and the young, old, disabled, and financially vulnerable suffering. It makes me want to burn this mf’er to the ground.
“If you are in a good situation, I urge you to offer a helping hand where you can. Invite someone who might be struggling over for dinner and send them home with leftovers.”
Way ahead of you Daisy. My wife and I gifted legs of lamb, shoulder chops and grinds, fifty pounds worth to thre neighborhood families. One couple is elderly and the old man can’t hunt anymore. I’ll never forget his wife thanking me. The other two have 4 and five children a piece and one each in the womb.
Just a cynical comment from the North. I generally find that eating and medications are much like breathing – if you quit for long enough all your problems are solved.
You guys will have to forgive me, I’m having one of those days. Let’s face it, if you come to this site very regularly, or visit any other sites along the same lines, you know what’s going on. Just about every leader out there has talked about “THE GREAT RESET”. Bill Gates, the Georgia Guidestones. Population reduction. Government control.
You don’t achieve any of their objectives with a well fed, well housed, happy populace. And you can’t believe for one instance that WE are the type of people that they want in their New World Order. We are exactly the type that they want to ferret out and get rid of. When things get tough (and brother the hard times aren’t even here yet) they are going to get even tougher for people like us. Make up your minds to that right now. Make your peace with your lord, and do what you can to prepare, because we don’t have a place in their glorious vision of the future.
Food will get short, or to expensive too buy. Gas, diesel, and heating oil will be rationed, and too expensive to pay for, even if you have a ration. Medications, many made in China, Taiwan, or the Philippines will become non existent. Taxes will go up, and even if you can afford your mortgage with astronomical interest rates, the government will take it because you can’t pay the taxes they’re asking. Retirement funds are already going broke in Great Britain, and they aren’t far behind here.
This is only the beginning people, and if you’re hurting now…..wait for it. It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better – if it ever does. (Probably not in our lifetimes). THEY will own it all, and you will be dependent on them for everything.
“YOU WILL OWN NOTHING, AND BE HAPPY!”
The Lone Canadian,
You know what a fan I am of your comments, and I get you are in a mood and having one of those days.
And yet, I cannot find anything with your comment. You are spot on.
Absolutely they fear our kind. Some believe the elite will some how cancel us. But we are all about self reliance, sustainability. There will always be a work around. They cannot project power from a 1,000miles away.
Thanks for understanding Bud. Just seems like they’ve got us, no matter how self sufficient we become. Some days if just makes me more stubborn, and some days it makes you think about the things like access to medications that they wind up with control over.
They don’t have to exert power. Just have to deny us access to a few critical items, and either we die off, or we bend to their will.
I could have a self sustaining bunker, with everything I need for the rest of my life, my kids, and my grandkids, but one appendicitis and it’s all out the window.
“but one appendicitis and it’s all out the window”
true. but this is historically normal. and historically survival meant survival of the family, not of any particular individual.
“can’t believe for one instance that WE are the type of people that they want in their New World Order. We are exactly the type that they want to ferret out and get rid of.”
if they succeed, who will feed them?
This election won’t be a remedy or solve anything. The globalists have taken over. Resist and don’t comply to their dictates (vaccines, masking, closing down business, etc).
Its the “Grind.” I also think you are spot on…It’s going to get worse and it’s by design. I don’t spend much time on the web keeping up with the world. LRC once a week or so…this topic was there. I have too much to do continuing to get ready as it really never stops. There is always something else to. Wood to chop up, garden plots to prep, cover crops, de-hydration of foods, canning and the list goes on. I am blessed I still have a good paying job. Wife got “COVID Downsized,” but she was eligible for Social Security anyway so we just agreed for her to retire. Wheat/Salt/Oil…at least I will always have bread to eat! Bless you all…I will pray for us!
I’m retired and work part time three hours a day. My social security payments sit in an online account that gets bigger every month just waiting to be spent.
My total monthly expenses come to less than $900/mo in the winter. Even less in the summer. My part time work easily pays my expenses.
I planned ahead and downsized prior to retiring.
Medicare pays for two prescriptions that would cost me about $20/mo if I had to pay.
But I am skipping meals. I have found that I don’t NEED to eat more than once a day.
Since food is getting higher, we cut out bakery items for the best ( for wt loss) and eating almonds, cashews for snacks, occasional ice cream. Fast foods, junk foods only make people want to eat more. No sodas, ice tea and coffee.
When in Nam 66,67,68 Many times we Marines were given one meal of C-rats a day or one every other day. When I left Nam after almost 3 years I was 128 pounds on a 6 foot frame.
I’ll just assume that some of these folks still have money for cigarettes & liquor/beer & nails & haircuts & Netflix etc & tattoos. That was the case when they would send their children to school hungry & other people were supposed to donate.
Things are gonna get worse. Time to wean off of smokes & medications (it is possible). If people don’t do it now when it’s relatively easy & there’s support available, it’ll be absolutely horrendous when they simply can’t get that stuff anymore.
On average Americans are way too fat anyway. So: No problema!
“Not only are people unable to afford to take care of their physical health”
1) this is worse than it sounds. if doctors can’t get paid in the u.s. then they’ll move to other countries where they do get paid – then medical care above first aid will be unavailable no matter how much money any individual has.
2) in truth, this situation is normal. historically when people became non-functional from injury or defect or age they were pushed to a corner and just died. “simpler living” has lots of ramifications that are seldom considered.
does your survival retreat have space for a graveyard?
I think the most interesting thing about this is, as the country goes off the rails, people continue to elect the same criminals to run the show.
And they expect different results?
“people continue to elect the same criminals”
is it the people at large who are electing them?
Lots of good comments here…..in the area where I live, some doctors have been bartering their services for a number of years, and I’ve seen an big increase in that over the past year.
Some in our community are clueless about what is going on, while others have been well aware for along time and have been taking steps. Over the past year, I’ve noticed an increase in the word getting around about who is growing what in terms of fruits and vegetables. Those who have certain fruit trees that do well for example are very proactive about sharing or trading with others. I know one person who is amazing at growing bell peppers and potatoes, and is constantly giving away what they can’t use, or trading for something they need. More are collaborating with their neighbors to jointly grow vegetables in a common garden between both their houses…..I’ve seen a few people who take cuttings of certain trees and share those with other neighbors….these steps have helped, and I have noticed our community is slowing coming together more than it has in the last 20 years.
I mean this with the most respect & encouragement. Taking your health into your own hands (as much as you can do safely-you’d be surprised) by eating better (healthier choices eliminating cookies, chips, soda, juices laden with corn syrup, seed oils, omit dairy if you have asthma, COPD & allergies) can ultimately help you reduce/eliminate some/most medications. My husband & I know personally (he’s all in now after decades of my prodding him to heal his asthma & cholesterol issues naturally). Americans are just too damn fat & out of shape in general. I do not trust most Drs. & certainly don’t trust medications because they shift damage somewhere else later. So I am fortunate but have worked VERY hard for over 15 years to heal leaky gut with a functional MD. These ‘limitations/eliminations’ at the store may just push Americans to the better alternatives that they NEED to get better health & reduce meds which can push refills to last a little longer if at all. Remember, Drs/pharmacists love repeat customers!
“Teach them how to preserve or grow food” these things are what I consider “hobbies.” For the simple fact that the cost to buy the items needed to preserve said food would be out of reach financially for someone who can’t afford to buy food.
Same with growing food as most could never sustain themselves on what a home garden brings in. We started our seeds in April this year and due to 100 degree heat nothing grew even though we were out there every single freaking day watering said garden. It was so hot that the potatoes basically had shriveled skins and these were unusual temps for us because we usually only get a week or two of 100+ heat in August.
“most could never sustain themselves on what a home garden brings in”
true, but you have to start somewhere.
historically there are two methods of survival. 1) slave yourself to a farm/ranch and produce as much as you can off of 12 hour work days, or 2) be a bandit/warlord/lord/bishop preying on the farmers in return for providing “protection” from other bandits/warlords/lords/bishops.
Americans should skip more meals because they’re still fat. The secret to losing weight is to eat less food.
That’s good because Americans eat too much & take too many drugs anyway because they’re fat, obese & diabetic because they eat too much. A little forced fasting will fix what’s wrong with them.
In the early 80s the world went upside down also – the person who bought our house had a loan with an interest rate of 16%, (which is why I don’t pay much attention to 7% interest on loans) and we said we were the last ones out of town after a major shutdown. Our neighbor couldn’t even get anyone to just take over payments on the house they had been in for several years, so they lost the house and whatever credit rating they still had. “How to Prosper in the Coming Hard Times” by Howard Ruff was what helped us get ready back then. Still a lot of good information in that book.
Alternative meds are helpful, but you need to know what you’re doing. I don’t want to try an alternative to appendicitis.
My son’s burst on the operating table when he was a kid after I had tried several natural things for tummy cramps and vomiting, but when he “passed” a certain test to see if it’s appendicitis we went to the hospital. Fortunately the hospital helped us sign up for assistance because we were really broke back then. My husband’s burst just because he’s stubborn. (Normally his commitment is admirable.) He lost several inches of intestine because the appendix had festered and attached itself to the intestine. The doctor wondered what all that black stuff was in his gut – charcoal because he was self-treating himself.
Know the alternatives but know when to say “help”.
And yes, I’m concerned.
Just stocking up on whatever I think of that we might need so that we stay ahead – whether prices sky rocket and we’ll have saved some money, or things just aren’t available and we’ll have a little put away.
I was going to retire but they asked me stay part time for a bit while they transfer to a new computer program. So I’m still running the old system while they work at building the new one. But all of the unexpected paychecks are going to the purchase of a freeze dryer. Love my dried food and love my canned products (even though they’re a lot more work) but looking forward to one more thing to do with the blessings we have been given. If management keeps messing around with getting the new system started, I’ll have to think about whether the money’s worth the hassle of continuing to work – as I’m way past due for retirement and have lots of projects – but if so, the paycheck will be going to the solar project because we’re already living/spending like we’re on a retired income.
Blessings as you move forward in this new mess of “Life in These United States” (or wherever you are)
Can’t remember when I last ate a meal.
The place I live in refuses to buy food “because nobody buys it…you should see the rubbish they buy from me…”
(Because the shopkeeper only sells absolute junk – lollies icecreams frozen white bread outofdate rubbish and tinned rubbish with high markups and no nutitional value)
Do you live in the US? If so, I may have some suggestions for you.