Still Think the Economy is “Recovering”? Walmart Is Closing 269 Stores, Including These

By Daisy Luther

The economy is collapsing around us, and if you aren’t already prepared, it’s time to get with it ASAP, because Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores. If that doesn’t ring loud, clanging warning bells for you, then nothing will convince you of the need to prepare for economic collapse.

If you listened to the State of the Union address (listen for free) last week, you heard President Obama accuse those who criticized the financial situation in the United States of  “peddling fiction.” However, with oil prices plummeting, stock markets around the globe tanking, and businesses shutting their doors left and right, it seems that the only peddler of false tales is our fearless leader himself. When the biggest retailer in America is struggling to stay afloat, I call BS (Baloney Sandwiches) on the notion that “our economy is recovering.”

Since last year, Wal-Mart, that ubiquitous symbol of American discount retail and bad taste, has seen its stock value plummet an almost unfathomable $80 billion.

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Walmart Is Closing 269 Stores

Today, it was announced that Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores across the globe by the end of January. (Or as they like to call it, they are “sharpening their portfolio.” These stores are the ones in the United States.

Zero Hedge isn’t shy about pointing fingers toward the last straw for the struggling retail giant: “Behold: the effect of an across the board minimum wage hike.”

Even if you hate Wal-Mart and the corporate greed it stands for, another 16,000 people will find themselves out of work by month’s end.

The financial crisis is also rippling across Canada. As the Canadian dollar declines in value, the effects are felt as prices for imported goods like food and other necessities skyrocket.

Are you prepared for the impending collapse?

If you haven’t been busy preparing already, there really is no time left to lose. Take these steps immediately.

• Take your money out of the bank ASAP.  If you still keep your money in the bank, go there and remove as much as you can while leaving in enough to pay your bills. Although it wasn’t a market collapse in Greece recently, the banks did close and limit ATM withdrawals.  People went for quite some time without being able to access their money, but were able to have a sense of normalcy by transferring money online to pay bills or using their debit cards to make purchases.  Get your cash out. You don’t want to be at the mercy of the banks.
• Stock up on supplies.  Make sure you are prepped. If you’re behind on your preparedness efforts and need to do this quickly, you can order buckets of emergency food just to have some on hand. (Learn how to build an emergency food supply using freeze dried food HERE) Hit the grocery store or wholesale club and stock up there, too, on  your way home. Once you have these emergency supplies stashed, focus on filling in the gaps in your supply as quickly as you can.
• Load up on fuel.  Fill up your gas tank and fill your extra cans also. Right now, the price of oil is dropping. Use that as an opportunity to stock up, because quite often, fuel prices skyrocket in the wake of a market crash. Be sure to store it properly for both safety and longevity.
• Be prepared for the potential of civil unrest. If the banks put a limit on withdrawals (or close like they did in Greece) you can look for some panic to occur. If the stores dramatically increase prices or close..more panic. Be armed and be prepared to stay safely at home. (Although this article was written during the Ferguson race riots, civil unrest follows a similar pattern regardless of the cause.)
• Be prepared for the possibility of being unable to pay your bills. If things really go downhill, the middle class and those who are the working poor will be the most strongly affected, as they have been in Greece during that country’s ongoing financial crisis.  This article talks about surviving if you are unable to pay all of your bills.

Is your local store on the list?

I don’t do much shopping at Wal-Mart, because I dislike their corporate ethics. (I know, complete oxymoron. Sometimes I find myself limited by the English language.) However, the loss of these massive stores will cause an immediate crisis in many communities in which they’ve driven all of the Mom and Pop stores out of business. Locals will have no choice but to travel to purchase their necessities, the unemployment lines will swell, and our already thinly stretched social assistance system is likely to reach the breaking point.

Resources for Preparing for Financial Collapse:

• The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any Disaster (This is the be-all and end-all Bible of prepping.  I wish I could put my own book first, but Tess’s book is the most complete compendium out there, broken into easy, manageable steps.)
• The Pantry Primer: A Prepper’s Guide to Whole Food on a Half-Price Budget (This is my newest book, which outlines building your pantry while on a strict budget)
• The Complete Tightwad Gazette (While this book is about hardcore frugality, trust me, there’s crossover. There are a lot of great suggestions for creating stockpiles on a budget, living simply, and doing things the old-fashioned way. And saving money is always a good idea, so that you can use it to help you become more prepared.)
• SAS Survival Guide: How to Survive in the Wild, on Land or Sea  (I keep this little gem in my vehicle, my bug out bag, and in my kids’ backpacks. It doesn’t go into lots of detail, but if you find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere, this small book could save your life.)
• The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual of Living Off the Land & Doing It Yourself(A compendium of all things self-reliance)
• Prepper’s Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary (If you can’t protect it, you don’t own it. It’s that simple.)
• How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times (By James Wesley Rawles, who many consider to be the “Father” of the modern preparedness movement)
• The Prepper’s Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster (Quick, inexpensive preparedness steps that anyone can take)
• The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way (It’s vital to have a guide on hand that doesn’t rely on 911 for serious injuries, in the event that you’re completely on your own)
• The Prepper’s Canning Guide (It’s awesome to grow your food, but how will you make it last through the winter, particularly during an off-grid scenario?)
• Prepper’s Natural Medicine: Written by my friend and colleague, Cat Ellis, this book has everything you need to know about creating your own medicine and caring for your family’s health in the event of a crisis.
• Get Prepared Now: Written by the autor of The Economic Collapse Blog himself, this book will provide you with budget-friendly, practical, collapse-specific advice.
• Prepper’s Financial Guide: By prolific author Jim Cobb, this book will help you figure out how to function in a post-collapse marketplace.

Good luck, friends. I hope you’re ready.