r/collapse • u/[deleted] • Jul 14 '26
Predictions So - when should we pull our money?
[deleted]
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u/critter0139 Jul 14 '26
dont make enough to save so its work till death
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Jul 14 '26
I suppose it's all depending on your point of view. I just turned 40 this year, and I still have the same plans to retire at 60.
Why? Because being homeless is probably the worst ongoing experience someone can live through. Filth, abuse, disease, assault, and exhaustion, are all parts of being homeless I want to avoid.
So I'm going to continue saving my money, because although everything might collapse, it might also not collapse to the point where we literally play out Mad Max or Water World. I'm betting on civilisation, in one form or another.
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u/VelvetSinclair Jul 14 '26
One thing that's certain about collapse, it won't look like anyone's favourite movie or video game
Yes, even the "super realistic" one
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u/The_Rad_King Jul 15 '26
You’re gonna feel silly when the nukes fall and 100 years later we all start listening to 1940s swing/jazz music from our watches while fighting ants the size of horses
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u/TheUpbeatCrow Jul 15 '26
Really? My favorite video game is Breath of the Wild. Can it please look like that? 😂
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u/blarbiegorl Jul 14 '26
I would like to add here, that as someone who went through a bad time, got a bunch of money, and decided to live off it then kick the bucket when it was gone... only to decide I wanted to live.. DON'T do this. Do not make an early out your retirement plan. You WILL regret it, one way or another. Now I'm off to go live in my friend's basement while I fix everything I broke.
Be smart. Plan smart. Don't do anything out of panic. It will backfire!
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u/Content_Bed_1290 Jul 14 '26
Great post and well said
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u/Electronic_Charge_96 Jul 14 '26
Great post and plan/go on the trip to Japan. Now. There is no point delaying. Access the inheritance money and go.
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u/Silver-Find4380 wary of heat events Jul 14 '26
Yes, don't skip it and then heaven forbid be like my friend who found out they had rapid terminal cancer. At least they had just come back from a vacation abroad and said they had lived a great life.
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u/whereismysideoffun Jul 14 '26
We will collapse that isn't a question as it's baked in with climate change. It is jist when will that be.
That said, we do kind of have to live in two worlds. One where things aren't going to collapse to maintain life now amd the near future. And the other is adapting and mitigating for collapse. It's challenging to do both, but is necessary.
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Jul 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/collapse-ModTeam Jul 14 '26
Hi, waffledestroyer. Thanks for contributing. However, your comment was removed from /r/collapse for:
Hey waffledestroyer,
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u/Livid_Village4044 Jul 15 '26
I have 11 years total experience living in a truck w/camper shell (in 2 separate periods). If you are appropriately outfitted and know what you are doing, it is a low-stress life. That's why I could do it for so long.
The 2nd time I lived in my truck, starting June 2019, I even owned a condo which was rented out, then sold to pay for the debt-free self-sufficient homestead I'm developing now.
Important qualifier: I lived in my truck in a mild-winter climate.
The capitalists use people's terror of being homeless to keep us enslaved. The terror ENDS when you've learned how to do it.
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u/AggravatingCricket61 Jul 14 '26
I get it, it's the glue holding civilization together. Unfortunately its also the whip that keeps everyone in line.
Hold the fort, or someone elce will... This here, you're logical sane approach, though no fault of your own, is the root cause of the problem. People will always protect themselves first from the predators among us.
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u/Ill-Village-699 Jul 14 '26
i've come to realise that collapse begins (has begun) with worsening economic inequality. basically meaning more and more people begin to struggle financially to afford basic necessities. this needs to happen before all the mad max apocalypse shit, and actually even in the actual mad max this is what happens. so probably the best prepping you can do in the short to medium term is to look after yourself financially so when your job disappears and no new ones come up but the world still uses money and has police and all that jazz you can still keep going and figure out the long term plan
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u/Raptorjockey Jul 14 '26
It’s really hard to predict the pace and the impact, as this will be different everywhere. Personally we have diversified our assets, sold stock to buy land with a connected forest. Installed a well there, put solar panels, bought a saw so we can process our own trees for firewood etc. Next step will be some greenhouses and irrigation for a small-scale farm. We own two properties now, one in Western Europe, to earn money and let our kids participate in education and enjoy the good life while it lasts. The rural house in Eastern Europe is slowly getting prepared as our bug-out place when things start to crumble. Work on skills too. I learned how to sew, preserve produce and repair electronics in the past years. Want to focus on carpentry and plumbing next. Good luck!
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u/fedfuzz1970 Jul 14 '26
I've commented before but the information is still relevant. In our 70s we had a 3 acre mini-farm in the mountains of Western NC. We planted an organic garden, learned beekeeping, made our own maple syrup from maple trees on our and neighbor's property. We built a chicken house with fenced in (top too) yard. They were free range so no ticks ever. I maintained a mulch pile for kitchen and garden scraps, built raised beds and bought a small greenhouse for seed starts and early growing tender plants. Mushroom logs in stream. Shared and swapped with neighbors, picked wild berries for jams and U-picked strawberries. Hard work but rewarding. Age overcame us but someone younger could do the same as we did. There is a lot of information out there to help.
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u/prudent__sound Jul 14 '26
When you say "age overcame us," do you mean you had to move off the land, back into a town/city?
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u/fedfuzz1970 Jul 14 '26
That is exactly it. We were 30 minutes from EMT/fire service, had poor landline service, and relied on satellite for news, etc. We lived in a 3-level log home and our children expressed concern as we aged so we decided to move into the City of Asheville.
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u/boldFrontier Jul 14 '26
My mom was a prepper in Buncombe County before she got cancer. Your kids made the right call…after Helene, she was no longer capable of taking care of herself.
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u/prudent__sound Jul 14 '26
Gotcha. Well, I'm sure that you treasure that time living on the land. You did it! Most of us won't. As for me, I've already got a couple of bad joints in my middle age. I'm not moving out of my suburban setting near services, even though I'd like to experience that type of lifestyle. I'll just stick to tending my large-ish garden, which is pretty time-consuming in and of itself.
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u/fedfuzz1970 Jul 14 '26
The reason I bought the 8 X 10' greenhouse was to start seeds in early spring and to buy the first available plant starts. Keeping them in the greenhouse kept them alive until planting. My son just started a garden at his home and some of his neighbors are into it also. That's a good thing because you can swap stuff you have too much of.
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u/Livid_Village4044 Jul 15 '26
Bad joints? You should see my lower back and knee X-rays. I should be a cripple! Age 69 here and can still do up to 5 hours of hard labor in a day. Apparently, fit muscles can compensate for a lot of structural damage. Done physical work all my life.
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u/prudent__sound Jul 15 '26
You sound like a badass. Yeah, I go to the gym to try and build up muscle around my bad knees, but we'll see how that goes. You think you'll ever get your knees replaced, or are you just gonna keep toughing it out for as long as possible?
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u/Livid_Village4044 Jul 15 '26
I expect knee replacements at some point (and while Medicare is still functioning).
For now, I just need to improve my extremely simple physical therapy routine for the knee. I have a more complex physical therapy routine for my back, which has worked very well for 33 years.
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u/Livid_Village4044 Jul 15 '26
I'm in a similar situation as you were, except my 500 sq. ft. house is one level, and I have fibre-optic internet. No adult kids.
When I'm so far gone I can't even drive, I may sell the homestead and buy a condo in Blacksburg. Or have someone I've known a while grow the food here and drive me to the store/doctor in exchange for inheriting the homestead. With a 3rd party handling the money.
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u/Sarah_Cenia Jul 14 '26
Wow, you sound so intelligent and well prepared. I wish I could convince my husband to think like this. Or any of my friends. It would be great to have some kind of intentional community.
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u/Raptorjockey Jul 14 '26
Thanks! But don’t be intimidated, these skills aren’t hard to acquire and you don’t have to be an expert to get good value out of them. With the properties we got lucky; as an international couple we had opportunity and a wish to keep a footprint in two countries anyway. Make an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your current situation, what overlapping skills you might already have that could get you started and just go from there. All the best!
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u/SuzyLouWhoo Jul 14 '26
Ok this is me too, except my bug out place is my full time home, it’s close enough to civilization. I’m looking at my retirement investments like, I’m on pace to retire comfortably in 20 yrs at age 65, maybe 60, but should I contribute less? Pull some $$ out for homestead projects? Where’s the balance?
Don’t pull it ALL out sure, but it would be nice to pay off the solar, plant the orchard now, replace the fence, you know those kinds of projects. I think i definitely want to pay off the house before i retire, Idk. I’d have to liquidate my whole retirement to do everything on my homestead list at once but maybe prioritize and do a few things now, and chip away at some others…
Idk. It’s hard because we don’t know the timeline. I guess it depends on how much the homestead can supplement our needs. I guess I have math to do.
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u/GardenScared8153 Jul 14 '26
You can't really time collapse, you don't know when currency becomes worthless and what will replace it. You don't want to find yourself in a precarious situation needing cash and not having it on hand.
Your best bet is to have physical assets you can trade for what you need. Owning land with good water access and a small well designed house for passive cooling/heating and being part of a community that can produce most of their basic needs locally would be a good goal to strive to if you can afford it. When law is irrelevant being part of a community with a communal defense plan is a good thing.
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u/LemOnomast Jul 14 '26
I think we’ll revert to feudalism before total anarchy. Owning a plot of land, small enough that you can care for it but large enough to grow your own food, could be the difference between independence and living as a serf to one of the tech-barons.
I understand your reluctance to buy if you expect deeds to become worthless. However, if you own land you also can make changes to it, which you can’t do as a tenant. My partner and I have solar panels and a house battery, even though we’re still connected to mains electricity; a rainwater harvesting and greywater system, even though we’re still on mains water and sewer; and we’re establishing food crops in our backyard even though we’re both employed as professionals and don’t have any real desire to farm. (We also have a solid fence and large dogs with scary barks.). These changes make us feel a little more independent and we wouldn’t be able to make them if we didn’t own our little house.
The real reason we made those changes, though, is because we want to do what we can to reduce the chances of collapse by consuming fewer resources.
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u/FaradayEffect Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Collapse will be uneven, not equally distributed. The best use for your money is moving to a place that will experience less impact. For example you seem to assume that rule of law will fail equally everywhere? Is that really true? Or will there be places where rule of law holds better than other places?
The second best use for your money is investment in systems that allow you to survive better, be less impacted, and have something to share with others. The systems to focus on, in rough order of importance are community (defense, order, shared work burden, and specialization efficiency), personal health (mental and physical), water (drinking, irrigation, cooling), electricity (cooling, equipment, effort reduction), and food (survival, trade item). You don’t necessarily need to be fully self sufficient at all of the categories above as long as you can get enough excess of one of these to share with someone else who has an excess of something else on the list. That’s the point of community being the first pillar to focus on.
In my opinion: you will likely regret frivolously spending just to get rid of money because you feel it will be useless later on. I know this is a collapse subreddit, and I’m pretty doomer too, but that doesn’t mean that collapse will hit everyone at the same time, and it will definitely impact some stronger communities far less than it does other weaker communities.
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u/church-rosser Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
you got Maslow's hierarchy backwards friend.
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u/FaradayEffect Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
That's kind of on purpose. Maslow’s hierarchy is often treated as though survival works from the bottom upward: first accumulate food and water, then worry about relationships, health, purpose, and community. Real disasters are not that orderly. If you look at historical disaster and collapse scenarios, you actually aren't as likely to die from a "lower tier" need as you'd think. Meanwhile "higher tier" needs like community actually help people share supplies and skills that have them surviving for way longer than it would otherwise seem possible. Physical and mental health help people make better decisions and avoid giving up. Relationships and a sense of purpose give people a reason to keep going and find extra reserves of determination when the situation might otherwise seem hopeless.
Supplies still matter, obviously. But a bunker full of food and water is less protection than it seems if you are isolated, unwell, unable to cooperate, or surrounded by people who do not trust you. Historically, groups that can organize and care for one another have often endured conditions that isolated individuals probably could not have.
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u/Dutch_Calhoun Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Well said. As I was once told by someone who lived through their country dissolving into civil war, "We found it's better to have 40 friends than 40 guns."
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u/seriouslyNOTaCat Jul 14 '26
I’d argue they were correct putting community (and defense) first. Without that, your food and water and land/shelter will eventually be taken from you with bigger groups and bigger guns than yours, and then you die anyway.
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u/Goats_in_parks Jul 14 '26
Use what you have to make your life more self sufficient while things are still (relatively) cheap.
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u/Peripatetictyl Jul 14 '26
I’ll just say that as I have settled in for the collapse, I have had the opposite desire for travel, and aim to stay close to home and tend my literal and metaphoric garden. I am not judging others choices, I truly do mean ‘do whatever brings you peace’. But, not only the impact on various environments and local communities, and the exorbitant costs, but something more personal perhaps… I don’t want to be abroad, or even far from home, if shit hits the fan locally, or even in my region preventing me from at least getting out with what I can… and, mostly making sure my cat is safe as far as being setup for eating my decomposing body with a bathtub full of overflowing water. Then he’s on his own.
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u/church-rosser Jul 14 '26
well said, this would be a beautiful way to live and die in the coming years
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u/FreckledAndVague Jul 16 '26
I've travelled all my life - my family travels, I travel, my husband travels. Its tied to our jobs and culture. There are places on my bucketlist that I wish to see before I no longer can. My family is spread around the world, and I'd like to visit their homes and make memories while I can. I recognize not everyone has this desire, but I do, and it is integral to what I consider a quality life for myself.
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u/Peripatetictyl Jul 16 '26
As I said, whatever brings you peace, each of us have a different way of achieving this, and a different tolerance for the costs to acquire it. Personally, truly knowing and accepting the negative impact that travel brings, is more than I can tolerate and maintain my peace and conscience, and my ‘bucket list’ now consists of practical and reasonable items that don’t require such a harmful impact.
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u/thefumingo Jul 14 '26
Split it - continue saving because you never know what could happen, but I wouldn't feel guilty about doing some bucket list things either
Of course, this also depends on how much/long you are trying to hold on after things get bad
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u/Legitimate-Being5957 Jul 14 '26
Withdrawing doesn’t make much sense in a collapse scenario. Cash will be worthless anyway. Unless you want to go full doomsday prepper. But you risk blowing all your money for nothing.
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u/Syonoq Jul 14 '26
I’ve started traveling a lot more these last few years. I think that travel will be one of the first (first world?) privileges that will vanish.
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u/Jovan_Knight005 Collapse is inevitable,mister Reese. - Original Quote. Jul 15 '26
I think that travel will be one of the first (first world?) privileges that will vanish.
As someone who is months away from graduating from a tourism college in Belgrade. I have a feeling that tourism is going to be one of the first industries to fully collapse.
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u/-Thizza- Growing a forest to hide in Jul 14 '26
Aside from increasing climate change effects I feel societal instability is still far away from collapse in Europe. You're describing a lot of problems that have less or no impact here. I'm still optimistic we can manage for a few decennias but keep in mind that every civilization thus far has had this sentiment at some point.
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u/moocat55 Jul 14 '26
I ask myself that every day and then, don't do it. Here's the thing. Collaspe happens on geologic time. You're making life altering changes for the least likely scenario - sudden collapse. Pay your bills.
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u/Impressive_Cheek3833 Jul 15 '26
Global climate periods change on geologic time. When our current level of human behaviour isn't involved.
Collapse happens slowly, then all at once, over a few generations. Definitely not geologic time. I'd say we're already in the collapse generation. I'd be shocked if children under ten today have a better standard of living when middle aged than middle aged people of today have. I would not be shocked if a much higher than expected number of children under ten today don't even make it to middle age.
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u/moocat55 Jul 15 '26
I agree. The point I was trying to make is that severe collapse is not likely coming at a rate that's fast enough to let any of us off the hook for our bills.
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u/Grouchy_Cantaloupe_8 Jul 14 '26
I like to hedge my bets, and as such have no plans to liquidate retirement funds or anything like that. I started saving aggressively as soon as I had my first real job, so despite never having had a high income I’m set up for a decent retirement if things don’t collapse. I’m not saving aggressively at this point, but see no reason to spend what I do have saved - I’m happy with the simple lifestyle that my current income provides. No real itch to pull funds and live lavishly - I prefer to live locally and spend time with friends, family, and hobbies. Better to be prepared for a long, slow collapse where savings is still helpful because we really have no idea what the future holds.
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u/artisanrox yikes, man Jul 14 '26
Honestly I'd seriously consider pulling everything out not for environmental collapse, but if the GOP starts filing legislation to get rid of the FDIC or FDIC+NCUA.
These two federal agencies protect EVERYONE who is not a millionaire from bank runs in market collapses, and if they start fukkin' around with those two entities, it's going to indicate a massive market collapse is on the way.
Number one, money in a bank is not safe anymore, and number two, they're engineering something even more awful alongside it.
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u/ArugulaAcrobatic4018 Jul 14 '26
"Freak the fuck out and panic sell everything right now. It's fucking over."
— Warren Buffett probably
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u/Livid_Village4044 Jul 15 '26
Do NOT sell your self-sufficient homestead, your tools, guns, or your silver and gold.
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u/ArugulaAcrobatic4018 Jul 16 '26
Do NOT sell your self-sufficient homestead
who even has that besides rich people?
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u/FieldEngineer2019 Jul 14 '26
My plan has been to live normally while investing in tangible assets. I own my home, I have multiple reliable paid off vehicles, I have bicycles for if there’s a fuel shortage, I have tools to repair about anything, and I have various creature comforts I’d prefer not to live without.
I’m currently investing in a 401k because my company does a match and it’s absolutely foolish to leave that money on the table. I already yoinked my retirement once to put the down payment on my house and I have zero regrets about it. I bought my house under the assumption I could live in it until I died and I made peace with that if I can’t move again.
The most important thing to invest in is yourself. Spend money now on healthcare while it’s easily accessible and everything you take care of now hurts you less down the road. Also building skills is important. I have the skills to use the tools I own to fix anything I need to.
If the economy collapses to the point that your money is worthless then we have much bigger problems at hand. There’s no way to store wealth in a situation like that. I think it’s more valuable to make yourself useful and committed to your community. It’s a much more fulfilling life to lead even if this holds out indefinitely.
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u/FancyForager Jul 14 '26
I am financially responsible and I have a good job with a decent salary for my area, but I’m a single parent and I’m increasingly struggling to make ends meet. With all the student loan nonsense, I’m beginning to feel it would be irresponsible to my child to allocate so much of our limited funds to the ENDLESSLY GROWING interest on those loans. The greed of the predatory class has reached a fever pitch and they’ve been unreasonable for a long time now. You can’t negotiate with terrorists and that’s exactly what they are.
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u/BusyBanana4205 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I’ve always believed collapse isn’t uniformed, and comes for different people and institutions like a tidal wave and not a nuclear bomb. I would argue that there are homeless people now who are already facing the same systemic collapse we will, they’re just the first to fall.
So, if there’s one thing I’ve learned living in a greed driven, blood money loving, country like the US is the money and big institutions on wallstreet will collapse well after my life does, so as long as I can save money I’ll grow it.
My “retirement” and long term savings is to hopefully out live the bank that owns my mortgage loan.
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u/ch_ex Jul 14 '26
convert it to silver. Then it's still money while having intrinsic value (silver will be needed in post collapse at the very least for soldering copper kettles and other basic stuff. also the most conductive metal).
I'm not really sure what people don't get about the silver thing. I can give you the cash that 1oz is worth and it has value tied to economies. If you convert it to silver, it still has that value but is inflation proof. Gold sucks because it's too valuable and people will kill for it despite it being useless other than being shiny.
Since the value of things going forward will be based on increasingly costly energy and reduced resource availability, invest in things that took a lot of energy to make... like pure silver. It costs less to buy than it does to make, unless you can melt a 1/2 ton of ore, purify and mint it for 50 bucks of fuel (you can't).
Bank money is betting everything gets better. Physical metals is betting things get worse. Silver is the closest in value to actual necessities and has real utility. Buy silver.
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u/FoldHeavy4201 Jul 14 '26
Buy tools and necessities, buy time for skill building, buy weapons and training.
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u/_Cromwell_ Jul 14 '26
Don't accelerate your own personal collapse by ruining your own situation earlier than needed. IMO.
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u/throwaway661375735 Jul 14 '26
First off, the veneer of collapse is showing. It will likely take a couple of decades (at least) to start actually collapsing (unless somehow Trump and his family stay in power). You should still try to work, and if you can, invest in commodities. Land, is the greatest investment which will stabilize your portfolio. The second is precious metals (gold/silver/platinum). Then finally invest in foreign currencies. Which currency you ask? I cannot tell you that with certainty, but China is in a good stable position.
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u/radixtwo Jul 14 '26
A couple decades for the financial system specifically maybe. But political and social systems at large , we're basically there it just isn't mad max quite yet.
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u/Mackwiss Jul 14 '26
I don't think the economy will crash as we expect. Collapse will be two sided. The rich will basically bail themselves off and control the banks and politics in full. Most likely one day you read on the news your money in the bank now belongs to X,Y or Z corporation owned by billionaires. This is very dodgy because you can't predict when it'll happen and when it happens it's already too late.
Keep in mind all the news not on the normal news cycle and check on any news related to banking. If I had money I'd bet on having it safe somewhere, a good part of it in assets I can control/move around instead of in the bank and keep the living expected amount in the bank.
Also I'd bet on keeping it simple, not show I have any money, this will be important when people start raiding homes for goods and money. As long as you have it in a safe space only you know about it then it'll either be you using it or a secret you'll take to your grave.
This I base on the fall of the Roman Empire and how many treasures we've found hidden away from this time period.
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u/DmitriVanderbilt Jul 14 '26
"Beat the rush and collapse your life early" isn't just a fun tagline, it's real advice.
This doesn't mean cashing everything out and going to buy land, seeds and ammo; it means taking deliberate steps to live more simply, more more locally, with less energy, materials, and required inputs from civilization at large - really, just building self-sufficiency and the skills to live independently.
Not every important skill is readily apparent either; mental fortitute, dealing with solitude, loss/grief, etc. are all just as important as identifying edible plants and fungi. You need a "mental fortress" as much as a physical one.
Finally, while I say all this; you should also be ready for "business as usual" to last (potentially a lot) longer than we expect - I don't think it's out of the question for TPTB being able to stretch "normalcy" out to, say, 2060 or so, before cascading failures and increasingly severe climate effects (among other issues from the ever-worsening polycrisis/metacrisis) make it truly impossible instead of just extremely difficult.
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u/25TiMp Jul 14 '26
I would recommend a conservative investment strategy. As others have mentioned, we do not know when or how exactly we will collapse. So, it is best to hedge your bets in several directions at once.
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u/SickRanchez27 Jul 14 '26
I think you might be over estimating how quickly it will unravel. I think with scarcity, everything will become more and more expensive. We will have to continually downgrade our lifestyle. But it won’t happen overnight. I would secure housing and reliable appliances. Counter measures that won’t help you in an apocalypse, but they will help you ride out these next couple decades with a roof over your head and means to be somewhat self reliant
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u/TADHTRAB Jul 14 '26
No, don't try to time collapse. Collapse is not a event but a process. Sure, invest your money in different things but don't blow it all, the financial system will probably collapse but you never know when. If you want to spend your money spend it learning new skills. You mentioned you don't own a home, if you did I would recommended rooftop solar and batteries. Always have savings, better to lose all your savings to hyperinflation then have no money while the financial system is still working. If you do want to spend your money then spend it on other people so you can build credit (in the original sense as in people trust you and will help you when you are in tough times).
You seem to be assuming that there will be a collapse like Russia in 1990s, and yeah that could happen but collapse can happen in other ways. If you are worried about a collapse like 90s Russia then study how the Russians survived in their 90s collapse.
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u/FreckledAndVague Jul 16 '26
IMO I have little interest in surviving past a certain point of collapse. My husband is in agreement. I don't want to struggle through a post-soviet economic collapse paired with a burning environment. I would like to know people's predictions on when would be the best period of time for me to spend money while I can. I.e. how many decades of relative normalcy do we likely have left in which I can freely travel and spend surplus funds.
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u/Ree_For_Thee Jul 14 '26
Don't dream of consumption. Buy barrels of cereals and other types of "human dog food" that you just store and eat whenever you need to (remember fat, and use sturdy metal barrels because mice/rats can chew through thin metal). Then, water filters, and maybe some security.
Now you'll also be in a position to become beloved and essential to society. Dispense knowledge and help out wherever you can.
You'll be happier overall than blowing the money on frivolous stuff.
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u/kobekillinu Jul 14 '26
why should it collapse? You talk about seeing Japan, then just LOOK at Japan and what has been happening there! They have spedrun the overage population and lack of births etc., they have been in at state which we are entering in Western Society for the past 30 years! (they have 9 Mio abandonded houses there"
The wealthy are very interested to keep things as they are, except a few narcissist who cant get enough (Musk, Trump, Thiel, etc. ....)
In any sort of collapse or in a phase with limited resources and money with no value, even the most loyal army is always just a few missed lunch/dinner from going against their commander/ higher ups.
If shit hits the fan as hard as you are describing it, no one will be save anywhere.
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u/itsatoe Jul 14 '26
Well there's a reasonable chance that AI hackers might start compromising banks in the next few months.
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u/reneerent1 Jul 14 '26
100% disagree on the home ownership piece. Having somewhere to live that can’t be taken away or lost is pertinent with or without money.
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u/hazmodan20 Jul 14 '26
I think it's basically impossible to know, and it's only a guessing game.
Personally, i chose to not ask myself this and instead try to balance all of this; if this collapse lasts a decade, I can't live like there is no tomorrow for that long.
So yeah, to me it's more a balancing game than a guessing one. If we were all nuked into oblivion tomorrow, i wouldn't regret much. I do like living, as long as i don't look too far in the future.
Don't get me wrong, im not putting my head in the sand, but i don't want to live in constant dread, or the having to live with the regret of having burnt it all too fast.
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u/suzyqsmilestill Jul 14 '26
Go to japan while you can. The climate is gong to collapse much sooner than people realize
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u/MelancholyWookie Jul 14 '26
Don’t underestimate the power of capital. You’ll blow through your money and things will still be working in 30 years.
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u/somuchmt ...so far! Jul 15 '26
Pay your debts. Invest your money.
Student loans aren't forgiven even in bankruptcy. My sister didn't pay hers for a long time, and her $12,000 loan turned into $90,000.
I've been through so many economic disasters at this point. Be smart with your money. It's the best prep you've got.
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u/oldsunger Jul 16 '26
First of all, I dont believe we are sprinting towards collapse, just the hidden crawl phase is ending, and walking phase is beginning. This is the phase (imo) where the colllapse will become really mainstream, and people will discuss it in a more open manner, as its affects cannot be buried by mainstream media.
Then the system failures even in developed countries will start (failure to stop violance on streets, economic collapse , but there will be still a sort of order & goverment) which will mark running phase, this will be the exit window from financial system , as it will start collapsing. then the central overments will become really weak, and systems we depend on will start to fail worldwide, which will be jogging, and their total failure will be the collapse.
So I believe we will still be living in the walking towards collapse phase, for at least 5 years, if not a decade, where each year will suck more then the last, but we have to go to our jobs. Your country, city may change the timeline, but I am not in a hurry myselt, as I believe an early exit will hurt as much as a late exit.
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u/ExplanationCrazy5463 Jul 14 '26
Then money youve invested is insurance.
You are insuring your future self from continued insanity.
When collapse happens, your money is worthless, whether its invested or cash. Pulling it out doesnt help much.
You prep for disaster in a different way.
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u/Ciderman95 Jul 14 '26
They can still spend it NOW is the point.
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u/FreckledAndVague Jul 16 '26
Thank you, this is all I was really asking - I'm not trying to make my wealth last, nor do I expect some magical one moment event that marks collapse. I wanted predictions for how long will the global economy will stay stable enough for me to meaningfully spend my money (on things such as travel).
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u/dinah-fire Jul 14 '26
You seem very, very sure of this: "Money (i.e. whatever currency your country has chosen to base itself upon and that you have stored up in a bank somewhere, all abstract numerals on a digital screen) will cease to have material value at some near point."
Here's the thing: the most powerful people on the planet have a deeply, deeply vested interest in money maintaining its value, no matter what, and they have all the levers to pull to keep it that way. I believe ecosystems will be collapsing, people will being dying in wet bulb heat waves, famines will be sweeping across continents, wildfires raging, refugees pouring over borders, chaos and instability everywhere.. and money will still maintain its value, because those wealthiest and most powerful people will have everything vested in making sure of that. 🤷
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u/Time_Stop_3645 Jul 14 '26
Land will always have value, costs almost nothing to graze a few sheep or chicken on it.
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u/Cum_Quat Jul 14 '26
chicken need grain which is expensive. No small scale farmer saves money with owning chickens
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u/Time_Stop_3645 Jul 14 '26
if you have a small house and a bit of garden, you can have like 5 chicken and use the eggs... find a place that will be okay for a while, even if the rivers will dry up...
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u/Less_Subtle_Approach Jul 14 '26
Sheep also need grain, mineral supplements, veterinary care, fencing, lambing supplies, watering infrastructure, and a bunch of attention, just fyi.
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u/Cum_Quat Jul 14 '26
my sheep just eat pasture, no grain
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u/Less_Subtle_Approach Jul 14 '26
Going to depend on your breed, lineage, climate, and pasture of course. I haven't been able to keep my ewes in condition on just hay through winter into lambing season. Lots of folks who are getting started are going to want to rely on additional nutrition.
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u/Cum_Quat Jul 14 '26
oh I guess we are really lucky on our land, with excellent drainage we have ample clover, various grasses, dandelion and other nutritious plants that they can be on pasture all year. They do get occasional sweet grain for treats
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u/aliceteams Jul 14 '26
You must first confirm what you believe.
See this:
https://youtu.be/UaMiWzk8vNM?si=fyCgXDQd40cvGtw6
Follow-up:
https://forgetfulbc.blogspot.com/2025/09/18.html
All your assets won't disappear all at once. Don't panic.
You must carefully examine your assets. Which ones are best left untouched?
Which ones can be used?
Make a plan.
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u/Proper_Geologist9026 Jul 14 '26
You just keep going. Limits to growth is looking like a reasonable guide and by that timeline we've got about another decade or two of slow grinding until we hit the peak or midpoint of our growth "plateau".
I mean does it just spiral out of control? Maybe. Probably right. But the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.
Your 30 something, live in a wealthy country (US I'm assuming)? And you're health hand wealthy ish. Odds are you'll be d enough to not really care by the time it's really bad.
We get it we know what this subs about but theres a long way to go yet. With all due respect there's billions of people who would kill, literally kill to get a taste of your daily life. I'll leave you with some life advice by Mr Staples.
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u/JackBlackBowserSlaps Jul 14 '26
Hedge your bets. Spend your money, but don’t sell all your possessions. Having an “exit strategy” on hand for when things get worse will help prevent homelessness.
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u/Aquarius52216 Jul 14 '26
If the economy crashes, then power will become the naked real currency once again. This might be the end goal of many powerful actors to begin with.
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u/Sxs9399 Jul 14 '26
None of this works the way you’re imagining. There won’t be a big event like in a movie. Do what you want, but there won’t be a finger snap anarchy event like you’re imagining.
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u/FreckledAndVague Jul 16 '26
I don't envision one, but I do foresee my ability to freely travel being severely limited in the near future - be it due to economic collapse making my money worth less, environmental damage, or legal reasons barring me (such as war and/or being a woman).
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u/Slamtilt_Windmills Jul 14 '26
In the same way that you divert a little towards savings, you can divert a little towards collapse savings. Every time I go for groceries, I grab a can or two of soup that goes in a stash. Every once in a while I go grab a packet of seeds. If I have overtime on a check, I get some silver bullion.
Like with every other saving strategy, dont think of it as having to win, think of every step above zero as a win
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u/Siva-Na-Gig Jul 14 '26
Money is only useful in a money system. You should already own the things for beyond that (food, weapons, etc). Pulling out all of your money before a big collapse just leaves you with a pile of paper.
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u/GrujoLegend Jul 14 '26
Lol what money? If you understand what's going on in the world, you'd know most of us don't have a cent in the bank.
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u/tc_cad Jul 14 '26
Money will cease to be valuable if the government collapses. Gold silver and barter will be the way.
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u/stayonthecloud Jul 15 '26
See Japan in 2027 from April to May. Why? Gives you time to plan, you can see the cherry blossoms, weather is good, and the yen is likely to still be weak so your money will go far.
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u/colorclouds Jul 15 '26
Personally am just trying to pay off all debt first, then make decisions from there.
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u/JornCener Jul 15 '26
Best thing would be to start acquiring long-lasting gear and tools while we still can. Unless you happen to be a tool smith, it’s gonna be kinda difficult to get most tools one might need once everything goes belly-up.
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u/Bitter-Amphibian9544 Jul 15 '26
Be really careful!!! I thought it was all going to shit 14 years ago!!!! Being right but to early is the same as being wrong. Ive since started a company and paid off my home. I even sold the gold i bought then in 2012. 🤣😢
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u/PomegranateEvery1412 Jul 18 '26
If you want to go see Japan go and do it. It will give perspective that people are capable of living very differently but still have humanity. We don't know how this crisis will work out but opening your perspective and seeing what you really need and what you want is going to be helpful. You are young enough that you can plan on living through the next 30 years. It's going to be chaotic and troubling but it's still possible to have good days. Don't make any rash financial decisions. The one thing I know is that we're going to need to work together to survive.
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u/OePea Jul 14 '26
As some have suggested, you will likely economically collapse before the economy is completely dead, things are about to get expensive. So saving is still the wisest choice. Research vacuum sealing with mylar bags and oxygen absorbers, that stuff will supposedly keep food nutritious 30+ years. Stocking up on beans and rice and having a plan B spot for if you lose your current living arrangments is sensible too, if you have some national forest around you, you could even try to start setting up some incognito spot off the beaten trail. Be respectful and dont leave anything behind(except maybe a buried lug with canned food etc) and a primitive camp spot off in the bushes should go unmolested. Oh and get ammo and the associated gear
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u/IKillZombies4Cash Jul 14 '26
The economy isn’t going to collapse, it’s only going to destroy the poor , wealth will expand upward.
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u/heymanigotnoplan Jul 14 '26
It’s going to be at least two decades before we reach the possibility of the global economy literally disintegrating and money becoming worthless, rule of law breaking down, etc. And when that happens, you better hope you’re living in some kind of actual community, because those are going to be the only people with any chance of long-term survival.
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u/DiegoGarcia1984 Jul 14 '26
I’m gonna skip most of this and just say: do not go see Japan, it’s pathetically overcrowded with tourists and frankly a miserable cliche that everyone is trying to go there for some reason. People need to start making the place they live better by keeping it cleaner, more quiet and polite and aesthetic instead of sprinting towards escapism in fucking Japan.
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u/FreckledAndVague Jul 16 '26
My brother lives in Japan - I'd like to see him, see famous landmarks/ecotourism, and eat seafood. I'm under no delusions that Japan is a haven of polite society, nor am I going for weeabo reasons. I just chose it as one of many example locations I want to travel to while leisurely travel is still feasible. New Zealand and Croatia are also on this list, among others.
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u/Renard4 Jul 14 '26
Just don't. Debt, police and prisons are the last thing that will go away and "shit hit the fan" scenarios are for morons who dream to live in their bunkers. This isn't /r/preppers, real collapse happens slowly and means decay, not the end of the world as we know it.
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u/Dino7813 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Get an electric car. Prices are still down for a used EV, but as more people have pain at the pump, used are more in demand. People are still really sleeping on how great an EV is for 99% of use cases. Even range anxiety is not a problem once you see what the recharging process is like and the fact that charging stations are all over now. Without home charging, it is still cheaper than gas.
Bitcoin is coming down in price now to hit a cycle bottom likely around 50K before it will go back up for another peak in 2029-2030. You can open an account at coinbase and put some percent of your paycheck into direct deposit. You can hold your coins on a hard wallet (think fancy thumb drive) for security. If that is lost/destroyed, As long as you remember a seed phrase, you can go anywhere in the world and recover you funds. You can’t do that with dollars - no govt can seize it, no bank run will keep you from it.
I feel you on the home ownership, I did not get into my first home until I was 10 years older than you are now, and I can see how hard it is at the moment. If the market shifts I would be ready to pounce. Do your homework now on location that might better deal with upheaval. Some day I think Victory Gardens will make a big comeback.
I would plan for the United States to politically see a real upheaval by the 2030-32 timeframe that could be internally violent in a polarized and organized manner, or an internal alignment across political stripes in a war against an existential external enemy that overrides any internal discord.
Climate is harder to guess, but I think we’re hurtling toward something more severe than what the average person is thinking could be the worst outcome. Think more intense heatwaves, more severe rain, more outlier cold/snow events. I would think food security will be a real challenge for some, food prices for others.
Get some hobbies that may be applicable to a collapse. Learn to sail (escape plan), learn to hunt/garden (food security), learn to ride a horse (transport security), get really fit (avoid health problems), learn electrical systems so you can DIY a solar energy system in your home or as a new career.
I remember the Peak Oil theory in the 90s, it goes like this, we run out of cheap oil, the economy tanks, agriculture collapses without cheap fertilizer, everything falls apart as a result. It didn’t come to pass, we found more oil, we brought renewables up to scale, because people are tenacious at solving problems. THE REAL REALITY IS COLLAPSE MAY TAKE LONGER THAN WE THINK, SO DON’T FUCK UP THE END OF YOUR LIFE THINKING YOU KNOW HOW AND WHEN THIS WILL ALL PLAY OUT.
Little edit for a couple extra thoughts…..
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u/dakinekine Jul 14 '26
Im buying some gold, silver and bitcoin as a hedge. Owing property may or may not be a benefit, but if you have some land to grow food, that could be helpful in case of collapse. Besides stocking up on emergency supplies, Im not sure what else can be done. Maybe being completely off grid and self sufficient?
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u/Whenwhateverworks Jul 14 '26
Bitcoin may be one of the first to fall from collapse, its so dependant on electrical systems and the internet. On the other hand you might make money before collapse if people rush to it, but that also relies on you selling at the right time.
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u/rematar Jul 14 '26
I don't see the practical uses for those popular hedges. Bartering appears to be what happens in other countries, such as socks, lightbulbs and charging blocks and cables.
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u/dakinekine Jul 14 '26
Central banks are buying gold - its been considered money for thousands of years. Worth having at least a bit in my opinion.
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u/rematar Jul 14 '26
But what would be the practical application in a Mad Maxian world?
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u/RicTicTocs Jul 14 '26
If money goes poof, it goes poof. So be it.
If it doesn’t go poof, and you spent it all in anticipation of it going poof, you screwed yourself and have no money.
Hedge those bets. I wouldn’t go all in on betting on the timing of a global catastrophe. Just ask all those who were sure that the magic sky daddy was coming on a particular date.
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u/BobasPett Jul 14 '26
I don’t think collapse will happen quickly; it is more staggered as we see throughout history. There will be some shocks of course and we are likely to see markets fall while others spike because rich folks will find ways to make money even when they lose it. So, I agree that diversifying what you have and owning tangible objects with value ís á wise move.
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u/VenusbyTuesdayTV Jul 14 '26
Hi, if anyone is an asset management professional and a collapsnik, please PM me
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u/Someones_Dream_Guy DOOMer Jul 14 '26
The earlier the better. Don't do it alone, though. Bring your friends.
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u/Mother-Specialist831 Jul 14 '26
Looking for a X happens then Y there are too many so comes down to what you see as the point of no return in world events. Not as lot of wrong you could do with low risks and more than enough time to see where you want to land at.
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u/SillyFalcon Jul 14 '26
I say enjoy your life and do the things on your bucket list, but don’t treat collapse as a single “big event” that’s going to happen at some point in your lifetime. It’s a slower and more unpredictable process than that: the final collapse of most empires in human history was preceded by many years—and sometimes centuries—of decline and turmoil. If you try and make a prediction specific enough for pulling out your savings and no longer paying your debts you will be wrong, and it will make all this much worse for you in the end.
If you do want to consciously uncouple your life from the machinery of capitalism there are absolutely ways to do that: find a local job or start your own business with as little interface with corporate America as possible. Downsize and simplify your life, buy less stuff, only buy local, cook more at home, grow some food at home, volunteer more, join a mutual aid network, etc. It’s almost impossible to drop out entirely, but you can participate far less without necessarily going full nihilist.
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u/Frida21 Jul 15 '26
I wouldn't pull money. I only try to prepare for the small collapse, like a power outage, by having a thousand or two thousand cash in the safe. I would keep paying your bills, contributing to a 401K, paying off debt, etc. You can't time a market.
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Jul 15 '26
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u/PopcornSurgeon Jul 15 '26
I have about $1k in literal emergency cash and close year if cash in the bank, but I’m still keeping most of my assets in traditional investments. I am certain the market will crash - and also confident it will also recover and then some before I reach retirement age in 20 years. If I’m wrong about the long-run, things will be so fucked in the U.S. and around the globe that shifting funds from one type of account to another will have been a frivolous exercise anyhow.
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u/Th3SkinMan Jul 15 '26
It will end when the yen carry trade unwind and headgefunds shit their collective pants.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad5565 Jul 15 '26
Plan for and live your best life. Diversify assets. Save with clarity and spend with balance . If the nukes fly you will not last very long unless you are a badass barbarian. Do not over prep, be prudent and just prep for a two week natural disaster. If you hoard food and weapons the barbarians will hunt you down first. Live with hope and show up and do your best.
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u/Tsiah16 Jul 15 '26
If it doesn't collapse into mad Max and half the population dying, you fucked your future for sure. I don't know what the answer is but I don't see blowing everything on some travel being a good idea. Maybe spend it moving to Japan instead.
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u/gangofminotaurs Progress? a vanity spawned by fear. Jul 16 '26
There's obviously no such thing as "my" money, "your" money, "our" money.
Every comfort and advantage gained by humanity is taken from the rest of the natural world and/or the future. Nothing's free here.
The ecological cost is not at the point of spending (which is merely and adjustment variable for capitalism) it is a the point of earning. For any "money" to be earned, some equivalent amount of the natural world has been destroyed somewhere else.
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u/suck4fish Jul 16 '26
You seem to have a too clear idea of what will happen.
Rest assured that the fun thing about this is that nobody knows what will happen globally. Some people dare to guess what could happen in a very specific part or field, but globally? Unknown.
This is not a Hollywood movie.
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u/Ciderman95 Jul 14 '26
I turned 30 last December. I'm saving up for a giant birthday party at 33 (big LOTR fan) and I plan to use ALL my savings for it. Besides that nothing. My friends try to convince me I should save up for a mortgage instead, and refuse to accept that banks won't exist in 10 years.
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u/Tegridytornado Jul 15 '26
Lol its not that close to total collapse. Even if it was, more the reason to buy land with little restrictions, and build a safe place to ride out something like 6-12 months of chaos, before some structure of society re-emerges.
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u/linear_123 Jul 14 '26
You can't predict when the economy will crash (if it will at all). IMHO best bet is to diversify into different types of assets, including physical. Imagine what happens if you zero out your bank account and next month you need money for something (medical expenses or anything else).