3 Critical Skills for Surviving an Economic Collapse

Dear Money & Crisis Reader,

How’s your green thumb?

To be honest, mine’s not great (my wife says I can hardly tell an onion from a daffodil).

But 2018 is going to be the year I remedy that. And it’s not just because I want a pretty garden.

Growing your own food is a vital skill to have in the event of a total societal collapse. You can feed your family fresh food while others scramble for out-of-date canned goods. And you can barter your surplus crops for other goods and services.

But what do I mean by total societal collapse?

If the dollar is devalued by hyperinflation… or an electromagnetic pulse destroys all our electronics… the world as we know it will cease to be.

We will be thrown back into a cashless society… the banks will be forced to shut their doors… and companies that trade imaginary money for imaginary goods will cease to exist.

It won’t matter how much cash is in your bank account. You’ll only be worth the hard work in your hands and the skills in your head.

Unfortunately, the best skills to have are the simple, old-fashioned ones that go underappreciated in the buzz of modern America.

But it’s never too late to pick one up (or even a few of them for good measure).

Here are the most useful skills to have in the event of a total economic collapse:

Crucial Skill #1: Farming

I touched on this briefly above, but it bears repeating.

Maintaining a steady supply of food is just about the most valuable skill you can have in a cashless society.

With a nice-sized patch of land, you won’t just be putting food on your family’s table. You’ll be able barter your surplus stock and become a linchpin member of the community.

Don’t worry if you don’t have acres of sprawling land in your backyard. Modern farming techniques have come a long way. You can farm a surprising amount on just a little bit of land.

In Pasadena, California, just 100 yards from the freeway, the Dervaes family have turned their backyard into a fully functioning farm. On just a tenth of an acre, they harvest 7,000 pounds of produce annually — including 2,000 eggs and 25–50 pounds of honey.

Crucial Skill #2: First Aid

After the collapse, the way we seek out and receive medical attention will change completely.

There will be no schools to train the next generation of medical experts. So doctors and nurses will be in high demand and spread thin across the country. Hospitals and their ambulance services as we know them will go the way of the dinosaurs.

If you or your loved one is injured, it could be days before you receive proper medical attention. Which is why first aid will be a vital skill.

In fact, just knowing how to clean and bandage a wound could save lives.

First-aid courses are pretty affordable, ranging between $25 and $160 depending on the certification. You can typically find courses year-round at your local community center, American Red Cross office or even online.

Crucial Skill #3: Wilderness Survival

Anyone can grab a rifle and wander into the woods, but if you want to come back with dinner you’ll need to know what you’re doing.

Being able to hunt, track and survive in the wilderness will allow you to be entirely self-sufficient. And it’ll make you an invaluable asset to the community. You can barter furs, meat and wilderness skills for any extra goods and services you need.

Now, good survival skills require the right type of gear. For a quick survival gear upgrade, go here. Former Navy SEAL Cade Courtley has a way for you to get SEAL-vetted gear shipped to you every month.

These are the three best skills to have post-economic collapse. But there are a lot more great skills you can pick up that will be almost just as handy — enough to fill another letter, in fact. We’ll show you the best of these in a future letter.

Until then, if you agree or disagree with anything here — or even just want to chat about financial prepping — you can send me an email by clicking here.

All the best,

Owen Sullivan
Editor, Money & Crisis

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