Last week, President Biden announced that we are not in a recession, though the data indicates that we have experienced two consecutive quarters of declining economic activity. There have been many discussions surrounding the topic of recessions, and since I’m not an economist, I won’t pretend to be an expert in this topic AT ALL. However, I will share my thoughts as someone that reads regularly, and that has lived through several decades and seen a thing or two.

Practically every decade since the 1920s has experienced recessions. For those that don’t know, the 1970s was marked by record-high stagflation, which has a combination of recession and inflation that put economists in a quandary (proposals to correct one element – either the recession or the inflation – could negatively impact the other element). People have weathered tougher economic times. Of course, not everyone survives severe financial hardship – indeed, the most vulnerable populations offer suffer the greatest – and this post isn’t designed to make light of that. It’s a warning to those that have ears to hear.

In each decade, there have been people who won BIG and set themselves and future generations up for financial ease and freedom. They had a host of varying advantages and disadvantages, but every person that has WON in previous periods of recession had one thing in common: a will to act. Staying paralyzed in fear over possible things to come is a surefire way to remain stuck or to regress.

There is absolutely nothing to fear, if you’re wise, strategic and prepared.

Be wise – Continue to live within your means and reduce extraneous expenses. Live with moderate conservation as your guiding energy: conserve energy, conserve resources, conserve time, all in a moderate way. Excess or gluttony is no one’s friend in these times. Remember to act wisely with what you have and to treat your resources with reverence, neither being indiscriminate nor anxious.

Be strategic – Plan to grow your resources: expanding your financial kingdom, adding valuable individuals to your personal network, cultivating healthy, reciprocal relationships, and positioning yourself to be in communities that are vibrant and abundant. Master multiple skills so that you offer a plethora of value to your networks. Never stop learning: your skills may open doors for you that you didn’t know were possible. Explore as much free online learning as you can. Never forget that resources go beyond cash and tangible assets: PEOPLE are resources, ENVIRONMENTS are resources, OPPORTUNITIES are resources. Expand all of your resources for the best outcome.

Be prepared – I don’t like to post alarmist content, so please take this with the reasonable grain of salt that is intended. Stockpile resources that you suspect may drastically increase in price in coming months (within reason: hoarding is dysfunctional and should be avoided!). Learn practical skills that can help you reduce expenses or that can be traded for other resources within your network. Learn the full benefits of the physical and digital tools you possess, and start leveraging those tools to your advantage. Inventory assets that you have, so that you can have a record of the items of value you possess, in case you decide to trade or sell these to purchase something of exceeding value. And it should go without saying that bug out bags, fully fueled vehicles, and maintaining a full supply of emergency items should be non-negotiable.

You have nothing to fear: you are closer to financial freedom than you know. A few good choices today can mean abundance and ease for years to come. If you aren’t sure where to shore up your defenses, I’ll be offering consultations on my Services page (I’m currently updating it, but it should be live at the time of this posting). Take care, and please let me know the ways that you have been preparing for an upcoming recession!