Make no mistake, financial sustainability, especially nowadays, includes preparedness for unknown events in the future. My Dad used to tell me that he learned this life-lesson from being a boy scout; their motto: "Be Prepared". Unfortunately in my own case, I only learned the wisdom of these words in retrospect...after NOT having been prepared for one personal circumstance or another. Some of us must learn the hard way and no doubt I am in good company!
When it comes to the economy and financial planning, financial planners typically recommend that you establish an emergency (rainy-day) fund. The size of that fund varies between 3-6 months of living expenses. Illness, layoffs and simply unexpected circumstances both positive and negative can turn one's world upside down in terms of how to meet routine financial obligations. Obviously, an emergency fund aims to reduce any potentially negative impact on our lifestyle until needed earnings return to status-quo levels. The ongoing recession serves as a current example.
But wait...there's more.
The question that is now top-of-mind for those living in today's economic landscape comes as no surprise: "Will the status-quo world as I have known it, in fact, EVER return?"
Such concern is totally valid despite government and media noises about recovery. With unemployment still high and unemployment benefits recently ended for millions and given record numbers of personal bankruptcies, bank closures and home foreclosures....who wouldn't wonder? Then when we add the tragedy in the Gulf plus two wars with threats of another, one cannot help but question the merit of "recovery".
I just finished reading an article about how the number of banks closed so far in 2010 is double the number of those that closed during entire year of 2009.
"The 83 closures so far this year is more than double the pace set in all of 2009, which was itself a brisk year for shutdowns. By this time last year, regulators had closed 40 banks. The pace has accelerated as banks' losses mount on loans made for commercial property and development." June 20, 2010 USA TODAY
The Prepper Movement, birthed from precisely this sort of information, has caught fire across the country!
For these folks, keeping up with the Joneses is no longer about who has granite-kitchen-counter tops, the whitest teeth or the most exotic vacations. It's all about who has been able to best think through as well as stock-up on what might be needed when the S_ _ _ Hits The Fan (TSHTF)! They are answering the question,
"What will it take to adequately sustain my/our quality of life despite potentially worsening external circumstances?"
The Prepper Movement spans a broad spectrum of ideas, opinions and behaviors. On one end are those keeping their pantry stocked with food and candles, growing gardens making emergency plans with their neighbors. On the other end are those moving back to a pioneer-type lifestyle of living off-the-grid and buying guns and ammo. Then there is everything in-between!
More and more American now hedge their bets. They no longer believe someone else (local, state or federal government) will make it all work out for their family in the event of natural disasters, economic downturns, evacuations, war, etc. Instead they take the issue of personal preparedness very, very seriously and, to a whole new level.
They build their lifeboats...just in case.
"Lifeboat: a double-ended ship's boat, constructed, mounted, and provisioned so as to be readily able to rescue and maintain persons from a sinking vessel."
If you also find merit in their pro-active premise then having 3-6 months of living expenses squirreled away will be just the beginning of finding your own unique prepper- sweet spot.
Susan Boskey is an alternative financial consultant and author of The Quality Life Plan: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security. Her book goes where no other personal finance book has dared to go. It not only exposes the systemic-root cause of the 2008-09 economic meltdown but perhaps more importantly, provides critical strategies for everyday people to turn the tide and build real wealth.
As millions struggle to find an honest way off the vicious cycle of credit and debt, frugality measures and debt-consolidation offer some relief but not enough. For families to achieve similar financial security and well-being as in times past, an entirely new personal-finance model is called for. The Quality Life Plan offers exactly that by providing strategies using a big-picture perspective about money and wealth. Without the big picture, strategies alone are proving to be insufficient. Those yearning for a quality life of simplicity, creativity and financial sustainability find practical answers via the book's alternative approach and user-friendly workbook format complete with recommended action-steps. There's no turning back once you're in the know.
Sign up for a free eCourse to learn more at http://www.AlternativeFinancialNow.com where you can also purchase the book.
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