We all know of the term SHTF and all think it means the things that Jerry Young describes in his excellent stories or a situation like in Lights Out. It can be that for the nation as a whole. On the personal level it is probably going to happen to all of us on an individual basis. I am 88 years old and it has happened to me several times with various levels of insecurity and challenge. I worked full time until I was 83 and my wife who had retired at 62 was at home and was a very good team mate and an excellent partner. She was raised on a farm and much preferred running the tractor to doing house work. We shared working in the greenhouse and raising a large garden and she loved to cook from scratch. We had an IRA and only took the required payments and had most of it intact in 2021. Then I got cancer and it was said to be inoperable and that only radiation and chemo would give me a chance of living more than 6 months. I had both Medicare and a supplemental insurance. The cost for the care I received for the first 3 months was about 25 thousand per week. That was after the price was discounted to about half of the total bill. Without supplemental insurance my cost would have been about 5 thousand a week. After 3 months the level of treatment decreased and the cost dropped to about 20 thousand a month. This continued for a little over 4 years and I am now in remission and only have CAT scans etc every 3 months. During some stages of the treatment the chemo put me in a wheel chair. Without the supplemental insurance and Medicare I would have lost everything in the first 3 months. Thus the best preps I have ever made were in having the proper medical coverage in place. Having no debt and owning our house allowed us to live comfortably thru some very troubled times. My wife was diagnosed with Altshiemers about 4 years ago and went thru the usual stages. No real impact for about a year, some impact the second year, and severe the third year. With the cost of nursing homes, not covered by insurance, and home health care, we spent about 100 thousand out of our savings for her care in the last year of her life. If I had followed the Drs wishes in putting her into the nursing home as soon as the problem became severe, it would have been 200 thousand. She died about a year and a half ago and while I miss her very much, in many senses it was a blessing as the last couple of months it was obvious no one was there any longer. The article that follows shows some tips that can change your life style etc and help prepare for those individual SHTF episodes. Several are my own personal favorites. I always carried a lunch box to work and we built our own place and thus had no mortgage. We did not buy new cars and never had a car payment. Thus we were in the eyes of society "poor" we lived a very happy and contented life. 10 Expenses You Need to Cut Now for the Upcoming Economic Depression- The Reckoning Will Arrive Quietly! The above is not meant to be either a good boy statement or any real advise. It is just a statement of what has worked for me during my life time. Several of the ways I have made a living no longer exist. I was a foreman in a plastic factory that has long sense closed, a cameraman in a print shop that is now the location of a sports bar, a machinist in a ball bearing factory that is gone, and repaired power tools. That is gone as well. Preparing for life in this day and age means that you must be flexible and that you must have some source of cash income. Although I have no debts, I have to come up with $5,000 a year to pay the taxes and insurance on a house that cost me $10,000 in 1980. If I don't pay it the town will be happy to sell it for back taxes and use the money to pay the town workers, police department and teachers. That is a fact of life.
