[Deathstar 80]

I've tried my best to take the past few hours in order to think of and write what might be the most important information you need to know. I hope I didn't mess this up. Therefore, if anyone has anything to add, please feel free to post here. I usually have to go back and edit the information, but this is what I have right now:

1. Unite the Churches.
   --> This is the most important because it will bring unity to your area. While others in the community are panicking, you will be able to explain what has happened to the country’s economy and what the community should do. The community will also be able to share ideas once they’re united. Another benefit is that since the community will be united, there won’t be as much crime compared to if you don’t unite the churches.
   
   
2. Seek Your Parents/Grandparents Advice.
   --> I encourage you to prepare for the worst. This might include that our economy will be at the level where everyone has to be completely self-reliant. The best way I think people can prepare for the coming economic collapse is to talk to your parents/grandparents who experienced what those times were like where you were forced to be self-reliant. From them, you can learn how to make soap, make herbal medicine, eat edible plants, etc.
   
   
3. Stock Up on Food/Water.
   --> If you trust me enough, I greatly encourage you to stock up on food. You could stock up on water as well if you wanted to, but you could get water by simply filtering and boiling water if you’re in the country. But if you are to do this, you have to know how to boil water and how to make a filter. In order to make a filter, a key ingredient is activated charcoal, which – from what I’ve learned – is completely different from the charcoal that you use for grilling. I’ve been trying to find out, but I have no worldly idea how to find charcoal in the wild. You might want to stock up on charcoal instead. Remember, filters are mostly used to protect you from chemicals inside the water. Boiling protects you from anything else. Therefore, you could just boil water, but make sure there aren’t any chemicals. And when you do use a filter, make sure you filter your water before you boil it.
   
   
4. Pay Off Debts.
   --> As soon as you’re able to, try to get yourself out of debt. From what I’ve learned, the reason for this is that one of the last things you need to worry about during this crisis is how you can pay off your debt, such as loans, etc. Interest rates will be skyrocketing when the economic collapse occurs.
   
   
5. Dealing with Psychology / STOP.
   --> The purpose of this step is to inform you how psychology can be linked with self-reliant times. There’s a good video that I want to show you guys that talks about how to manage tough times involving psychology. In this video, it mentions the technique of “STOP”. I’ll mention this video below. The technique of STOP deals with the steps you should take when most people might panic. Here’s what STOP stands for:
   a) S --> Stop, don't panic.
   b) T --> Think about your situation.
   c) O --> Orientate yourself.
   d) P --> Plan.
   
   
6. Above All, Stay Calm. Work Around Uncontrollable Events.
   --> The purpose of this step is to inform you what you should do during uncontrollable times. This goes along with the above point. Let’s say something unexpecting occurs, such as your community is so divided that you’re unable to unite the churches. That’s okay. Identify the fact that this is something you can’t control, calm down, and plan around this obstacle. Such as, your community might not be willing to unite, but a neighbor of yours might want to join you in a discussion of ideas of how to deal with problems. Or if even your neighbor doesn’t want to be associated with you, you can live in your house and try to draw as little attention as you possibly can, and remove anything that might make you a target of a crime (Such as if you have a sign in front of your house that says “We have food!”, you might want to remove it. This even goes for guns as well, because people will want guns during this tough time.). This will prevent crime from occurring near your home because if they don’t think you have anything valuable for them to steal, then they’re less likely to break into your home. In summary, you should always stay calm. Don’t become discouraged, and work around the uncontrollable events.
   
   
7. Walk with God.
   --> If you believe in God like I do, the most important thing you can do – even more important than uniting the churches – is to live for God. I would like to emphasize the three things that the bible teaches us to have, which is faith, hope and love/charity, which can be found in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Another bible verse to point out for these coming tough times is Romans 12:21.
   

Again, here's the list in a shorter form:

1. Unite the Churches.
   
2. Seek Your Parents/Grandparents Advice.
   
3. Stock Up on Food/Water.
   
4. Pay Off Debts.
   
5. Dealing with Psychology / STOP.
   
6. Above All, Stay Calm. Work Around Uncontrollable Events.
   
7. Walk with God.
   

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About psychology, here's the video that I want to show you:

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6283541JG4Psbyg

I was going to post some more information, but if you guys don't mind, I'll probably go ahead and put it in a later post. And again, if you guys have any advice to add, please feel free to post it here. This is a thread for everyone.