Being debt free is the biggest one. So few people can handle that now days. Even a small debt can bring the whole house of cards down. I find myself in the very small minority that have Zero debt (and land). Having "equity" stored means absolutely zero if there is no one that can buy it from you...and you still have debt. You will lose the equity when the lender confiscates it. Being Broke and Debt Free puts you head and shoulders above anyone that has it all but sits on an un payable debt. A gilded cage is still a cage. I'm poor buy most Canadians standards yet am still richer than almost everyone I know once the balance sheet is tallied. Poor with land and poor without land are not comparable.

A bus is a superior, under appreciated commodity. I wouldn't do it again though. Ive got six years in living in a bus.

Its designed to be run every day so if you leave it for months on end, repairs get very expensive and require a heavy duty mechanic. Buses stand out like a sore thumb so no grey man is possible. Its hard to find a place to park a bus unmolested. A van is far easier to get in and out of places. A bus would still make a fantastic greenhouse or permanent home if you could get it on a cheap piece of land with no debts. C5 rule of survival- "Hippies had all the right answers for all the wrong reasons"

I would agree that debt management is the best defense in a slow-burn. In the boom of AB it is difficult to live without some debt due to the cost of housing. We can't all live in buses for our jobs, especially those in the office professions where you need to show up every morning in 'a nice suit' so to speak.

We are hoping to tweak our garden out put again this year. It is only our second season and we are still trying to figure out what will grow best based on the soil and location of the raised beds in the yard (sun/temperature).

Having a stockpile of food would also help as you can then afford other bills while avoiding costly trips to the grocery store if you lost your job.

One prep we discussed at our seminar last March was the idea of cross training and investing in your own career so that you have options if you lose your job. Just a thought.

Yes, Its truly tragic. A desperate treadmill that few have the fortitude to get off of. Cheap land generally means no local economy. A working economy only offers you 25 to Life in servitude and you will still probably lose it all. This is the conundrum I face. If people were to actually take my advice and DO what is needed to survive this transition, It could go very bad for them. C5 rule of survival- "If all else fails...lower your standards". Canadian standards have a LOOONG way to drop. If you took my advice, chances are your wife would leave you, your kids would hate you, your friends probably wouldn't be joining you and you would probably still have to pay all of the court appointed alimony and child support and find yourself no further ahead, destitute and darn close to un dateable.
The only real option is still to jump out of the housing market andor substantially down size in all of life before the full effects of the demographic bubble trap all who didn't jump in time. For those that aren't familiar with what I am talking about, Its one of the inevitable disasters coming shortly that most peoples faces glaze over when you try to talk about it.
http://www.peakprosperity.com/video/231/playlist/153/chapter-14-assets-demographics

Yes, being debt-free is something that I am working on. I have debt that I accumulated over a few years when I was struggling as a single mom. Still a single mom, but making more $$ so now I am making arrangements to pay it all off. This is for various reasons, but primarily so that I can buy my own property. The only debt I want is a mortgage and I want to keep that as low as possible.

I, like most of you have accumulated debt. I own a business in a town with little industry anymore do to an unstable economy. My business is paid for but the land taxes of 2012 will have doubled by 2016. They don't outright state it, but in reading their outline, you can work this out. The tactics they are using is to raise the prices of your property to today's market...that's how they put it! They show that they will incorporate a gradual increase to your properties new assessed value over the next few years....and with this they get more taxes.

With tactics like these, Canada is not reducing anything but escalating financial crisis upon it's citizens. Add this to the raised gas, and hydro prices and I can see that hyperinflation is starting already. Like cernunons5 suggests, it's hard to know when to jump off this roller coaster ride. Do I sell for dirt to avoid the taxes and walk away with a little or wait until tax collectors come and take it and lose all at once.

Should I sell both house and business(while they have a higher value) and rent until a crash? Then buy cheap as my friends and neighbours lose their life savings for not doing the same... It seems then, that the best advice is too at least sell all that you don't need and throw it towards reducing your debt as much as possible.

The slow crash, joblessness, homelessness and suicide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9WZN2dWDSo

C5 rule of survival- "Mutate Now! Avoid the post apocalyptic rush"

Mental health will be an issue. Mentally preparing yourself for homelessness or joblessness should be Slow crash First Aid. Try to mentally adapt to this reality in advance and try to find optimistic outcomes.

It is good to know the mental obstacles we will face such as depression during coming hard times. Yet to dwell on such too long starts you down that path unknowingly. I've tried to explain this thought process in other threads too. Watching to much TV portraying how man will turn on each other makes you less trusting...shows portraying wives cheat makes you trust your spouse less,etc. It becomes too lonely a world with no faith in your fellow man. Your likely to find more trusting friends at church than at a bar. You might find fellow preppers at the local range, but caution should be a priority because too many Rambo's around your home might not be as rewarding as you'd like to think. Association is everything. I've been a biker most of my life and long after I was sporting a badge....the best advice I can pass on to you and your kids is "Association is everything".

"When you walk with wise men, you can't help but become wise"!