I couldn't find any that weren't hugely overpriced. So I knew the market would be coming down, and went ahead and liquidated 1/2 of the funds in my IRAs and parked them in Treasuries in the fall of 2007. Otherwise, we would be in a lot worse shape.
We had a lot of poverty years when we first got married, but during the Reagan years we did pretty well and put some money back, but we are still paying on our house, so that's a worry to me.
Some meals we used to make do with. We used to take 1 hot dog sliced in thin rounds, and add it to a pot of mac and cheese, or a can of beans with ketchup.
I used to bake all our bread because we couldn't afford to buy it, and used powdered milk, and milnot as it was cheaper than fresh milk. Sometimes we had ketchup or Mayo sandwiches. Red eye gravy -Fat, Flour, Water and spices.
Washed the laundry and diapers by hand to avoid spending money at the laundromat. As long as I have my family, bible, and faith, I am good with whatever happens. I am prepping now more for my kids and grand-kids, cause they don't understand the need. Really enjoy reading your posts.
Preparedness means preparing for mistakes I'm going to be making in the future, as best I can, and always having a gone-to-crap plan if worst comes to worst.
That and faith in God has served me well, even if times were hard.
Humility can be a good lesson, humor is required to deal with it. ;)
/johnny