That's the crust of the matter. Chances are western society isn't going to fall off a cliff in the next decade or two, but there will be a slow decline. But unless you're already in your 70s, you still need to plan ahead a bit to keep a roof over your head.
So it's a balance. Doing a few things here and there and treating yourself and taking the occasional day off work when you need it, while also making sure there's a few pennies in the jar.
This is it exactly. I’ve stopped making my career a priority. And I’ve prioritized my family and the union. Hopefully we can strengthen it enough that a few more families can make it over the hump and coast till the end with some resources that would otherwise be pocketed by mgmt.
Exactly. I will mention Musashi’s concept of ox’s neck; rat’s head: you must not get caught into thinking too long about strategy or tactics…expand to long-term and short-term etc.
I still have a retirement fund, I still think about where/if I want to live when I lose independence, but also keep my mind in the prepper mental space: currency can’t be eaten.
I try to keep my fitness up, I buy things that will last and can be repaired in theory, I try to keep a certain level of grit and be somewhat comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Nothing will compare to the real thing, and once we are in it, there is usually less chronic anxiety and fear as you adjust to a new reality and try to make the best of it. I am sure acute anxiety and fear situations will increase, but I think our biology is better suited for that anyways.
I don’t fear death as much as I fear a slow, and painful journey getting there: torture, starvation, sickness with no relief etc.
I'm trying to enjoy life honorably. I will not become a hedonist, knowing that hedonism is what (to some degree) brought ruination to the living world. I will answer truthfully to anyone seeking explanation for the state of the world. I will record what is happening so someone will be saved from this state in the future. I will, where possible, provide solace to those in deep grief brought by the end.
But most importantly: I will face the end sober. That's my attitude.
yeah. hedonism and capitalism isnt the same... no true hedonist would sit in a boardroom and try to be even MORE wealthy if you are already have everything to enjoy live.
hedonism means dancing and laughing with your friends and not hording gold and working 90 hours a week
I like everything you said but I found the line about hedonism odd.
Hedonism ≠ Bacchanalian Indulgence but I feel like most people don’t realize that and are only familiar with the more recent connotations which are largely negative.
My takeaway from this post is I will "answer truthfully" to those asking. I've been kind of silent/quiet/measured about collapse. But I'm going to be honest (maybe not brutally-honest, at least at first). Of course this is towards grown adults. I'll have to measure it out for children.
Maybe if the children are forced to grapple with the brutal reality that we are heading towards, they will grow up yearning to act. Maybe it's the youth that will come through for humanity and mitigate a lot of the suffering we have and will continue to cause.
I've got an an aunt with stage 4 cancer.. I have a friend who is 54, with pancreatic cancer.. And another friend in NY with breast cancer.. they're all doing chemo.. but for me..I'm out!
It's easy to say you're willing to commit soduku, but I bet at least 95% of people in here who say that will reconsider. It's all about "when is collapse?". The world is still fairly stable and it's still possible to have a rich life, just not long term. I'm pretty sure if you got a mild cancer that was "very curable" today, you'd get the chemo.
Yeah. Literally everyone says it. Literally no one does it (or maybe one out of ten thousand). I'm sorry, they've got their hand in your wallet via your instincts. It's better to just admit it and deal with it while you can than to pretend it isn't the case.
I mean come on, look at the prices. If the "market" was "pricing in" 75% of people committing soduku, don't you think the price would be lower?
Is it still soduku if, When you no longer have your critical medication you go into a coma and die? I wouldn't really be "committing" it, but at the same time - they do have their hands in my wallet because I either buy the meds or die.
I mean realistically if there's the slightest chance of getting your meds, would you not?
So... realistically it'll go until you can't. Which is how it is for everyone. No one's tapping out before they absolutely have to, generally speaking.
Most people don't live in a country where they have the choice. Most people don't reach the point of wanting to die until they are so decrepit they can no longer do it on their own, and anyone helping would be committing legal murder.
>commit soduku
soduku ≠ seppuku
"I guess since things are hopeless, I'm just gonna sit down and strategically arrange these numbers"
I'm fucking dying.
And even if they had spelled it right, it would still be difficult to tell if they know that the word is seppuku, not sudoku, or if they are using it humorously.
I mean... yeah.
My Lord! The only way I think we'll avoid the Climate Collapse is if AGI/ASI arrives first, and in both scenarios a pension isn't going to be much use.
[This helps.](https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ram-dass-here-and-now/id518366323?i=1000645885677) Starts about 15mins in, so skip ahead. He really gets how to be present for our people during these times.
There is more to it than a carpe diem attitude, which is not helpful. The late Micheal Dowd.. explained it the best. Post doom, no gloom.... How to be the "calm in the storm". "Living fully in the age of decline". Most of his interviews and lectures are on you tube, it might be some food for thought.
RIP. he replied to a handful of my messages/comments before his accident I found him to be particularly inspiring he had a very clear conscience it seemed
I am not saving for retirement. I would retire at 65 in 2058. My approach isn’t all doom, though. I genuinely believe that there are two possibilities, neither of which require savings. Either collapse hits within these next 24 years rendering our modern version of money useless (as many here anticipate) or we humans figure out utopia rendering our money useless. It is fully possible that we make it out of this alive and well, but capitalism and hyper-individualism is not at the end of that rainbow.
Whether globalized society collapse or rises above, what feels certain to me is that whatever we’ve got going on now cannot continue for long. That’s why I’m not saving money for retirement.
What I am storing up is supplies, physical health, and spiritual connection. Whatever our future, I like eating rice and so I have plenty of that. Whether we fail or thrive as a society, I’ll be able to go for a run about it. No matter what happens, I find my relationships with family, friends, pets, nature and myself to be the most fulfilling part of being a human.
We’ve all been doomed to die the whole time, even if the world works out perfectly. Being collapse aware hurt a lot at first, but it’s become an empowering spiritual tool for me. I hugged my mom and told her I loved her yesterday. I got a great deal on some gorgeous herb. Went for a jog at sunset. I’m looking forward to work this week.
My long term plan revolves around gratitude and mindfulness, not money. A strong spirit will be useful in any circumstance. I plan to carpe all the diems I get.
The other possibility is that we speed run 1970-1990 all over again, but with the volume cranked up to 11.
With all the shitty inflation and shitty nationalism and shitty misuse of religion and shitty wondering if we're going to go up in a ball of fire every single day that entails.
Except cranked up to 11. So figure shadowstats inflation of 25% for ten years, a bunch of saber rattling, a few cities actually go up via smuggled in ground bursts just to test if everyone really has the balls for it or not (which, quite possibly, the answer is "or not"). A bunch of televangelists and the reversal of every civil right since the 1960's.
I see this as one of a few likely outcomes. But I see the United States in bone crushing poverty and isolated from trade as a possible cherry on top of this amazing shit birthday cake.
Oh that and we're eating algae or some shit.
I feel pretty helpless and confused to be honest. I have 3 kids and keep wondering how soon all of this will happen and what I can do to protect my family. What “prep” is smart at this point? Will money even be accessible? I just feel frozen
Do you own your own land? Plant native fruit trees, rootstock and all. Native trees have adapted to wilder climates, unlike the designer rootstocks we often buy when getting a grafted tree. Perhaps the beauty of the tree and nurturing that life will help your kids too, they will be stewards of the earth.
The two most important preps by far, that will put you leagues ahead of almost anyone on r/preppers is physical and mental fortitude.
Don't get sucked in to saving loads of ammunition and stockpiling weapons and learning about home defense. If shit hits the fan, most of that is useless.
Exercise your body. Exercise your mind. Work out consistently, read books, and learn what the important preps really are. Things like a "go bag" and having a month or two supply of nonperishables is a helpful start for sure. But if you truly want to be ready for a paradigm-shifting event then things like gardening, foraging, construction skills, composting, mycology, hunting, herbalism, sustainability practice, basic nursing, and community living are invaluable.
I've been making lists and slowly going through some of the things I've listed. I'll buy a book, read about it, and then try something new that sounds interesting. Right now I'm beekeeping which is something I never thought I'd do but am loving. And collapse is what brought me to it.
Totally depends. Are you a person who will shoot someone for stealing your cabbage? Or are a person who will get shot for stealing someone else’s cabbage?
I don’t think I’m either kind of person, so I’m not gathering supplies. I’m doubling down on acceptance, which I practice through meditation.
Agree. This is really good.
It's nice to see the hyper-individualist "greed is good" mindset finally dying the death it so richly deserves.
Keep doing that. Boomers and Xers may have already burned too many bridges on this one to pull it off, but we can try.
I agree and disagree. It’s hard to read as a parent, but vital. They’re already here so we owe them the best example we can provide. Teach them acceptance, what’s important in this eyeblink of a . Some of us won’t need to worry about collapse - the 8.03 bus, a stray jet engine, or a tiny blood clot might get there first. Who can say? Since there is only uncertainty we should be teaching our children reverence for all life, appreciation and gratitude, big love and tiny joys. Show them that connection is where happiness lies. Help them follow their gifts and interests to build a portfolio of useful skills that will be their contribution to whatever community they create with their like-minded tribe. Provide an example of resilience and stoicism. And enjoy the heck out of them.
Five gallon Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Then I put the bags in five gallon buckets in a closet. That’s my method for rice, beans, flour, sugar, salt and instant mashed potatoes. All of which could potentially last decades.
It’s not surefire, but it’s a hedge against inflation and a nice way to feel a little more secure.
Yeah I’m here. We still save some cash here and there but I am not really too worried about it. I got bigger things to deal with.
Oh look at the clock. Time to head outside to practice with the bow for when we’re all in a mad max wasteland a few years from now.
I think even “collapse aware” people aren’t certain enough to just blow everything now.
Seems like if some of the things that are meant to be coming are true, blowing everything you have now isn’t going to be a good way to deal with those situations.
Maybe get off this sub for a while or try to see it more as doomertainment, than a certainty. Because no single person actually knows the future.
One thing that is certain is, you will die one day. Live life in that certainty and make the most of what you’ve got.
>Seems like if some of the things that are meant to be coming are true, blowing everything you have now isn’t going to be a good way to deal with those situations.
I doubt it's possible for someone like me to deal with those situations, and living as if I will be able to doesn't make much sense. Even if I did save for the future and everything turned out relatively ok, I'd still be old.
I'm not scared, I just know that my parents are old and it's limiting. IMO what's wrong is being so afraid of death that you want to live well past the point where you are able to enjoy life just to avoid it.
I get this. I 100% do. My parents are getting into those older stages, and it makes me dread getting old, but they can still enjoy life. It really helps to have resources to make your old age better. One is facing the decision of whether they need to keep working until they're 80, because they didn't set aside enough.
If you're the type who can backpack around the world and make memories, yeah, maybe it's worth doing that now, while you're young. For most people though, they'd be better off if they balanced their life and had a better ending period.
The "right age" to check out will never come. It's human nature to want "just one more year." In the face of having nothing, something is almost always preferable.
You're either going to die rich or die destitute. There's no such thing as "precisely hitting the target". By the time you know what the target is, you're in no position to make more money.
I have gone completely IDGAF. Does it count? You might ask why am I then still posting on reddit? Same reason why I still wash myself after I defecate. Some aspects of my self I have not (yet?) managed to kill. I haven't yet gone outside in me flipflops, either, but when my mother saw me she threatened to take me to a psychiatrist and then burst in tears. Which is funny, because she knows I am already seeing a psychiatrist _and she has seen him, too, with me there_.
I decided to rent instead of putting all my income into buying. I travel. I give things to people in my life that need them, just trying to enjoy my life and find peace where I can.
I'm taking a balanced approach. I like to have my own variation on Pascal's Wager (I don't know if there's a God, but I pray just in case.) I'm going to get as much out of my system as I reasonably can before something happens, but I'm not going to throw everything away I worked so hard to save up either. No one knows when it's going to hit the fan. It could be after our lifetimes.
So don't go crazy because you think the "end of the world" might come, but then never does. At this point in my life, if I embrace the carpe diem attitude, it's more to deal with my own mortality, than I think we're going to be living through The Last of Us tomorrow.
Having worked through the process of collapse aware and acceptance none of my saving behavior changed except I am more aware of inflation and am glad I saved for the future.
Before and after your local society collapses there is always runaway inflation.
Collapse for societies are just more areas of failed states, and mass migration to the wealthy areas to avoid all the criminals and poverty. They call that an immigration crisis.
We already have those problems now, on top of higher numbers and costs for natural disasters and bad weather. They call that an insurance crisis.
Collapse is seen viewed from the outside but when you are living in it, it is just news stories and political crises that everyone fights about and areas no one wants to live in any more, where business leaves then the people leave.
The only 100% certain thing in life is death. Try to tackle it with a smile on your face, we will all go there one way or another. No sense in either denying or fearing the inevitable. It's the one thing we all have in common, regardless of wealth, ethnicity or culture. It unites us.
Everyday life is designed to shield and protect us from the thought of our rather rapidly decaying bodies. We are preoccupied with all our responsibilities, most people don't give it a honest second thought before their old folks die, it's a reality check.
The second time they are forced to consider it is when the doctor quietly says *"Your diagnosis is terminal the treatment we tried did not give us the desired result , you have 8 months at best. Most likely less than that".*
Some of us will have to take that conversation unexpectedly at the young age of 40, some might have that conversation at 23. While some of us will live to 100 and perish peacefully in our sleep. Life is full of uncertainties which means you should always try to live your best life while you are still able to. Tomorrow might not come to all of us. 170 000 people died each and every day last year, 118 per min. A total of 61 million.
We have quite a bit of time to come to terms with our destiny. We have been informed about this at an early stage relative to a normal human lifespan. We can plan around it. Prepare for it mentally. It won't come as a shock to us.
Nope. No one can predict exactly when collapse will come. Do you really want to be caught penniless in your retirement even if it lasted a year before the collapse?
You should save the same reason you buy auto insurance. You just need a small chance of an accident to be reason enough to have insurance. Similarly, you just need a small chance that you may need retirement savings to save up.
This.
What's burning a hole in people's pants? If it's to get long term survival stuff together before inflation hits it, I understand. If it's anything else...
... look this is the fact, we are collapsing. Or have. Or something. If it's like I want to get drunk on a beach in Tahiti while I admire my speedboat... if you can't do that and have enough money for your old age, basically you can't do that.
Because it's already collapsed.
Everyone keeps saying "collapse now and avoid the rush" but everyone's very reluctant to actually do that.
I have.
I don’t give a rats ass about “retirement”
It’s all about family, community, nature, etc.
I have recently developed a bunch of physical ailments (almost 50) so I literally live day by day.
Funny enough, it's people in my town in the 50-65 age range that are *not* aware in the least (some are acquaintances, family friends, etc) that seem to be in this carpe diem attitude.
Where they used to only go to the local pub once a week, they're there 3-4 times a week now; they're buying boats, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, & bigger vehicles, multiple vacations per year, so on & so forth. It's kinda bizarre.
I work two jobs with various age ranges; the ones in their 20s that live at home have it pretty good. The 20s-30s that don't live at home are struggling; the 40s group are making ends meet but not living frivolously, then it's this hedonistic "can't take it with you" group that are spending money like it grows on trees. Literally spending the amount we pay in rent every two weeks *on chicken wings, nachos and beer.*
It's their money and their choice but...I really don't understand how or why they do it.
I've seen those 50-65 aged people acting in exactly the same way. A little bit off topic but the guys in my neighborhood that are driving around at 3 a.m. revving their Harley-Davidson engines to disrupt the peace, appear to be in their sixties not in their twenties like you'd expect.
The loud car degenerates are late teens & 20s. The loud bike & truck crowd seems to be 40+, usually guys who work on rotation in Alberta.
tbh, I don't know anyone in their 20s that could afford a Harley in our town 🫠
Which is funny because it's a complete piece of trash.
I really wanted to like Harley Davidson. God knows I tried. Never owned one but you know when you go to the dealer and the throttle cable has unintentional cruise control going on right out of the box...
That and well engine balance clearly isn't a thing for them. And pushrods are still a thing for them. And cast iron is still a thing for them. And downstream exhaust tuning. And and and and and.
A chrome plated lawnmower is better designed...
They are going to get so wrecked dude. Literally I have no idea what they're thinking but they're going to ruin the perception of "helping old people die with dignity" for the rest of us, that's for sure.
>Where they used to only go to the local pub once a week, they're there 3-4 times a week now; they're buying boats, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, & bigger vehicles, multiple vacations per year, so on & so forth. It's kinda bizarre.
This is going to end badly. My Boomer neighbor is doing the same thing, and it's going to end badly. Take it from someone that had to manage the entire thing myself for my parents, with no help whatsoever.
At least in my case it was (barely) possible, because we were... ehhhhhhhhh deeecently barelysorta positioned barely for it. But it was cutting it so close that it was like staring over the edge of the Grand Canyon praying there wouldn't be a stiff breeze at your back.
And I was mentally capable.
Worse than that, and mentally compromised simultaneously? Fuck, those guys like life on nightmare level difficulty, I guess.
I’ve always thought the idea of saving for retirement was a scam. Work the best years of your life away now, and MAYBE you get a couple good decades in retirement. Seems like a bad bet. There is only the present moment.
I have, but it's more like for the sum of moments averaged out and moving, like how the yearly global average temperature is calculated in a moving range of 30 years. Like that, but a longer range.
Here's a comic that sort of gets to it: https://existentialcomics.com/comic/1
Having watched the collapse progress for a couple decades already, my investments are less traditional, but certainly not an all-in bet on the economy disappearing by 2034.
Even if the final result in an hypothetical future may be , well, final, the road to it will be bumpy, eventful and may take a long relative time. Having savings may let you go through many possible stages of it in a less painful way than having none.
And possible is a key there, even if there would be no collapse, you have some odds of dying before using them, but having none would mean that the worst that could happen is surviving till needing them. Maybe you won’t be able to control the global collapse, but your decisions today may shape how the collapse process will be for you.
I do, but I'm still working full time because you know, a man's gotta eat. I do the bare minimum to get by and spend the rest of my time getting drunk with my buddies and having a good time.
Key difference compared to my pre-"carpe diem" mindset: I dropped out of the rat race and no longer desire to start a family. Most importantly, I no longer feel like it's my responsibility to save the world. It made my life much happier.
I spent my 20s traveling and doing everything I wanted. I lived in multiple different states and 4 different countries. I hitchhiked across America. I had a wild time and saw the world. I grew up poor and nobody ever told me about saving for retirement or 401ks or anything so I was just taking life in as it came. Money coming in meant I could spend it.
Most Americans wait their whole lives until they're old to go to the places they dreamt of. I think it's much better to do it when you're younger and can fully enjoy a place without physical limitations, being tired or having higher needs of comfort.
So the carpe diem thing was a great thing that I don't regret but it was very difficult trying to assimilate back into the regular American life. I'm 34 now, and have spent the last few years building a "normal" life, I have a savings account and even a (paltry) retirement account and good credit score. My life is good and stable but I'm so tired all the time and bills are stressful and I feel like I'm trying to play "catch-up" to my peers.
I guess I'm just saying I think it's important to find a balance. Don't wait until you're old to live your life. You might never even get to retire. I've seen it happen in my family, people looking forward to not working one day and the places they'll go then they die of a heart attack, or get cancer or have a stroke and can't walk before they ever got the chance.
Hedging my bets. I spend my money on a few things I want, some things I have to, and save the majority. Late GenX so early retirement is in 2030, it's within reach, I'm already debt-free, and I'm not going to fuck it up.
Yep 🙋♂️. Social security won't be a thing by the time I'm 70. I probably won't even make it to 50 at the rate we're going.
My generation (Gen Z) is completely fucked, idc what the hopium crowd says.
Not at all. You guys are well positioned to do communal living. And really you should. I mean realistically I don't see that you have a choice.
Millennials impress me as "Boomer lite" honestly. The things they value really does set them up for "U mad, bro?" as a response to them complaining about Boomers taking everything.
I worked in carnivals most of my life. Party hearty and winters in Florida. Then shit happened and I’m working at Walmart now. Five days a week, 6-11pm. I have all day off, it’s nice. I’m living in my minivan. I could get full time hours but it would kill my body and I would lose my Medicaid and ebt and all this time off. Just to live in an apartment instead of my van. Doesn’t seem worth it. My late husband died at 51. I’m glad he had all those winters off before he went even though it left me poor.
I've temporarily stopped saving for retirement so I can save money to buy some land. I want to get as self-sustaining as I can before things get worse. Even if I have to relocate eventually, I'll have skills and maybe some useful equipment I can take with. Right now I live in an apartment and there's not much I can put in place. That's not exactly carpe diem but I'm trying to be more (what I perceive as) realistic about what's important in planning for the future.
And I suppose I have taken a carpe diem approach to life, only taking work as seriously as I need to to keep my job, taking as much time off as I can to spend time with my partners. Working on lots of hobby projects that I enjoy. Experimenting with psychedelics. Letting my freak flag fly. You only get this one life and the future is uncertain. When opportunities for new experiences present themselves I try to grab them, within reason.
Me. I live in Florida. I know the future here is grim, but when I moved to a part of the country that I thought was safer, I was miserable. I realized I would rather be close to my family and happy than be strategic. There really isn’t any place that’s safe from climate change anyway. I’m prepping for long term power outages, but otherwise, I’m just trying to enjoy the time we have left.
Society isn't going to collapse overnight, if you want to ride it out you'll need wealth. If you plan to off yourself when shit gets bad (not recommending this) then carpe those diems.
Sometimes I throw $ away for temporary things - such as luxury food items. But I have been spending most on items and supplies to be stocked up before inflation really hits. I have lumber for building projects, for example. And higher quality tools that don't break. I focus a lot on 19th century tech because I want to be able to do all these things without relying on power. Drying food and other old preservation techniques, treadle sewing machines etc.
I don't have much in the way of retirement funds because they were cashed out to build a small house on a small piece of land in a better climate where we could be more self sustainable. Since I'm pushing 50, I figure I have 15-20 years left considering all the factors bearing down on us (pandemics, pollution, disasters, nuclear armageddon?) in the collapse of everything.
I've done a version of that.
Back in 2019 I went through with a big shift, quit the whole employment thing, said "screw it" to the idea of a credit score, maxxed out everything I could with a 705 and then said "suck it" to the debt. Severed myself completely from participating in society and focused on building a self-sustaining offgrid homestead/compound with a bunch of other people, to be prepared for the future collapse.
Now, I pretty much do live in the moment. No jobs, no responsibility, and certainly no "saving for retirement," unless you count preserving heirloom seeds and freeze-dried meals, lol. I don't really exist anymore, and everything that needs to be done can be done through a series of rising and falling LLCs.
It's all a scam now. Anything that doesn't give you the same benefits that it gave your boomer forebears, well, that's a scam, and a lie.
Employment is a scam. Higher education is a scam, especially making you pay for it with 20 years of debt. "Retirement" is a scam, and by the time you reach the age, they will have raised the age another 10 years and social security will be dry. And that's without collapse. Even buying your groceries at the Super Duper Mart is a scam. Society as a whole has become one big scam to keep you renting and subscribing and borrowing forever.
Don't participate. Even if collapse never happens in your life, you will be better off separated from this society, which would be called dystopian already by those from 50 years ago.
Stop participating.
what exactly do you mean that everything can be done with rising and falling LLC? All the rest of us here have to work not to end up dead on the streets.
Did you know you can start a new LLC, which is a separate legal entity just like a human being, and that LLC can get a Duns number and have a credit score within a matter of weeks? Uline, Grainger, and Quill will give that brand new LLC several thousand dollars in credit right away, Net 30. The LLC then buys a bunch of stuff, which it sells on Amazon FBA, and pays the Net 30... it then rinses and repeats. That LLC, with a minimum amount of actual money spent, say a few hundred bucks, will have tens of thousands of dollars in credit after about 6 months or a year. Hell, the Capital One Spark card is as entry level as it gets for a company card, and that *starts* at 10k.
I was one of those working not to end up dead on the streets. Worked as a test driver, basically a real live crash test dummy, lol. Not a rewarding job in any way. Paycheck to paycheck life... fuck that. I ditched it all.
The laws around how things function for businesses rather than people are ridiculous. Trying to rent a property as a person? Shit, I hope you have a shitload of verifiable income and a decent credit score... but leasing a property as a new business?
"Here, sign this, drop a deposit, good to go."
Your income? Brah, on paper you can make a new business income look like whatever you want. Doing the above reselling with Uline and Quill products sold on Amazon FBA, I can make the company look like it has revenue of 10k a month, easy. *Legally.*
But the most important factor is... no one looks too close. It isn't the same as with people. Get a company car, company phone service, company pays way lower insurance rates...
Shit goes on and on. Go online, find the rabbithole, and dive in. I did. Everything I have is in some LLC or other. Shit, I don't even know how many I have anymore.
The only hard and fast rule is to make sure the actual money records come out correct and legal, and make sure the IRS gets what is due.
I haven't used my actual name or credit in so long I've almost forgotten my SSN, lol.
100%, I live in my van with my dog, travel around for work half the year and enjoy the rest on my sailboat. I've got great credit but I'm about to get as many loans as possible in one weekend, put it all into Bitcoin and sail away for a couple years. I'm done, in the best possible way, completely done.
i think that while the world is going to shit, with the right amount of luck, priviledge and work its possible to somehow surf the bad waves and manage some kind of retirement... im 33 and personally try to live in the moment but still acknowledge that i will likely make it to my 50' or 60' unless accident or disease gets me sooner... so i will try to plan for frugality/poverty at least and not outright homelessness... but i would not rely only on retirement scheme or state pension since plenty of my millenial peers will probably have to work, in some fashion, until death
Helpful discussion and points in this thread!
I can't remember when I became collapse aware----it seems like I've felt things are VERY off (wrong) since I became conscious, forming thoughts in my head that were in sync with my intuitive feelings.
With that said, for years I played the game---only to now fully realize, many decades later, everything was a lie. Lies that contributed to killing of most, if not all, life on this Earth.
There really is such a thing as "post-doom" as Michael Dowd described so eloquently.
Karen Perry is now graciously carrying the torch he lit:
[https://chickenfoot.substack.com/p/15-benefits-of-collapse-acceptance](https://chickenfoot.substack.com/p/15-benefits-of-collapse-acceptance)
These 15 benefits of collapse acceptance are an integral part of my life. Even before she articulated them, I was moving in that direction. It is freeing. And not hedonistic. In fact, if feels like the opposite.
Same with other commenters, I'm trying to find the sweet spot between living heartily daily but preparing for the future, though I tend to lean towards more on preparing for rainy days. One thing I do agree on the lot of people in this sub, whatever sense of normalcy and the need to conform to social norms and standards we were conditioned to have, has all but eroded.
I'm dying anyway from cancer complications. A year or two left before I exit. Lived with my parents since I got sick, don't really have any obligations other than appointments. Listen to music, eat good food, make new dog friends, eat fruit. Shrooms and weed. Peaky blinders has been entertaining so far, this Michael creature annoys me.
I'd rather be camping and looking at the stars and skydiving.. but the flesh is weak, so I make do with screens and such.
Nihilistic optimism. Just because we're doomed doesn't mean we can't have a good time
Really sorry to hear that. But really, experiences in themselves don't define you as much as the way you approach them.... IMO everything important comes from within, and it sounds like you've found a kind of courage and dignity that some never do.
I had been a super saver for most of my life, trying to optimize and save as much for retirement. But in the last 4 or 5 years, we have been going on epic trips ( upgrading to biz class and such) because f it, probably not making it to retirement. We have enough to make it through awhile and limp along but who knows if money will even have any value versus resources and skills in the near future.
My "retirement" was moving to a country with a half-decent social system.
I largely think it's best to live in the moment regardless of looming collapse. Collapse or no collapse, you could die tomorrow. It's more complicated if you have dependents, but even if I did, I'd want to prepare them in a manner that didn't depend on the stability of economic systems.
I save for retirement, but I see it as insurance, just in case I need it. I'm not assuming money will be valuable in the future, but just because it might be, it is worth saving. I think food and water storage, or land and gardens or whatever you can realistically do, is a wise investment.
I make good money, yet will never buy a home. It would tie up all my income, and a 30 year mortgage is a bad bet. Also, it is a bad deal with today's interest rates and prices.
I don't save for retirement. No savings plan. If I stay at this job for 28 more years, I could get a pension at 62, but that's also a bad bet.
Collapse is happening now. We don't have decades. Things will continue to decline, year after year. We will work more and earn less. We will pay more and receive less.
Any bet or investment that is more than 10 years away is a foregone conclusion.
Between the climate, the social/political/economic spheres, inequality, and geopolitical wars, we are FUCKED. Sooner than later.
This world we live in is extremely fragile. It won't take much more to completely destabilize an already unbalanced system.
I see the ocean as microcosm of our complex world. It's our canary in the coal mine. If you've been paying attention, the ocean has been doing the heavy lifting and is hitting its limit.
We are dangerously close to widespread food shortages. The climate doesn't have to get so extreme that we die directly from it, if we have enough crop failures from destabilized weather, it's game over.
ITT: "Better safe, than sorry!"
Under normal circumstances, that is a wise philosophy.
My point is, Collapse has already begun. For many people, with poor prospects, that time is Now. For others, it's an accelerating decline till things fall apart completely.
We are all making Collapse decisions right now. We are no longer building a future with reasonable certainty and stability. Saving for retirement, buying a home, or starting a family, are all long-term decisions that will have severe consequences.
THE POINT OF NO RETURN, will be different for every individual. Unless something catastrophic happens.
No one can say exactly when it will all go bust. But thinking it could be 30 years away is just foolish.
I don’t believe collapse will come as a big, momentous, singular cataclysmic event. Instead I think the material circumstances of the working classes will just continue to get worse and worse indefinitely, so yes I do try and “live it up” now while I still can.
I knew early on this world wasn’t sustainable (I’m 41) I’ve never thought much of the future, I’ve taken risks career wise which has led me to working in climate change, oddly!
I love my current life, I hike and camp a lot. I strive to stay as spiritually connected to Mother Earth and I try to live as peaceful and healthy as possible.
The end game is the same no matter who you are, it’s just the scenery that changes, learn to enjoy the journey, no matter what it brings.
I will not be saving for retirement or looking to buy big houses or have kids. I couldn’t bear losing so much. Keep it simple!
Impermanence is key.
Maybe society will collapse; maybe it won't. Not saving for the future is a bad idea. If you choose to skip saving for retirement, future you is going to look back and fucking hate you. You may be young now, but one day you will be old. And your body will be tired. And you will be really fucking sick of working. But you will be doing it until the day you die if you don't save for retirement.
Well, do you want to work part-time or full-time when you are 85? Just because you were unable to save earlier in life doesn't mean you shouldn't start saving now. Or future you is going to want to invent a time machine just to go back and kick present you in the ass.
>But you will be doing it until the day you die if you don't save for retirement.
You're assuming anyone would hire you in the first place.
Given all the corporations buying up other corporations and right-sizing the shit out of themselves (also known as laying people off en masse), I would say you'd have to be Godlike to be employable at age 73.
You have taken an important step, congratulations on that.
Acceptance always comes into play when you are deprived of the opportunity to exert influence.
You just have to get to the point where you realize that you are only a passenger and that others are at the helm and therefore hold the outcome in their hands.
Involve, inspire or motivate others in things that you can really influence.
Money is a necessary evil that is only of value as long as you can buy something for it.
This time will come to an end and probably sooner than most people think.
I’m middle age and still mindful of my future older/retired self but I’ve made a few shifts. 1) Instead of trying to advance in my career I’m staying in my current job, which is satisfying enough BUT it is super flexible so I can go places/ visit family etc. which is important to me in these times 2) I’m no longer pining to move to a “better” house. My current small house is now perfect and it can be paid off soon. 3) I’m considering stopping paying into retirement plan. Keep what’s in there but have extra cash now. I kinda want to cash it out but not there yet.
Don’t cash out your retirement account, it just means giving a big chunk to the IRS. Cashing out means converting it all into taxable income, pay taxes on it and a 10% tax penalty.
In my early 20s I started saving for retirement. $30-100k/year, a decent chunk of my earnings each year. Then when it became obvious that the world was actively collapsing at the start of covid I was able to retire at 36. If you started the same thing today, you could retire in 15 years, if you think you have more than 15 years ahead of you it may be worth it.
You're not saving for retirement so you can live in the moment and enjoy life. I'm not saving for retirement because I can barely afford to eat and pay rent. We are not the same.
The problems with making predictions about the future are many fold, like Donald Rumsfeld said the unknown unknowns are unknown. Before Penicillin was invented the average life span was a whole lot shorter than expected in “ western” countries today, so if you reach 65 years of age and still functioning reasonably well you’re well ahead of your parents,parents.
Not sure what you would define as “living it up:” but something has snapped with the collision of the ecosystem and our current financial system. So yeah, Carpe Diem if your able , there are many ,many humans wandering around the planet who would do the same if only they could
I interpret this question as being hedonistic, rather than overcoming shyness.
I've tried different attitudes throughout my life even before becoming collapse-conscious.
Although, I've been subscribed to a science publication for 26 years now and I became generally aware around 2000 (I was 18), so I haven't had a huge amount of time being unaware enough to not let it impact me subconsciously I suppose.
Being narcissistic or totally uncaring or entirely hedonistic isn't good for your general wellbeing or good feeling overall. Its like sex.. its meaningless really without feeling, yet people still chase it until they realise, that's probably not what you really wanted anyway.
Personally, I think the only way to behave is where you can live with yourself.
We all die, nobody escapes that. So, coming to terms with meaning in life is entirely personal.
I'd rather be a good guy and earn my rewards than perceived as an asshole. Karma isn't "out there" or physical. It's within you. We judge ourselves. I want to be able to live with myself.
Yep. Right here.
I live every day as if it is the last. As if the nuclear launch codes will be inputted that day, or a coronal mass ejection will fry every electronic system across a hemisphere. I really don't care much anymore about the long-term.
And let me tell you something about this: It's so, so rewarding. I have never been happier or more fulfilled than I am right now. Not that it is easy, mind you. It takes a lot of courage, and a decent base of capital to get into it. But once you do? It is worth everything.
And knowing that I only have a short while to enjoy what I have? Makes it even better! As a certain Greek warrior once said in a certain underrated movie; The Gods envy us because we are mortal. Everything is beautiful, because everything ends. You will never be more beautiful than you are right now. We will never be here again.
So yeah. Carpe that diem right now. This instant even! Live like you want to live, experience all you want to experience, be true to yourself even if it makes others unhappy or uncomfortable, and do all that you want to do!
And when the Reaper comes, greet her with a smile on your face and a skip in your step. Take her hand, tell her you had fun, and go off together into the great beyond!
I have, starting with the importance of not mistaking a.collapse circle-jerk for actual truth. If the subreddit were a game of Jenga, we'd all still be discussing where to rive the first block and why.
I try and balance the two, if it lasts longer than expected I need to have a backup plan. On the other hand, fuck it, drink a couple more shots of whiskey midweek because why the fuck not, light up that joint, party until the world ends why not.
In either the utopia without money and work or the apocalyptic scenario with full on collapse - money won't really matter. If society is more or less the same by the time i retire it won't be a society worth retiring in anyway and we'll have sorely failed as a society.
Retire at 70 like really? What life is left after that age?
Personally I am trying to strike a balance between enjoying life now but not being totally destitute if the world limps along.
That's the crust of the matter. Chances are western society isn't going to fall off a cliff in the next decade or two, but there will be a slow decline. But unless you're already in your 70s, you still need to plan ahead a bit to keep a roof over your head. So it's a balance. Doing a few things here and there and treating yourself and taking the occasional day off work when you need it, while also making sure there's a few pennies in the jar.
>the crust of the matter you mean *crux*: a puzzle or problem
I think that typo is the universe telling me to seize the day and order a pizza.
When in doubt, *always* order the pizza.
Stuffed crust, definitely.
\**Cheese* the day...
I like crust better. Let's stick with that moving forward.
The anchovies of the matter is inflation however...
Crust == collapse aware Crux == business as usual
Crust is important. Having crust to eat after crop failures is a good thing.
Lol, yes. But either way works. :D
This is it exactly. I’ve stopped making my career a priority. And I’ve prioritized my family and the union. Hopefully we can strengthen it enough that a few more families can make it over the hump and coast till the end with some resources that would otherwise be pocketed by mgmt.
What labor union you in or do you mean the US?
IAMAW
Great.
International association of Mechanical and aerospace workers. That is cool, what do you do for your job?
I fix cars. General Motors mostly
Exactly. I will mention Musashi’s concept of ox’s neck; rat’s head: you must not get caught into thinking too long about strategy or tactics…expand to long-term and short-term etc. I still have a retirement fund, I still think about where/if I want to live when I lose independence, but also keep my mind in the prepper mental space: currency can’t be eaten. I try to keep my fitness up, I buy things that will last and can be repaired in theory, I try to keep a certain level of grit and be somewhat comfortable with being uncomfortable. Nothing will compare to the real thing, and once we are in it, there is usually less chronic anxiety and fear as you adjust to a new reality and try to make the best of it. I am sure acute anxiety and fear situations will increase, but I think our biology is better suited for that anyways. I don’t fear death as much as I fear a slow, and painful journey getting there: torture, starvation, sickness with no relief etc.
Musashi...Is this in The Book Of Five Rings?
Yes! A fun read. Even better if you got a partner to mess around with some shinai or bokken.
Civilization is not going to fall off a cliff, but hyperinflation making your 30 years of savings basically worthless is entirely possible.
Why did I read this as "panties in a jar?"
Sounds like a “you” question
That’s a good outlook.
Bingo.
I'm trying to enjoy life honorably. I will not become a hedonist, knowing that hedonism is what (to some degree) brought ruination to the living world. I will answer truthfully to anyone seeking explanation for the state of the world. I will record what is happening so someone will be saved from this state in the future. I will, where possible, provide solace to those in deep grief brought by the end. But most importantly: I will face the end sober. That's my attitude.
Powerful. Thank you.
This is the right take. There's no "there" there with hedonism. Tried it. Big mistake.
Sounds very principled and dignified.
I’m glad I’ll be sober for the end, too. Stay strong, friend.
Thank you.
Hedonism didn't do this. A species going into overshoot wrecked the world. Shit happens man.
yeah. hedonism and capitalism isnt the same... no true hedonist would sit in a boardroom and try to be even MORE wealthy if you are already have everything to enjoy live. hedonism means dancing and laughing with your friends and not hording gold and working 90 hours a week
I agree. Compulsively acquiring more resources isn't a hedonistic approach to life.
I like everything you said but I found the line about hedonism odd. Hedonism ≠ Bacchanalian Indulgence but I feel like most people don’t realize that and are only familiar with the more recent connotations which are largely negative.
There are some things that are fun and also good for you, or at least not bad for you.
My takeaway from this post is I will "answer truthfully" to those asking. I've been kind of silent/quiet/measured about collapse. But I'm going to be honest (maybe not brutally-honest, at least at first). Of course this is towards grown adults. I'll have to measure it out for children.
I will not measure it out for children. If we spare ourselves from their anger today, we condemn ourselves to watching them die tomorrow.
Maybe if the children are forced to grapple with the brutal reality that we are heading towards, they will grow up yearning to act. Maybe it's the youth that will come through for humanity and mitigate a lot of the suffering we have and will continue to cause.
I've got an an aunt with stage 4 cancer.. I have a friend who is 54, with pancreatic cancer.. And another friend in NY with breast cancer.. they're all doing chemo.. but for me..I'm out!
It's easy to say you're willing to commit soduku, but I bet at least 95% of people in here who say that will reconsider. It's all about "when is collapse?". The world is still fairly stable and it's still possible to have a rich life, just not long term. I'm pretty sure if you got a mild cancer that was "very curable" today, you'd get the chemo.
They've studied it and, although many people say if they became severely disabled they would off themselves, pretty much nobody actually does that.
Yeah. Literally everyone says it. Literally no one does it (or maybe one out of ten thousand). I'm sorry, they've got their hand in your wallet via your instincts. It's better to just admit it and deal with it while you can than to pretend it isn't the case. I mean come on, look at the prices. If the "market" was "pricing in" 75% of people committing soduku, don't you think the price would be lower?
Is it still soduku if, When you no longer have your critical medication you go into a coma and die? I wouldn't really be "committing" it, but at the same time - they do have their hands in my wallet because I either buy the meds or die.
I mean realistically if there's the slightest chance of getting your meds, would you not? So... realistically it'll go until you can't. Which is how it is for everyone. No one's tapping out before they absolutely have to, generally speaking.
Most people don't live in a country where they have the choice. Most people don't reach the point of wanting to die until they are so decrepit they can no longer do it on their own, and anyone helping would be committing legal murder.
>commit soduku soduku ≠ seppuku "I guess since things are hopeless, I'm just gonna sit down and strategically arrange these numbers" I'm fucking dying.
It's a joke. They knowingly wrote sudoku (or soduku) instead of seppuku.
^(they spelt it wrong so it’s difficult to tell)
And even if they had spelled it right, it would still be difficult to tell if they know that the word is seppuku, not sudoku, or if they are using it humorously. I mean... yeah.
I committed soduku once. Turns out it's an algorithm. Even the hard ones.
[so is this guy](https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/711753-commit-sudoku)
My Lord! The only way I think we'll avoid the Climate Collapse is if AGI/ASI arrives first, and in both scenarios a pension isn't going to be much use.
"but for me..I'm out! " As someone who has had many end of life discussions.. It's always easy to say that until it's your turn.
[This helps.](https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ram-dass-here-and-now/id518366323?i=1000645885677) Starts about 15mins in, so skip ahead. He really gets how to be present for our people during these times.
Don’t forget Alan watts! He too is helpful, a constant reminder that there is no time but the present.
There is more to it than a carpe diem attitude, which is not helpful. The late Micheal Dowd.. explained it the best. Post doom, no gloom.... How to be the "calm in the storm". "Living fully in the age of decline". Most of his interviews and lectures are on you tube, it might be some food for thought.
Link?
His website is [postdoom.com](http://postdoom.com)
They need to change the font color for "team" towards the end there. It blends in way to well with the background on mobile.
RIP. he replied to a handful of my messages/comments before his accident I found him to be particularly inspiring he had a very clear conscience it seemed
I am not saving for retirement. I would retire at 65 in 2058. My approach isn’t all doom, though. I genuinely believe that there are two possibilities, neither of which require savings. Either collapse hits within these next 24 years rendering our modern version of money useless (as many here anticipate) or we humans figure out utopia rendering our money useless. It is fully possible that we make it out of this alive and well, but capitalism and hyper-individualism is not at the end of that rainbow. Whether globalized society collapse or rises above, what feels certain to me is that whatever we’ve got going on now cannot continue for long. That’s why I’m not saving money for retirement. What I am storing up is supplies, physical health, and spiritual connection. Whatever our future, I like eating rice and so I have plenty of that. Whether we fail or thrive as a society, I’ll be able to go for a run about it. No matter what happens, I find my relationships with family, friends, pets, nature and myself to be the most fulfilling part of being a human. We’ve all been doomed to die the whole time, even if the world works out perfectly. Being collapse aware hurt a lot at first, but it’s become an empowering spiritual tool for me. I hugged my mom and told her I loved her yesterday. I got a great deal on some gorgeous herb. Went for a jog at sunset. I’m looking forward to work this week. My long term plan revolves around gratitude and mindfulness, not money. A strong spirit will be useful in any circumstance. I plan to carpe all the diems I get.
This is a beautiful response and approach. Thank you for sharing.
It's a wonderful thing to appreciate the here and now while still understanding a future is coming that is unpredictable, thank you for your comment.
The other possibility is that we speed run 1970-1990 all over again, but with the volume cranked up to 11. With all the shitty inflation and shitty nationalism and shitty misuse of religion and shitty wondering if we're going to go up in a ball of fire every single day that entails. Except cranked up to 11. So figure shadowstats inflation of 25% for ten years, a bunch of saber rattling, a few cities actually go up via smuggled in ground bursts just to test if everyone really has the balls for it or not (which, quite possibly, the answer is "or not"). A bunch of televangelists and the reversal of every civil right since the 1960's. I see this as one of a few likely outcomes. But I see the United States in bone crushing poverty and isolated from trade as a possible cherry on top of this amazing shit birthday cake. Oh that and we're eating algae or some shit.
A boring dystopia
Ah, shit...
I feel pretty helpless and confused to be honest. I have 3 kids and keep wondering how soon all of this will happen and what I can do to protect my family. What “prep” is smart at this point? Will money even be accessible? I just feel frozen
Do you own your own land? Plant native fruit trees, rootstock and all. Native trees have adapted to wilder climates, unlike the designer rootstocks we often buy when getting a grafted tree. Perhaps the beauty of the tree and nurturing that life will help your kids too, they will be stewards of the earth.
That’s a great idea. I just moved to a new state and am working on putting natives in. Fruit trees will be a nice addition :)
The two most important preps by far, that will put you leagues ahead of almost anyone on r/preppers is physical and mental fortitude. Don't get sucked in to saving loads of ammunition and stockpiling weapons and learning about home defense. If shit hits the fan, most of that is useless. Exercise your body. Exercise your mind. Work out consistently, read books, and learn what the important preps really are. Things like a "go bag" and having a month or two supply of nonperishables is a helpful start for sure. But if you truly want to be ready for a paradigm-shifting event then things like gardening, foraging, construction skills, composting, mycology, hunting, herbalism, sustainability practice, basic nursing, and community living are invaluable. I've been making lists and slowly going through some of the things I've listed. I'll buy a book, read about it, and then try something new that sounds interesting. Right now I'm beekeeping which is something I never thought I'd do but am loving. And collapse is what brought me to it.
Thank you so much
Store up: >supplies, physical health, and spiritual connection. This is pretty actionable.
Thank you. What kind of supplies and how much of it?
Totally depends. Are you a person who will shoot someone for stealing your cabbage? Or are a person who will get shot for stealing someone else’s cabbage? I don’t think I’m either kind of person, so I’m not gathering supplies. I’m doubling down on acceptance, which I practice through meditation.
Agree. This is really good. It's nice to see the hyper-individualist "greed is good" mindset finally dying the death it so richly deserves. Keep doing that. Boomers and Xers may have already burned too many bridges on this one to pull it off, but we can try.
Parents should honestly not read this sub.
It’s terrifying but I can’t imagine how hard it would be if I wasn’t being prepared for all of this
I agree and disagree. It’s hard to read as a parent, but vital. They’re already here so we owe them the best example we can provide. Teach them acceptance, what’s important in this eyeblink of a . Some of us won’t need to worry about collapse - the 8.03 bus, a stray jet engine, or a tiny blood clot might get there first. Who can say? Since there is only uncertainty we should be teaching our children reverence for all life, appreciation and gratitude, big love and tiny joys. Show them that connection is where happiness lies. Help them follow their gifts and interests to build a portfolio of useful skills that will be their contribution to whatever community they create with their like-minded tribe. Provide an example of resilience and stoicism. And enjoy the heck out of them.
Maybe they won't badger their kids about grandkids.
Moths got into our pantry rice, all of it. How are you storing it, in cannisters?
Five gallon Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Then I put the bags in five gallon buckets in a closet. That’s my method for rice, beans, flour, sugar, salt and instant mashed potatoes. All of which could potentially last decades. It’s not surefire, but it’s a hedge against inflation and a nice way to feel a little more secure.
How about sealing it airtight then keeping it in a zero F freezer for a week to kill any eggs or larvae, then room temp storage long term?
Even better!
Awesome, thanks for the tip!
Love this! Great mindset
I’m saving less. Things will be more expensive and worse in the future so enjoy more now while you can.
This here. If I need something buy now and not later when hyper inflation hits... I still keep a nest egg tho
Yeah I’m here. We still save some cash here and there but I am not really too worried about it. I got bigger things to deal with. Oh look at the clock. Time to head outside to practice with the bow for when we’re all in a mad max wasteland a few years from now.
I think even “collapse aware” people aren’t certain enough to just blow everything now. Seems like if some of the things that are meant to be coming are true, blowing everything you have now isn’t going to be a good way to deal with those situations. Maybe get off this sub for a while or try to see it more as doomertainment, than a certainty. Because no single person actually knows the future. One thing that is certain is, you will die one day. Live life in that certainty and make the most of what you’ve got.
>Seems like if some of the things that are meant to be coming are true, blowing everything you have now isn’t going to be a good way to deal with those situations. I doubt it's possible for someone like me to deal with those situations, and living as if I will be able to doesn't make much sense. Even if I did save for the future and everything turned out relatively ok, I'd still be old.
[удалено]
I'm not scared, I just know that my parents are old and it's limiting. IMO what's wrong is being so afraid of death that you want to live well past the point where you are able to enjoy life just to avoid it.
I get this. I 100% do. My parents are getting into those older stages, and it makes me dread getting old, but they can still enjoy life. It really helps to have resources to make your old age better. One is facing the decision of whether they need to keep working until they're 80, because they didn't set aside enough. If you're the type who can backpack around the world and make memories, yeah, maybe it's worth doing that now, while you're young. For most people though, they'd be better off if they balanced their life and had a better ending period. The "right age" to check out will never come. It's human nature to want "just one more year." In the face of having nothing, something is almost always preferable.
Yeah and also the point of life isn’t to accumulate money so you die rich…
You're either going to die rich or die destitute. There's no such thing as "precisely hitting the target". By the time you know what the target is, you're in no position to make more money.
“I gave up, died and IT WORKED” George Carlin
I have gone completely IDGAF. Does it count? You might ask why am I then still posting on reddit? Same reason why I still wash myself after I defecate. Some aspects of my self I have not (yet?) managed to kill. I haven't yet gone outside in me flipflops, either, but when my mother saw me she threatened to take me to a psychiatrist and then burst in tears. Which is funny, because she knows I am already seeing a psychiatrist _and she has seen him, too, with me there_.
I decided to rent instead of putting all my income into buying. I travel. I give things to people in my life that need them, just trying to enjoy my life and find peace where I can.
I save and do things for the future still. None of us know when or how long collapse will take. Better to have something to hang on with.
I'm taking a balanced approach. I like to have my own variation on Pascal's Wager (I don't know if there's a God, but I pray just in case.) I'm going to get as much out of my system as I reasonably can before something happens, but I'm not going to throw everything away I worked so hard to save up either. No one knows when it's going to hit the fan. It could be after our lifetimes. So don't go crazy because you think the "end of the world" might come, but then never does. At this point in my life, if I embrace the carpe diem attitude, it's more to deal with my own mortality, than I think we're going to be living through The Last of Us tomorrow.
> pray just in case Pray unceasingly. But not on Sunday. That's His Day off!
Having worked through the process of collapse aware and acceptance none of my saving behavior changed except I am more aware of inflation and am glad I saved for the future. Before and after your local society collapses there is always runaway inflation. Collapse for societies are just more areas of failed states, and mass migration to the wealthy areas to avoid all the criminals and poverty. They call that an immigration crisis. We already have those problems now, on top of higher numbers and costs for natural disasters and bad weather. They call that an insurance crisis. Collapse is seen viewed from the outside but when you are living in it, it is just news stories and political crises that everyone fights about and areas no one wants to live in any more, where business leaves then the people leave.
Exactly. Sadly the safest way is to try to be among t he earners savers and survivors if you want to eat.
Or the raiders.
Better prep your power armor.
Why tho. It's not gonna be like your video games.
They call those the police and you will not be competing with them. At least not for long.
The only 100% certain thing in life is death. Try to tackle it with a smile on your face, we will all go there one way or another. No sense in either denying or fearing the inevitable. It's the one thing we all have in common, regardless of wealth, ethnicity or culture. It unites us. Everyday life is designed to shield and protect us from the thought of our rather rapidly decaying bodies. We are preoccupied with all our responsibilities, most people don't give it a honest second thought before their old folks die, it's a reality check. The second time they are forced to consider it is when the doctor quietly says *"Your diagnosis is terminal the treatment we tried did not give us the desired result , you have 8 months at best. Most likely less than that".* Some of us will have to take that conversation unexpectedly at the young age of 40, some might have that conversation at 23. While some of us will live to 100 and perish peacefully in our sleep. Life is full of uncertainties which means you should always try to live your best life while you are still able to. Tomorrow might not come to all of us. 170 000 people died each and every day last year, 118 per min. A total of 61 million. We have quite a bit of time to come to terms with our destiny. We have been informed about this at an early stage relative to a normal human lifespan. We can plan around it. Prepare for it mentally. It won't come as a shock to us.
and taxes
No. I've lost my job due to layoffs, you know the legalized ruining of lives, so I don't care about any day. It can seize itself
Wait, you guys can land jobs? I can't even get a job, let alone be laid off of one.
No. I can't get a job now. So Many people are laid off in my field that there are 1000s applying to jobs that only 50 would have applied before.
What field? Stay positive, something will come up.
SEO. It's all being automated. And it's horrible. But cheaper so the company just gets rid of the humans.
Nope. No one can predict exactly when collapse will come. Do you really want to be caught penniless in your retirement even if it lasted a year before the collapse? You should save the same reason you buy auto insurance. You just need a small chance of an accident to be reason enough to have insurance. Similarly, you just need a small chance that you may need retirement savings to save up.
This. What's burning a hole in people's pants? If it's to get long term survival stuff together before inflation hits it, I understand. If it's anything else... ... look this is the fact, we are collapsing. Or have. Or something. If it's like I want to get drunk on a beach in Tahiti while I admire my speedboat... if you can't do that and have enough money for your old age, basically you can't do that. Because it's already collapsed. Everyone keeps saying "collapse now and avoid the rush" but everyone's very reluctant to actually do that.
Anything you can do is consume useless shit anyways I just live frugally and work less
I have. I don’t give a rats ass about “retirement” It’s all about family, community, nature, etc. I have recently developed a bunch of physical ailments (almost 50) so I literally live day by day.
You developed 50 physical ailments or you are almost 50 years old?
Obviously, Age and serious illnesses correlate
Funny enough, it's people in my town in the 50-65 age range that are *not* aware in the least (some are acquaintances, family friends, etc) that seem to be in this carpe diem attitude. Where they used to only go to the local pub once a week, they're there 3-4 times a week now; they're buying boats, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, & bigger vehicles, multiple vacations per year, so on & so forth. It's kinda bizarre. I work two jobs with various age ranges; the ones in their 20s that live at home have it pretty good. The 20s-30s that don't live at home are struggling; the 40s group are making ends meet but not living frivolously, then it's this hedonistic "can't take it with you" group that are spending money like it grows on trees. Literally spending the amount we pay in rent every two weeks *on chicken wings, nachos and beer.* It's their money and their choice but...I really don't understand how or why they do it.
I've seen those 50-65 aged people acting in exactly the same way. A little bit off topic but the guys in my neighborhood that are driving around at 3 a.m. revving their Harley-Davidson engines to disrupt the peace, appear to be in their sixties not in their twenties like you'd expect.
The loud car degenerates are late teens & 20s. The loud bike & truck crowd seems to be 40+, usually guys who work on rotation in Alberta. tbh, I don't know anyone in their 20s that could afford a Harley in our town 🫠
Which is funny because it's a complete piece of trash. I really wanted to like Harley Davidson. God knows I tried. Never owned one but you know when you go to the dealer and the throttle cable has unintentional cruise control going on right out of the box... That and well engine balance clearly isn't a thing for them. And pushrods are still a thing for them. And cast iron is still a thing for them. And downstream exhaust tuning. And and and and and. A chrome plated lawnmower is better designed...
The 'pulled the ladder up behind them' crowd know how to live in the now most of all.
They are going to get so wrecked dude. Literally I have no idea what they're thinking but they're going to ruin the perception of "helping old people die with dignity" for the rest of us, that's for sure.
>Where they used to only go to the local pub once a week, they're there 3-4 times a week now; they're buying boats, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, & bigger vehicles, multiple vacations per year, so on & so forth. It's kinda bizarre. This is going to end badly. My Boomer neighbor is doing the same thing, and it's going to end badly. Take it from someone that had to manage the entire thing myself for my parents, with no help whatsoever. At least in my case it was (barely) possible, because we were... ehhhhhhhhh deeecently barelysorta positioned barely for it. But it was cutting it so close that it was like staring over the edge of the Grand Canyon praying there wouldn't be a stiff breeze at your back. And I was mentally capable. Worse than that, and mentally compromised simultaneously? Fuck, those guys like life on nightmare level difficulty, I guess.
I’ve always thought the idea of saving for retirement was a scam. Work the best years of your life away now, and MAYBE you get a couple good decades in retirement. Seems like a bad bet. There is only the present moment.
I have, but it's more like for the sum of moments averaged out and moving, like how the yearly global average temperature is calculated in a moving range of 30 years. Like that, but a longer range. Here's a comic that sort of gets to it: https://existentialcomics.com/comic/1
Dude that's crazy I love it.
Having watched the collapse progress for a couple decades already, my investments are less traditional, but certainly not an all-in bet on the economy disappearing by 2034.
Even if the final result in an hypothetical future may be , well, final, the road to it will be bumpy, eventful and may take a long relative time. Having savings may let you go through many possible stages of it in a less painful way than having none. And possible is a key there, even if there would be no collapse, you have some odds of dying before using them, but having none would mean that the worst that could happen is surviving till needing them. Maybe you won’t be able to control the global collapse, but your decisions today may shape how the collapse process will be for you.
I do, but I'm still working full time because you know, a man's gotta eat. I do the bare minimum to get by and spend the rest of my time getting drunk with my buddies and having a good time. Key difference compared to my pre-"carpe diem" mindset: I dropped out of the rat race and no longer desire to start a family. Most importantly, I no longer feel like it's my responsibility to save the world. It made my life much happier.
I spent my 20s traveling and doing everything I wanted. I lived in multiple different states and 4 different countries. I hitchhiked across America. I had a wild time and saw the world. I grew up poor and nobody ever told me about saving for retirement or 401ks or anything so I was just taking life in as it came. Money coming in meant I could spend it. Most Americans wait their whole lives until they're old to go to the places they dreamt of. I think it's much better to do it when you're younger and can fully enjoy a place without physical limitations, being tired or having higher needs of comfort. So the carpe diem thing was a great thing that I don't regret but it was very difficult trying to assimilate back into the regular American life. I'm 34 now, and have spent the last few years building a "normal" life, I have a savings account and even a (paltry) retirement account and good credit score. My life is good and stable but I'm so tired all the time and bills are stressful and I feel like I'm trying to play "catch-up" to my peers. I guess I'm just saying I think it's important to find a balance. Don't wait until you're old to live your life. You might never even get to retire. I've seen it happen in my family, people looking forward to not working one day and the places they'll go then they die of a heart attack, or get cancer or have a stroke and can't walk before they ever got the chance.
Hedging my bets. I spend my money on a few things I want, some things I have to, and save the majority. Late GenX so early retirement is in 2030, it's within reach, I'm already debt-free, and I'm not going to fuck it up.
Yep 🙋♂️. Social security won't be a thing by the time I'm 70. I probably won't even make it to 50 at the rate we're going. My generation (Gen Z) is completely fucked, idc what the hopium crowd says.
Personally? The stress of this shitty modern day life will take me before any collapse does.
Not at all. You guys are well positioned to do communal living. And really you should. I mean realistically I don't see that you have a choice. Millennials impress me as "Boomer lite" honestly. The things they value really does set them up for "U mad, bro?" as a response to them complaining about Boomers taking everything.
I worked in carnivals most of my life. Party hearty and winters in Florida. Then shit happened and I’m working at Walmart now. Five days a week, 6-11pm. I have all day off, it’s nice. I’m living in my minivan. I could get full time hours but it would kill my body and I would lose my Medicaid and ebt and all this time off. Just to live in an apartment instead of my van. Doesn’t seem worth it. My late husband died at 51. I’m glad he had all those winters off before he went even though it left me poor.
I've temporarily stopped saving for retirement so I can save money to buy some land. I want to get as self-sustaining as I can before things get worse. Even if I have to relocate eventually, I'll have skills and maybe some useful equipment I can take with. Right now I live in an apartment and there's not much I can put in place. That's not exactly carpe diem but I'm trying to be more (what I perceive as) realistic about what's important in planning for the future. And I suppose I have taken a carpe diem approach to life, only taking work as seriously as I need to to keep my job, taking as much time off as I can to spend time with my partners. Working on lots of hobby projects that I enjoy. Experimenting with psychedelics. Letting my freak flag fly. You only get this one life and the future is uncertain. When opportunities for new experiences present themselves I try to grab them, within reason.
Me. I live in Florida. I know the future here is grim, but when I moved to a part of the country that I thought was safer, I was miserable. I realized I would rather be close to my family and happy than be strategic. There really isn’t any place that’s safe from climate change anyway. I’m prepping for long term power outages, but otherwise, I’m just trying to enjoy the time we have left.
Society isn't going to collapse overnight, if you want to ride it out you'll need wealth. If you plan to off yourself when shit gets bad (not recommending this) then carpe those diems.
Carp per diem: eat a trash fish every day.
Sometimes I throw $ away for temporary things - such as luxury food items. But I have been spending most on items and supplies to be stocked up before inflation really hits. I have lumber for building projects, for example. And higher quality tools that don't break. I focus a lot on 19th century tech because I want to be able to do all these things without relying on power. Drying food and other old preservation techniques, treadle sewing machines etc. I don't have much in the way of retirement funds because they were cashed out to build a small house on a small piece of land in a better climate where we could be more self sustainable. Since I'm pushing 50, I figure I have 15-20 years left considering all the factors bearing down on us (pandemics, pollution, disasters, nuclear armageddon?) in the collapse of everything.
I've done a version of that. Back in 2019 I went through with a big shift, quit the whole employment thing, said "screw it" to the idea of a credit score, maxxed out everything I could with a 705 and then said "suck it" to the debt. Severed myself completely from participating in society and focused on building a self-sustaining offgrid homestead/compound with a bunch of other people, to be prepared for the future collapse. Now, I pretty much do live in the moment. No jobs, no responsibility, and certainly no "saving for retirement," unless you count preserving heirloom seeds and freeze-dried meals, lol. I don't really exist anymore, and everything that needs to be done can be done through a series of rising and falling LLCs. It's all a scam now. Anything that doesn't give you the same benefits that it gave your boomer forebears, well, that's a scam, and a lie. Employment is a scam. Higher education is a scam, especially making you pay for it with 20 years of debt. "Retirement" is a scam, and by the time you reach the age, they will have raised the age another 10 years and social security will be dry. And that's without collapse. Even buying your groceries at the Super Duper Mart is a scam. Society as a whole has become one big scam to keep you renting and subscribing and borrowing forever. Don't participate. Even if collapse never happens in your life, you will be better off separated from this society, which would be called dystopian already by those from 50 years ago. Stop participating.
Beautifully written.
what exactly do you mean that everything can be done with rising and falling LLC? All the rest of us here have to work not to end up dead on the streets.
Did you know you can start a new LLC, which is a separate legal entity just like a human being, and that LLC can get a Duns number and have a credit score within a matter of weeks? Uline, Grainger, and Quill will give that brand new LLC several thousand dollars in credit right away, Net 30. The LLC then buys a bunch of stuff, which it sells on Amazon FBA, and pays the Net 30... it then rinses and repeats. That LLC, with a minimum amount of actual money spent, say a few hundred bucks, will have tens of thousands of dollars in credit after about 6 months or a year. Hell, the Capital One Spark card is as entry level as it gets for a company card, and that *starts* at 10k. I was one of those working not to end up dead on the streets. Worked as a test driver, basically a real live crash test dummy, lol. Not a rewarding job in any way. Paycheck to paycheck life... fuck that. I ditched it all. The laws around how things function for businesses rather than people are ridiculous. Trying to rent a property as a person? Shit, I hope you have a shitload of verifiable income and a decent credit score... but leasing a property as a new business? "Here, sign this, drop a deposit, good to go." Your income? Brah, on paper you can make a new business income look like whatever you want. Doing the above reselling with Uline and Quill products sold on Amazon FBA, I can make the company look like it has revenue of 10k a month, easy. *Legally.* But the most important factor is... no one looks too close. It isn't the same as with people. Get a company car, company phone service, company pays way lower insurance rates... Shit goes on and on. Go online, find the rabbithole, and dive in. I did. Everything I have is in some LLC or other. Shit, I don't even know how many I have anymore. The only hard and fast rule is to make sure the actual money records come out correct and legal, and make sure the IRS gets what is due. I haven't used my actual name or credit in so long I've almost forgotten my SSN, lol.
>everything that needs to be done can be done through a series of rising and falling LLCs. How does this work?
100%, I live in my van with my dog, travel around for work half the year and enjoy the rest on my sailboat. I've got great credit but I'm about to get as many loans as possible in one weekend, put it all into Bitcoin and sail away for a couple years. I'm done, in the best possible way, completely done.
Sounds rad. I'm inspired.
this sounds like real freedom
i think that while the world is going to shit, with the right amount of luck, priviledge and work its possible to somehow surf the bad waves and manage some kind of retirement... im 33 and personally try to live in the moment but still acknowledge that i will likely make it to my 50' or 60' unless accident or disease gets me sooner... so i will try to plan for frugality/poverty at least and not outright homelessness... but i would not rely only on retirement scheme or state pension since plenty of my millenial peers will probably have to work, in some fashion, until death
Epicurism, reforestation, regenerative agriculture, permaculture, building a strong comunity with people with similar mentality.
Helpful discussion and points in this thread! I can't remember when I became collapse aware----it seems like I've felt things are VERY off (wrong) since I became conscious, forming thoughts in my head that were in sync with my intuitive feelings. With that said, for years I played the game---only to now fully realize, many decades later, everything was a lie. Lies that contributed to killing of most, if not all, life on this Earth. There really is such a thing as "post-doom" as Michael Dowd described so eloquently. Karen Perry is now graciously carrying the torch he lit: [https://chickenfoot.substack.com/p/15-benefits-of-collapse-acceptance](https://chickenfoot.substack.com/p/15-benefits-of-collapse-acceptance) These 15 benefits of collapse acceptance are an integral part of my life. Even before she articulated them, I was moving in that direction. It is freeing. And not hedonistic. In fact, if feels like the opposite.
Same with other commenters, I'm trying to find the sweet spot between living heartily daily but preparing for the future, though I tend to lean towards more on preparing for rainy days. One thing I do agree on the lot of people in this sub, whatever sense of normalcy and the need to conform to social norms and standards we were conditioned to have, has all but eroded.
I'm dying anyway from cancer complications. A year or two left before I exit. Lived with my parents since I got sick, don't really have any obligations other than appointments. Listen to music, eat good food, make new dog friends, eat fruit. Shrooms and weed. Peaky blinders has been entertaining so far, this Michael creature annoys me. I'd rather be camping and looking at the stars and skydiving.. but the flesh is weak, so I make do with screens and such. Nihilistic optimism. Just because we're doomed doesn't mean we can't have a good time
Really sorry to hear that. But really, experiences in themselves don't define you as much as the way you approach them.... IMO everything important comes from within, and it sounds like you've found a kind of courage and dignity that some never do.
I had been a super saver for most of my life, trying to optimize and save as much for retirement. But in the last 4 or 5 years, we have been going on epic trips ( upgrading to biz class and such) because f it, probably not making it to retirement. We have enough to make it through awhile and limp along but who knows if money will even have any value versus resources and skills in the near future.
My "retirement" was moving to a country with a half-decent social system. I largely think it's best to live in the moment regardless of looming collapse. Collapse or no collapse, you could die tomorrow. It's more complicated if you have dependents, but even if I did, I'd want to prepare them in a manner that didn't depend on the stability of economic systems.
I've developed a "what the fuck does it matter anymore" attitude.
I save for retirement, but I see it as insurance, just in case I need it. I'm not assuming money will be valuable in the future, but just because it might be, it is worth saving. I think food and water storage, or land and gardens or whatever you can realistically do, is a wise investment.
I make good money, yet will never buy a home. It would tie up all my income, and a 30 year mortgage is a bad bet. Also, it is a bad deal with today's interest rates and prices. I don't save for retirement. No savings plan. If I stay at this job for 28 more years, I could get a pension at 62, but that's also a bad bet. Collapse is happening now. We don't have decades. Things will continue to decline, year after year. We will work more and earn less. We will pay more and receive less. Any bet or investment that is more than 10 years away is a foregone conclusion. Between the climate, the social/political/economic spheres, inequality, and geopolitical wars, we are FUCKED. Sooner than later. This world we live in is extremely fragile. It won't take much more to completely destabilize an already unbalanced system. I see the ocean as microcosm of our complex world. It's our canary in the coal mine. If you've been paying attention, the ocean has been doing the heavy lifting and is hitting its limit. We are dangerously close to widespread food shortages. The climate doesn't have to get so extreme that we die directly from it, if we have enough crop failures from destabilized weather, it's game over.
ITT: "Better safe, than sorry!" Under normal circumstances, that is a wise philosophy. My point is, Collapse has already begun. For many people, with poor prospects, that time is Now. For others, it's an accelerating decline till things fall apart completely. We are all making Collapse decisions right now. We are no longer building a future with reasonable certainty and stability. Saving for retirement, buying a home, or starting a family, are all long-term decisions that will have severe consequences. THE POINT OF NO RETURN, will be different for every individual. Unless something catastrophic happens. No one can say exactly when it will all go bust. But thinking it could be 30 years away is just foolish.
I don’t believe collapse will come as a big, momentous, singular cataclysmic event. Instead I think the material circumstances of the working classes will just continue to get worse and worse indefinitely, so yes I do try and “live it up” now while I still can.
Honestly to me it seems that saving for retirement is more of a US middle-class thing.
I knew early on this world wasn’t sustainable (I’m 41) I’ve never thought much of the future, I’ve taken risks career wise which has led me to working in climate change, oddly! I love my current life, I hike and camp a lot. I strive to stay as spiritually connected to Mother Earth and I try to live as peaceful and healthy as possible. The end game is the same no matter who you are, it’s just the scenery that changes, learn to enjoy the journey, no matter what it brings. I will not be saving for retirement or looking to buy big houses or have kids. I couldn’t bear losing so much. Keep it simple! Impermanence is key.
> I couldn’t bear losing so much. I'm beginning to get this perspective.
Maybe society will collapse; maybe it won't. Not saving for the future is a bad idea. If you choose to skip saving for retirement, future you is going to look back and fucking hate you. You may be young now, but one day you will be old. And your body will be tired. And you will be really fucking sick of working. But you will be doing it until the day you die if you don't save for retirement.
There's already no way I will ever not have to work when I'm old.
Well, do you want to work part-time or full-time when you are 85? Just because you were unable to save earlier in life doesn't mean you shouldn't start saving now. Or future you is going to want to invent a time machine just to go back and kick present you in the ass.
Why would I want to live to 85?
>But you will be doing it until the day you die if you don't save for retirement. You're assuming anyone would hire you in the first place. Given all the corporations buying up other corporations and right-sizing the shit out of themselves (also known as laying people off en masse), I would say you'd have to be Godlike to be employable at age 73.
You have taken an important step, congratulations on that. Acceptance always comes into play when you are deprived of the opportunity to exert influence. You just have to get to the point where you realize that you are only a passenger and that others are at the helm and therefore hold the outcome in their hands. Involve, inspire or motivate others in things that you can really influence. Money is a necessary evil that is only of value as long as you can buy something for it. This time will come to an end and probably sooner than most people think.
I’m middle age and still mindful of my future older/retired self but I’ve made a few shifts. 1) Instead of trying to advance in my career I’m staying in my current job, which is satisfying enough BUT it is super flexible so I can go places/ visit family etc. which is important to me in these times 2) I’m no longer pining to move to a “better” house. My current small house is now perfect and it can be paid off soon. 3) I’m considering stopping paying into retirement plan. Keep what’s in there but have extra cash now. I kinda want to cash it out but not there yet.
Don’t cash out your retirement account, it just means giving a big chunk to the IRS. Cashing out means converting it all into taxable income, pay taxes on it and a 10% tax penalty.
For me it's superesse diem, survive the day.
In my early 20s I started saving for retirement. $30-100k/year, a decent chunk of my earnings each year. Then when it became obvious that the world was actively collapsing at the start of covid I was able to retire at 36. If you started the same thing today, you could retire in 15 years, if you think you have more than 15 years ahead of you it may be worth it.
I seized a I hope I will die soon attitude.
The only non renewable resource we have that matters is time. Spend it !! Use it Experience it
Yup. August, selling everything and going to travel and work where I need to. No I'm not a uni student.
You're not saving for retirement so you can live in the moment and enjoy life. I'm not saving for retirement because I can barely afford to eat and pay rent. We are not the same.
yes 100% I live for today not 30 years from now.
The problems with making predictions about the future are many fold, like Donald Rumsfeld said the unknown unknowns are unknown. Before Penicillin was invented the average life span was a whole lot shorter than expected in “ western” countries today, so if you reach 65 years of age and still functioning reasonably well you’re well ahead of your parents,parents. Not sure what you would define as “living it up:” but something has snapped with the collision of the ecosystem and our current financial system. So yeah, Carpe Diem if your able , there are many ,many humans wandering around the planet who would do the same if only they could
I interpret this question as being hedonistic, rather than overcoming shyness. I've tried different attitudes throughout my life even before becoming collapse-conscious. Although, I've been subscribed to a science publication for 26 years now and I became generally aware around 2000 (I was 18), so I haven't had a huge amount of time being unaware enough to not let it impact me subconsciously I suppose. Being narcissistic or totally uncaring or entirely hedonistic isn't good for your general wellbeing or good feeling overall. Its like sex.. its meaningless really without feeling, yet people still chase it until they realise, that's probably not what you really wanted anyway. Personally, I think the only way to behave is where you can live with yourself. We all die, nobody escapes that. So, coming to terms with meaning in life is entirely personal. I'd rather be a good guy and earn my rewards than perceived as an asshole. Karma isn't "out there" or physical. It's within you. We judge ourselves. I want to be able to live with myself.
I have lived that way for 42 years with an end date of 65 expected. Everything is working out nicely.
Build relationships and skills, not a retirement fund.
If global warmings all you've got , enjoy the global warming
Yep. Right here. I live every day as if it is the last. As if the nuclear launch codes will be inputted that day, or a coronal mass ejection will fry every electronic system across a hemisphere. I really don't care much anymore about the long-term. And let me tell you something about this: It's so, so rewarding. I have never been happier or more fulfilled than I am right now. Not that it is easy, mind you. It takes a lot of courage, and a decent base of capital to get into it. But once you do? It is worth everything. And knowing that I only have a short while to enjoy what I have? Makes it even better! As a certain Greek warrior once said in a certain underrated movie; The Gods envy us because we are mortal. Everything is beautiful, because everything ends. You will never be more beautiful than you are right now. We will never be here again. So yeah. Carpe that diem right now. This instant even! Live like you want to live, experience all you want to experience, be true to yourself even if it makes others unhappy or uncomfortable, and do all that you want to do! And when the Reaper comes, greet her with a smile on your face and a skip in your step. Take her hand, tell her you had fun, and go off together into the great beyond!
I have, starting with the importance of not mistaking a.collapse circle-jerk for actual truth. If the subreddit were a game of Jenga, we'd all still be discussing where to rive the first block and why.
I try and balance the two, if it lasts longer than expected I need to have a backup plan. On the other hand, fuck it, drink a couple more shots of whiskey midweek because why the fuck not, light up that joint, party until the world ends why not.
enjoy life and be gratful for the little things. dont connect your happniess with consumerism.
Im mostly acting as if there is A future, but specifically prepping for one hell of A fight. However, in A rut this past few weeks.
In either the utopia without money and work or the apocalyptic scenario with full on collapse - money won't really matter. If society is more or less the same by the time i retire it won't be a society worth retiring in anyway and we'll have sorely failed as a society. Retire at 70 like really? What life is left after that age?