How You Can Survive This Winter in This Bad Economy.

America has gone through a rough summer and people are now cutting back during this summer just to survive. Fewer vacations were made, fewer houses were bought, and fewer things were obtained for entertainment. We as a society have now taught ourselves to be weary of our bills and payments, relying a lot more of a "survival" mode than a "living" mode. We have done things this summer that some of us have never had to do before. Recycling for profit has become more frequent, pawn shops have been visited more and they actually filled up their stores and Americans have downgraded their vehicles to save money and gas.

So what's going to happen this winter? With the economy in the shape it's in now, our society needs to start making plans now, before you or someone else you know ends up without electricity, or worse, homeless. Here are a few helpful hints to get you through winter by doing something now. I mean, right now!

Find a space. Find any space to work or store items.

Start shopping for wrapping paper now. Also, look into some pawn shops now for winter clothes, as well as your nearest goodwill or thrift store. A lot of these stores don't care too much about carrying winter clothes during this hot season. Space is the main word for most of these stores and with a little TLC, you can come out ahead on some beautiful winter clothing.

Know where your missions and pantries are at now.

Alot of good people don't plan ahead for the storms of the season's change. They never think about what would happen if their job was to dissappear virtually overnight. Sign up for assistance while the sun is still out. Just because you might not need it now doesn't mean that you are going to need it in the near future. Signing up now will also keep you from getting put on a waiting list. Believe me, the last thing you want in January is to sign up for assistance and get put on a waiting list. Most pantries will be more than willing to help and some pantries give away a lot more than just food.

Start prepping your house now.

One of the last things to do for a houser that's on anyone's mind is to go out now and caulk outside. One of the worse jobs you can get in December/January is an emergency caulk job to seal a crack that has been blowing 30 MPH wind, knowing that caulk doesn't work well in the cold. Now is also the time to start checking out your furnace, especially the ducts. Being in the world of working maintenance, i can tell you first hand that most houses lose heat through their ductwork because of bad duct tape work. There has been instances where I slithered underneath houses that have been heating the bottom of the house, rather than the house itself. Imagine seeing a single mom of four in a house that's freezing cold and finding out that their crawl space is a comfortable 80 degrees. Now, Imagine that same mom with a $400.00 bill from the gas company.
This incident isn't rare, so do yourself a favor. Crawl under your house and have it checked out. Also, spend the $3.00 you need to buy a new filter for the heater, it does save alot of money in the long run. Alot of filters in the past have been so clogged, the air couldn't even get through.

I honestly hope and pray that our future as a country starts getting back on the plus side of things, but I strongly feel that as Americans, we need to look at the face of reality now. Few of us had the opportunity to work while the weather was good. Now that will be gone soon. Plan ahead, for the future of your children as well as the future of your livelihood will depend on it greatly.