2.
“I lived through the early ’90s recession, but I suspect that was mild compared to what’s coming. Felt like the worst of it lasted about five years. We got through it with a lot of cooking at home, growing our own food, sharing a car with siblings well into adulthood and knowing all our neighbours — there are not a huge amount of problems a group of people can’t fix between themselves.”
“I tended to work in hospitality at the time and would salvage food getting thrown out, so lived like a king. Also, high interest rates tended to translate as high savings rates at the banks, so having savings, but no debt, meant I’d get a bit of extra cash.
Good news with the current downturn: There’s a lot of available employment, which isn’t always a given in recessions.
Bad news: The cost of living (housing, water, electricity, transport) is ridiculous, and can’t be handled with a few small income streams on the side, or a bit of humble grafting. A lot of the advice from previous recessions, like what I gave above, won’t apply: Far more people now live in flats and units, so can’t have gardens and debt has been rewarded to the point where people don’t have substantial cash savings.
Best advice: The economic downturn won’t hit the country evenly or everywhere at once. A lot of spots will do it rough, some will prosper. If you’re in a bad spot, move — the earlier, the better.”
