Some things are what country folks can do, others will apply to everyone. You can get thru it!

First, you get hysterical.
Remember, 25% of Americans will loose their usual or what was their usual jobs. The rest will be cut in hours (like me), or cut in pay, or become contractors (no benefits) with spotty work, and so on. Most people will use savings, unemployment, or what they can make selling off everything they do not need for survival.

Second, pay off your car. Don’t waste time throwing money at a bank that is going to foreclose anyway. Pay off the car, or two cars if you have them. Make these sensible cars. Big enough to hold all the family, or a lot of gear, or both. Luggage racks on the roof and back. A small trailer off the back.  Buy essentials. Food and shelter are the primary goals. Figure out where to get a small inexpensive apartment.

If you can hold the house, stay put.

If not, sell off everything but the essentials. BEFORE you have to vacate! A storage unit is great if you can afford one. Look around and compare prices. Pay it off  (pay it forward) for a year. Clothing, select furniture, everything can go in. Computers and wireless connections must be kept (or acquired). You MUST have access to the internet. Cell phone too. But you only need ONE. Get a minimum plan. Fixed rate. You need to be able to communicate and do a job search. A cell phone is essential too – and get a car-charger.

Roughing It

My list of must-haves on hand (in your garage) in case you loose housing. Remember, there are campsites (with bathrooms, showers in some, laundry facilities at others. Limited stays, Reservations. Plan Ahead. Find places near where your kids go to school. Near where you are in job-retraining. Treat this as TEMPORARY and seek housing assistance. Living in a motel with a hot-plate may NOT be a good idea. But camping out a few weeks might be.

1. A car – a campershell, an RV shell, an SUV, a pick-up to which you can add a camper shell to, or add a hitch to the back to tow a tent trailer.
2. Camping gear
1. a full “patrol box” – all the cooking supplies you need in a campsite – check with your local Boy Scout troup for a list of materials
2. This includes a propane cooking stove – 2-burner Coleman, a double-mantle lantern – again – check with your local Boy Scout Troup
3. A tent big enough for your family – or more than one – they make pop-up tents – easy to put up; and have a tarp to put UNDER it. Get Army-Navy WOOL blankets to put inside, under and over sleeping bags.
4. Sleeping bags for everyone – rated to the temperature you find in your area
5. Camping (rugged) clothing – jeans and jean jackets, thermals, socks, hiking boots, gloves, warm jackets, rain-proof jackets. Knits caps.
3. Folding chairs and a folding table

Story sent to me:
Mom's parents used rain barrels but they had money and did not suffer that much.  Dad's family were a lot poorer.  Dad hiked in the woods and cut firewood to heat the house and sell.  He also sold apples on the street corner.  When there were no regular jobs, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and worked at minimum wage, helping to build our parks and roads, part of the new deal.  When he married Mom, he built the house I lived in the first 2 years of my life.  At that time, he worked as a logger for awhile before getting a job in the plywood mill near Florence, OR.  Then, they were able to afford a cheap house closer to work and used Mom's money to buy a car. L.

Water

Reducing water usage is another way to save – and – since we are in a drought – it makes sense.

If you bath daily, everyone uses the same bathwater. This is easy with small children. It becomes harder with bigger ones. But my family did this forever. “Gray water” is the term. They used to do this with the servants in Regency England. The lowest servant got the last bath.

If someone is a real dirty mess, there’s the outside hose.  You can do rotating priorities.

The other option is the 3-minute shower. Turn it off to shampoo – on to rinse. You learn to be fast. Pretend it is a military drill. You also try to keep your hair short!
No more bottled water. Get a Britta or other pitcher with filter. Re-fill existing water bottles and stick in the fridge (or ice chest). Saves plastic and reduces over-all expense.

Another story:
I have two of my grandmother's cookbooks; one from 1933 and one from 1920.  The former has tons of recipes using pasta, tuna, and so forth.  Very interesting!
Some recipes are great, like the mac and cheese and the biscuits.  The Pillsbury book in particular is a collector's item; it is bound in a metal case, and the recipes are on removable tabs.  I've seen it on eBay for a nice chunk of change.  The Fannie Merritt Farmer book from 1920 is hardcover, and it has a lot of "homemaker" information that is really interesting.  There are some advertisements in the back, too.
S.

Cable TV

Get rid of it. I am certainly looking at having two systems and 6 stations and 2 recorders (2 houses since I, like so many others, was trapped into a no-sale.)

Time to get a digital aerial and a converter box. Don’t buy new TVs. Not unless yours blows up.

If you expect to live rough awhile – a small generator is not a bad idea.
Use Netflix and don’t buy DVDs. I have a lot leftover from my son’s hospital time and no place to get rid of them!  $$$!

You can also – if you have one – record shows on mag tape – it is still around. VHS is still alive. Blue Ray is NOT necessary. Not until the recession is over.

Land-Line

If you can’t quite unplug the computer form the DSL – call and get your phone bill down. Cut long-distance. If you are eligible, get a life-line package. Demand cheaper rates.

And if that doesn’t work, disconnect and go wireless. Limit computer on-line time to email and job hunts.

Instead of on-line, children did chores (weed the garden) and played outside.

Turn off expensive equipment, stop buying or renting games.

Cheap trips and ways to get in low-cost.

For a day at the park (free or otherwise), pack lunches. And drinks. And jackets. I did this for Disneyland. We walked to the car for lunch and drinks. Never bought anything at the inflated park prices.

For those with kids in scouts, there are programs at amusement parks like the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park and others where you can get in for a behind-the-scenes class (4 hours) and then can stay for as long as you want afterward. It cost $5 each to get into Sea World for a day. And they earn a patch too.

Food

Spade over the lawn (or roll up the turf if you have that), shop for soil amendments and snail-poison, and plant a vegetable garden. Rotate out trees that only provide shade and plant fruit trees. (This last if your house is not at risk.) Grow what is suitable for your area.

Use kitchen dishwater to water trees. You must use biodegradable soap.

Teach your kids to grow food and check out the county offices – agriculture instructions and helpful booklets are available and so is information on the web.

The words 4-H and Future Farmer's come to mind. Get your kids in a program.

Shop your local farmer’s market – buy local since it’s cheaper. Cut out junk food. Cut out desserts except on Sunday (or whatever day you “rest”). Cut out soda. Buy bulk.

Skip the local supermarket and got for Target, COSCO, and all those other bulk-buy stores. But only buy what you will actually use.
Shop with a list.

Neighborhood or community gardens can be looked into. Or form a group on your street. Exchange excess produce.

Flowers and vegetable can be grown together. It is even a good idea.

Need more ideas

Send me your ideas. Let’s make a list. Talk to older relatives.

I remember ----

Canning - not freezing. Can vegetables and fruit. Jelly and Jam. Pickles. Relish. Cooked chicken. (Not green beans or tomatoes - they get bacteria and can explode. So can root beer and ketsup.)

Clothes line – no dryer. Cities need to drop those ordinances. Backyard only.

Conserve fat. Don’t put it down the drain. (this was world-war II) Once you see it all, you will stop eating it all.

Home cook - no frozen food, no mixes. Cakes and cookies were more wholesome and used less sugar. Old cook books have "War Cakes". When sugar was rationed.

Washable diapers. There are liners you can put in – makes this more attractive. Cheaper in the long run and you get lots of dust rags after.

Birth control. Imperative.