To me, $200 is a lot of money.

You've heard the prepper professors say that step one is "get out of debt." I can testify that that's mighty good advice. I was over at J&H's early yesterday morning, frantically shoveling shit before I had to run and make geiger counters. Their neighbor is D&M. D's a former cop, out of work because of a bad back. M also lost her government job. D&M are not, frankly, my very favorite people and I make it a policy to have as little as possible to do with them. But they're now desperately in the process of trying to sell their property because they're about to lose it. They're the only people in the neighborhood with an actual mortgage, and now they can't make the payments.

If you don't have debt, you don't have debt payments. Whatever money you make (after taxes, of course) you own. Which means you only absolutely need enough money to keep you in the things you absolutely need. I've been getting by for months on a regular income of $30 a week. I haven't been getting by real well, and certain things that I'd normally consider necessities have become luxuries, but I have been getting by. In the past three days I've made over $200, and I feel rich beyond the dreams of avarice - I've spent evenings spending it in my mind, a rather pleasant way to pass the time.

Just saying. Sometimes debt is unavoidable, of course. When you're supporting a family you've got responsibilities that I no longer have, so I try not to get all self-righteous. But still - when you can avoid it, you really should.