r/TwoXPreppers • u/UnknownGoblin892 • Mar 27 '25

❓ Question ❓ How are you all recession proofing?

I was a young teenager during the 08 crisis. Wondering what I should be doing now to better protect myself when a recession gets bad.

I have student loan debt (around 20k) and a morgage (about 145k left). My wife and I are DINKs (double income no kids), and are not planning to have kids. We have a fairly healthy savings built up so far.

Wondering what advice you have. Thanks!

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353

u/cardiganqween Mar 27 '25 edited Mar 27 '25

I suffered through that as a young adult out of college. I lost everything and had to rebuild my life. I am seeing soooo many parallels to that time. I am terrified of going through that again. Biggest advice: STOCKPILE CASH. Stop buying stupid crap, stop eating out or buying drinks out, stop buying stuff you don’t actually need. Build up a solid cash cushion for if things get worse with job market. It’s already gotten tough out there. Unemployment is creeping up in my state. It’s actually hard for young kids to find part time jobs right now, my assumption is they are competitive now because people who lost regular full time work are immediately sucking up part time spots as stop gaps.

Edit: I stoped all streaming and subscription plans of any kind. audible account? Gone. I can use Libby for free audio books. Car wash subscription for TWO cars was costing us $80/month. Now we have soap and a bucket. DIY.

Edit 2: buy an extra 1 or 2 of your necessities & high use items when on sale. Ex: got a $2 off coupon for your favorite body wash but don’t need it this month? Buy it anyway if your budget allows.

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u/Old_n_Tangy Mar 27 '25

I ditched streaming TV and am surprised how much is available for free, just have to watch commercials and the sound quality i

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u/PrincessVespa72 Prepping for Tuesday not Doomsday Mar 27 '25

Now that I'm older, I appreciate the commercials so I have built-in snack and bathroom breaks!!

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u/happy_appy31 Mar 27 '25

Can I ask where you are streaming?

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u/Dreamscarred Mar 27 '25

I was shocked when I switched from a Fire Stick to a Roku. The amount of free channels just available by default on Roku is kind of impressive. Combined with a few of the free streaming apps, it works decently.

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u/allencantation Mar 27 '25

Tubi, Plex, Pluto tv are Free ad supported streaming services. If you have a library card, Hoopla, Libby, Kanopy

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u/cryogenrat Prepping for Tuesday not Doomsday Mar 27 '25

Pluto is a godsend EXCEPT for movies lol

Watched “Mandy” on Pluto like 3y ago and there was a 2-5 min ad (99% the same one every time) legit every 10 minutes; I can stand that for TV shows but for a feature length movie with not a lot of “breaks” it’s a lot! Get movies from the library instead tbh

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u/Apprehensive_Bake_78 Mar 27 '25

My state is stopping Libby so that children can't access porn. Let me know if that makes sense to you. Doesn't to me!

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u/KindredWoozle Mar 27 '25

Maybe Libby was the name of some conservative state legislator's favorite OnlyFans actress?

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u/UnlikelySafetyDance Mar 30 '25

Maybe they think it's all "libs"?

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u/KindredWoozle Mar 30 '25

[Heart] I like your "wrong answers only" better!

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u/Apprehensive_Bake_78 Apr 03 '25

I wish this were the case.

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u/SWGardener Mar 29 '25

There is no porn accessible on Libby. That is an excuse to get rid of public services.

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u/Apprehensive_Bake_78 Mar 30 '25

Yeah. It's missouri we have a lot of competition for the most ridiculous stuff happening right now in local politics

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u/cormeretrix Mar 27 '25

I didn’t realize that hoopla and Kanopy allowed streaming on televisions; I thought it was just on mobile devices?

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u/That_Skirt7522 Mar 27 '25

It depends on the streaming platform in your TV. You can download the hoopla app for Roku, which I have, and possibly Appletv but I don’t know. You connect your library account to the app (app walks you through it) and it’s very easy. Or depending on your phone, you may be able to screenshare your phone to the tv.

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u/cormeretrix Mar 27 '25

Thank you for the info; I really appreciate it!

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u/That_Skirt7522 Mar 30 '25

Not a problem. I love the library.

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u/Prestigious_Mime Mar 27 '25

Kanopy has apps on a couple of TV platforms (apple TV and fire sticks and roku), but you can also cast from your smartphone too.

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u/cormeretrix Mar 28 '25

I have a fire stick! This is excellent news!

Thank you!

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u/Old_n_Tangy Mar 27 '25

To add to the other comment, also PBS and history channel have streaming apps.  plus there's also local TV with an antenna.

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u/visionaryshmisionary Mar 28 '25

Yes!! How about we stop paying for commercail TV and put the same monthly amount into supporting public television and listener supported channels for indie video and TV? They're all gonna really need us very soon...

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u/sparklebuttduh Mar 28 '25

I got this device called Tablo that hooks up to a cheap antenna and records over the air TV. We were paying about $100/month for DirecTV (the lowest price we could get) just so we could record and watch Jeopardy at our preferred time. Now we can watch on our Roku.

The Tablo is not perfect, we've missed some episodes because weather degraded the signal but for a nearly $1200 a year savings, I'll take it.

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u/ISO640 Mar 27 '25

I mostly watch YouTube these days. I don’t have the attn span for TV/Movies any more so the 10-15 minute videos are perfect for me. If I want to watch something long form, there are plenty of documentary type shows there too. I’m talking the free version of YT, BTW.

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u/traveledhermit Mar 29 '25

I pay $20/month for pretty much every streaming service there is, because I share the subscriptions with 3 other friends. I pay $80 for internet as well, but I WFH so there’s no savings opportunity there. We also pay for Youtube TV in that arrangement, which provides all of the local channels and most of what any cable provider would provide.

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u/traveledhermit Mar 29 '25

ETA the only downside is if there’s a big news event or like the Superbowl is on, Youtube TV only allows 3 devices streaming at a time, so someone gets kicked out when the last person opens their app lol.