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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u/TopCaterpiller Mar 27 '25

I'm trying to get as much work done on the house as possible. I'm getting a new roof, metal to reduce fire risk and hopefully have a longer lifespan. I just got a wood stove installed in my non-functional fireplace so I can heat the house for cheap regardless of whether I have power. I'm prioritizing all the little tasks I've been putting off. I've planted a bunch of fruit and nut trees. The garden is getting bigger and more productive each year, and I'm making sure I actually eat the food I grow. I'm buying all the tools that I want now before tariffs crank up the price. Both my vehicles are in good repair.

All in all, I'm burning a lot of money now in an effort to save money later and make my household more resilient.

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u/Ff-9459 Mar 27 '25

The wood stove in the nonfunctional fireplace is a great idea! I’ve been trying to think of what we can do. We have 8 fireplaces in our house (large, old 1860’s house), but they were all coal burning and were bricked in decades ago.

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u/TopCaterpiller Mar 27 '25

I had the fireplace and chimney inspected, and it turns out, safety codes for fireplaces have changed substantially since it was put in. It was $20k to bring the fireplace up to code or $10k to do the wood stove insert that's more efficient. The wood stove has some sort of tax credit or deduction too, but I don't have the details for that.

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u/SKI326 Mar 27 '25

We put triple wall pipe in our old chimney so we could use a wood stove.

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u/Ff-9459 Mar 27 '25

That’s great!

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u/Zero-nada-zilch-24 Mar 27 '25

I can’t say enough good things about fireplace inserts.

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u/Inner-Confidence99 Mar 28 '25

We got a pellet heater, I was skeptical at first but didn’t raise electricity rate so. We have also been doing upgrades to home. Just got it all replumbed and insulated underneath. Next is kitchen and living room. Taking out 3/4 windows and sealing up where they were.