An Economic Survival Sustainability Plan for a Crisis

ל Lamed
She is not afraid of the snow for her household:
for all her household are clothed with scarlet. Proverbs 31: 21

This morning I was thinking about Joseph’s plan to survive the famine in Egypt. A modern application would be to have a survival plan or a sustainability plan for the current recession/depression or retirement or the years of agedness. Genesis 41:34 says the plan was for everyone to save a fifth part” or 20% of the yearly harvest (income) for the future famine (recession/depression/retirement/aged years). The government enacted the program for the people. Today our government has enacted a plan to handle this crisis. Yet, it would be wise to implement Joseph's program for our own home.

Now the question is how this 20% should be divided up looking towards the time of famine. The answer might be found in Genesis 47:13-21. This is how the people of Egypt handled the famine. First the people used cash to pay for food. Next they used portable wealth or long term investments such as horses/flocks/cattle, which today would be either selling or borrowing against our long term investments such as cars, furniture, collectibles, etc. Then at the last they sold or borrowed against the property and against their wages to keep going. The result was they worked for the government and lived in apartments in the cities and survived the famine.

Drawing from this I think it is wise to have the 20% divided up into three categories:

1. Cash or cash equivalents (In a 7 or 30 year system this would be items that would be used in1 year or less.)

a. Cash/gold/silver
b. Short term savings
c. Food for 1 year
d. Garden seeds
e. Medications
f. Clothing

2. Long Term Assets/Investments

7 year system - In a 7 year system this would be items that have value of 1-3 years.
30 year system - In a 30 year system this would be items that hold value 1-5 years.

a. Gold/Silver/Jewelry held for a hedge against inflation
b. Long Term Investments such as stocks, bonds
c. Your paid for furniture
d. Your paid for collections
e. Your paid for vehicles
f. Wheat/Grains

3. Property. Equipment Income Producing Skills (Education)

7 Year system - In a 7 years system this would be items that have a value of 7 years.
30 year system - In a 30 year system this would be items that have value up to 30 years.

a. Your home
b. Your business/employment
c. Your livelihood
d. Your education/training to increase and maintain your livelihood.

I find an exercise like this helps me in strategies for the future. I maintain a list of my items and how much they are worth. I then divide them into the three (3) categories to try and keep a balance between the categories. This 1/3 in Cash and cash equivalents, 1/3 portable wealth and long term investments, 1/3 land, equipment and livelihood/education categories help me make sure my life values are balanced.

Have fun trying this exercise on your life. Judy