August 16, 2026
Day 1,782 of the Adventure
As I browse the news and YouTube videos related to the state of the economy and general living conditions in the world right now, there seems to be a sense of dread of the stability of our future beginning to permeate our lives. Perhaps it's not as widespread as it feels. Then again, with nearly 350 million people living in the country, even a one percent factor of economic hardship would affect three and a half million of us. There are days when I certainly feel like I'm in that group. In fact, the reality is that there are approximately 35.9 million U.S. citizens living in poverty. Estimated to be 10.6 percent. It's also estimated that roughly 33% of Americans actively rely on their credit cards to get by and pay for their daily living necessities like housing, food and transportation. It's also documented that 111 million Americans carry revolving credit card debt on their cards month to month rather than paying their balances down. Credit cards were introduced in 1950 and the practice of carrying debt balances on them became commonplace in the 1980's. The use of credit cards to simply cover essentials with no significant monthly paydown is more common today than ever before.
My point, I guess, is to illustrate a slow decline for a large part of our population into a financial desperation of life. At least for many who are simply doing their best to keep their heads above water. It's been roughly 75 years since the onset of the convenience of credit cards when addressing personal debt. For whatever actual reasons, it's evolved from a convenience to a trap. A trap that has also become a last resort for millions who find it as their only way to make ends meet. Almost everyone I personally know has a similar story to tell.
There's an interesting old adage about what to do if you need to dig yourself out of a hole.
The first and most important step to dig yourself out of a hole—whether financial, personal, or professional—is to stop digging. Put down the shovel immediately, assess the situation calmly, and refuse to make the current problem any worse through reckless or impulsive actions.
Stop Making It Worse
- Pause action: Stop using credit cards, hiding from bills, or repeating the bad habits that caused the issue.
- Assess damage: Take a deep breath and look at the actual depth of the hole without panic.
- Accept reality: Acknowledge how you got here so you can focus on the path up instead of blame.
- List facts: Write down the exact numbers, people, or problems involved.
- Identify allies: Find who can help you—a trusted friend, an expert, or a professional advisor.
- Take one step: Pick a single, small action you can do today to stabilize the ground beneath you.
Believe it or not, it's not just a clever concept, it's actually a very workable solution. In today's economic and employment crisis, there really is only one necessary element to the solution. You! Regardless of the pathway that brought you to this point. You have the power to stop and begin to reverse the trends that got you here. I'm never going to say it's easy. I am going to say that it's worth fighting back against it. I'd like to focus on one potential solution. That of building a plan around a more self-sufficient life and lifestyle.
We have slowly become a society of consumers. One where anything and everything is available for a price. The cost of that culture is one where our preferences have locked us into a treadmill of reliance on systems, conveniences and a host of subscription services. Nearly anything and everything you can imagine is designed to separate us from our money. I can't decide whether the marketing of these things is actually that much better, or that we have slowly been conditioned to simply make all of that a "normal" part of our existence. A couple years ago, Shelley and I declared to ourselves that this would no longer be our "normal". It was astounding how we had let a massive amount of "convenience creep" make its way into our life.
The solution lies in the act of seeing the problem and making a decision to intentionally reverse the trend. Having finally made that decision ourselves has not led us to our final destination of Self-Reliance. What it has accomplished is a life that is slowly but steadily separating us from the grip of reliance on others. Some of it comes in the form of declaring independence from the consumer machine. The one that is designed to extract everything it possibly can from our bank accounts. Some of it comes in the form of learning to develop many of the skills and attitudes of our ancestors. Things like understanding enough of how life works that we can know and practice the principles of self-reliance. We are developing a recognition of the system of "planned obsolescence" that permeates our culture and we can now largely avoid it. We are much less of a hostage to the food systems and enjoy a life of knowing that the bulk of our grocery shopping consists of a trip to the pantry rather than a trip to the grocery store.
It's a slow but methodical process, that of building a more independent way of life. At the same time, it's the only way we've found that allows us to begin clawing back control over our life in a world that seems to be built specifically around stealing life from us. When you prepare to go to sleep tonight, allow yourself to consider the possibilities. Could you gravitate to a simpler life of self-sufficiency? If the thought of it sparks something inside you....... you're probably only one decision away from a whole new life path!
Adventure Quote: “Since the earliest days of our youth, we have been conditioned to accept that the direction of the herd, and authority anywhere — is always right.” ― Suzy Kassem
Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.
Our Books
Please Consider Subscribing to our newsletter in the upper right corner of this page.
