I’m no economist. But if you’re wondering what to do, here’s a little commonsense counsel for black folks and anyone else a-stoppin’ by:

1. Stop spending money on anything you don’t need right now. Start saving it: There’s nothing worse than a liquidity crunch combined with the inflation that is likely to increase. You may need that extra $ to pay for necessities if prices rise. Pay down your debts because interest rates may rise too.

2. Stash some cash around the house. Not a lot — just some gettin-around money, maybe a couple hundred for groceries and gas in case you need it. Monitor your bank’s stock price. If it starts going down fast, chances are that it may get bought or go under. If that happens, your money is likely to be fine if it’s under the FDIC $100K cap, but you may not be able to get to it for a few days while the transition takes place.

3. Hold on to your house. Take in boarders or renters if you have to, but don’t try to sell it now unless you think you can turn it around very quickly.

4. Don’t panic. We’ll survive and thrive no matter what. My grandparents and great aunts/uncles told me a lot of stories about the Great Depression and World War II. Times were hard, child — they’d say. “Especially for black people.” Jobs were scarce, treasured. As were food, clothing and shelter. But look what they lived to see and how they emerged prosperous, admired, triumphant!

We are going to be called upon to make some serious sacrifices in the future: Generation X, Generation Y and the Millennials. In order to be as successful in meeting the challenges to come with the same pluck as our grandparents, we will have to be that brave, that strong, that hopeful.

Well, and you know how we do. Ain’t nothing like black folk to be resourceful and pull together. We’re survivors. Stay positive.

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