My prediction for 2026 is we will see more war, more crime, more homelessness, more disease, more corrupt politicians, more people out for themselves, more bank failures, more bankruptcies, more defaults, and more economic problems.
Russia will continue to threaten Ukraine, the Baltics and possibly all of Europe. The threat of nuclear war will escalate, and countries will build bigger, more destructive weapons and stronger, more expensive defenses. China will continue to stir up war in the South Pacific, and we may even come to blows over Taiwan. North Korea will continue to threaten everyone, including the U.S. and South Korea. Iran will continue to seek instability in the Middle East, with its allies and toadies to help inflame the situation.
We need to admit we are already at war, even if it remains somewhat confined to specific theaters. We need to get on a war footing and start building our weapons and our military instead of tearing them down from the inside out with woke policies. Soldiers need training to kill the enemy, not to determine their pronouns.
Déjà Vu All Over Again
If that sounded familiar, it’s because I wrote the above in 2023 looking ahead to 2024. I deleted one paragraph plus an additional sentence when I reposted it, but much of it still holds. (Sad how little changes, isn’t it?) I still expect more war, more crime, and more fraud (hello Minnesota!). We’re already seeing more disease with emerging Flu K hitting New York hard.
On top of that rehash, I will add my economic predictions for 2026: we will see larger tax refunds than usual, which will be a boost for the economy and will result in good consumer buying in the first quarter and into the second. The danger is that this could cause inflationary pressure later in the year. The economic boost will be offset by poor employment numbers. Large companies will not be hiring and may lay people off as the effects of AI continue to be felt in white-collar jobs.
Silver and gold prices will continue to climb, with gold reaching at least $5,500 and silver touching $120. The dollar will continue to weaken. Oil costs will stay down unless Russia and Ukraine achieve peace.
What Makes 2026 Different?
The biggest change since the above was written for 2024 is that Joe Biden is no longer president. Trump has spent much of the past year undoing many of the destructive policies of his predecessor. He brought the Green New Deal to a screeching halt, started to rebuild our military, adjusted our tax policy to benefit low-income wage earners, and is tackling illegal immigration. This will slow our slide, but it will not stop it.
Things are so precarious in this country that we are walking a knife edge, meaning things could go either way. If Trump can keep it up and the Supreme Court continues to back him, things will slowly improve. If he is undermined, if Congress refuses to pass his agenda, or if China or Russia does something stupid and we get roped into a shooting war, things will get worse.
My Prepping Plans for 2026
Being a prepper, I am preparing for worse while hoping for the best. 2026 could be one of those years when we are glad we prepped.
But while I prep, I will not let prepping—or fear—interfere with living my life. I volunteer with two organizations, and I am a board member for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. I am also exploring another side gig, which may make me a few bucks and give me a project to work on.
We are comfortable with our level of preps, but 2026 may be the year in which I finally buy more long-term storage food to replace, or at least supplement, our old food. I am planning to make more caches, but I won’t bury the big one I have in the works until the spring when the ground thaws.
I expect to harvest more firewood from our land and do plenty of cutting, splitting and stacking. We’ll get new chickens in 2026, but it will be 12 or 15 instead of 20. I hope to have even more beehives than last year, but that may depend on how cold it is this winter.
Yes, we see the price of food slowly rising, but the cost of gas is dropping. (I paid $2.25 a gallon a couple of weeks ago at a Sam’s Club.) Our healthcare costs are shooting up, but we’ll qualify for Medicare in a few years, which should cut our out-of-pocket costs. The stock market has been kind to our retirement accounts. While I don’t own much gold and silver, my precious metals are worth three times what they were, which is kind of exciting. Of course, that assumes I sell them, and as of now, I’m not planning to unless it becomes necessary for survival.
The Strategy of Making Incremental Progress
We have lived at our prepper property for more than five years, which means we’ve done all the big improvements we envisioned when we bought the place. We’re down to making minor improvements, but incremental steps are the way to prep when you have a long timeline.
I encourage you to look at what 2026 might hold for you, your financial and physical health, and your preparedness levels. If you identify 12 things you want to achieve, you can aim for one a month. If you accomplish only five or six in the year, that’s still better than most people who fail to plan at all.
Also, if you are one of the millions of Americans who get a bigger than expected tax refund, use it to pay down debt and consider buying tangible assets and preps like long-term storage food.
Besides those mentioned above, my incremental preps include getting more firearms practice, applying for my GMRS license, programming my Baofeng radios, and maybe even getting a GMRS base station radio. I don’t call these resolutions; I look at them as goals. I’m sure you can think of plenty of personal ones.
Here’s hoping we all have a good 2026!
