Originally Posted By: Nemo
1. Eliminate our debt. (We cashed in our retirement (we are only in our mid to late twenties though so its not as critical) and paid off the student loans/car loans).
2. Minimize our living costs by owning shelter. (We currently rent but we are saving about 50% of our income for very small home on a small bit of land we can afford).
3. Minimize our dependance on oil. (We moved closer to work, sold our only car and purchased used bikes).
4. Invest in food and water: storage and processing (e.g. grain mill and water filters to hedge against any short term food/water inflation and prepare for emergencies in complement to our bug-out plans).

Reminds me of Dave Ramsey's "7 Baby Steps":
#1 $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
#2 Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
#3 Three to six months of expenses in savings
#4 Invest 15 percent of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
#5 College funding for children
#6 Pay off home early
#7 Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate

_________________________
- Tom S.

"Never trust and engineer who doesn't carry a pocketknife."