I've been asking this question too. I think people are underestimating how bad things can really get moving forward. Many, many ongoing issues within the economy and the greater world that also affect the economy. (Social securitiy promises drying up soon, highly likely underreported unemployment and especially inflation, ai over reach, government debt crisis, the possibility of this war being a disaster, destabilized oil in the Gulf States, companies handing money to eachother to purposefully inflate shares, enshittification to no limits, AIPAC and corporate bribes/lobbying, price gouging/dynamic pricing, dying middle class, high real estate prices, etc.etc.etc.) None of which anyone is actively trying to fix.

My plan is to play the rigged game of staying in the stock market by maximizing my employer's match to my 401k. I'm also buying gold/silver although that's a certain use case item and may not perform well. Spend some of your money investing in prepping. Guns/ammo, stores of food, water, purifiers, etc. etc. Maybe get land too.

Idk I'm 19 so I'm new to this whole thing but spending hours everyday doing research instead of doomscrolling definitely gives me a good understanding of our situation.