Preppers tend to not have much money, so any way to profit from a disaster (without harming others, obviously) is a plus.

There are good and bad sides to all of these. I am not recommending them, just pointing out these are worth considering as examples of how to profit.

TRAVEL

Without a doubt, the cost of travelling has dropped dramatically. The best example is cruises (don’t, seriously), however flights and hotels are also significantly cheaper.

Places where the virus has struck hardest will be cheapest. Not only now but in the future. Wuhan will certainly have a subconscious negatively for many years to come, even if the virus has dissipated.

A great example is Air Asia X who are offering Malaysians a year of unlimited travel within Australia and Asia, for just over $100 USD. Get in quick Malaysians!

Local travel is certainly going to be cheaper to some degree.

If you were going to travel in the next year anyway, it is cheaper to book now. Book as far ahead as suits your needs and is still cheap.

This is especially suitable for people who are more adventurous and not around crowds so much. And people who are extra careful with hygiene and risk awareness.

WORK

You may be required to work from home. In the rush to do this, in many instances your bosses will be unable to judge how well you are performing, or how much work you actually do. That’s a good opportunity for a side gig.

INVESTMENT

This is where it gets interesting. I bought some gold a few months back, when it just felt nothing terrible had happened for a while.

Without a doubt, some stocks have been oversold in the last week. To decide which they are, think about how quickly they can rebound to normal activity. Travel is a good one, but the lingering fear is hard to estimate. Anything to do with goods production in China is excellent. Without a doubt the supply chain will resume, even if it means sacrificing health for economy. And defensive stocks are named for a good reason – you just need to time the end of the coronavirus fears well, as these shares will regain ground quickly. Food stocks are down 10% – I guarantee we will still eat.

Aside from products that revolve around isolation (Zoom, Netflix – up slightly while Wall Street plummeted, knitting patterns), most stocks that have risen rapidly won’t rise much more. A great example is manufacturers of hand sanitisers. Pretty soon we will have as much of that as we need.