20 Ways to Protect Yourself

In no particular order...

1. Have a basic emergency fund ($2000 or more; emergencies are expensive these days).
2. Have a fully-funded emergency fund (for longer term emergencies like illnesses or job loss; make sure this fund can cover six months or more of your monthly expenses).
   
3. Have suitable insurance (life, home, auto, long-term care, umbrella, travel, etc).
4. Participate in physical fitness activities every.single.day.
5. Stay on top of health problems and reverse them if possible (type 2 diabetes is reversible for most, type 1 isn't).
6. Get a tetanus vaccine if you haven't had one in the last several years (confirm the necessity of this with your doctor).
   
7. Change out your fire/smoke/CO detectors if you haven't done this in the past seven years.  Also be sure your fire extinguishers are fully charged.
8. Learn how to physically protect yourself (karate, boxing, tae kwon do, etc).
9. Get a firearm, learn how to use your firearm, and get a concealed carry license if this is something you want to do.
10. Perform an annual home safety review and fix any problems.
11. Protect yourself from identity theft by using this handy checklist.
12. Protect yourself from scammers.
13. Make your home a hard target when it comes to robbery and burglary.
14. Protect your mental health from the difficulties of modern life.
15. Protect yourself from violent crime.
16. Know how to be proactive with school and workplace violence.
17. Diversify your assets (don't keep all of your financial eggs in one basket).
    
18. Stay up-to-date with local, state, national, and international news so you won't be surprised by things like weather emergencies, violent protests in your city, etc.
19. Choose a career path that is lucrative, in-demand, and not subject to out-sourcing to overseas labor.
    
20. Protect your future (choose a good spouse, don't commit crimes, teach your children well so you can avoid legal/financial issues due to your child's behavior, avoid lawsuits, etc).