I think being self sufficient until the world re-balances is the best way to maintain your position. I can only speculate a little, but I truly believe what you know and can do will always matter more than what you own.
However, emergency prep is near to my heart. Here are some of my thoughts:
Small emergencies (house fire, power outage)
Keep a 72 hour grab-and-run kit. This should have enough clean undies, emergency medication, food and water for a single person for 3 days. Check out the red cross website for more information. If you have pets, keep a bag for them as well including extra leash and collar. Keep pictures and contact information (on paper) for anyone you might be with or need to get a hold of. You can use this at home to tide you over in a real emergency, or grab it on the way out if your house is on fire and you're staying in a shelter tonight.
First aid kit: bandaids, tape and gauze, scissors, tweezers.
Always keep some quarters and cash at work. If you get stuck and have to eat from the vending machine over night, you want quarters. If you can somehow find a payphone somewhere, you need quarters. Have enough cash at work to get you home.
No speculative investments available. Likely you are one of few affected, but you might be able to save some cash by being self sufficient.
Medium Emergency (black outs, city-wide event)
Cash is king. If there's no power, there's no credit cards. Don't keep a bunch of 100s stuck in you mattress, but maybe a couple hundred in small bills in a safe place so you can still buy groceries in a few days.
72 hour kit + first aid kit
Don't clean your pantry out to zero. Some people say you should have different amounts of food and water (up to a year storage or more!), but you should do what you can. At least always have a few cans of beans or something in case you can't get to the store on your planned day.
If you have advanced warning, fill your bathtub with clean water. Should last you a couple days if they shut it off.
No speculative investments available, but you might be able to get some pies from a neighbor by helping them out with food and water.
Big emergency (Katrina style hurricane, massive wildfire/earthquake)
More cash, but it might reach it's limits of usefulness.
72 hour kit + 1 week kit in your car. Same as above, but more full changes of clothes, weather appropriate outer gear.
Bigger first aid kit: compresses, splints, generic medications for more than one patient
Always keep your car gassed up at least 1/4 tank so you can get well away from your area before needing to refuel. Consider spare oil and gas tanks in your garage.
Have several weeks worth of food storage and water at your house. Consider a composting toilet if you plan to stick it through.
This is where speculation gets fun. Water, food, batteries and phone chargers will be used as currency. Medical care might be bartered for, but it's an ethical question you have to solve for yourself. Looting might get you somewhere, but long term it won't matter. Oil and gas will make you a target for attack but earn you quite a lot. Home farming might not help you if your emergency is weather related. The ability to GTFO is sacred.
Giant Fucking Emergency (Aliens, zombies,
GTFO. Find the most rural person you know because you are going to their house as a staging point. Hope you know how to live off the land because that's your only investment now. Bring all outdoor gear, hunting and fishing and medical equipment.