I'm not an economist, a lot of mismanagement and kicking the can down the road is about to unwind. The folks at the top don't seem to realize how thin the veneer of civilization really is. They finally gave in to Roosevelt, and he saved their ass in the 1930s. I doubt this time will prove as lucky.
The standard advice, pay off all debts, have some cash on hand, stock up on food, fuel, toilet paper. Make friends with your neighbors. Have skills that will be in demand, like being able to fix things.
If civilization collapses, 7 billion people will die, at least.
The economy contracting 90% is a possibility, and if your income goes to zero, you don't want to lose what you have left because of a loan you didn't think you'd actually have to pay off.
If the economy contracted 90% you wouldn't have to pay any loans because the loan collectors would be dead. This is sort of like "if you owe the bank a billion dollars the bank has a problem".
Having assets and precious metals, though cliche, wouldn't be bad to have either since they'll at least be worth something even if the USD lost all value.
Gold historically. Bitcoin is arguably in the best position to be the new global reserve currency though, assuming infrastructure doesn't collapse along with the USD.
PRC thinks Bitcoin is the devil, and it's the world's largest manufacturer. I don't think you'll see Bitcoin as the global reserve currency until after Xi and maybe his heir die of old age.
How much of a knife's edge is this, and how do we protect ourselves?