A New Year!!

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Precious Metals (PM)

There is some controversy in the Survival/prepping community on PMs if you should have some or ignore them.
They tend to break down into the “You can’t eat gold.” and the “Barter/Real Money”  schools of thought.
I am in both camps because I think you want to as be flexible possible for any situation. That being said I think the first items to concentrate on is 1 year of the food and 3 months of water. Shelter/security, first aid, Sanitation and getting out of debt. A mortgage you may want keep making the regular payments, but all other debt must be paid off. Once you get everything else taken care of then look at the mortgage on payoff, sell or keep.
Now you have all of the basics covered for bugging in. Do you have a bugout vehicle and place to hold up for 3 weeks. California has had several evacuation orders because of flooding. Could you live 3 weeks away from home given 12 hours notice? It could be in a tent, an RV or with friends and family. But have a place to go and the stuff you need when you get there!
As you can see I think PMs are one of the last things to get and only when you have all the stuff you know you will need every day and a bit more. You can trade that extra sleeping bag for silver/gold if needed. But if you don’t have the basics, all the gold in the world will not entice you to give up your sleeping bag. ( I hope!) LOL
After all the reasons I have given not to get PMs.  I do think PMs do have a place in prepping.
I look at PMs as a store of value, a hedge against inflation/hyper-inflation. The worse the economy does usually the better PM’s accrue value. It’s portable, most folks think it has a value all it’s own, and you don’t have to pay taxes on it to keep it. (So Far…)
Now this is about protecting yourself and is not investment advice. I think I’m right on PMs as insurance but I’m not an trader, investment guru or money manager. My info is based on my study of history, economics and my own gut instincts. Do your own research and find what level of risk you are comfortable with for yourself and family. PMs carry risk, I just think that risk is lower compared to most things including stuffing dollars in your mattress. Find 3 coin dealers in your area you trust, Buy only from trusted mints, mines . Don’t pay extra for collectibles, focus on purity and melt weight.
If you are interested in learning more check out my blog roll. Both the Watchtower and zerohedge have good info. Both are very bullish on metals, I think with good reason but it does color their commentary.

Year end random thoughts…

I have really enjoyed doing this blog. I get to rant, post ideas collect my thoughts and learn from other folks. It’s been a lot more fun than I thought it would be when I first started. I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t be able to post consistantly or have enough to write about to keep folks interested in prepping. I was wrong on both counts. I know I have just a small little blog but I was amazed how many folks stop by and give it a look. I hope they found something they could use or it sparked an idea of what they could do and make it work for them.
I live for the comments, it’s kind like chatting over a coffee, a beer or over the fence with a neighbor. I learn a lot on how other folks prep, we have little victories and losses. So a little praying, hoping, cussing and getting back up, brushing the dirt off and doing battle again. Prepping is simple, but it ain’t easy. It can be hard to keep positive and not give up on the whole shebang. But when you go into the pantry to get what you need instead of driving to the local mega-mart, when you have a multi- tool you carry all the time and you can help a child get his toy out and play with it on Xmas, or you take fresh baked bread to a neighbor. The little things are what makes it worthwhile.

Gird your loins and get ready for the new year!

Almost everything you need daily will get more expensive. Food and energy will take more of your paycheck, I think about a 30% across the board increase in cost is what you should be budgeting for food, energy and basics. I think/hope that we have until May 2011 when we will really see the costs hit home. Yes, I know costs have been going up already I’m just surprised it hasn’t happened faster or gone up more.
Anything oil based needs to be bought now! If you were thinking you need to get tires or a have a couple of gallons of oil on hand for car oil changes, Belts and wiring,  Kerosene for lamps and stoves.  Bike tires, WD-40, plastic bins. We have after xmas/new year’s sales to git’er done. Food I think goes without saying , most of us have been going like mad to build a supply.
Now it’s not all bad cause manufacture goods are dropping in price. Plus a lot of folks have overbought and need to downsize and get some cash. So that means yardsales, flea markets and your local Goodwill, Salvation Army and other places will have stuff you will be able to pick up cheap! So get your list ready of stuff you need, stuff you want and have a general price on what you can afford to pay for each item.
Sorry to say this about this about human nature but I’m sure folks bought up a bunch of stuff for the 2008 “Recession” and since the system did not collapse and the mainstream media says things are getting better they will sell off that survival/prep that’s collecting dust or taking up space and “We never use it anyway so why not sell it?” I need the space for ….
Don’t get crazy, that’s why you have a list and a budget. LOL But I think this spring is going to be a great time to pick up hard goods that you will need/want at some great prices. Some extra heirloom seeds and stuff for the garden. Since the “Feds” snuck in the food bill on the “lame duck congress”.
Have at least 3 cans (5 gal.) of fuel and 3 bottles of propane. Rotate the gas every 6 months or add Sta-bil and it should last a year. Every 3-6 months topoff the car from the cans and then refill the cans.
I’m still buying everyday goods when I find sales, but my big purchases this year will be new tires for the car, a solar oven and a small solar power set up for the RV and silver.

Dig deep folks, Hell if it was easy anyone would play! A little motivational music

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How much do you really need to have on hand?

I think at a min.you should have about 6 months worth of the basics. That takes care of any little emergencies, Snow storms, power outages, Hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding. It also takes care of some bigger personal disasters like losing a job, a big bill comes up, car dies and needs repairs or major appliance goes on the fritz and must be replaced. Plus it should give you enough time to get into the next growing season. Even if you don’t grow a garden, foods are cheaper in season. Plus you shop sales for what you need in the future and not what you need this week, which is a big money saver.
Now if you have been around prepping and survival sites you have probably seen the  LDS food calculator for food for a year. Then you see the amounts needed per person and then you fainted or said there is no way I can do that, ” I don’t have the money, I don’t have the space to store that much food.” How much water?   per day per  person!!  are they insane no one can do that, unless they live in the country and have a root cellar a basement, a well and a barn.
Yes, you can do it, in fact you already have 30-50 gal. of water stored if you have a gas or electric tank water heater. Now they must be powered down and turned off from the main water supply in an emergency to prevent sewage from backing up and fouling the heater but that should be a part of your emergency checklist is turning off the water main to the house if needed. If you don’t know how to turn it off to your house contact your local utillity provider and find out how to do it. Rain barrels are great I have 2 55 gallon rain barrel under rain spouts that will fill with an inch of rain. Not my drinking water of choice but it’s great for gardens and could be filtered and boiled to make safe if needed. The barrels can be bought for $30.00- $50.00. Now soda bottles, I love my little 2-3 liter soda bottles. I fill them with tap water, place in a cool dark place and forget. Most city tap water has a residual of chlorine to make them safe to store and will prevent algae growth. If you are on a well or if you notice dark speckles on the bottle or in the water add about 3 drops of 6% bleach, also keep a couple of pitchers to pass the water back and forth and re-oxygenate it and it will taste better. If in doubt either dump it and try again or boil it just to be safe, assume your life depends on it cause it does.
Now food does 350 pounds of grains sound daunting to you? I know it sure gave me pause to consider time, money and space. That’s for only 1 person for 1 year. Then you consider all the freeze dried marketing and costs of $4000.00 + for 1 person for a year and think no way you can do it.
I got nothing against freeze dried foods I think they are great but you must have water to use them. So dropping 4 G’s on food and you don’t have water to rehydrate them doesn’t work. Plus you can buy cheap dried foods in your local super market rice and beans. Now your 50# bag of rice and or beans will give you about 500 4 oz. servings per bag. Now this isn’t complete nutrition or a great meal plan. But you can see how it can give a person 2 meals a day for 6+ months for about $40.00. Now I have noticed most folks in the USA start building with whole grains, Wheat, corn, oats and flour I build on rice and beans first, then add flour, oats, corn and wheat.
I just think Rice and beans are a great meal, easy to make, and easy to change with some spices. I think that is a great place to start. Wheat just does not lend itself to being the main dish unless it’s breakfast. but rice you have puffs,  pudding and gumbo and jambalaya, beans you have soups, chili, dip and tacos/burritos/ all kinds of meals. I bake my own bread and I love it but you just can’t beat rice and beans as being a  multi-taskers.and a great start or great meal.

More great sales!

Sorry for the funk guys. Just when I think I can handle the stupidity in D.C the PTB’s test me again. LOL
Thanks for putting up with me. I went out and splurged and bought a couple of bone in prime ribs @ $4.58 per pound 1 for myself and 1 for New Years eve for the family party/ Dad’s birthday. More than I usually pay for meat but each roast cost about the same as having a large pizza and snacks delivered. Prime Rib just seems so decadent and special compared to Pizza!

Anyway back to the sales
Paul’s Market ends 28 Dec. 2010
Butter $1.78 per pound
Libby’s canned veggies .58 per can
Fred Meyer’s 26 Dec.10- 1 Jan. 2011
Hunt’s Pasta sauce 26 oz can .69 cents
NW steelhead trout 2.99 per pound
Cash & Carry Good till 2 Jan. 2011
80/20 hamburger 10 pounds $14.90
Long grain white rice 50 Pounds $16.97
Med. Cheddar Cheese 5 Pounds $9.98

So if you have a couple of dollars you can get some good food buys for the new year!
I noticed I got low on tinfoil so I’ll be picking up a big food service size 1000 ft roll of tinfoil at C & C. It cost about $19.00 but it should last me a while. Plus tinfoil is one of the greatest multi- taskers and recyclable. Plus I’ll need to replace my hat next year!

Make Joyful noise to the Lord!

Heck we have time to prep, let him who has ears take heed! Don’t get down,  look to triumph. Heck if it was easy everyone would play! You got it if you have BOB and 3 days dedicated you are ahead of 95% or more of the country. No time for being above average it’s time to focus. What do you need and how do you get it?
Don’t be bummed look at what you can do. The blinders are off. Yeah its annoying and you could go back to being a sheep or you can be proactive and be a wolf.  It’s hard being a wolf, you sure won’t be popular. 

Oh we haven’t lost we just need to adjust plans

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Things are a bit worse than I anticipated and stuff is getting a bit more sticky. But it’s ok sparky cause while I never underestimate anyone most folks know how many days in the year. Have a merry Xmas!

Xmas

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