1) Dr. Charles
F. Stanley's 30 Life Principles
Life Principle 26
Adversity is a bridge to
a deeper relationship with God.
What is God’s goal in
adversity? His basic objective is to draw us closer to Himself. He does not
glory in pain or sorrow, but He uses these things to teach us about His love
and faithfulness.
The moment adversity comes our vulnerability
increases, and we may find ourselves wondering why God has allowed us to face
such difficulty. Pain, disappointment, and trial are effective tools that He
uses to drive us to Himself and to the cross, where we discover our personal
need for a Savior. We are struck with a defining thought: I need God. We need His
strength, wisdom, and forgiveness.
Whenever you are confronted by adversity, always
remember that God has a purpose for allowing it to touch your life. He is never
out of control. He has a plan and a goal, not just for this situation alone,
but also for your entire life. In times of difficulty, He is your immovable
strength (Prov. 18:10), and He
has promised never to abandon you.
What are you to do when adversity strikes? The Book of
Hebrews encourages us by saying, “Do not throw away your confidence, which has
a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the
will of God, you may receive what was promised” (Heb. 10:35, 36).
When adversity strikes, one of
the first things we should do is turn to the Lord and ask Him to show us what
we need to learn in the situation. We may initially battle feelings of
disbelief or denial, but the overriding thought needs to be one of trust and
faith in God’s ability. The second step is to affirm our commitment to Him and
set our focus on Him—not our circumstances. We see both of these portrayed in
the lives of the men and women of the Bible.Joseph’s life especially was a study of faith, trust, and victory amid adversity. As a young man, he trusted and watched God take the cruelest act and turn it into a blessing. Sold into Egyptian bondage by his brothers, Joseph spent years bound and confined to a life of slavery. Even when it appeared that he would gain a reprieve from danger and heartache, adversity struck a second time as he was falsely accused of a crime. Back to the dungeon he went, only this time with a stiffer sentence.
We may be tempted to think, “Poor Joseph!” But actually, he was right in the center of God’s perfect plan. He may not have understood why he was in captivity, but he believed that he could trust God for his life and future.
Adversity was a keen tool in Joseph’s life. The Lord used it to shape His servant for service. Joseph landed in a key leadership role that ultimately led to the preservation of the nation of Israel. Had he escaped from prison and gone into hiding, the entire nation of Israel would have missed God’s blessing. And without the training that came as a result of severe disappointment, Joseph may have become proud and self-reliant. Instead, God used this young man’s life to change the course of history.
People often ask, “What is the quickest way through seasons of adversity?” Many times there just is no quick solution to the trials we face. There is one sure way through the difficulties of life, however, and that is through obedience and surrender of selfish feelings and desires.
Adversity has a way of pushing us beyond ourselves where we find God waiting to gather us in His arms. It stirs us to pray like nothing else can. And it is in prayer that we find shelter from the storms of life. Held under the canopy of God’s presence, we discover a sense of security and hope that we thought had evaded us.
Even when life seems emotionally and spiritually dark, He will be your light. You can be sure that God will use the trials you face to shape your life so that you reflect His love and care to others.
Never forget that God knows the future! He understands the advantage of adversity and how it can be used to strengthen your faith, refine your hope, and settle your heart into a place of contentment and trust. Without times of adversity, you would miss the powerful experience of God walking with you through the valley times of life.
Therefore, determine to keep the focus of your heart on Jesus. Don’t let the negative talk of others tempt you to get off course. Stay close to the Lord in devotion and prayer. Read His Word. He will guide you through the greatest difficulty, and then you will know what it means to live in a broad place of blessing.
2) The 30-Day
Reading List That Will Lead You to Becoming a Knowledgeable Libertarian by
Robert Wenzel
Is There a Right To Unionize?
I resist the notion that we have a
"right to unionize" or that unionization is akin, or, worse, an implication
of, the right to freely associate. Yes, theoretically, a labor organization could limit itself to organizing a mass
quit unless they got what they wanted. That would indeed be an implication of
the law of free association.
But every union with which I am
familiar reserves the right to employ violence (that is, to initiate violence)
against competing workers, e.g., scabs, whether in a "blue collar
way" by beating them up, or in a "white collar way" by getting
laws passed compelling employers to deal with them, and not with the scabs.
(Does anyone know of a counter example to this? If you know of any, I'd be glad
to hear of it. I once thought I had found one: The Christian Labor Association
of Canada. But based on an interview with them I can say that while they eschew
"blue collar" aggression, they support the "white collar"
version).
But what of the fact that there are
many counter examples: unions that have not actually engaged in the initiation
of violence? Moreover, there are even people associated for many years with
organized labor who have never witnessed the outbreak of actual violence.
Let me clarify my position. My
opposition is not merely to violence, but, rather, to "violence, or the threat of violence." My
position is that, often, no actual violence is needed, if the threat is serious
enough, which, I contend, always obtains under unionism, at least as practiced
in the U.S. and Canada.
Probably, the IRS never engaged in
the actual use of physical violence in its entire history. (It is mostly
composed of nerds, not physically aggressive people.) This is because it relies
on the courts-police of the U.S. government who have overwhelming power. But it
would be superficial to contend that the IRS does not engage in "violence,
or the threat of violence." This holds true also for the state trooper who
stops you and gives you a ticket. They are, and are trained to be, exceedingly
polite. Yet, "violence, or the threat of violence" permeates their
entire relationship with you.
I do not deny, moreover, that
sometimes, management also engages in "violence, or the threat of
violence." My only contention is that it is possible to point to numerous
cases where they do not,
while the same is impossible for organized labor, at least in the countries I
am discussing.
In my view, the threat emanating
from unions is objective, not subjective. It is the threat, in the old blue
collar days, that any competing worker, a "scab," would be beat up if
he tried to cross a picket line, and, in the modern white collar days, that any
employer who fires a striking employee union member and substitutes for him a
replacement worker as a permanent hire, will be found in violation of various
labor laws. (Why, by the way, is it not "discriminatory," and
"hateful," to describe workers willing to take less pay, and to
compete with unionized labor, as "scabs"? Should not this be consider
on a par with using the "N" word for blacks, or the "K"
word for Jews?)
Suppose a small scrawny hold-up man
confronts a big burly football-player—type guy and demands his money,
threatening that if the big guy does not give it up, the little guy will kick
his butt. I call this an objective threat, and I don't care if the big
guy laughs himself silly in reaction. Second scenario. Same as the first, only
this time the little guy whips out a pistol, and threatens to shoot the big guy
unless he hands over his money.
Now, there are two kinds of big
guys. One will feel threatened, and hand over his money. The second will attack
the little guy (in self-defense, I contend). Perhaps he is feeling omnipotent.
Perhaps he is wearing a bullet-proof vest. It does not matter. The threat
is a threat is a threat, regardless of the reaction of the big guy, regardless
of his inner psychological response.
Now let us return to labor
management relations. The union objectively threatens scabs, and
employers who hire them. This, nowadays, is purely a matter of law, not psychological
feelings on anyone's part. In contrast, while it cannot be denied that
sometimes employers initiate violence against workers, they need not necessarily do it, qua employer. (Often, however,
such violence is in self-defense.)
This is similar to the point I made
about the pimp in my book Defending
the Undefendable: For this purpose, I don't care if each and every pimp
has in fact initiated violence. Nor does it matter if they do it every hour on
the hour. This is not a necessary characteristic of being a pimp. Even
if there are no non-violent pimps in existence, we can still imagine one
such. Even if all employers always initiated violence against employees,
still, we canimagine employers
who do not. In very sharp contrast indeed, because of labor legislation they
all support, we cannot even imagine unionized labor that does not threaten the
initiation of violence.
Murray N. Rothbard was bitterly
opposed to unions. This emanated from two sources. First, as a libertarian
theoretician, because organized labor necessarily threatens violence (see Man,
Economy and State, pp. 620—632). Second, based on personal harm
suffered at their hands by his family (see Raimondo, Justin. 2000. An
Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard. Amherst N.Y.: Prometheus
Books, pp. 59—61).
We must never succumb to the siren
song of union thuggery.
3) Roger’s
Rangers Rules or Plan of Discipline by Major Robert Rogers
Rule
#26
26. Appoint one man in each boat to look
out for fires, on the adjacent shores, from the numbers and size of which you
may form some judgement of the numbers that kindled them, and whether you are
able to attack them or not.
4) 52 Weeks to
Preparedness by Tess Pennington
Week 43 of 52: Gardening and Livestock
Our survival homesteads will be our safe havens to protect us and
help us thrive. Consequently, living through a long-term emergency will require
our attention on many matters. Therefore, we want our land to work for us in
the most productive manner possible.
The image above is a good example of a micro farm and should give
you a good indication of how to make the most use out of the land you have. You
want to plan on creating a relationship between your livestock and your gardens
for the most efficient, healthy and cost-effective homestead. This is
particularly important in a post-disaster world. The more food you can produce
for yourself, the better your chances of survival in a long-term situation.
Especially on a smaller homestead, micro-livestock can
be a vital element. The smaller animals, such as chickens, goats, ducks and
rabbits, are a great addition because they require less space, less care and
less food, but can still provide your family with meat, dairy and eggs. Manure
from the livestock can be added as a rich fertilizer for your gardens.
Bloodmeal and bonemeal can both be used to amend the soil, and can also be
added to the compost pile. My
favorite type of gardening is sheet mulching, or composting in place. This
allows the compost to slowly decompose and be present for the plants that have
been planted on top.
Microlivestock can also make helpful farmhands: you can press them
into duty and use them to help clear areas of weeds, roots or cover crops; all
the while fertilizing the land at the same time.
When planning your garden, it’s important to remember your furred
and feathered friends. Be sure to stock up on seeds that will provide food for
them as well. Poultry are fond of millet, sunflower seeds, certain types of
corn and grains, sorghum and of course, left over garden clippings. If
they are allowed to free-range they will eat grass, weeds, and wild seeds, as
well as worms and insects. Click here to learn
more about growing your own poultry food. Larger animals like goats are
grazers, and rabbits thoroughly enjoy the scraps from your garden.
The most vital element for your garden is, of course, a selection
of reliable heritage seeds. Stay away from anything GMO (Genetically Modified),
as you won’t be able to save seeds for following years from
these plants. When choosing your seeds, look for the most nutritional value in
the least amount of garden space. The top 25 seeds to have for human
consumption as well as there nutritional information can be viewed here. Further consider
planting some perennial vegetables that come back year after year. This will
make less work for you in the long run. Berry varieties, asparagus, Jerusalem
artichokes, horseradish, garlic, perennial onions, and herbs of both culinary
and medicinal.
Below are a list of easy to grow vegetable and fruit varieties
that will be good seeds to begin practicing your gardening skills with. They
are not only easy to grow, but will also provide lots of nutrition for your
family.
- Nut/Fruit Trees
– To learn more about essential nut and fruit trees for a survival
homestead, click here.
- Squash/Zucchini
- Berries –
Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.
- Grapes
- Peas/Beans
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Lettuce
- Pumpkin
Seeds are the key to long-term survival, so it is vital that you
carefully choose and collect seeds to be stored properly and
protected from the elements.
For long-term sustainability, learn to understand the natural
cycles of your small farm. The waste products from both plants and animals can
be used to nourish the soil, which in turn helps the garden flourish, which in
its own turn, feeds the animals. Understanding this symbiotic relationship can
allow you to work smarter, not harder. Finding ways to use what most would
consider waste is the ultimate form of recycling. Embrace the old ways of
farming to enhance your long-term sustainability.
To conclude, I want to emphasize how important it is to practice
your gardening skills before you need to rely on them. Learning from master
gardeners, gardening groups or from those with more experience can help the
learning curve we all seem to experience when starting something new. Marjory
Wildcraft has created a DVD series on how to Grow Your Own Groceries. In the series, she
shares all that she knows about gardening, companion planting, water catchment
systems, as well as some handy tips she has learned along the way. This would
be a great way for you to learn from the convenience of your own home.
Preps to Buy:
- Books or dvds
on homesteading, gardening, permaculture and animal husbandry
- Heirloom or
non-gmo seeds
- Garden tools
- Containers for
long-term storage of seeds
Action Items:
17.
Research the available resources in your area. Are there
plants growing wild that would be good grazing foods for your animals? Is there
an abundance of organic material for compost?
18.
Learn about composting and how to reuse plant waste.
19.
Consider taking a vegetable gardening course at a local nursery,
community center or gardening club.
Collapse Investing: Money and Wealth Preservation During Times of
Uncertainty and Instability
Special thanks to Mac Slavo of www.SHTFPlan.com for contributing his time and
efforts on this portion of the 52-Weeks to Preparedness.
We could spend a significant portion of our time outlining the
various reasons for why the world’s economic, financial and political systems
sit on the brink of an unprecedented paradigm shift that promises to change the
landscape of the entire system as it exists today.
I could try to convince you that it’s a good idea to prepare for
what’s coming, but the fact that you are reading this article via Tess’ Ready
Nutrition newsletter means that you’re already in action
planning and execution mode. If you’ve been following the 52 Weeks to Preparedness from
the beginning, then you’ve spent the last 44 weeks establishing an
emergency and disaster response plan that would probably make FEMA jealous.
Like Tess and I, you’ve probably done your research and spent
months or years gathering as much information as you can about the many
possibilities that could significantly impact your life and the lives of your
family members and close friends, and you’ve actively involved yourself in
making sure that you’re as insulated as possible from whatever may befall us.
My initial inclination when Tess asked me to contribute some
thoughts on wealth preservation during times of uncertainty was to point out
the fundamental economic problems and fraud facing the system. I realized after
delving into this topic that, while the ramifications of an economic or
currency collapse are life alteringly severe, my family’s personal preparedness
plans have always been focused on ensuring we’re ready for anything that gets
thrown our way – not just an economic crisis.
The strategy that we try to employ is well rounded and considers
as many variables as possible.
- Natural
Disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, flood, solar flare
- Man-made
calamities like currency hyperinflation, cyber attack, EMP detonation,
nuclear fallout or global conflict
- Personal
emergencies like a job loss, injury or over-extension of credit
With this idea in mind, when we look at the concept of investing
and wealth preservation for uncertain times, we want to employ a strategy that
will provide as much coverage as possible so that if we are hit out of the blue
with something totally unexpected, we’ll at least have the basic necessities to
survive.
While I’ll stop short of advising you to sell all of the stocks
and bonds in your 401(k) account and investing all of your proceeds into
‘preps’, a little diversification could mean the difference between surviving a
disaster, or succumbing to it.
Keep your 401(k), IRA or other investment accounts, but consider
expanding your horizons with a new 401(Prep) strategy as well.
The Currency of Kings
Gold is the currency of kings, Silver the currency of noblemen,
and Debt the currency of slaves.
While disregarded by mainstream economists as a relic of
civilizations past, gold still remains a highly sought after asset by central banks
around the world including those of China, India, Venezuela, Iran and a host of
other countries losing faith in the petro-dollar reserve currency system. We’ve
seen it rise to record breaking nominal highs in the last ten years for a
reason. Those in the know – including investors who understand that gold always
rises during periods of uncertainty and crisis – have been acquiring gold and
its cousin silver for over a decade and have seen it’s value increase
multi-fold.
We need look only at recent history to see what happens when
economies and currencies of nations collapse. When the monetary systems of the
Weimar Republic, Argentina, and Zimbabwe collapsed their currencies literally
became worthless over night. During Germany’s hyperinflation people were
burning wheel barrows of paper money just to stay warm. When Zimbabwe’s
currency hyper inflated over a period of about 10 years, a loaf of bread went
from one $1 to $1 trillion dollars; today there are people panning for granules
of gold in Zimbabwe’s rivers so that they can purchase bread to eat for a day.
While nothing is guaranteed, history has proven one thing about
gold and silver. There is and always will be a buyer for these precious metals.
And if there is a central bank or large investor buying, that demand will
always trickle down into the rest of the economy – even if it is operating as a
black market.
If you want to expand your portfolio to include precious metals,
here are some considerations:
- A single ounce
of gold stores more value than silver. If you need portability for a
large amount of wealth gold coins and bars will be your primary precious
metals investment. Currently an ounce of gold is about $1550. With less
than a pound of coins in your purse or backpack you can conveniently move
$25,000 in value.
- What gold
offers in portability it lacks in divisibility. This is where silver
comes in. You may not be able to move $25,000 of silver conveniently
(weighing around 50 pounds!). But because of it’s lower value per ounce
silver is an excellent mechanism of exchange for things like food, gas,
clean water, or tools if the dollar hyper-inflates or crashes. You can
purchase silver in bars (100 oz, 10 oz) or coins (1 ounce, or U.S.
government issued pre-1965 halves, quarters and dimes). With the smaller
denomination coins like US quarters you will have portability for a small
amount of cash (40 quarters is about $150 dollars worth) and you’ll have
coinage that should allow you the ability to purchase just about any item
someone is willing to sell.
- When buying
gold or silver, buy from reputable sources like your local coin shop or
an online dealer like Apmex or Kitco.
- The only
exception we can make to the above rule is for the purchase of pre-1965
U.S. government minted 90% silver coinage. While we would avoid
purchasing any other coins on auction sites like ebay, there are often some great deals
to be found on half dollars, quarters and dimes containing 90% silver
(pre-1965 coins only!). You can also purchase Kennedy half dollars dated
1965-1969 containing 40% silver content. Since these coins are government
issued and in such small denominations, the possibility that they are
counterfeit decreases significantly.
- Silver allows
you to make modest, weekly investments of anywhere from $5 to $50 dollars
and still build a store of wealth.
- To get the
current price of silver and gold, as well as the specific prices for
dated U.S. coins, check out the calculators at coinflation.com.
- If you are
investing a large sum of money into precious metals, gather details about
the types of coins you are buying, especially if you’re buying gold.
Acquire a coin caliper and/or
testing kit to ensure you’re getting what is being advertised.
While you may be able to easily utilize gold and silver as a
mechanism of exchange at the onset of a crisis to buy much needed supplies
during a currency meltdown and use it to exchange for land or equipment during
a recovery period, you may be faced with a period of time when no one will be
interested in your PM’s. Selco of SHTF School points out that gold is not
the silver bullet the provides complete insulation from TEOTWAWKI. When all
hell breaks loose, as it did in the Balkans in the 1990’s, and a war is being
fought right outside of your front window, gold and silver may not get you very
far, as people are more concerned with the immediate need of getting out of
harm’s way than they are with anything else.
With that in mind, and for those who (correctly) argue that we
can’t eat our gold, let’s continue diversifying our 401(prep) account.
Commodity Investing with Zero Counter-party
Risk
In this type of environment where nobody can get a safe return on
their money within the United States that beats the official rate of inflation,
buying canned foods and such is actually a better investment than a Treasury
bill. What I would look to do is have a backup supply of at least several
months of the basic commodities you need to live with – canned food, toilet
paper, as well as barter items…
-John Williams, Economist, Shadowstats.com
-John Williams, Economist, Shadowstats.com
One thing analysts and financial pundits agree on is that, in
general, commodities will continue to rise. As central banks continue to
inflate their money and hundreds of millions of people in once under-developed
nations join the ranks of the global working class, the demand for food once
reserved for the middle class in America and Europe will rise in countries like
China and India. The end result is a higher cost for corn, rice, wheat, meat
and other staples.
Thus, as the experts suggest, investing in commodities may be an
excellent way to grow, or at the very least preserve, your money. Where I
disagree with the experts is how to invest in such assets. While you can
purchase Exchange Traded Funds or contracts that follow specific commodities,
the inherent problem with these investments is that, even though you have a
paper receipt that says you own a particular commodity, if it’s not in your
possession your are subject to counter-party risk. What I mean by this is that
if the investment firm (or the numerous associated firms) has a problem and
goes out of business, your paper receipt may become worthless. A recent example
of this was the MF Global scandal, where the investment firm headed by a
trusted former governor of New Jersey actually took the deposits and commodity
investments of their depositors and transferred those assets to other
investment banks days before completely collapsing. Their clients, who had
receipts to prove ownership, were left with nothing.
If you’re investing into commodities because you expect prices to
rise dramatically, then you must also assume that those dramatic price rises
will result from either a currency crisis, or shortages caused by exceedingly
high demand or adverse weather conditions (think Great Depression dust bowl).
That being said, the only sound method of investing in these assets is for you
to take physical delivery – just like you would with gold.
For food, your best bet would be to look at the 11 Emergency Foods That Last a
Lifetime. Dry goods like rice, wheat, beans, salt, honey, and dry
milk will provide you with an investment that will grow in value as prices
rise, and also offer you peace of mind in case paper markets crash because
you’ll be in direct possession of your food. How much food should you add to
your 401prep investment portfolio? It depends on the size of your family and
your time horizon. Think about what could cause a massive price rise in food
prices and you’ll realize that whatever the crisis is, it could be long-term.
The Ready Nutrition food storage calculator can help you to determine how much
inventory you may need and allows you to break your purchases into weekly
shopping trips so you don’t have to invest thousands of dollars up front.
In addition to food, there are a variety of other commodities that
you won’t want to live without if the system comes crashing down around us – so
consider adding these to your preps as well:
- Toilet paper ,
various toiletries, hygiene products
- Cooking oils
- Off-grid lamps
and fuel
- Over the
counter medicine like ointments, aspirin, anti-diarrheals,
anti-constipation meds, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide
- Hand sanitizer (you’ll
want lots of this because clear water may be hard to come by and disease
will be rampant)
- Lighters
(highly recommended barter item from the Balkan collapse)
- Ammunition
- Teas, coffee,
cigarettes, drinking alcohol
- Off-grid
survival tools like hand saws, hand drills, etc. (this may also include
low-power requirement tools that you can charge with solar power or other
alt energy)
- Antibiotics (Here’s
one survival item that will be worth more than gold in a post-collapse
world!)
- Read the Emergency Items: What Will
Disappear First for more ideas
Investing in these asset was a sound practice in January of
2010 when I first recommended it (you’d be up over 25% today!)
and it’s a good strategy today, because as you well know things aren’t looking
any better on the economic and monetary front.
When investing in commodities you’ll want to ensure that you are
able to physically store your assets so that they are available when you need
them post. Be sure to properly store all foods for the long-term.
Land and Real Estate
Agricultural commodities are the place to be in for investors.
It will be farmers not bankers driving Ferraris.
-Jim Rogers, Contrarian Investor
-Jim Rogers, Contrarian Investor
You may be surprised to see real estate listed here as a 401(prep)
related asset, especially considering that the average price collapse in
housing since the crash has been about 30%, with some areas of the country
seeing in excess of 50% shaved off of bubble-top prices.
With real estate prices still dropping, it’s certainly not a bad
idea to wait for further price reductions before jumping into a new home,
especially if you are planning on paying cash. One thing to consider however,
is that if you aren’t paying cash for a home and are looking to take on a
mortgage then you are in one of the best interest environments we’ll experience
perhaps in our lifetimes. Money is cheap, and if you happen across the
right property, taking advantage of those low interest loans may be the right
thing to do. As the dollar continues its decline and confidence in our ability
to repay our debt is lost, you will likely see interest rates rise
significantly. During the inflation crisis of the late 70’s and early 80’s some
mortgage rates were running as high as 18%, so getting in now may not be a bad
idea, especially if you are not planning on flipping your house any time soon
and you have an investment time horizon in excess of a decade.
But what is the right property?
Being prepper-minded, I immediately dismiss the possibility of
buying a home in a urban or suburban setting. The fact is that these kinds of
homes are, in my eyes, liabilities. They have absolutely no productive capacity
whatsoever, thus I have hard time looking at them as assets. Moreover, if we’re
planning on the S hitting the fan, we want to be in a low population area,
something that our typical cookie cutter neighborhoods in big cities simply
can’t provide.
When we talk about real estate and land investments during times
of crisis we want to focus on a property that will give us the ability to
produce something – anything of value. In the event you lose your current
income flow, or if the system falls apart, you’ll want to be on a piece of property
that allows you to produce some of the commodities we discussed above – either
for personal use or to run as a business if employment becomes difficult or
impossible to acquire.
Thus, when looking at land, look for land that will provide you
and your family with productive capacity. If you can do this, you’ll have
turned your home and land into an asset instead of the typical liability held
by most Americans.
You’ll also be much closer to achieving self reliance by being as
off the grid as is possible, so you are no longer dependent on services
provided by the government or large business conglomerates.
Here are some thoughts on real estate investing based in part
on Ten Things That Make a Survival
Homestead:
- Does your land
have the space and soil to allow you to grow a vegetable, herb or fruit
garden? Even limited space can be used to product a huge amount of food,
so you can be flexible on land size if your financial situation requires
it.
- Are you able to
produce your own energy – perhaps install solar panels, mini-wind
turbines or some type of hydro power if you have a stream or river?
Whether the world collapses around us or not, energy self reliance is a
long-term benefit that will reduce or eliminate your utility bills,
something that will insulate you from not only a collapse of our power
grid, but keep the energy flowing to your home if you experience a
personal financial catastrophe that makes it difficult to pay your bills.
- Do you have
enough land to raise livestock? The bottom line is that people will
always need food, and if you can provide that food you’ll always have
customers willing to buy it or trade for it. Space is an important
consideration for livestock, but there are ways to raise poultry, goats
and even micro Dexter cows without a huge pasture. Look into micro-livestocking for
some ideas (it’s something you can even do in suburbia if your HOA allows
it!).
- You need a
water source. This is self explanatory. You can’t grow food or keep
animals if you don’t have water. Either make sure you have a well, or a
river or stream with easy access so you can collect or divert water to
irrigate your garden.
- Another water
solution that provides multiple benefits is a pond. Not only will it
provide water, but you can expand your offerings by raising
fish to boot!
- Can you defend
your property? In addition to the commodities listed above, other
physical assets to look at acquiring are property and self defense
supplies like barbed wire fencing to protect your inner perimeter, flood
lights or another alarm system for the external perimeter, empty sang
bags that you can quickly fill if needed.
Owning land is a dream held by most individuals. But, few people
understand the difference between your home being a liability vs. an asset. If
you’re going to be buying (or even renting) land I strongly suggest you look
into how you can make your home work for you, instead of the other way around.
Get Some Skills!
I don’t even have any good skills. You know, like nunchuck skills,
bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills…
–Napolean Dynamite
–Napolean Dynamite
I have a friend who is a specialist in piping design and
engineering. In his spare time he builds high quality copper water/alcohol
distillation units. Sitting around testing his first unit, my friend and I
began discussing the various applications for such an apparatus and how
knowledge of manufacturing such units would be an essential skill in a
post-collapse world. With his distillation units one can not only purify their
water over an open fire, but can also produce drinking alcohol, antiseptics and
fuel grade ethanol to run a generator. His project initially started as a
hobby, and has since turned into a fledgling side business. If the system
collapses, and my friend loses his job in the engineering sector, he will
always have his skills of manufacturing to fall back on. In addition to
producing distillation units, he is a lifetime prepper, so he is well versed in
the manufacture of anything from traps and snares for animals, to making his
own ammunition.
The point of this story is that every one of us, even though some
of us may sit at a computer all day or work a retail counter, has something we
know how to do. Get better at it and consider how you may be able to apply
these skills in a post collapse world.
Also of note is that if you are skilled at something – machining,
sewing, food preservation or some other skills – stock up on the necessary
supplies to run your business now, because they won’t be available. My friend
who manufactures distillation units is heavily invested in copper piping and related
materials. While copper may not be a practical investment for you because of
your skill set, perhaps yarn or canning jars are.
Every one of us is unique, and we each have different life
experiences, skills and backgrounds. This is great news for post-collapse
survivors, because you can be assured that American innovation will always
return with a vengeance. Necessity will be the mother of invention in a post
collapse world, and while knitting sweaters for the Holidays may be a hobby for
you now, it could be the skill that sets you apart and keeps your family fed if
traditional commerce breaks down.
The following list is based in part on The Barter Value of Skills and
will give you some ideas on ways you will be able to exchange your time and
energy for yield (money, trade, etc.) in a post-collapse world:
- First Aid or
Critical Aid (Whether you are an EMT or just have basic first aid
training, your skills will be in high demand during a serious crisis)
- Midwifery/delivering
babies because there won’t be any hospitals
- Animal
Husbandry – Those who haven’t developed animal rearing skills will call
on you to help them with their animals or ranching. If you have a large
enough post-collapse survival property, you may even be able to lease
space on your property for others.
- Blacksmithing,
Carpentry, Construction, Machining, and any host of other skills that
will be required for jobs that we take for granted today because of home
improvement mega stores.
- Mechanics –
Whether it’s for small engines like generators or understanding the inner
workings of alternative energy, there will always be a need for skilled
mechanics. After a collapse it will be difficult if not impossible to buy
new items like we do in our current consumptive paradigm. Learning to fix
what’s already out there will be a fantastic way to make a living.
- Food
preservation, sewing/mending, soap and candle making, production of
alternative medicines (with herbs from your garden) will all be skills
that are in demand.
- Also see Top Post-Collapse Barter
Items And Trade Skills for more ideas
Planning for the Unknown with 401(Prep)
Investing
If there is one thing we can say about our current economic,
financial, social and political climate it’s that we have entered an era in
human history of total unpredictability. While we can theorize about what may
or may not happen, we need to understand that we are operating on limited
information. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once said :
There are known knowns – there are things we know we know.
We also know there are known unknowns – that is to say we know
there are some things we do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we
don’t know.
As humorous as Rumsfeld’s comments were to the press in the room,
there is quite a bit of insight to be gleaned from them.
The key takeaway is that we really don’t know what we know or
don’t know, so plan for the worst. Furthermore, ensure that your preparedness
plans are flexible enough to be applied to situations that we haven’t
even contemplated as even being possible.
While the ideas listed above may not work for everyone, I hope
I’ve been able to present an informative enough primer on Collapse Investing to
get your mind working on how you can apply your specific situation and skills
to a complete action and execution plan.
Best wishes to you all.
Get Prepped, Stay Prepped.
Mac Slavo
www.SHTFplan.com
www.SHTFplan.com
Action Items:
35.
Research how other countries used alternative currencies in
post-shtf emergencies. Some great online resources are FerFAL’s Surviving in Argentina,
Selco’s SHTF School.
36.
Familiarize yourself with alternative currencies that could be
deemed valuable during a post-SHTF scenario.
37.
Familiarize and become proficient in skill sets that would be seen
as profitable during an extended emergency.
5) 110 Rules of
Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation by George Washington
# 76 - While you are talking,
Point not with your Finger at him of Whom you Discourse nor Approach too near
him to whom you talk especially to his face.
#77 - Treat with men at fit
Times about Business & Whisper not in the Company of Others.
#78 - Make no Comparisons and
if any of the Company be Commended for any brave act of Virtue, commend not
another for the Same.
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