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Saturday, March 30, 2013

What will the economic collapse in America look like?




 


Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources


For Independent Minded People!

ISSN 2161-5543

 

In This Issue:

1.       DIY Home spending audit

2.      12 debt myths to trip you up

3.      10 Ways to stop unessential spending, Sneaky ways to hide food inflation

4.      Best method of composting for your lifestyle

5.      What will the economic collapse look like?

 

 

Money is something you exchange a portion of your life for.
- Joe Dominguez

 

Should you perform a Spending Audit for your household?

 

Why You’re Broke: You Don’t Audit Your Spending Habits

 

Many readers have shared their frugal living success stories with the Poor Man. Feel free to share your stories too.

 

 A reader named Jeannie saved $50 a month off her cable bill by threatening to switch providers. (I recently tried that with our carrier but it failed to persuade them). 

 

A reader named Cheryl shared how she reduced her monthly spending by $110 without making any big changes in how she lives her life…

 

"Two months ago I did this audit. I saved $30 by combining my cell phone service with my partners "Verizon family share plan".

 

I saved $50 by dumping Comcast and going with Directv. I saved $20 by

dropping my TiVo subscription because I actually like DirecTV's DVR service just as much. I saved about $10 by reducing my "2 disc at a time, unlimited monthly delivery" Netflix subscription to "2 discs per month, delivered one at a time". That’s $110 savings per month! And guess what, that one disc has been sitting next to my DVD player for a month. I guess I’ll now be reducing my plan to streaming only.”

The biggest reason most people always find themselves broke and continually in debt is because they are ignorant regarding where their money is going.

In order to start down the road to financial freedom, the first task of the household CEO is to figure out exactly where all of the household money is going. This task is important because a detailed audit must be performed if you ever hope to truly understand your household’s monthly spending habits.

To start your audit, you will need to have an accurate accounting of all of your income as well as every penny you spent over the previous month.

Many people are initially attracted to sites like Mint, OneBudget, Adaptu, and MyBudget-Online because their automation features essentially make the job of tracking your money almost effortless. The trouble is, in the world of personal finance I believe too much automation can be a curse. That’s because when money management tools become too user-friendly, a lot of folks have very little incentive to understand the data being made available to them.  A simple program like Excel can be set up to accomplish the same thing.

 

Learn more at:


 

 10 ways to stop non-essential spending
read more here
 
 
 

 
PM’s Compendium of Useful Resources

12 Debt Myths That Can Trip You Up


When you get married, do you assume responsibility for the debts of your partner? Most people think they do, but in most cases, you have no legal responsibility for their prior debts. Here are nine more debt myths to purge from your consciousness.

 


The EPA estimates that 27% of our waste stream is organic material that can be composted. Despite this huge amount of waste, for many of us the prospect of composting seems overwhelming - or even impractical.

Even if you don't have a yard, there are ways you can compost and cut your trash significantly. Stop sending useful materials and nutrients to the landfill and
find the right system for you.
 
 
 

 

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Referral Code: 4833804979


 

 


 

Sneaky Ways to Hide Food Inflation
To keep consumers complacent, food manufacturers are taking to underhanded means to make you feel like you're not paying more.

Their main strategy is to shrink packages while keeping the price the same. Just take a look at these examples:
  1. You used to pay about a dollar and a quarter for a 16-ounce box of spaghetti, but some brands have dropped the box size to 13.25 ounces for the same price.
  2. A three-dollar jar of mayonnaise has dropped from 34 ounces to 30 ounces.
  3. A 75-cent can of tuna has fallen from 6 ounces to 5 ounces.
  4. A three-dollar jug of orange juice used to deliver 64 ounces of juice–now you get 59 ounces for the same price.
  5. You used to be able to pick up a half gallon of ice cream for four bucks–now you'll get a quart and half.
  6. A $4 bag of potato chips has shrunk by 12.5%.
The examples go on and on. You may feel like you're buying the same amount of food for the same amount of money, but brand after brand is giving you a smaller size and hoping you won't notice.

 

The trend of food inflation outpacing the core inflation rate and wage increases isn't going to end soon. The time to take action is now. The best thing you can do is invest in foodstuffs with a long shelf life. I recommend at least a 30-day supply for your household, but a three-to-six month supply is really ideal.

 

 

 

 

The Nanny State Updates Americans are fat n happy while their rights are trampled!

 


Local law enforcement agencies around the country are finding it hard to buy ammo these days. The shortage is in part due to gun owners stocking up on bullets due to concerns about new gun laws at the federal and state levels. DHS plan o buy 1.6 billion bullets only adds to the ammo shortage.

 


Some twenty-eight nations have some type of weapons of mass destruction capability, with some of them having nuclear weapons or nuclear-weapons capability. The nuclear materials in many of these countries are kept in hundreds of sites without global safeguards in place for securing them. A senior American military official described these loose nukes as the "single biggest existential threat to Western survival." Yet, in a recent exercise, the U.S. response time for deploying 90,000 troops to a crisis area – an area which included loose nukes, other WMDs, or both -- took fifty-five days. U.S. military leaders say this is just not good enough.

 

 


A new report highlights issues surrounding global food systems and the importation of food into the United Kingdom. One contributor to the study says: “Global food security, and ensuring food is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable, is perhaps the most important societal issue we face. Disruptions to food supply has serious knock-on effects; economically, socially and to the health and well-being of the population.”


 

Department of Homeland inSecurity – One more reason why the USA is broke and losing its freedom-militarizing the police and helping to disrupt the economy since 2001.

DHS is a massive umbrella agency, with over 100,000 armed law enforcement personnel, sucking enormous amounts of taxpayer dollars and represents more than $8 billion of our annual budget. The USA has more armed agents than any other country in the world, according to a DHS spokesperson.

 



The Parting Thought- Much gnashing of teeth

What Will Economic Collapse Look Like?

The Beginning of the End…

Although they won’t admit it, the Fed backed itself into a corner with its reckless easy-money policy and Obama seems to have little background in economics as he continues along the path of financial destruction.

While I don’t expect a Zombie Apocalypse resulting from a crash, temporary supply disruptions caused by market uncertainties will be inevitable — and that will lead to empty supermarket shelves, fuel shortages and, possibly, utility failures that will almost certainly result in civil unrest and increased crime in more densely populated areas.

The good news is a new (hopefully gold-backed) currency will be issued and society will slowly recover.  I’m hoping it will take no more than six months before the supply chain recovers enough to eliminate most shortages.

Thankfully, tangible assets won’t go up in smoke after the economy resets; your home, automobile, and other possessions should be unaffected.

More good news: Any long-term debt you hold in old US dollars will essentially be wiped out because you should be able to retire it with worthless currency. At least that’s the government hopes to do with its debt.  Most likely, public program such as Medicare, Social Security, pensions, etc. will take a hit or be severely reduced.

Even so, things will never be the same for most people.

Although it’s anybody’s guess, I believe Americans will be lucky if their post-collapse standard-of-living will be equivalent to half of what it is now; worst case, one-third. That ain’t so bad if you earn $1 million per year but, if my assumption is correct, and you earn $60,000 annually, then your post-collapse standard-of-living will be between $20,000 and $30,000 today.

When it comes to ensuring the survival of your family in rough economic times, many are ill prepared.

More resources at:  http://www.poormansurvival.com/Pages/guestcolumn.aspx

 

 “Until the next revolution”, the Poor Man

 

Join others striving for Financial Independence in the Poor Man Survival community on how to take back control of your money. Updated for 2013 and now includes a Will Kit.




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A Shallow Planet Production

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

At-Home Businesses, DIY Stone Grill, Why No Revolution?


Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources


For Independent Minded People!

ISSN 2161-5543

We don’t need gun control, we need politician control – get rid of lifelong politicians who are bankrupting the nation and destroying the Constitution.  >>the Poor Man

 

In This Issue:

1.       Home Based business opportunities

2.      Re-loading:  What you need to get started

3.      Building a stone grill

4.      6 ways to fuel the co-op takeover

5.      Why has there been no revolution?

 

Home-based Business Opportunities

Home-based businesses in the town, suburbs or on the farm can be just as lucrative as office or factory jobs. Whether you are interested in gardening, crafts, DIY projects or personal service jobs, home based businesses offer the freedom to work from home at your own pace and to be your own boss.

In the articles below are stories of home business successes in many fields – gardening, home repair, office work, teaching, and arts and crafts of all kinds. There are also a few tales of home business failures and bumps in the road to learn from. And the advent of the Internet age has ushered in a whole new niche for online home-based jobs.
With a modest investment in time, energy and money, you can work from home and own your own business.

Garden Green


Earn Cash With your Own Garden-grown Nursery
Our 3,000-square-foot garden produces about three-quarters of the vegetables we eat in a year — and a bumper crop of nursery stock that brings us up to $1,000 of extra cash annually.

Mother's Mini-Manual: Greenhouse Gardening
Although they're usually considered "luxuries,” greenhouses are, in fact, wonderful, year-round gardens that can be useful for producing vegetables for the kitchen table or the local market.

You Can Make Money Harvesting and Selling Botanicals
Almost every relatively green region on the U.S. and Canada boasts at least one native "medicine plant" which homesteaders can make money harvesting.

The Organic Home Nursery
With no money, no publicity and virtually no plants, Donn and Rachel Tickner started a retail organic nursery. All they really had going for them was a healthy stock of reverence, know-how and determination.

Pick Poke for Profit
Pokeweed (phytolacca americana) is an early wild green. Some folks pick pokeweed and sell it to neighbors.
Read about
Rosemary Randolph's experience picking poke.

Hobby Farming and the IRS
The following tips by a specialist in extension farm businesses may give you better understanding this tax season, including records and other considerations.


 
PM’s Compendium of Useful Resources

6 Ways to Fuel the Co-op Takeover
From now on, the global mantra for filling market gaps is going to be, “There’s a co-op for that.” But co-ops need customers, money, and training. How do we shift from business as usual to the work of cooperation
? MORE »

 

Constitution for Dummies

In this video, aptly titled Constitution For Dummies, Judge Andrew Napolitano on the history of the federal government’s neglect, disdain, and continual erosion of the Constitution from John Adams to George W. Bush. Learn about the “Alien and Sedition Act”, FISA, and the Patriot Act and what we must do to get back to Constitutional fidelity at the federal level.
http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/03/constitution-for-dummies-with-judge-andrew-napolitano/

 

Reloading: What Do You Really Need to Get Started?

High demand and low supply has many looking into reloading ammunition. Wondering where to start? Here are some suggestions.


 

Build a Stone Grill

Enjoy years of backyard barbecue parties when you build this sturdy fieldstone grill. Guests will gather around this beautiful backyard addition because it's perfect for parties.


 

What's happening near you?
Track hunting and shooting opportunities in your state.


Grow your own tomatoes - container gardening for apartment dwellers
read more here
 
 
 
 

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Referral Code: 4833804979


 

 


The Nanny State Updates Americans are fat n happy while their rights are trampled!

 

Obama explains the FEMA Camps-Prolonged, Preventative Detention

Was against the Patriot Act-when Bush initiated it. Now, he’s a Two faced, anti-Constitutionalist confession speaks with forked tongue.


 


On Thursday, Microsoft released the number of law enforcement requests it has received for information on its hundreds of millions of customers. By releasing the information, Microsoft is now putting itself on the same team as Google, Twitter, Yahoo, and other Web businesses which have published reports on law-enforcement request for customer information. In 2012 Microsoft received a total of 70,665 law-enforcement requests for customer information.


Colorado governor John Hickenlooper on Wednesday signed a state gun control bill which will expand background checks and limit ammunition magazine capacity. The measure is notable because Colorado has been considered a firearm-friendly state.


 

DHS dehumanized air travel – what the hell are they doing to kids in schools anymore?

There's not really schools any more. They're prisons - without the rights"...


 

 


The Parting Thought- the sheep bleat, but do they care?

 

Why Has There Been No Revolution?

When the central government in the United States rams through a 2700 page bill that was not read by any person who voted for it and whose impossible promises of more-for-less are now being revealed as a fraud; when the government, without apparent concern, rapidly inflates the national debt to 16 trillion that it will admit to (actually it’s 83 trillion); when the federal government sues the state of Arizona to stop it from guarding the borders and enforcing federal laws concerning illegal aliens; and when the government announces that it wishes to ban all weapons that would allow citizens to resist government overreaching, how far distant is revolution?

 

First goes the belief in the legitimacy of the system. Then comes a trigger–an event which causes large numbers of people to say to themselves, ‘I cannot take this anymore.’

 

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.” -Patrick Henry

 

Is It Time To Organize The Revolution?

I understand and follow the methods our current administration and lawmakers are using to take away our most basic rights. They can detain me indefinitely. If they choose to see me as an enemy of the state they can do worse. There will be no due process. It will not matter how many people support me. I can be made to disappear and become a non-factor…

Read more: http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/03/is-it-time-to-organize-the-revolution/#ixzz2Odadi5hl


 

“Until the next revolution”, the Poor Man

 

Join others striving for Financial Independence in the Poor Man Survival community on how to take back control of your money. Updated for 2013 and now includes a Will Kit.




Keep our services free, visit our sites…

Check our Resources

 

Survival books & supplies – find them at our ebay store:


 

Follow us on Facebook


 

 Twitter


 

 


 

A Shallow Planet Production