Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

For Independent Minded People!

ISSN 2161-5543

In This Issue:

1. Backup food supply

2. 12 Inexpensive ideas to celebrate Valentines’ Day

3. Romantic meal makeovers

4. Need help preparing your taxes?

5. The Average American…

"Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on 'I am not too sure.' "
-- H. L. Mencken

Creating a Backup Food Supply

The first step in your self-sufficiency plan is to build up a store of long-lasting food. Ideally, you want to have at least 30 days of long-shelf-life food for every person in your home.

For the greatest level of comfort, shoot for a food reserve that gives each member of your family 2,000 calories per day. (You can each get by on 1,200 calories per day, but you'll be hungry.)

You have several options in building up such a store. You can buy a little extra at the store every time you grocery shop. You can shop in bulk and establish your reserve all at once.

One way to build up food reserves is to buy and store canned goods. Canned goods are high in flavor, they're often familiar (especially if you choose canned foods that you normally eat), and they don't require water to make. On the downside, cans are heavy and they expire after a year or two.

Dried goods are an inexpensive way to build up your foods stores. Dried goods like beans, rice, pasta, and prepackaged dried meals can add variety and nutrition to your food reserve. The big advantage of dried goods is that when properly stored, they can last much longer than canned goods. Some dried foods last up to 20 years. Dried foods are also lightweight, so if you have to travel with your food, you'll have an easier
time of it.

Food storage kits offer a lot in the way of convenience. A good kit will provide you with a variety of foods, proportioned so that you and your family will have the calories you need on hand. Another big advantage is that these types of kits are packaged for maximum shelf life.

Once you've established a food reserve, you may need to work out a plan for rotating it, especially if you use canned goods as your primary food source. Canned foods typically last about one to two years. When you first buy your reserves, it might seem like the expiration dates are a long way out, but that time will pass before you know it and if you don't rotate your food stores, it's a waste of money.

Whenever you make a shopping list, pull whatever you can from your food reserves. Then when you shop, add the new items to your reserve.

Once or twice a year, go through your food stores and take an inventory. Make sure your calorie count is where you need it to be. Check the expiration dates. Make a plan to use any food with an expiration date that is coming up within the next six months.

If you have a large food store, plan to work some of the food into your regular menu so you're not faced with having to eat everything from your stores before the expiration dates come around. Also make a plan to replace the food that you'll be taking form your stores.

Setting up a food reserve and taking care to protect your investment will keep you and your family comfortable and well fed through almost any kind of short- to medium-term disruption.

But if there's ever a longer-lasting crisis like the dollar collapsing or you losing your job and finding yourself unable to find another, then it will help to have a longer-term plan in place for better food self-sufficiency.

And that means learning to grow some of your own food. No matter what type of living situation you have, chances are you have enough space to grow some of your own food. Whether it's a small garden of potted plants on your apartment balcony or a small plot in your backyard, you can grow some of your favorite foods. Tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, lettuces, onions, beans, radishes, peas, and carrots are all easy to grow and can help increase your food self-sufficiency.

Find more resources plus how to stockpile on a budget at: www.PoorManSurvival.com Click on the Citizen Preparedness tab.

Reduce your grocery bill with printable coupons from SmartSource - click here - and MySavings - click here.

PM’s Compendium of Useful Resources

12 Inexpensive Ideas for Valentine's Day

Ahhh, Valentine's Day. It is that special time of year when a bouquet of roses sells for up to five times its regular price. You can't escape it. The store displays are all lined with heart shaped boxes of chocolates and stuffed critters that make a "smooching" sound when squeezed. It's impossible to tell your loved ones just how much they mean to you without presenting them with at least one, if not more, of these costly tokens, right? Wrong! Below is a list of 12 suggestions to help you have a memorable, yet inexpensive Valentine's Day with your family. More at:

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/03/03feb03g.cfm?AlsoThisWk

Get her in the mood with coffee…

Men have tried to seduce women by plying them with liquor but a new study indicates men might have better luck with double expresso instead. Researchers at Southwestern University found when they gave 108 female rats a big jolt of caffeine, they became very receptive to overtures of male rats…

Novel ‘Romance in a Can’-Order now for Valentine’s Day

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251210702741

Love Your Honey for Less Money this Valentine's Day!
Need a frugal, yet creative idea for a Valentine surprise for your sweetie this year? Here are some ideas for dates and gifts that you can use this month or every month:

She wants affordable, natural homemade shampoo
read more here

Do you need help preparing your tax return? Learn about the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs.

VITA Program: If you make $51,000 or less, IRS-certified volunteers can inform you about tax credits for which you may qualify, and prepare a basic tax return with electronic filing.

TCE Program: If you are 60 years of age or older, you may qualify for free tax help from IRS-certified volunteers who specialize in issues that pertain to seniors.

There are thousands of locations across the United States where you can get free tax help through the VITA and TCE programs.

Americans’ health worst among high-income countries

On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries. This health disadvantage exists even though the United States spends more per capita on health care than any other nation. A new study offers a comprehensive comparison of the United States with sixteen peer nations -- affluent democracies that include Australia, Canada, Japan, and many Western European countries. Among these countries, the United States is at or near the bottom in the nine key areas of health to study examined.

60 percent of young Americans plan to purchase a gun to protect their future homes, families
(NaturalNews) President Obama and top Democrats in Congress have made it quite clear in recent days: They want massive new gun bans and what's more, they want to know what kind of guns you already have, and how many. Those demands and others are contained...

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

As on Saturday night on January 26, 2013 a total of 195 Sheriffs have publicly announced that they will refuse to obey unconstitutional legislation and/or executive orders that violate the Second Amendment,

214 County Sheriffs Will Defend the Constitution…

Visit Constitutional Sheriffs at: http://constitutionalsheriffs.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

NYPD looking to deploy naked body scanners on street corners as part of gun control roll-out
(NaturalNews) It's not enough that the state of New York just doubled down on its trashing of the Second Amendment with the passage of new gun control laws. Now the city of New York, with its gun-grabbing mayor, is set to deploy revealing new x-ray scanners...

Surveillance
Nebraska lawmakers look to limit police drone use

The Federal Aviation Administration says there will be around 30,000 commercial and government drones flying over the United States in the next ten years. The business of selling and servicing domestic drones is projected to grow into a $90 billion industry. Lawmakers at the federal and state level say that to prevent these drone from encroaching on citizens’ privacy, it is time to define what they can do, where, and when.

Three most important words to remember when being interrogated: I don’t know!

The Parting Thought- The Average American…

>Spends little time in the kitchen, the lowest among all countries – 30 minutes vs. 41 in Germany

> Has more overweight people (1/3 or more) than any other country

>More people in jail than any other country

>More people on prescription drugs than any other

>17.1% poverty rate vs. 11% of European countries

>More rules and regulations than any other country

>More layers of government and more government employees

>Spends more money on health care than any other nation

>Has more debt than citizens of any other country

> The average American watches 2 hours and 49 minutes of television a day.
American Time Use Survey

>The average person reads less than one book a year

> The average American believes the honesty and ethical standards of Congress are low (57%).
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

Due to rising costs, a lot of employers are completely getting rid of health plans for their employees. In fact, the percentage of Americans covered by employer-based health plans has fallen for 11 years in a row.

At this point, most American families are tapped out financially. According to the U.S. Labor Department, incomes and spending were both down for the second straight year in 2010.

The amount of debt that the average American family has piled up is absolutely staggering. The median yearly wage in the United States is just $26,261, but the average American household is carrying $75,600 in debt.

Even if you do have a job that doesn't mean that you are doing much more than surviving. According to Paul Osterman, a professor of economics at MIT, approximately 20 percent of all employed Americans are making $10.65 an hour or less.

Many American families are not making it at all in this economy. Last year, 2.6 million more Americans dropped into poverty. That was the largest increase that we have seen since the U.S. government began keeping statistics on this back in 1959.

A 2013 analysis has shown that for every dollar earned by an average American, about $1.33 is spent. Out of every four Americans, one has less savings, but more debt. Analysis done over the years has shown that the amount an average American spends has increased a whole lot over the past 35 years compared to before. Even though the work hours have increased by 10% in 25 years, this has hardly decreased the expenses by Americans.

Ironically…

The average American thinks the government's number-one priority should be to help keep and create jobs in America (51%)…yet vote the same incompetents into office over and over again!

Finally…

Americans are currently experiencing the “near extinction” of a very important custom. This endangered custom is that of family meal time. It seems there are negative repercussions occurring as this tradition diminishes. There are many benefits to gathering as a family around a table at home to enjoy good food and meaningful conversation.

Surprising reasons to have a family meal time
read more here

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Stealing acorns from a blind squirrel: how I describe Congress & what it’s done to the middle Class!

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