A few things everyone should know

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.
- David Russell

 

A dollar off coupon on a $1 item?

Using Coupons at The Dollar Tree

by Dawn Summerson

 

Coupons and The Dollar Tree don't sound like they go together, but The Dollar Tree has been accepting coupons for years! However, other than myself, I rarely see anyone use them. So I randomly picked ten women (women because 58.7% of people who coupon are female) in the store to ask if they ever used coupons. Nine out of the ten women said they had used coupons, but when asked if they had ever used coupons at The Dollar Tree, all of the women said no. Again all ten women told me they did not know that The Dollar Tree accepted coupons.  Learn more here:  http://www.stretcher.com/stories/15/15jul27b.cfm?fi

A few things every human should know…

MEMORIZED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS.

 Memorized knowledge and skills . If physical books are a back-up to digital copies, memorized knowledge is a back-up to your books. Having something like a survival Kindle to fill in the gaps is a great idea, but strive to memorize as much practical and life-saving information as you can. Do you know how many cups are in a gallon without googling it? (The answer is 16.) To download handy info into your brain, practice your emergency skills on a regular basis and always have a copy of the classic Pocket Ref to thumb through while on the john.

ONE. EMERGENCY FUND. Kids end up in the emergency room; your car goes kaput in the middle of New Mexico; you unexpectedly get laid off from your job. We’ve all experienced these setbacks and their accompanying bills. Many people don’t plan for emergencies in their monthly budget, so when the poop hits the fan, they’re forced to take on expensive credit card debt. An emergency fund is insurance for you and your family -- an antifragility must for every man.

TWO. ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF CURRENCY.   If the crap really did hit the fan, our regular currency would become worthless. That’s why it can be a good idea to have an alternative form on hand -- some gold perhaps, or that universal medium of exchange, cartons of cigarettes or booze.

THREE. GET AN ANALOG WATCH.  Many men have given up on wearing watches, as they use their smartphone to check the time. But a phone battery can die, torpedoing your punctuality. Plus, an analog watch can double as a compass, should you become lost in the woods.

 

How much cash do you have at home?" I once asked a friend who is an extremely smart investor and businessman.

(The question wasn't too personal… He's a good friend and we talk about money. I had dinner with him at his home earlier this month.)

"I keep six figures at home," he replied.

"Wow!" I said. "That sounds a bit extreme."

"Is it?" he asked. "How much are you earning in interest in the bank?"

 

 

More Useful Resources You Can Share

 

Good and Cheap is a gorgeous cookbook for people with limited income, particularly those on a $4/day food stamps budget.  Thanks to subscriber MaryAnn for this tip!

http://www.leannebrown.com/

 

• How to Make Full-time Money as a Part-time Writer: Some ideas and resources for turning words into money.

• When Do Negative References Get Removed From Your Credit Report? How long does a late payment stay on your credit report?
•  

Cybersecurity and Cyberwar--What Everyone Needs to Know by P.W. Singer and Allan Friedman: With all of the computer hacking in the news I decided it was time to better understand just how dangerous these threats are. It's scarier than a Stephen King novel.

 

Knowing when and how to stockpile groceries
read more here

 

Home Prepping Database Program

http://sdrv.ms/13QkSOA

 

 

How to Survive the War on the Middle Class

 14 of the best reports I’ve assembled on protecting your freedom…the download link to this will be included with your package and/or sent to you via email.  Some of the life saving information includes:

 

·         Surviving the Final Days of the Dollar

·         Developing Your Financial IQ

·         What to do if There is a Bank Run

·         Become Self Sufficient for at Least Six Months

·         What to do if There is a Financial Collapse

·         77 Censored Cures

·         The Big Drop: Grow your wealth during the coming collapse

·         A Man’s Right to Happiness-reclaim your privacy, reduce your taxes and more

·         The Big Book of Free- FREE Stuff… chock-full of proven tricks, loopholes, and insider secrets to living a higher-quality, wealthier, healthier, and more successful life.

 

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/14-e-Books-Surviving-the-War-on-the-Middle-Class-Big-Book-of-Free-the-Big-Dro/268786606

 

 

Books, Art, Video – the saucy, the odd, the retro, even the practical…

 

 

http://RetroGuy.net

 

Thank you ever so much…

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

 

A Shallow Planet Production

From the Smoking Frog Group

No Thinking Allowed, Death of Consumer Advocacy, Fleeing City Life

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss

 

Thinking:  Warning-Do not attempt this on your own

 

   Every four years we witness the lunacy of party politics.  Each party has ideologues which uphold the party line and candidate no matter how inane the platform or idiotic the candidate.  Despite 50 years of broken promises from both parties, our nation continues to suffer for poor financial stewardships, a system of theft called taxation, and laws which have eroded our rights and both parties are jointly to blame.

 

Despite the obvious evidence, many Americans practice the very definition of insanity and continually reelect the same political pikers into office, yet they demad or expect different results.  Somehow, these people actually believe the BS lies which flow from the lips of career politicians?!  How easily fooled they are…but then again, I must consider how our public schools operate.

 

A favorite uncle of mine who is a retired superintendent of a wealthy school district often expresses the same sentiment.

 

We are not a nation of thinking people and that begins with our public education system where most are taught what to think, not how to think.  This is encouraged because politicians know unthinking people are easier to control. [More about that later]*

 

When I was in the military we called such people lifers.  Unable or unwilling to think for themselves, they were happy to have someone else decide what they were going to wear each day, what they would eat, what work they would do and where they would perform that work…and of course, all without question usually dictated by some idiot in Washington without any military experience whatsoever.

 

In the early days of my public speaking career on what was fondly referred to as the ‘rubber chicken’ circuit traveling about the country with other motivational speakers I initially wondered why more Americans did not attend our seminars and events.

 

The great Zig Ziglar pulled me aside one day and told me it is called the “five percenter effect.” 

He explained that any given time only five percent of the population has any desire to improve their lot in life or even had any understanding what was going on around them, while the balance were among those that either were left to wonder what has happened or had no clue that anything had happened.

 

Watching the old Jay Leno ‘Jay Walking’ segments, [where he would interview people on the street about common historical events or current events that these people were unable to answer] convinced me of that.  The O’Reilly Factor airs a similar segment with the same results which makes me wonder about the state of our educational system…

 

*Do you remember the term Consumer Advocate?

 

When I was growing up, my sister and I wanted to be a part of Ralph Nader’s team or Nader’s Rader’s as they were called…the team that was saving America from unsafe products and corporate vultures.  This is something your State Attorney General is supposed to do on your behalf as well.

 [The only person who still comes to my mind that fits this category is Elizabeth Warren]

Our Michigan AG, Bill Shulte was AWOL during his consumer advocate classes.  Our local water department recently jacked up our bill by 1,000 percent without any kind of advanced notice and get this:  it isn’t based on consumption, instead it is based on our property value! 

 

In Bill’s letter to me he felt this complaint did not fall under his realm of authority…Big Brother cannot interfere with Little Brother and I must hire an attorney to fight city hall.  Another useless, so-called public servant leeching at the public trough.

 

And Finally…

According to a Bloomberg analysis of census data between 2013 and 2014, millions of Americans are fleeing our cities. But these cities aren’t shrinking, the locals are being replaced by foreigners. While their research noted 100 cities, it focused on 20 urban areas that experienced the greatest loss of local residents. New York City came in 2nd place after losing 163,000 US citizens. Americans are largely leaving due to soaring housing costs, and are being replaced by two different kinds of immigrants. Highly skilled immigrants working in the tech sector who can afford the rent, and low skilled workers who are willing to split the rent, and cram as many of their friends and relatives into tiny urban apartments.

Instead of the “White Flight” from our urban areas that was widely documented in the latter half of the 20th century, we’re now experiencing “American Flight.” As our nation takes in more and more foreign citizens, these people are mostly settling into our urban areas, which are now being referred to as “global cities.” It’s safe to say that by the end of the 21st century, what we now recognize as an American culture, will cease to exist in urban areas, and will almost exclusively exist in rural and suburban locations.

The federal government has made it exceedingly difficult for law-abiding people to immigrate to this nation legally, but meanwhile they have left our borders completely wide open and have actively encouraged people to immigrate illegally.  As a result, large numbers of criminals, drug dealers, gang members and welfare parasites have come pouring in.  According to one recent report, 2.5 million illegal immigrants have entered this country while Barack Obama has been in the White House…

A new report estimates that 2.5 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States since Barack Obama took office in 2009.

The Center for Immigration Studies released a study Monday citing data from the Center for Migration Studies, Pew Research Center and the Census Bureau that indicates 400,000 illegal immigrants on average have entered the country annually since 2009.

From the middle of 2013 to May 2015 alone, 790,000 illegals have come into the United States. These undocumented individuals entered the country after President Obama unveiled a controversial executive order in 2012 to stop deporting young illegal immigrants who entered the country as children.

And honestly, that 2.5 million number is probably on the low side.  These illegal immigrants are committing some of the most horrible crimes imaginable, and if you doubt this, just read this article.

While most Americans stand around with eyes glued to a “smart” phone and their thumbs up their ass, the nation is being flushed down the toilet by greedy, corrupt politicians AND another crop of career cretins are crying to be let in to feed at the public trough…AND you’ll let them!

Good luck!

 

More Useful Resources You Can Share

 

 

How to Survive the War on the Middle Class

 14 of the best reports I’ve assembled on protecting your freedom…the download link to this will be included with your package and/or sent to you via email.  Some of the life saving information includes:

 

·         Surviving the Final Days of the Dollar

·         Developing Your Financial IQ

·         What to do if There is a Bank Run

·         Become Self Sufficient for at Least Six Months

·         What to do if There is a Financial Collapse

·         77 Censored Cures

·         The Big Drop: Grow your wealth during the coming collapse

·         A Man’s Right to Happiness-reclaim your privacy, reduce your taxes and more

·         The Big Book of Free- FREE Stuff… chock-full of proven tricks, loopholes, and insider secrets to living a higher-quality, wealthier, healthier, and more successful life.

 

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/14-e-Books-Surviving-the-War-on-the-Middle-Class-Big-Book-of-Free-the-Big-Dro/268786606

 

 

Books, Art, Video – the saucy, the odd, the retro, even the practical…

http://RetroGuy.net

 

A Shallow Planet Production

From the Smoking Frog Group

Do you ever feel like you have no say-so in your life?

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later ...

 

 

Do you ever feel like you're being overwhelmed by events…that our country is spiraling out of control and that mainstream folks no longer have a say-so in their private affairs?

 

Well it is true.  The American Dream is being slowly strangled out of existence.

 

 I think that most of us have that feeling .  The single mom who's juggling work, and parenting and trying to make ends meet. Or the retiree who's having trouble keeping up with ever spiraling food or medical costs.  The college grad who is forced to move back in with mom and dad because no decent jobs can be found.  Imagine starting your adult life already in debt to an average tune of $30,000 or more?

 

The middle class in America is dying. It is estimated that America has lost 10% of its Middle Class and 40% of its purchasing power since 2008 as well. In 2008, 53 percent of all Americans considered themselves to be “middle class”.  But by 2014, only 44 percent of all Americans still considered themselves to be “middle class”.

When you take a look at our young people, the numbers become even more pronounced.  In 2008, 25 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 29-year-old age bracket considered themselves to be “lower class”.  But in 2014, an astounding 49 percent of all Americans in that age range considered themselves to be “lower class”.

Incomes are stagnating, but the cost of living just continues to rise steadily.  This is especially true of basic things that we all purchase such as food.  As I wrote about earlier this year, the price of ground beef in the United States has doubled since the last recession.

We live a frugal life.  No credit cards.  No mortgages.  No loans or car payments.  However, the cost of government mandated insurances and our government managed water system exceeds the cost of my annual college tuition payments and that doesn’t even include tax payments!

 In a healthy economy, lots of new businesses are created and now many are being forced to shut down.  But for each of the past six years, more businesses have closed in the United States than have opened.    Prior to 2008, this had never happened before in all of U.S. history.  Government regulation and red tape is choking the life blood out of entrepreneurism and new job creation…but the bureaucrats don’t care as long as their job and gold plated perks are safe.

The United States has dropped to 13^th place in terms of economic freedom and entrepreneurial activity – something unheard of 30 years ago when we led the world in free enterprise.

What will government parasites do when there aren’t enough worker drones left to support them?

Most of us feel powerless against well entrenched political elite and their armies of bureaucrats which are destroying the American dream.  Most of us simply want the government to stop interfering in our lives, to just leave us alone, to stop stealing so much of our hard earned money.

The social contract that once existed between corporate America has evaporated and no longer is there any sense of civic duty among so-called civil servants to actually serve the people.  There are few consumer advocates such as Ralph Nader and his famous ‘Nader’s Raider’s” fighting for your rights anymore [perhaps Elizabeth Warren]…for all intents and purposes, you are on your own!

Politicians have been stealing more than 100 million dollars an hour from future generations of Americans since Barack Obama entered the White House.

The destruction of taxation and inflation that are destroying this nation, your finances and that of your children is no accident.  The average American has been the target of an elaborate con game losing billions of dollars in this sting to what I call the Washington-Wall Street Cartel.  While the political elite live high off insider trading and political favors, you have been fleeced and swindled.

 

In a frenzy of insatiable greed, we have been taking trillions of dollars that belong to our children and our grandchildren and spending it ourselves.  When you break it down, it comes to more than 100 million dollars every single hour of every single day.  This is a crime of unimaginable proportions, and if we lived in a just society a whole bunch of our “top politicians” would [should] be going to prison for this.

 

 You have two choices…continue being a plantation slave, going along with the program OR do something to improve your future and the future of your children!

 

How to Survive the War on the Middle Class

 14 of the best reports I’ve assembled on protecting your freedom…the download link to this will be included with your package and/or sent to you via email.  Some of the life saving information includes:

 

·         Surviving the Final Days of the Dollar

·         Developing Your Financial IQ

·         What to do if There is a Bank Run

·         Become Self Sufficient for at Least Six Months

·         What to do if There is a Financial Collapse

·         77 Censored Cures

·         The Big Drop: Grow your wealth during the coming collapse

·         A Man’s Right to Happiness-reclaim your privacy, reduce your taxes and more

·         The Big Book of Free- FREE Stuff… chock-full of proven tricks, loopholes, and insider secrets to living a higher-quality, wealthier, healthier, and more successful life.

 

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/14-e-Books-Surviving-the-War-on-the-Middle-Class-Big-Book-of-Free-the-Big-Dro/268786606

 

Books, Art, Video – the saucy, the odd, the retro, even the practical…

http://RetroGuy.net

 

 

The Smoking Frog

A Shallow Planet Production

More People Leaving the USA for a Better Life-Would You?

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

"Liberation is not deliverance."
-- Victor Hugo

Apparently, more than one in three Americans would consider packing up and moving to another country, according to a recent poll of more than 2,000 people.

For millennials (those aged 18-34), that number jumps to an incredible 55%.

The most common reasons given for considering a move abroad were a better quality of life, a lower cost of living, and having new experiences.

Ironic, isn't it… after all, weren’t those the reasons people came to the U.S.?

But of course, times change. Not always for the better.

You don’t have to look far to justify the pessimism about life in America today:

• We have a National Security Agency that spies on and records every email you send and every Web page you visit
• The nation’s police forces have been militarized, conducting more than 80,000 paramilitary raids every year
• Thanks to the 4,500-plus federal crimes and more than 400,000 rules and regulations, daily life itself has been criminalized -- which is why it’s been estimated the average American commits three felonies a day without knowing it.
• The US has dropped to 13th place in terms of Economic Freedom

Things aren’t much rosier in the economic realm, either.

Sure, if you work for a Silicon Valley startup, life is probably pretty good… but for just about everyone else, it’s ever more challenging to make ends meet.

We live in an “extraction” economy.

“Washington’s empire,” former Reagan Treasury aide Paul Craig Roberts explains, “extracts resources from the American people for the benefit of the few powerful interest groups that rule America.”

Think bank bailouts, the military-industrial complex, Big Pharma, Big Agra…

Put all of this together and it’s no wonder people are contemplating getting out of Dodge.

There’s certainly no shortage of greener pastures.

This is something our friends at International Living have been doing for over 30 years now: showing people that they really can live a more free, relaxed, and healthy life where their dollars go further.

For more than a quarter century 50,000 Americans, mostly retired US military, have been living in Costa Rica where the cost of living a very nice lifestyle has averaged less than $35K annually including top notch medical services and maid service [and great fishing].  They even publish their own newspaper [I once subscribed to it for over a year].

You just have to expand your horizons beyond the borders of the U.S…Perhaps you might want to consider becoming a perpetual tourist as more Americans have.  The USA has become an expensive place to live and this lifestyle might be just the ‘ticket.’

 

 

Your New Jet-Set Life on Less Than $1,800 a Month

• Take advantage of flexible flight searches. Sites like Adioso.com let you find the cheapest fares by searching all flights for an entire region, continent, or even the world. A quick search for one-way tickets from New York to anywhere in South America in May 2015 turns up ticket prices as low as $186 to Colombia, $202 to Panama, and $207 to Aruba. With these prices (assuming one international flight every couple months, plus some smaller trips and overland travel), a couple could easily keep to a $400 monthly transportation budget
   
• Housesit for free accommodations. On sites like TrustedHousesitters.com and MindMyHouse.com, you can find free accommodations all over the world in exchange for taking care of someone’s home
   
• Stay longer and save. Not only will staying in one place for a week or longer enrich your experience and save money on transportation, but many apartment rentals and hotels offer weekly or monthly discounts. A quick search for monthly pricing in Ecuador and Panama on Airbnb.com shows a variety of nicely furnished apartments priced under $600 per month. Secure house sitting assignments for half your travels and use long-stay discounts on the rest and your monthly housing budget could be as low as $300 (just $3,600 per year)
   
• Get on an expat health plan. Companies like International Medical Group (IMG) offer worldwide-coverage health plans that start at just $1,500 for the year. With a monthly budget of $400 for transportation and $300 for housing, all that’s left to factor in is food, supplies, and fun. Monthly groceries can easily be covered in places like Mexico for under $300. You could eat out several times per week and treat yourself to coffees and snacks along the way for $400 per month. The rest of your budget should go toward whatever you find fun -- be it museums, theater, wine tastings, wilderness treks, or yoga on the beach

Thanks to Laissez Faire Letter for many of these resources!

 

 

Other Ways to Save a Buck or Two

Top 3 Ways to Lower a Food Bill
Like most people, recent times have made me take a long, hard look at my food bill. After all, it's the one expense I have complete control over month after month. I started with just looking at my receipts and figuring out what was costing me the most and questioning it. From that experience, comes my top three ways to lower the grocery bill.

 

10 grocery savings secrets from insiders

 

26 Insanely clever cleaning tips

http://tiphero.com/insanely-clever-cleaning-tips/

 

Raising Financially Responsible Kids (free e-book)

 

More Useful Resources You Can Share

 

Ultimate Privacy Guide/161-pages:Free

http://1drv.ms/1CzV7At

 

How to Survive the War on the Middle Class

 14 of the best reports I’ve assembled on protecting your freedom…the download link to this will be included with your package and/or sent to you via email.  Some of the life saving information includes:

 

·         Surviving the Final Days of the Dollar

·         Developing Your Financial IQ

·         What to do if There is a Bank Run

·         Become Self Sufficient for at Least Six Months

·         What to do if There is a Financial Collapse

·         77 Censored Cures

·         The Big Drop: Grow your wealth during the coming collapse

·         A Man’s Right to Happiness-reclaim your privacy, reduce your taxes and more

·         The Big Book of Free- FREE Stuff… chock-full of proven tricks, loopholes, and insider secrets to living a higher-quality, wealthier, healthier, and more successful life.

 

http://www.bonanza.com/listings/14-e-Books-Surviving-the-War-on-the-Middle-Class-Big-Book-of-Free-the-Big-Dro/268786606

 

 

Books, Art, Video – the saucy, the odd, the retro, even the practical…

 

 

http://RetroGuy.net

 

A Shallow Planet Production

From the Smoking Frog Group