Poor Man Survival
Self Reliance tools for
independent minded people…
ISSN
2161-5543
A Digest of Urban
Survival Resources
Survival Equipment
Breaking Your Bank Account? It Doesn’t
Have To!
There isn’t a
week that goes by when some new “gotta have gadget” is offered to me through
the mail or in one of the many magazines I subscribe to. Throughout the years I’ve impulsively
purchased many of those items which wound up collecting dust in my supply room
or in one of my emergency survival bags, go bags or at my bug-out mini-farm.
At my age I finally
reached the conclusion that I pretty much have all that I can easily store and
perhaps use in what is left of my life.
[Although, I have subscribed to the philosophy that one can hand down
freeze dried food stocks in a will to ones’ heirs].
Keep in mind that my friends and I have been
doing this since 1999, long before the word ‘Prepper’ became fashionable. In some respects I actually started in the
late 70s thanks to my friend John Shuttleworth, the founder of Mother Earth News who encouraged a “do-it-yourself”
homesteading lifestyle which was already more prevalent where I lived [near
Amish country and later in Arizona] and thanks to a Depression-era mother who
was skilled at every sort of home style money-saving art that ever existed.
I further picked up many
useful survival skills while serving in the military [which enhanced those
taught in the Boy Scouts].
Two areas which have
always taken up a lot of our focus include food and water along with
power. We keep a variety of backup power
systems, both solar and gasoline power supply handy and have recently used an
electrician to install an outside adapter to our system to allow a direct
connect for a generator to run our well.
We’re still working on a rooftop solar system to incorporate into our add-on
expansion plans for the cabin. However,
since we do everything on a cash basis, we move somewhat slowly as some other
emergency often arises that grabs our reserve cash.
It took awhile, but we’ve
stockpiled both our primary residence and our cabin and its barn with tools,
food, backup systems, water barrels and other supplies. For example, we rely mostly on FoodforPatriots
and Wise Foods for dehydrated foods which we pack into totes with tightly
sealed lids for emergency food storage as they have a long shelf life and do
not weigh as much as canned goods but we do store case lots of those too
including canned vegetables and meats and fruits [the hard part for is to remember
to rotate that stock].
We also have keep
emergency, CB radios, crank-style radios and two-way radios on hand and plenty
of batteries at both locations. Coffee
filters are something else I try to keep plenty of as they can filter more than
just coffee.
Duplicates
Used as Prizes or Sold
My wife and I often buy
and sell storage units as a part time business. We also purchase collections
and estates from seniors who have passed on or who are downsizing and often
acquire duplicates of items. As an
example, we recently acquired a lot of fishing gear which my wife happens to
know a lot about due to growing up with a Dad who was an avid trout fisherman
and repair man of poles and reels.
That allowed us to sell
off several emergency-type pieces of gear we had accumulated at auction and
make a tidy profit while building up our own supply of good quality gear for
pleasure and/or emergency purposes as we live within a few miles of several
lakes and only 50 miles of several of the Great Lakes.
Some of the smaller “pocket”
fishing items I had purchased became bonuses used for items we sold on eBay or
through my Bonanza store.
Some of the items I see
sold through popular magazines such as Popular
Mechanics such Lansky’s ‘PREP’ pack, an emergency kit for cars, which sell
for an eye-popping $180 blow me away.
Perhaps they are worth the price, however, I’ve found I can usually
assemble similar kits for half that price.
The same applies to other ‘prepper’ kits including first-aid kits. I keep several available and the most expensive
[and the most complete] cost less than $50] using items I hand-picked from the
sale shelf at local drug stores, the Dollar Tree, and even area thrift stores.
Another example of what I feel is an
overpriced item for the budget minded ‘prepper’ is the Gerber Downrange
Tomahawk. It features itself as a
hammer, prybar and axe and sells for a whopping $328!
I find locking boxes with
handles which I use for ammo and/or storage boxes at thrift stores along with
other useful items.
With
some diligence and imagination one can stretch a dollar much further during
these inflation challenging times.
Find
additional useful information here:
Bruce, the Contrarian curmudgeon!
How to Survive the War on the Middle Class
14 of the best reports I’ve assembled on protecting your freedom…Here is the download link. http://1drv.ms/1d9kfiU
Sticking
With a Frugal Lifestyle
These tips can help you live frugally month after month.
These tips can help you live frugally month after month.
Related posts:
- Things
You Can Do To Be More Self-Sufficient
- Small
Scale Self-Sufficiency
- Top
10 Tips For Urban Homesteading
- Get your free credit score
- Cost
cutting tips and tricks
- Sources of
extra cash
A Final Note…
Contributors and subscribers enable the Poor Man Survivor to post 150+ free essays annually. It is for this reason they are Heroes and Heroines of New Media. Without your financial support, the free content would disappear for the simple reason that I cannot keep body and soul together on my meager book sales & ecommerce alone.
Special Offer for our Readers
72-hour Emergency Meal kit that's being
offered contains 16 total servings of such delicious meals as Blue Ribbon
Creamy Chicken Rice, the always-loved Granny's Homestyle Potato Soup and the
stick-to-your-ribs breakfast favorite Maple Grove Oatmeal.
This kit normally sells
for $27, plus shipping and handling and is rated 4½ out of five stars by
customers.
While supplies last,
these kits are available for only $21.95 and that includes Priority Shipping
[we were force to increase prices due to another round of USPS price hikes]. Go
here for this deal:
https://www.bonanza.com/listings/72-Hour-Emergency-Food-Supply/547081212
Support
our efforts by shopping my storefront…
A Smoking Frog Feature, Shallow Planet Production
3 comments:
Love your stuff-always useful!
Mighty good stuff!
Meant to tell you that I like your new masthead. Well done my friend. Also, I agree with your thoughts as I too am a sucker for every new gadget that comes along.
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