Poor Man Survival
Self Reliance tools for
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A Digest of Urban
Survival Resources
Are Users of Physical Cash Being Targeted?
You may have seen
the Visa TV commercials using celebrity athletes to promote the ease of paying
for everything, even mundane purchases that cost as little as a dollar, with
the swipe of a card…attempting to eliminate the use of cash.
The concept of “cashless is king” through Visa is something
they’ve been pushing via their retail partners by rewarding their stores if
they go cashless by giving them a $10,000 bonus. The TV campaigns attempt to make the rest of
us feel like an old fuddy-duddy if we still use “old-fashioned” money to pay
for our purchases.
Well this week I paid CASH for my haircut, cash for a new
tire and cash for a few grocery items and cash for little treasures I found at
the flea market.
Nakedcapitalism.com asks “Why are users of physical cash
being targeted…by government and banks?
The simple answer is to dissuade us from using cash and to encourage us
to use as little of it as possible to create a perception that if we do us it,
we’re just throwbacks, outmoded, in danger of being obsolete.
In reality, cash itself today is just a “note,” which is in
fact a debt from the federal government to you.
Using cards is a more efficient way for the government to track your
spending and money AND of course, it is a highly rewarding profit center for
banks which collect a fee from merchants each time you “swipe” a card.
In fact, the above mentioned car repair center where I
purchased my tire now tacks on an extra fee to cover the fee that Visa charges
to cover his loss he must pay to Visa…many other merchants I know do the same
many consumers are stuck paying this cost one way or the other in the end.
Bankers and government would rather deal in electronic money
as they are held less accountable, especially the Federal Reserve [which is not
a government agency and has never been audited]. Consider that in the United States most of
the money in our financial system is stocks, derivatives, bonds, mortgages and
digital deposits/transfers. The actual
physical cash in circulation adds up to less than one percent of all the money
in circulation.
Once upon a time, the U.S. printed denominations of $500,
$1,000, $5,000, even $10,000 notes…my grandmother worked at the Bank of Detroit
and took me to see such notes when I was a youngster. She told me even then “only big business and
gangsters had need of such large bills” and that was malarkey told the general
public as the only large bill currently circulated is the $100 bill and there
is even talk of pulling that too!
Another reason we are told for pulling the $100 note is that
N Korea and Iran have been counterfeiting them for years [which is why this
currency has been upgraded].
Keep in mind that India launched a war on its currency but it
backfired. Economic growth slowed and
the push to stop ‘criminals’ resulted in millions of jobs lost and lost privacy
for Indians. The same happened to Swedes
who went all in on a cashless society as they now regret their decision to go
cashless as they’re vulnerability led to a rash of hackers and privacy thieves!
Smart people everywhere have taken to converting a portion of
their portfolios to precious metals, precious gems, art and antiques, land and
other assets…avoiding government bank safety deposit boxes as Nicholas Maduro
found out the hard way.
When he attempted to withdraw Venezuela’s gold from London’s
banks he was denied!
The Retail Apocalypse Is Heating Up in 2019. Here Are the Major
Stores Currently on Deathwatch (Thomas R.)
Below are seven big retailers closing stores left and right in
2019. Some are restructuring debt and refiguring business models to fight to
stay alive in today’s fast-moving ultra-competitive retail world, where every
store must offer a compelling alternative to Amazon in order to win over
shoppers. Other retailers have already lost the battle, are hosting liquidation
sales right now, and will soon disappear entirely — like Toys “R” Us and
Bon-Ton before them.
The Benjamin Franklin-faced currency has been the largest U.S.
bill since the $500, $1,000 and $5,000 were axed in 1969, but it’s not very
popular for day-to-day transactions. The average American carries about $60 in
cash, according to a 2017 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. A
December study from Pew Research Center found that about 30 percent of
Americans use no cash at all on a weekly basis, suggesting that, in the digital
age, cash is going out of style altogether.
"It has nothing to do with the U.S. economy and nothing to do
with interest rates," said Colas. "There's certainly enough evidence
to say it is an enabler of corruption, but it is also a way for people to keep
assets outside of the financial system albeit in a kind of bulky way."
Here’s my idea for a new bill
Politics produces
nothing; it’s all about who decides who gets what at whose expense.
Since term limits never
seems to gain any traction perhaps we should entertain the idea of zero pay for
elected officials after their third term in office…give them their office,
expenses, health insurance while in office and a living allowance only=much
like our Founding Fathers and see how many decide to remain in office.
Here are some other ideas I have…
Perhaps we need to resurrect a new version of ‘war’ bonds, perhaps
calling them “government bailout bonds” to help pay off our national debt
and/or to help pay for our massive deficits and proposed new spending projects
since fewer foreign nations are buying our debt!
An idea I've suggested before: Eliminate ALL city/state & Federal
taxes on the 1st $25K of income for all people. 41% of citizens pay no Federal
tax, many city/state taxes are killers for many. Tax laws that encourage more
US manufacturing/jobs & elimination of red tape would help too.
Institute for Local Self Reliance
Best Free Personal Finance Software
Should You Move Abroad for Health Care? Health
care in a lot of places around the world is very good, as good as in the United
States,” and some places, it is better
We Traded Our Home for a $50,000 RV in Retirement — and We've
Never Been Happier: Living on the road isn’t everyone’s
dream, but for a surprising number of Americans, it has become an idyllic,
affordable way to cruise into their golden years. Money
Additional Resources
Most people
have become so dependent on technology that they’re not even a little prepared
for a true survival situation, let alone attempting to survive it without any
traditional survival gear.
In a
situation such as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or economic collapse
where you are stranded away from your home and without any gear, you will have
to find simple, everyday items and figure out how you can use them to survive.
For example,
can you get a fire going without a lighter? Would you know what to do if you
got a flat tire? Or if someone a deep cut and you don’t have any first aid
supplies? If not, then you should find the hacks in this article very useful...
There are many reasons to grow a garden indoors, the main one
usually being space (if you live in the city or don't have a large enough
yard). Even if you live in the country and already have a garden, there are
many benefits to starting one indoors:
- Produces year-round
- Hidden from prying eyes
- Additional food
- Easily accessible in your house
An indoor garden is not expensive to maintain, but you may need to
make a small investment if you are just starting out. Here are the basic
supplies you'll need to get started:
Soil. You want to buy the
best, nutrient rich soil if you don't have your own. To make your soil richer
and your plants healthier, mix a bit of oyster shell/sand mix into your soil.
Oyster shells provide the soil with lime and sand makes it lighter.
Containers. There
are many choices of containers out there: from metal, to plastic, to clay. They
come in all shapes and sizes. If you are gardening on a shoestring, you can use
whatever you have on hand. For example, cottage cheese or sour cream containers
work well for some of the small plants, like chives, lettuce or parsley. Long,
narrow planters work great for herb gardens because they fit well on a
windowsill and allow you to have your entire herb garden in one place.
Seeds. The
sprouting capacity of seeds is reduced dramatically as they age, so get fresh,
non-GMO heirloom seeds to start your garden (you can start saving and using
your own after your first set of plants matures). Not every plant will produce
indoors (some of them need to be pollinated), so do your homework before
stocking up on seeds that won't do you any good.
Grow lights. If
you don't have a sunny spot for your garden, you will need to buy grow lights.
They provide the sunlight that your garden needs to grow.
Plant food. Buy
some regular fertilizer (the type you would use for an outdoor garden), dilute
it, and use the solution weekly on your indoor plants.
Trays. Consider
buying seed trays to use for sprouting seeds. If you plan on eating sprouts,
they are especially convenient since you can fit a ton of seeds in one tray.
When you have all of your supplies on hand, designate space or
spaces for your garden and get to work. Make
sure that your plants get lots of light, plenty of water and fertilizer. In a
crisis situation, a guy who gets crops year-round in his basement has a clear
advantage over the frantic scavenger.
Bruce ‘the Poor Man!’
Final Notes…
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.
Over the weekend I conducted another
experiment by displaying emergency preparedness equipment & supplies at a
local flea market to see if they’d sell.
I always find it amusing when TV news show flocks of people stripping
supermarket shelves bare of essential items bare because few ever think ahead
to have anything on hand for emergencies.
My books,
knives & some gear sold out…radios and emergency 72-hour food packs didn’t
sell. Overall I was pleased and may do
this again. Of course, my readers can
still find these items at my storefront [but due to postal/UPS fee hikes], I
may pull the food stock off soon as these spikes continue to hurt small
sellers…
Finally,
grab a wind-up-solar- battery radio weather radio!
In stock now!
Additional
Resources
Rosefield is a classic traditional cabin, which can be
built for less than $6,000. The
cabin is open plan, which has the advantage of making it far easier, cheaper
and quicker to build than more intricate cabins with separate rooms. This
particular plan also includes a detailed cabin assembly diagram and
step-by-step instructions which includes a foundation guide. [282sf’]
Ultra Safe Heater
A Safe Space Heater
for Your Home
What
is the main concern about space heaters today? Safety. The Envi is not like any
other heater you will find on the market. It is safe for the entire family.
With the Envi, you can rest assured that your children and pets are safe and
warm.
·
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envi is cool to the touch. It reaches only 90 degrees F on the front surface.
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The
envi has WallSens Technology. It will not heat without being mounted to the
wall.
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The
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safe temperature, the envi heater will power off.
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The
envi is wall-mounted. It cannot be knocked over, tipped over, or tripped over.
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The
envi can be left on 24/7 unattended.
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The
envi is fanless. It won't catch little fingers or hair.
With thought and
foresight, the envi was born. We have created a safe space heater that
will last for many years and keep you and your family safe.
The Envi is also a healthy space heater that is great
for those with asthma or respiratory problems.
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Social
Chaos Survival Guide: Savvy Precautions To Make You Self-Reliant
A
Smoking Frog Feature, Shallow Planet Production
4 comments:
It's all an effort to further Big Brother/1984 & control of the sheep and many will embrace their slavery.
Most people simply don't get it-they're being conditioned just like young people are being conditioned by their socialist teachers to accept Marxism...just like Hitler and Mao indoctrinated their youth early on in order to fleece their nation. It is a well known fact to take over a nation, start with the young as their minds are the easiest to re-mold & it seems have worked here. I just wonder though, how in the hell did we get so many damned socialist teachers in America when it is so obvious that even China had to adopt capitalism in order to get ahead?!
The FED has its next big meeting on the 20th of this month & a holdover of one of Obama's laws is a mandate to rid our country of the $50 & the $100 bill also-the aim of course is to further destroy privacy and cash; ultimately they want to make it a crime to use cash in America, mark my words. Of course, most don't see it coming but try taking a couple of thousand in cash out of your bank without filling out a snoopy form or try to buy gold in the state of LA using cash-you CANNOT do it anymore! Big Brother screws you & it is progressively getting worse as they invade your privacy.
Big tech [Amazon] may be our worst nightmare as I hear the Amazon dollar is coming soon but I'm unclear how it will circumvent the Treasury Dept as others have gone to jail over introducing private currencies. Also CitiBank has called for banning currency altogether also -screw those jerks, I'd never bank with those Commies] as they feel it would solve the world's central bank problems with negative interest rates-just what we need! CitiBank is a partner with the Leftist Better Than Cash Alliance, another flim flam group promoting the elimination of cash with the Gates foundation as backers, the UN and US AID and the Ford Foundation...the world is becoming an unholy alliance of assholes trying to deprive the little guy of their privacy, their rights and more.
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