Life Favors the Prepared-Are You Ready?

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

.

Are You Doing Anything to Prepare for a Downturn?

 

You've heard all the talk about recession coming in the news lately, right?

 

Well, not too long ago, Jonathon Johnson, the Board Chairman of Overstock.com (a company with over $1.5 billion in annual revenue and 1,500 employees), gave a talk at a precious metals conference about the company's insights into where the economy is going and what they're doing about it.

 

(Spoiler Alert: The outlook is NOT good!)

 

Here are some highlights from his speech and what you can do to follow their lead on preparing for what lies ahead...

 

"We are not big fans of Wall Street and we don't trust them. We foresaw the [2008] financial crisis.  We don't trust the banks still and we foresee that with QE3, and QE4 and QE 'N' that at some point there is going to be ANOTHER significant financial crisis.

 

We expect that when there is a financial crisis there will be a banking holiday. I don't know if it will be 2 days, or 2 weeks, or 2 months."

 

What That Means For You:

 

A "banking holiday" is a Presidential Order (passed in 1933) used to completely shut down banks -- without warning -- to avoid everyone panicking, pulling their money out, and causing a complete financial apocalypse.

 

The entire banking world suddenly goes "black" and you won't be able to view your balance... withdraw or deposit money... write checks... or even access your bank's web page.

 

For how long?

 

Like Overstock Chairman said, it could be "2 days, or 2 weeks, or 2 MONTHS"!

 

So what can you do?  

 

Immediately after a collapse and a federal "banking blackout", cash is still going to be king (for a little while).

 

But if you don't have it in your wallet, you're NOT going to be able to go out and get it from your bank or ATM.

 

That's why the super-wealthy always keep a stash of cold, hard cashola at home (in a safe) for emergencies.

 

If you have a fire-proof gun safe, that will work too (NOT a bank safe deposit box!)... and you should consider moving some of your savings into primarily $1 and $5 bills (stores won't be able to make change as easily) rather than sitting in a no-interest checking account that you may never get access to once the SHTF.

 

Just stack those duckies up right next to your bricks of 9mm and get used to paying for groceries and other expenses with cash now as good practice.

 

But a word of warning here...

 

Don't go crazy building "fat stacks" in your gun safe or tucked away in your freezer, because there's something even more important (and more valuable) that this CEO said his company was planning for.

 

Here's the continuation of the Overstock Chairman's speech...

 

"We also happen to have 3 months of food supply for every employee [+ 1 additional family member] to live on during the crisis."

 

First of all, how cool is it that a corporation -- who sees the writing on the wall that our dollar is about to come crashing down -- is preparing even to FEED their 1,500 employees and their families for at least 3 months?

 

Crazy, right?  (And pretty damn smart!)

 

Overstock understands that when the economy collapses, food resupply lines will be severed and most people will be out of food within a matter of a few short days -- as little as 3.

 

Grocery stores that haven't been completely looted or sold out will skyrocket their prices and be forced to work on a "cash-only" basis.

 

In other words, the "mega-rich" aren't just buying up yachts and real-estate.

 

They're also investing in "survival food" for themselves and their employees.

 

What That Means For You:

 

The very best investment you can make right now is in long-term survival food -- which is even more valuable than cash (or silver and gold coins) in an economic crisis.

 

Not only will you be able to feed yourself and your family while others are starving, but it will be the most valuable barter tool you'll be able to use when no one else around you has a single dollar to their name.

 

But you know what ELSE the gazillionaires are doing?

 

They're building "mega bunkers"!

 

In fact, it's been reported that Bill Gates himself has an underground survival bunker in ALL of his homes.

 

He's not the only one.

 

In fact, CNN recently reported that "luxury bunkers" are BIG BUSINESS.

 

These things have everything from swimming pools to nuclear blast doors.

 

They're intended to let the richest among us ride out the collapse that they all know could be on the way -- even if it's just for a few days or weeks.

 

Bunker-building companies are reporting INSANE sales increases from the wealthy.

 

And they wouldn't be spending their money on nuclear-hardened homes instead of Ferraris and, I don't know, gold-plated toilets, if they weren't really worried about what's coming!

 

While your desperate neighbors take to the streets, looting and attacking each other for a few batteries and bottles of water...

 

...the "elites" will be sipping champagne, safe behind their impenetrable designer forts!

 

 

In any survival situation — no matter the season — the absolute most important thing you can do is stay calm.

 

This will enable you to think clearly and make rational decisions that will keep you alive. No matter how grim the outlook may be, it’s important not to panic.

 

Once you’ve had time to organize your thoughts, here are the priorities you must take into consideration in a winter survival situation.

 

Despite popular belief, your top priority in a survival situation shouldn’t be food or even water, but shelter.

 

This is especially true in the winter months, when exposure to the elements even for a few minutes can be dangerous. Before you do anything else, make sure you have adequate shelter and fire to maintain your body’s much-needed warmth. Only after you’ve done this should you concern yourself with finding food, water and other survival essentials.

 

After shelter, water is the most pressing need in a survival situation. While a person can survive a month or more without food, you can only go three days without water (remember the Survival Rule of Threes.) You should also keep in mind that drinking cold water or eating snow in winter will cause your body to burn excessive calories which your body desperately needs to stay alive. In a winter survival situation, you should always heat up water before drinking it.

 

It is important, especially in the first three days, to make every effort to try and get the attention of anyone who may be searching for you.

 

Of course, your bug out bag should be well-equipped with MRE’s and other survival food items. Even so, you should attempt to procure food from other means, such as familiarizing yourself with edible plants in the area and making traps and snares to trap animals for food.

 

Your bug out bag should already be equipped with a few basic survival tools. In addition, you should know how to make your own tools from the materials you have readily available to you.

 

 

Yours for better living,

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

 

News of Note

   Our SHTF mini-farm got blasted this past weekend with heavy winds which knocked two of our 100-year old trees down; one hit our neighbors’ home and wiped out her electric meter.  Ironically, my wife had been to ill for us to spend our normal weekend there doing chores so we missed it.

Our other neighbor came by and added his chain saw to mine and we cleared away as much as we could [everyone got extra firewood out of the deal and we hired a young man to help with the clean-up].  Fortunately, no truly serious damage occurred and it took only 24 hours to clean up the damage…it wasn’t quite up to filing an insurance claim, [which would likely raise our rates] but at least we have it for true catastrophic damage.

How many times have witnessed TV coverage of storm damage to property owners who are wiped out and have no insurance?  It happens all too often in America where folks are unprepared for the ravages of Mother Nature. 

Hell, it’s common for many not to carry life insurance for funeral expenses either…many seem to think a ‘GoFundMe’ page is their insurance program.  Many cannot even handle $500 for an emergency because they never plan ahead…thankfully, we were able to easily write a check to our neighbor for her damages.

Have you ever been caught in an extended power outage? If you have, you know that it’s not only an inconvenient experience, but a costly one as well (especially if you have a bunch of food in the freezer). Hopefully, you've followed my advice and got yourself a backup generator. If you don't have one, you'll probably pull hair trying to figure out how to cook all of that food you stored.
On an even more serious note, what if your gas and electricity were cut off for awhile due to a major disaster? How would you make a hot meal? I have a few basic survival cooking methods to share with you.

1. Grill (my favorite). To me, everything tastes better on a grill anyway, so get your food in order of its "perishability", wrap it up in tin foil and grill it to perfection. I use the grill for everything from eggs, to soup, to tea. By the way, if you haven't tried tea or coffee cooked on a grill or open fire, you are missing out - the smoky flavor is great. You'll likely be out of coals pretty quickly, so be sure to conduct regular stick gathering expeditions if you don't have firewood on hand.
The grill is also great for boiling water if your water supply has been compromised during the crisis. Hopefully you know this, but just in case... Don't bring your grill in the house! Not only is it a fire hazard, it is a toxicity hazard, since it releases smoke and toxins into the air.

2. Open fire. If you don't have a grill, make a small fire and cook over the open fire or over the hot coals. You can use the open fire to make just about everything you can make on a grill.  Make sure you don't build the fire close to the exterior walls of your house, near brush or near your car.

3. Pit cooking. A method used by various tribes all over the world, pit cooking is an easy way to make delicious hot meals without the hassle of "babysitting" them. Make a fire and burn wood until you have a bunch of nice hot coals. While the fire is burning, wrap food in tinfoil or place in a Dutch oven. Dig a hole in the dirt, place the coals on the bottom and place the food on the coals. Wait almost as long as you would wait or an oven to cook the meal and check it. Use the food thermometer when in doubt. One of my absolute favorite pit cooked meals is steak and baked potatoes. By the way, you don't even have to wrap the potatoes; just keep the skins on and bury them.

4. Solar cooking. This method uses the sunlight to cook your meal. You can buy a solar oven or make one yourself (a topic for another e-mail) by using a box, some sticks and tinfoil. In takes awhile, but in the absence of other tools, it is a foolproof and smoke-free way to cook.

 

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.

Useful Resources from our storefront-See new items!

 

You Can’t Buy Life Insurance After You’re Dead-Prepare NOW for Emergencies…

Finally, grab an emergency power cell or solar/battery radio weather radio!

Waterproof 600000mAh Dual USB Portable Solar Charger Solar Power Bank For Phone – New Product, Lower Price!

Are you looking for a lightweight backup power source that's tough enough for every day abuse and has enough storage to keep your electronics powered up?

How about a portable power source that can be re-charged directly from the sun to ensure you’re never left stranded?

 

 “The Cell is a workhorse of power — 600,000 mAh Battery/Water Resistant/2 LED Flashlight/1.5 Watt Solar Panel

Support our efforts by shopping my storefront…

http://RetroGuy.net