Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
For Independent Minded People!
ISSN 2161-5543
In
This Issue:
1. Heating with a
woodstove
2. 20 sites that
will save you money during the holidays
3.
Secrets
of a grocery store clerk
4.
10
ways to use a food dehydrator
5.
In
times of disaster, don’t rely on the state
Few things come to him who wishes; all things come to him
who works.
- unknown
- unknown
Winter has already hit some parts of
this country and others are not far behind. With that brings cold weather and
the need to heat our homes. Flipping the switch from off to heat,
however, is a daunting choice for some folks because of the expense. But with a
little investment and a lot of hard work, you can cut your heating bill from 50-100% and have a
reliable heat source during power outages. Let me show you how.
1. Heating with a Wood
Stove
We purchased our wood stove for
$700 ten years ago. Today, the same stove sells for around $1,600. That might
be a big investment for some folks, but take into account that it could pay for
itself in one season. Also, you can still purchase a used stove for under
$1,000. Before installing a woodstove, however, you will want to check with
your homeowner’s insurance agent. They will want specific information about the
stove for your policy. Our agent came to the house to take pictures for our
file to show that it was installed properly.
Wood stoves have many
advantages. With a glass front door, you have the beauty of a fire in your
living room. You also have a warm spot to go to when you get chilled. But the
best part is the cost over the long haul. In ten years of heating with wood,
we’ve only bought firewood once. Otherwise, we have been allowed to cut downed
trees from other’s property.
Even if you have to purchase
your firewood, a cord only costs around $100. All in all, I estimate we’ve
saved around $12,000 over a ten-year period by not using our electric radiant
heat.
2. Heating with a Pellet Stove
Pellet stoves burn wood pellets. According to Home Depot’s Buying Guide for Wood and Wood Pellet Stoves, “wood pellets typically come from
either mills as scrap wood, furniture manufacturers, recycling centers,
roadside scraps, nuts, sawdust logging residue or paper packaging plants.” They
are dried and pressed into shapes that resemble rabbit food.
A pellet stove looks and costs much the same as a wood-burning
stove. A 40-pound bag of pellets runs about $4 in my area and lasts about a
day. One source from western New York says they spend about $1,300 per year for
wood pellets. Even though it costs a little more than burning wood, some folks
prefer the pellet stove because it is cleaner than wood. If this interests you,
check with the stove manufacturer.
Some pellet stoves will burn other things like corn, making it
advantageous in case of a pellet shortage and cheaper for those who live in a
farming community and can buy corn from their neighbor for cheap. However,
since a pellet stove requires electricity to run the auger that feeds the
pellets and the fan that blows the warm air, you cannot rely on them during a
power outage.
3. Heating with a Coal Stove
Not as popular as the wood or wood pellet stoves, the coal stove
is still a viable option for those wanting an alternative to the typical
electric or fuel heat. You can purchase a coal-burning stove for around $1,000
that will also burn wood. And since the cost of coal is comparable to that of
the wood pellets, it is not any more costly. Like the woodstove, you can
purchase a coal stove with a cooking surface on top that makes it a life saver
in times of power outages.
Final Thoughts
Some areas of the country have outlawed burning wood and coal
due to the emissions. You will want to check with the municipality in which you
live before purchasing a stove. Also, you will want to make sure that your
stove is properly installed according to the manufacturer’s directions with the
proper clearances. If you purchase a used stove without an owner’s manual,
check with an authorized woodstove installer or your local fire marshal.
Learn more at:
Many, many idea-starters and resources
including a downloadable special report on Firms Known to Hire At-Home Workers
PM’s
Compendium of Useful Resources
Secrets of a Grocery Clerk
I have worked in the retail grocery environment for two years in two different grocery stores in different areas of the country. I am a cross-trained meat, deli, and produce clerk who also serves as a meat cutter and night closing clerk. I am also a notorious tightwad. Here are five juicy secrets of grocery shopping that I have never shared before…
I have worked in the retail grocery environment for two years in two different grocery stores in different areas of the country. I am a cross-trained meat, deli, and produce clerk who also serves as a meat cutter and night closing clerk. I am also a notorious tightwad. Here are five juicy secrets of grocery shopping that I have never shared before…
20 Websites to Help Save Money During the Holidays
The Internet provides great tools to help you save money when shopping. And now, at
peak holiday shopping time, they are more handy than ever. Also…
When you get tired of eating
Thanksgiving leftovers, use these recipes to transform your leftover turkey into something new and
exciting.
- Recipe to Use Up Buttermilk
- Use Up Heavy Cream
- Use Up Sour Cream
- Uses for Leftover Wine
- More Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes
Become
a Free-Range Human Being
Take
some advice from my British friend, Marianne Cantwell on choosing to make your
rules in the work world by visiting this short video clip regarding her new
book. She’s also featured on my site
under our BootStrapBiz tab…she’s a
real delight!
What
if you could take greenhouse gas and convert it to fuel for an energy-hungry
world? Scientists, using modern genetics, accomplished exactly this; the
researchers’ findings are just a first step toward converting carbon dioxide,
one of the most abundant emissions from fossil fuel use, into usable
hydrocarbons. Read more
·
Here are 10 ways to use a dehydrator to make long-term storable food for preparedness:
http://www.naturalnews.com/038080_dehydrator_food_storage_recipes.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/038080_dehydrator_food_storage_recipes.html
Fruits &
vegetables at the front of a supermarket display contain the most healthful benefits. USDA research shows, apples, broccoli,
carrots and the like in the front get the most exposure to light and even
fluorescent light helps maintain their stores of immunity-boosting nutrients.
The Nanny State Updates…
Manipulation of Social Media
Software is being developed for the US Military, to let
it manipulate social media sites. The plan is to use fake personas to influence
conversations and to spread propaganda favorable to the United States. As
reported in a Guardian article;
"A Californian corporation has been awarded a
contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed
operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as
an "online persona management service" that will allow one US serviceman
or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the
world."
Simply "adding" information under false
pretenses may not sound too nefarious, but Centcom will also be able to...
Continues here...
http://www.thesecretinformationsite.com/underreported-news.html
http://www.thesecretinformationsite.com/underreported-news.html
US: we initiate terrorism to create terrorists to overthrow
governments
Wesley Clark, Supreme Allied Commander NATO, testifies
in this 2-minute
video that the US planned to overthrow seven countries after 9/11:
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran. Therefore, the US
caused the “war on terror” as a policy choice; 9/11 was pretense and not
the cause. More at: http://www.examiner.com/article/us-we-initiate-terrorism-to-create-terrorists-to-overthrow-governments?CID=examiner_alerts_article
America’s
Continuing War on its own Citizens…Bureaucratic Stupidity runs amok!
Folks who went through that whole Sandy
Storm fiasco got the message. Don't depend on the state. You have to provide
for yourself in times of crisis.
A Nov. 5
headline on NBC Connecticut announced "N.Y. Man Charged in Gas Hoarding
Case" and addressed an incident from the flood zone. "According to
investigators, Yunus Latif... collected money from his neighbors, bought gas at
a Valero station almost 80 miles away... and planned to bring it back to his
neighborhood, where they had no power and gas." In short, people were taking
care of their own needs with their own money and effort -- something a free
society applauds. Instead, both Latif and the owner of the gas station were
arrested for violating regulations concerning flammable liquids. The real
reason was an authoritarian "horror" at the very whiff of hoarding. Meanwhile, the gas was reportedly returned to underground tanks.
A Nov. 7 headline on Click Orlando (Florida) stated, "College Park Man Fights to Keep Vegetable Garden in Front Yard." Why? Property owner Jason Helvingston is in violation of a city code requiring gardens to be planted in a "finished" manner that keeps up property values. The city ordered him to dig out the garden in a week.
In both stories, government refuses to allow people to use their own property to provide for their own needs. The situational dynamics differ.
A Nov. 7 headline on Click Orlando (Florida) stated, "College Park Man Fights to Keep Vegetable Garden in Front Yard." Why? Property owner Jason Helvingston is in violation of a city code requiring gardens to be planted in a "finished" manner that keeps up property values. The city ordered him to dig out the garden in a week.
In both stories, government refuses to allow people to use their own property to provide for their own needs. The situational dynamics differ.
1.
Government
regulates the minutia of people's lives and property.
2. People who use their lives and property as they see fit are denying authority to government. In some cases, they may be denying the need for government itself.
2. People who use their lives and property as they see fit are denying authority to government. In some cases, they may be denying the need for government itself.
Historically,
government has frowned upon hoarding. In an economic collapse or disaster, that
frown turns into a scowl in a flash. Anti-hoarding laws are passed or
miscreants are arrested under frivolous laws like transporting gasoline in
unapproved containers. Again, government criminalizes hoarders not merely in
order to assert its control, but also to deflect blame from the policies and
inefficiencies actually responsible for empty shelves.
Government is
watching the minutia of people's behavior down to the type and arrangement of
vegetables grown in their gardens. In a time of crisis, private stockpiles of
food known to exist will be confiscated for "the general good."
There is
ample historical precedent. Consider the Food and Fuel Control Act, which
became law in 1917. Its official name was An Act to Provide Further for the
National Security and Defense by Encouraging the Production, Conserving the
Supply, and Controlling the Distribution of Food Products and Fuel. Anyone
possessing more than a 30-day supply of food could have been arrested.
The May 30, 1918, New York Times carried the headline, "Navy Man Indicted for Food Hoarding." The man had invested his wife's inheritance in a year's worth of food that was stored in the family home. He was arrested on $3,000 bail, which was an extraordinary sum at the time. The food was confiscated.
The May 30, 1918, New York Times carried the headline, "Navy Man Indicted for Food Hoarding." The man had invested his wife's inheritance in a year's worth of food that was stored in the family home. He was arrested on $3,000 bail, which was an extraordinary sum at the time. The food was confiscated.
Hoard
quickly, which means starting right now. The full force of inflation and the
prospect of shortages are still in the future. Hoard quietly, which means not
buying too much of anything at one place. It means being discreet.
Excerpted from Should You Be
Hoarding? by Wendy
McElroy
“Until the next revolution”, the Poor Man
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