Bruce’s
Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A
Digest of urban survival resources
ISSN 2161-5543
In
This Issue:
1.
Three men with nothing to do show how to roast
a pig
2.
Get
more free stuff by being a product tester
3.
High
bank fees push more to pre-pad debit cards
4.
Brokers
not allowed to sell gold to US citizens after July
5.
The
Fiscal Implosion is upon us unless Congress acts…
“Although we give lip service to the
notion of freedom, we know that government is no longer the servant of the
people but, at last, has become the people's master. We have stood by like
timid sheep while the wolf killed -- first the weak, then the strays, then
those on the outer edges of the flock, until at last the entire flock belonged
to the wolf."
-- Gerry Spence
Lawyer and author
-- Gerry Spence
Lawyer and author
High
bank fees driving more people to pre-paid debit cards
Prepaid
debit cards are growing in popularity, especially among those who no longer
have a bank account (about one in five & growing). Despite new fee regulation, most banks have
navigated ways around those restrictions and now have different fees which ding
your balance.
Of course, pre-paid cards have few regulations and a
maze of fees attached to their use and many are calling for new regulations
when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launches in July. Still, for many, a pre-paid card is cheaper
than a checking account and offers a convenient means of paying bills for many.
The amount of cash expected to be loaded to such cards
is expected to reach $552 billion next year.
It is the fastest growing method of paying bills. The IRS issued tax refunds on pre-paid cards
to more than 600,000 households this year.
GreenDot, the largest issuer of these cards has more than 4.3 million
cards in use.
Not all prepaid cards are bad, but fees are common.
You need to evaluate each offer to determine whether a prepaid card is right
for you. For parents who want to monitor and control their children’s spending,
while teaching their children how to responsibly handle money management,
prepaid debit cards are some of the preferred tools. Here is a link to help you evaluate the best
cards that are available:
Degunk
your BBQ grill by spraying a solution of half water and half vinegar to loosen
burnt on foods from the surface and whisk away with a steel wire brush.
PM’s
‘Betty Schocker’ Compendium of resources
Deer Defense - Each year crops
are ruined from deer. Fight back with
free strategies at this site: www.Gardening.Cornell.edu/factsheets/deerdef
Summer Jobs for Teens
Find short term positions at parks, hotels, etc. at:
Get more for your money - Pricing and information on health care, home repairs, pet care and
other services at:
Find discounts for seniors in your area
A new site offers seniors a means of finding discounts
for goods and services in their own neighborhood. Search by zip code for discounts on
everything from travel to pet services and unlike Groupon, there is no need to
purchase coupons. Go to:
Tips to save money…
Save up to 60% on gift cards from your favorite
merchants by visiting such sites as:
GiftCardGranny.com
ABCGiftCards.com
PlasticJungle.com
Don’t forget to sign up for your favorite retailer’s
newsletter or face book site to learn of upcoming sales and special
offers. Before spending your cash, do a
Google search to find coupon codes or research a site like: RetailMeNot.com or
check the grandma of all coupon sites at: Coupons.com where you can often find
deals better than your Sunday newspaper.
Clean and freshen your toilet by pouring a cup of
distilled vinegar into the bowl and let sit overnight. Scrub well and flush.
Work at home resources for women
Coupon Database, Stockpiling tips, frugal living ideas
and more…
Holiday garlic-bourbon grilling meat marinade: Blend ½ cup of bourbon, ¼ cup molasses, 1 Tbs
each oil and balsamic vinegar and two tsp. of minced garlic - apply to your
favorite steak!
Three Men With Nothing Better to do show you how to
roast a whole pig!
A few years ago we held our annual family reunion at
our farm and I roasted a whole pig using the pit method.
To build your
own underground pit to roast a pig in,
you'll need a piece of clear ground. The clearing will need to measure
approximately twenty feet by twenty feet square. In the middle of the square,
you'll need to dig a hole for the pit.
(Place the dirt you dug out of the hole nearby because you're going to need it
later when you roast the pig.) The size of the hole will depend on the size of
the pig you're going to roast. A hole that measures three feet wide, is five
feet long, and is a foot deep should fit the average-sized pig. If that's too
large or small for the pig you're going to roast, then adjust the measurements
as needed. You want the underground pit
to just fit the pig and the rocks and leaves you're going to use.
The next step in this project is to gather together plenty of dry kindling wood, firewood, and several round rocks. Ash and Birch trees make the best kindling and firewood, but other types of wood can be used as well. The rocks should be about four to five inches in diameter.
Then, line the middle of the underground pit with the kindling wood. Place several pieces of the dry firewood on top to cover the first layer. Place a thick layer of rocks on top of the firewood. Now that the three layers are in place, light the kindling wood. It will need to burn at least an hour and a half, maybe more.
As soon as the kindling starts to burn, it will ignite the dry firewood. The firewood, in turn, will heat the rocks and the underground pit. As the firewood burns down and turns to ashes, the rocks will drop to the bottom of the pit. Here are two links which provide the rest of the story on two variations of pit cooking a pig - enjoy!
The next step in this project is to gather together plenty of dry kindling wood, firewood, and several round rocks. Ash and Birch trees make the best kindling and firewood, but other types of wood can be used as well. The rocks should be about four to five inches in diameter.
Then, line the middle of the underground pit with the kindling wood. Place several pieces of the dry firewood on top to cover the first layer. Place a thick layer of rocks on top of the firewood. Now that the three layers are in place, light the kindling wood. It will need to burn at least an hour and a half, maybe more.
As soon as the kindling starts to burn, it will ignite the dry firewood. The firewood, in turn, will heat the rocks and the underground pit. As the firewood burns down and turns to ashes, the rocks will drop to the bottom of the pit. Here are two links which provide the rest of the story on two variations of pit cooking a pig - enjoy!
Got a small tear in your window or door screen? Fix it quick by coating the frayed area with
clear nail polish to keep bugs out.
Alliance:
In international politics, the union of two thieves
who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets
that they cannot separately plunder a third.
who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets
that they cannot separately plunder a third.
The
Nanny State Updates
Gold money was not private property in the 1930's, it
was an instrument of the state, and subject to the state’s disposal. That is
not the case now.“
As a result of of the Dodd-Frank Act enacted by US
Congress, a new regulation prohibiting US residents from trading over the
counter precious metals, including gold and silver, will go into effect July 15,
2011,
Spot prices are exempt from this bill and its focus is
on control and manipulation of gold/silver prices to ensure the ponzi scheme
will survive. They must control the leverage and peer into the black market to
truly assess their next steps. This talk about manipulating paper even more
than it is now affects me ZERO. I hold natural physical. I will keep buying
natures’ physical. The ponzi is falling apart, and if the 2 year rate is capped
as rumors suggest, then this action is another reason to force big players to
play by the big bankers rules in an effort to maintain price fixing going
forward. They bought themselves another few months.
— Workers at a Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in
Tennessee have opted to trade a paid Labor Day holiday for the Muslim
celebration of Eid al-Fitr.
A 5-year contract approved by members of the Retail,
Wholesale and Department Store Union at the Shelbyville, Tenn., plant last
November includes the change to accommodate Muslim workers.
"The negotiating committee made the holiday a top
priority in contract talks," the union's Alabama and Mid-South Council
Representative Randy Hadley said in a statement issued in June. "And we
were able to get management to commit to it."
The change, which does not affect the company's 118
other plants, exchanges Labor Day for the Muslim holiday that marks the end of
Ramadan. The new contract, negotiated last fall, also gives Muslim workers a
prayer room
Companies are spending, but not on payroll
Two years into the recession and firms are beefing up
their equipment and software purchases, but not payroll. Since 2009 payrolls have grown only 2% while
equipment expenditures have grown 26%…workers are getting more expensive
while equipment is getting cheaper and the trend is unlikely to reverse. According to the Commerce Dept., the
economy is producing as much as it was before the downturn; but with 7 million
few jobs. --Source: New York Times
American
consumers
are in the early stages of an unprecedented retrenchment," Roach writes in
the Financial Times.
In the 13 quarters since the beginning of 2008, inflation-adjusted annualized
growth in consumption has averaged just 0.5 percent, he says.
Economic Zombie Land!
Fiscal Implosion
There's urgency in Washington to fix a problem that's
been a long time coming: America's fast track to fiscal implosion. In The Heritage
Foundation's just-released, expanded 2011 Budget Chart Book, you can see just how bad the country's spending problem is and how
America racked up so much debt
But one need not peer into tomorrow to see the effects
that rampant government spending can have on a nation's economy. Greece is in
the midst of a continuing fiscal crisis brought about by years of irresponsible
spending—and its woes are impacting world markets among fears of the country's possible default.
Reader Comment
I have always been frugal and it has paid off for me.
But when I read that people are butchering their own animals and growing their
own crops it sounds like a third world country. Step back and look how far
we've fallen. I fear for this country. We've gone from one extreme to the next.
What everyone needs to understand is that when the middle class is gone the
country falls. Look at South America-a huge underclass, no middle class and a
few wealthy people who come to the United States for medical care and shopping.
We are headed in that direction fast.
–YeahBaby
Make a paste of equal parts of
salt and vinegar to get rid of bathtub ring - rub area with the paste, let sit
10 minutes, then rinse.
The Parting Shot - Another way to get freebies; test
products
A number of
years ago we adopted Charlie, a lead pony from the Detroit Racetrack. He was pretty emaciated when we got him but
what a friendly disposition. With lots
of attention and pasture grass along with a special diet from Purina’s Equine
Senior, he was back to his old self with a few months.
We sent photos of his progress to Purina and they
responded with six coupons for free bags of their feed (at the time, a $100
value). Folks who email reviews of
products to the manufacturer, whether good or bad, often get valuable coupons.
You can sign up to review products at such sites
as: BzzAgent.com to get free
samples. In exchange, they ask you to
share your thoughts with friends on social networking sites. Another site, StartSampling.com will
give you products and surveys for the items they send you.
If you entertain a lot, invite them to a product
demonstration and get freebies for yourself and your guests. Sign up at these sites: HouseParty.com or MyGetTogetherPage.com
- they’ll even help you plan your party.
Sample and test new products from major manufacturers
by going to such sites as:
KraftFirstTaste.com or from General Mills at:
Pssst.GeneralMills.com
Most likely, there are other product testing sites so
do an internet search for your areas of interest.
Share
our information with your friends, they’ll thank you!
Bruce
‘the Poor Man’
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