DIY Air Freshener, Stretch a Food Budget and the Best Brain Pickings

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

 

"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then is not an act but a habit"
-- Aristotle

Homemade Air Freshener

 

Although reaching for that shiny Glade air freshener is an easy way to cover up odors, or scent the air in your home, most commercial scent products are full of chemicals that contribute to unhealthy indoor air and often just mask an underlying problem. As a result, I'm a big fan of natural, homemade air fresheners and good old elbow grease to keep my house smelling great.

In this Instructable, I'll go over simple ways to make sure the air in your home is as fresh, chemical-free, and naturally scent-a-licious as possible!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Air-Freshener-1/

 

 

Despite evidence which suggests a credit score has nothing to do with how one pays their insurance premiums, insurers still use this outdated nonsense to screw many of its customers…

Credit Score Falls, Insurance Cost Doubles?
My insurer recently doubled my homeowners and auto insurance premiums. When I asked why, the company told me that my credit score had dropped from 815 to 735. Is this a reason to double the price of my insurance?

 

Cleaner Tubs

I hate it when our tub isn't really clean. So once a week when I'm draining the tub, I'll leave about two inches of water in it. To the water, I add a tablespoon of dishwashing powder and swirl it around. After about ten minutes, I give the tub a wipe down and then I rinse it. It always comes out looking great!

 

DIY Power Brush Tub Cleaner

http://www.instructables.com/id/Power-Brush-Drill-Attachment/

 

 

Essentialism--The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown.   This is a must read for those who over-commit.  Quoting John Maxwell, "You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything."

 

• The Best Brain Pickings Articles of the Year (Brain Pickings):  If you are not familiar with Maria Popova or her site, Brain Pickings, this article will give you a great introduction.  You can also listen to Tim Ferriss' interview of Maria here.

 

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Last winter, I decided that I needed to stop the drafts in my home, so I walked around the outer walls of the house with a lit candle. I turned off the central heat first and was careful not to set the drapes on fire. By holding the candle close to doors and windows, I was able to get a good idea of where cold air was entering our home. I watched for the flame to dance around. Once I found the leaks, I was able to take action.

 

Be a money saving genius, be a friend & share!

7 Great Depression Era Tips To Stretch Your Food Budget

A Genius Way To Re-Use Empty Tin Cans

How To Make Super Laundry Sauce - Costs $1.76 For 128 Loads Of Laundry

How To Make Cranberry Moonshine

This Little Weed Is One Of The Most Powerful Medicines On The Planet

Save Money With This Alternative To Dryer Sheets

4 Meals That You Can Make in a Coffee Pot

                                      

Creating a basement herb garden
read more here

 Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

Help support our vices … Valentine’s Day Fast Approaches!

The odd, the risqué and retro

http://RetroGuy.net

Boo Hoo: Speculators angry over low oil prices, Citizens happy but angry over Big Government

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

"All I ask is equal freedom.
When it is denied, as it always is,
I take it anyhow."
-- H. L. Mencken

 

 

Happy Days are Here Again in 2015

 

    As I’ve written for a decade, the U.S. middle class is well on the way to being destroyed.  Nearly 40 percent of all American workers now make less than what a minimum wage worker made back in 1968 after you account for inflation.  America has lost roughly 15% of its middle class just since 2008!

For years I had made it my mission to provide this information along with survival tools people need.  Yet, the onslaught of the Washington-Wall Street Cartel against the American worker has only increased and SADLY, few seem to care!

 

News Flash: Confirming the 2014 election zeitgeist, a new Gallup poll finds that Americans are fed up with ever-encroaching, corrupt and incompetent government, as represented by ObamaCare and other federal policies.

For the first time since Gallup has conducted polling, people say that the "biggest problem" in America is "the government." It topped all other categories, including terrorism. "2014 was the first year ever in Gallup records that dissatisfaction with government topped the list," the 80-year-old firm said. "Government includes dissatisfaction with President Obama."

And angst over government has been climbing each year since 2009, when Obama took office, breaking a long period of relative satisfaction with government.

 

The 2008 collapse was just a dress rehearsal compared to what the world is going to face this time around…

 

The American people are feeling really good right about now.  For example, Gallup’s economic confidence index has hit the highest level that we have seen since the last recession.  In addition, nearly half of all Americans believe that 2015 will be a better year than 2014 was, and only about 10 percent believe that it will be a worse year.

 

Indeed, another Gallup Poll says that Hillary Clinton and President Obama are the most admired Americans!  This simply gives more credence to what many already feel – Americans are getting dumb and dumber!

 

Each of these career politicians are simply examples of how lying in politics became the new normal.

 

Neither party has proven to be good stewards of our economy or our rights.  They’ve both become equal opportunity destroyers of the American Dream so I foresee 2015 as another year of politics as usual [meaning the taxpayer be damned].

 

Despite two decades of economic profits by corporations, the rest of the workforce isn’t doing so hot, median household income is down.  The majority of wealth during the past 30 years continues to pour into the pockets of the top 0.1% who now make more than $27 million per household versus the average income of the bottom 90% of a paltry $31,000!

 

Keep in mind that two-thirds of US corporations pay no federal taxes!  This is a 360 degree shift from how it was in the 1950s and 1960s!

 

The United States…

Once thought of as the Land of the Free, the country has now dropped to 12th place in last year’s Economic Freedom of the World Index, behind the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

Government debt levels soared to unprecedented $18 trillion this November, and nothing is being done about it, with unfunded liabilities well over $200 trillion.

As a percentage of GDP, official debt now exceeds 100%. Of course, the only reason they’re able to run such a prodigious debt is because the rest of the world buys Treasuries and uses US dollars.

So you’d think that the US government would go out of its way to treat the rest of the world with respect and dignity in gratitude for continuing to buy US debt.

2014 showed the US government taking a giant, steaming dump on the generosity of foreigners, chasing away friend and foe alike.

They were caught spying on their own allies. They extorted foreign banks (a single fine against French bank BNP Paribas totaled $9 BILLION).

They used credit rating agencies as political pawns (downgrading Russia back in April).

They destroyed their own balance sheet and that of the Federal Reserve. (The US is totally insolvent, and on a mark to market basis, the Fed is nearly insolvent).

And they passed insane regulations, then arrogantly commanded the rest of the world to comply.

Most notably, key provisions from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act were implemented in 2014.

This law should have never been passed. And they had years to undo it.

It’s amazing how many politicians got worked up about repealing Obamacare, but not a single soul gave a damn about repealing FATCA, the law which will probably be directly responsible for the US losing its status as the world’s dominant banking center.

Oh yeah, that happened too. 2014 saw the rest of the world get fed up. Developing nations led by China banded together to create their own reserve bank to compete directly with the IMF.

Congress is hell bent on destroying this country and are succeeding because so few of us are paying attention.  We have a collective ATTENTION DEFICIT SYNDROME!

 

Our antiquated tax system and other laws continue to favor Wall Street and not one person from the financial crash of 2008 has done any jail time…indeed one Standard & Poor’s manager wrote another, “Let’s hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters.”

 

Our European counterparts fare much better with increased benefits such as long term paid maternity leave, up to six weeks of paid vacation annually, free college tuition for most and a whole lot more. 

 

Our spending continues to place the nation into hock and for some damned reason, taxpayers are on the hook for an undisciplined Congress and White House.

 

 Half the country is on welfare assistance of some sort. Seventy million Americans receive some kind of federal assistance in obtaining food. The United States is one disaster from total anarchy. The disaster is likely to result from an economic collapse.

 

 

$50 a Barrel [or less] Was the Norm for Oil for Decades…and our economy prospered.  So why are Wall Street speculators whining?

 

If you’re like most Americans, then you are singing gleefully over the price you paid this week for a gallon of gas. Just a couple of years ago it was not uncommon to see a $75 price tag for filling up your car. Today, you might be driving off for half that amount.

 

One problem:  At about $54 a barrel, oil has lost 50% of its value in a few months, putting US oil workers at risk of being laid off.  [Keep in mind these jobs are among the few in America which still pay superior wages].  No sooner did America regain its dominance in the oil industry and it could actually steer us toward more economic disaster.

 

  As I reported a week ago, there are several reasons why the price of oil is falling and the Arabs are the primary factor.  They’re engineering a ‘price war’ hoping to drive US producers out of business.  Other contributing factors include the economic sanctions we’ve imposed on Russia and the decline of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.  We faced a similar set of circumstances in 2009-2009 and ultimately saw the near-collapse of our economy.

 

Government Trends-Updates

 

11 Predictions Of Economic Disaster In 2015 From Top Experts All Over The Globe

http://www.dcclothesline.com/2015/01/05/11-predictions-economic-disaster-2015-top-experts-globe/

 

 

A very bad year for the U.S. Constitution »
As 2014 draws to a close, we can look back at many instances when an out-of-control federal government wasted tons of the money it took from us, repeatedly deceived us about its activities, and time and again trampled on the rights of its citizens. In short, it's been a very bad year for the U.S. Constitution. More »

 

 

Government snoops encourage self-censorship in free countries on par with that under totalitarian regimes »
A new analysis of how government surveillance has affected writers throughout the world finds that those living in liberal democracies censor their own material at a rate on par with intellectuals in countries deemed "not free," including Russia China and Sudan. More »

 

America used to be the land of freedom and self reliance…now, in our Nanny State we’re all about eroding freedom.

 

Well perhaps the new Congress in 2015 will bring a better future, but I am certainly not holding my breath…let’s at least hope they can avoid another stupid war or send us into even more debt.

After all, Happy Days are here again!

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

Help support our vices …

The odd, the risqué and retro

http://RetroGuy.net

Private Networks for Your Community, DIY Solar Powered Cabin for $2K

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

"Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits."
-- Mark Twain

21 Things You Should Throw Away Right Now

You’ll be amazed at the number of things you’ve never thought about throwing out which now just sit about catching dust and cluttering up your home.

Everyone has a few items on this list they should throw out immediately! It costs nothing and will make a big impact on everything from space to cleanliness.

For the full post head over to buzzfeed.com here…

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/things-you-should-throw-away-right-now

How To Build A Solar Powered Off Grid Cabin for $2k

Going off the grid can seem like a daunting task but the initial cost can seem even more intimidating!

With this amazing post you’ll find out how you can easily and affordably go off the grid with your own land, solar powered cabin and everything you need in place for your comfort! This guide is a must see for everyone!

The full video and post can be seen over at offgridworld.com here…

http://www.offgridworld.com/how-to-build-a-400sqft-solar-powered-off-grid-cabin-for-2k/

 

Nextdoor is a free private social network for your community.

The Nextdoor website cut the digital red ribbon in 2012.

And, upon opening they almost instantaneously assembled a lockstep of users from 3,500 neighborhoods across 48 U.S. states.

Fast-forward two years, a representative recently told PBS NewsHour that Nextdoor has been adopted in over 40,500 communities in the U.S.

That's more than one in four communities in the U.S. An incredible figure if you think about it.

It's clearly an idea whose time has come.

Without Nextdoor, these neighbors probably wouldn't know one another. They'd just be strangers on the streets…a private social network for your neighborhood.  Learn more here:

https://nextdoor.com/

 

1,400,000 – Thanks in large part to unchecked illegal immigration, there are now 1.4 million members of criminal gangs living in our cities.

 

All kinds of good resources you can use [& share]

How To Oven Can & Preserve Dry Goods

How To Heat Your Home With 240 Recycled Aluminium Cans

How To Get Rid Of Mold Naturally - 3 Ways

How To Make Liquid Laundry Detergent For $1 A Gallon

How To Season & Recondition Cast Iron Cookware

Vehicle Emergency Kit: 17 Items Everyone Should Have In Their Car This Winter

3 Genius Two Minute Hacks To Keep Your House Warm & Cut Energy Bills

How To Do A Year's Worth Of Laundry For $10

 

 

Support our vice – visit our store!

http://RetroGuy.net

 

Yours for better living…Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

Top 5 Grinches of 2014

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace

unless he has his freedom."

     -Malcolm X

 

 

Top 5 Grinches for 2014

 

Obamacare

  We all know the “G in government stands for GOUGE the citizen and they keep proving it with underserved raises for Congress to Obamas’s bypassing Congress with Executive Orders of dubious legality [think illegal aliens and how much the taxpayer is getting screwed] but number one on the list is Obamacare premiums which have more than doubled for the majority of Americans.

 

No Tort Reform or the elimination of Workers Comp fees for businesses resulted and in MI, which has the highest auto insurance rates in the nation because of its unlimited medical liability law, they too did not reduce its premium [as the governor had promised].

 

Airlines

Despite record lows for fuel prices, no airline dropped their airfares or increased services or increased the number of routes to overcome crowding.  Bah humbug!

 

National Thrift Stores

Even after 60 Minutes aired a story about six-figure salaries for Goodwill CEOS and 28 cent an hour pay for workers with diminished capacity, both Goodwill and Salvation Army continue to jack up prices in their ‘thrift’ stores.  Goodwill should be renamed Second Hand Target because of crap they sell from retail giant Target, most of which doesn’t work and is overpriced.

Both now bypass the retail customer by putting their better items online via eBay and other outlets which increase the cost [shipping] to customers.

The Salvation Army used to get annual donations from my own foundation – NO MORE!

 

Food Corporations

Fuel prices account for much of the costs you pay at the grocer but despite very low prices at the pump, Americans are still paying high prices and getting less [downsized packaging] for their food dollar.

Consider this:  $4.20 – The price of ground beef just hit a brand new record high of $4.20 a pound!

 

 

Local & State Governments

Giving proof to the adage that no good deed goes unpunished, many citizens face higher fuel taxes or other costs because:  a) Citizens bought more fuel efficient vehicles which then cut off some of fuel tax take governments grab; b) Many governments mismanaged their pensions and other costs and now want to raise fuel taxes for road repairs.

Our combined governments consume the most fuel in the USA and our Department of Energy has long chastised state and local governments for wasted fuel due to poorly timed lights – yet, it is always the citizen who winds up paying for government incompetence and greed.

>>Also, I researched state lotteries and they are a suckers bet.  Those instant ripoff tickets have poor payout ratios and do not live up to the fine print on the back about your odds of winning.  In fact, most states that offer legalized gambling casinos mandate the casinos average a 10% payout while most state lotteries are less than 7%.

 

As we wrap up 2014, Consumer Reports says a whole bunch of companies have been naughty this year but an equal number have been nice. Here is the 2014 naughty and nice list.

 

Money Saving Tips

Recipes for
Christmas Leftovers
If you'll have Christmas dinner leftovers in your refrigerator, I'm going to give you some of my family's recipes to help use them up in the absolute most delicious ways. Now, my family generally starts requesting turkey dinner leftovers even before Thanksgiving and we love these meals so much that nobody is tired of eating them even when we make them all over again with Christmas leftovers a few weeks later! Read more.

12 Things That Will be Cheaper in 2015

Besides lower gas prices, in 2015 we can look forward to saving money on other things like international airfares, 4K-TVs, and more. Here's the full list.

Easy Window Insulation

It's that time of year again when we think about saving on heating costs. I cover my windows with small bubble wrap and it definitely makes the house a lot cozier. It cuts down on heat loss. If you have ever felt the window glass in your home on a cold day, the glass is very cold. Once you have bubble wrap on the windows and put your hand on it, it is not cold at all. The bubble wrap lets plenty of light in, adds some privacy, and resembles frosted glass.

This year, I found a 24" wide roll that was 175 feet long on Amazon for $19.31 and shipping was included in that price. I have enough left to do the windows in most of the town I live in and I will offer it to some of my friends. The 24" required very little trimming. I am thinking I may leave it up all year, as it may help with cooling cost as well. Installation is simple. I just cut it to size. I use a felt tip marker to mark the smooth side for cutting with a sharp scissors. Then I spray water on the glass and stick the smooth side to the glass.

 

When the store shelves are empty, how will you feed yourself and your family?

I'm always amazed at how many sheeple blindly believe food will magically appear on grocery store shelves day after day, from now to eternity. The magnificent retail presentation of food abundance at retail stores belies the fact that what you see on the shelf is nearly the entire inventory available at that store. Just-in-time delivery logistics means new trucks full of food and produce arrive mere hours before the shelves are restocked. There's no "depth" to the inventory -- a fact made abundantly obvious in the hours leading up to an approaching hurricane or natural disaster where store shelves are stripped bare.

When the grocery stores shelves are stripped bare, this amazing invention we're releasing in early 2015 can keep you well fed and nourished:
http://www.naturalnews.com/048071_Food_Rising_grow_systems_security.html

 

19.8 percent – This holiday season, nearly 20 percent of all American families are on food stamps.  But since the stock market is soaring, most of the rest of the country doesn’t seem to care.

 

Loads of New Resources to Use & Share

How To Make Firebricks & Wood Stove Logs For Free

 

How To Make A Wi-Fi Signal Extender

 

How To Get All The Firewood You Need To Heat Your Home Without Spending A Penny

 

10 Ways To Make Money When Trying To Live Off The Grid

 

How To Properly Clean A Cast Iron Skillet

 

 10 New Year's Resolutions to Put Some Extra Money in Your Pocket

 

How To Make Washing Soda From Baking Soda

 

9 Unique DIY Homesteading Projects You've Got To Try

 

How To Make Re-Usable Heat Packs In 10 Minutes

 

I hope your end of year celebrations are going well…

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

The odd, the risqué and retro

http://RetroGuy.net

The Not-So-Ordinary New Year's Celebrations

Poor Man Survival

Self Reliance tools for independent minded people…

www.poormansurvivor.net

 

ISSN 2161-5543

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources

 

 Tired of the ordinary New Year's Eve celebrations? 

 

Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.  May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions!

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR

About half of Americans plan to celebrate New Year's Eve at home this year, while 2 in 10 say they'll do so at a friend or family member's home. Fewer than 1 in 10 plan to celebrate at a bar, restaurant or organized event, while about a quarter don't plan to celebrate at all.

If toasting in the New Year with a glass of champagne at a large party is not really your cup of tea, get creative with your celebrations. We've gathered a handful of fresh activities you can easily turn into traditions. From water gun fighting, to jumping off of chairs, discover a new and unusual way to ring in this New Year's Eve…

 

January 1st may be the de facto beginning of the New Year in the Western hemisphere thanks to the Gregorian calendar, but some cultures believe the New Year takes place at a different time altogether.

 

The Chinese New Year is in late January or early February. Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish New Year — is in autumn, and some cultures follow the Julian lunar calendar and celebrate in mid-January.

 

Here are ways the New Year is celebrated in a few other nations…

 

In Spain, they eat 12 grapes for luck.

 

Spaniards eat a grape with each of the twelve chimes of the midnight countdown while making a wish. The tradition dates back to 1895 when some savvy vine farmers realized they had a surplus of grapes and started the tradition to get more customers.

 

In Belgium, children write New Year's letters to their parents.

 

In Belgium, New Year's Eve is called Sint Sylvester Vooranvond. Besides toasting with the customary champagne, Belgian children write New Year's letters to their parents or godparents on New Year's day.

 

In Greece, people hang an onion on their doors.

 

It's believed that hanging an onion, or "kremmida" on your door on New Year's eve as a symbol of rebirth in the coming year. The following morning, parents traditionally tap their children on the head with the kremmida to wake them up before church.

 

In Finland, people tell one another's fortunes with melted "tin."

 

A Finnish New Year tradition is called molybdomancy, which is the act of telling New Year's fortunes by melting "tin" (actually lead) in a tiny pan on the stove and then quickly throwing it into a bucket of cold water.

 

In Ireland, women put mistletoe leaves under their pillows to find husbands.

 

Single women of Ireland place sprigs of mistletoe under their pillows on New Year's night in the hope that it will bring them better luck and a future husband.

 

Also according to Irish superstition, be wary of who enters your home after the 31st — if the visitor is a tall, dark handsome man, your year will bring good fortune. If it's a red-headed woman, she will bring a lot of trouble.

 

In Germany, they eat pigs made of marzipan and watch TV.

 

The German people eat jam-filled doughnuts made with or without liquor fillings on New Year's Eve, as well as a tiny marzipan pig as a token of good luck.

 

Americans are closing out 2014 on an optimistic note, according to a new Associated Press-Times Square Alliance poll. Nearly half predict that 2015 will be a better year for them than 2014 was, while only 1 in 10 think it will be worse.

 

Welcome 2015 in with these champagne cocktails

 

Amaretto Mimosa

In a large measuring cup with pour spout, stir together 1 cup chilled OJ, ½ cup of Amaretto and a ½ cup triple sec. Pour into classes and top with champagne, garnish with a cherry or orange slice.  Serves 8

 

Champagne Cocktail

In a cocktail shaker, combine 2 Tbs. of Cointrea, 1 Tbs. of agave syrup, ice cubes, shake and then strain into flute and add champagne and ice if desired.

 

We served these at our little Arizona ranch each year and they were always a hit! 

 

I hope your end of year celebrations are going well…

Bruce ‘the Poor Man’

 

The odd, the risqué and retro

http://RetroGuy.net