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Self Sufficiency Requires Knowledge, Tools and Parts
Self Sufficiency Requires Knowledge, Tools and Parts
When most people think of self sufficiency they think of seeds, garden tools and canning jars but there is a lot more to consider. Being self sufficient also means you must build and fix things yourself to a large degree. It is easy today to take your problems to someone else and have them fix them for a fee but the day may come when you either cannot find someone to do the work or you cannot afford to pay them for the work. True self sufficiency means you must become a jack of all trades to get by with the least expense.
A few weeks ago I had a flat tire on one of the trucks. When I went to inflate it I discovered the problem was a broken valve stem. Under normal circumstances this would require a trip to the local garage. In my case, I simply removed the wheel from the truck, put it on my manual tire changer and broke the bead. Then I looked through my cabinet of small repair parts and pulled out a new valve stem. I removed the broken stem, inserted the new stem with my valve stem puller and re-inflated the tire and put it back on the truck. This all took about half an hour. A major problem was reduced to a minor inconvenience. Just this week I rebuilt the carburetor on another truck.
When something you need is broken you can either replace it or fix it. Fixing it will require knowledge and parts provided by you or someone else. If someone else does it that is going to cost you.
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How Do You Recover From An Economic Collapse?
How Do You Recover From An Economic Collapse?
Most people do not even realize that we are heading for an economic collapse of epic proportions so talking about recovery may seem like we are getting too far ahead of ourselves. What you need to understand is that what we do now, before the collapse will determine how well we are able to recover from it and how fast. When you leave on a trip you pack the appropriate clothing and make sure the car is running well and you have emergency equipment like a spare tire with you just in case. When the economy collapses if we do not have the proper emergency equipment on hand to fix the problems, we will find ourselves stranded and unable to move anywhere.
From a societal standpoint, being unable to move means we will not be able to resolve any of our problems quickly and will out of necessity begin to prey on one another to fulfill our needs. This is what will cause loss of life on a monumental scale as the crisis is drawn out over time. Having the proper emergency equipment and a plan to use it will greatly reduce the suffering that is endured by society. This does not mean there will be no pain, only that we can keep it manageable.
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Venezuela Could Be The Future of Western Civilization
Venezuela Could Be The Future of Western Civilization
If anyone wants to see where western civilization is headed they need only to look at Venezuela today. The Bolivar has gone from 6.3 per dollar to 1,000 per dollar in the past few years. Last year farmers were ordered to turn over certain crops to the government for dispersion in government owned stores. About 100 shopping malls are now having their power cut for several hours a day as power shortages become a problem. But, as one citizen said, it doesn’t really matter because there isn’t anything to buy anyway. Last year their economy dropped 10% and this year it is expected to drop another 8%. They just had 36 747 cargo aircraft deliver newly printed cash to keep up with inflation.
This is the price of socialist programs and lack of sound economic practices. With currency inflating at this rate it is impossible for anyone to save from one year to the next. With government taking farm commodities how long will farmers continue to produce crops they will not get paid for or be paid in increasingly worthless currency. With power shortages commerce cannot continue in any serious way.
Gold has begun its move upwards in reaction to failing bank policies and the realization by the public that all is not well. If you do not get resources before they are gone you will not get them or you will pay dearly for them. Empty stores and closed banks make resource acquisition difficult if not impossible and life becomes much more difficult to survive on a daily basis. Nothing can create shortages like socialist policies and global war.
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What Is Your Ultimate Default Plan?
What Is Your Ultimate Default Plan?
Most thinking people have a backup plan for disasters of some kind but do you have a final default plan if everything goes wrong? That is to say, do you have a final last ditch plan to provide the basic things you and your family need if all other plans fail.
I have written before that you should have a few thousand dollars set aside in the event things go wrong and you are forced to resort to a backup plan to insure your family has the basic things they need. This backup money would be used to create your backup system and not to continue living your normal life until all of your resources are gone leaving you no good options.
That basic plan was based around having or getting a good used camper trailer and a cheap tow vehicle you could pay cash for. Then buying a years worth of basic food items to put in it and some clothing for each member of the family. You would then want to get a basic rifle or shotgun and ammo for hunting and self defense. With this basic setup you could continue to care for your family even in the worst situation where you lose your job, savings, mortgaged home and vehicle.
Having a backup system like that would be ideal for many people but there may be many that do not have the financial means for even that these days. It has been reported that most Americans have less than $5,000 saved up for retirement and many have nothing at all. For these persons, losing the little bit that you now have would be devastating. It would mean losing all of the support structures you need to take care of your family.
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Spend A Little, Live A Lot
Spend A Little, Live A Lot
Most people want to live a life of extravagance but their meager paychecks often fall far short of reaching that happy place. As a result they are forced to borrow their way to their imagined happiness causing them great financial stress along the way. People have been sold on the idea that newer and bigger is better.
Those that have seen through this thinly veiled sham have learned that happiness can come at much cheaper prices causing less stress and more fun. There are many ways to have a good standard of living without all of the expense. Living within your means is the key and learning not to try to keep up with everyone else is important. There are many ways to live well without all of the expense and the following are just a few of the ways to make that possible.
Buy used and save- If you find something in good shape that you like and at a great savings over a newer version why not get it. It can be furniture, toys, clothes or a car. I have a truck that I bought 15 years ago for 2 grand. Since then I have put another 2 grand into repairs and maintenance. For four thousand dollars I have had a vehicle to drive for 15 years and it still runs good. Over that time many people have bought not one but two new cars at an average cost of $20,000 dollars. This means these people have had to earn $36,000 dollars ( after taxes) more than me just to have a vehicle to drive. I can think of a lot better things to spend money on than a car.
Cook instead of order- Many people like to go out for dinner and there is nothing really wrong with that. If you work hard you deserve to treat yourself from time to time but eating out a lot can really add up over time.
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Short Term Problems, Long Term Disasters
Short Term Problems, Long Term Disasters
In the coming days we will ultimately see very many problems and disasters that take many by surprise. This article is not to diminish the potential severity of these coming events but to help you realize the more important aspects of these events.
If you are on the ocean and your boat gets a hole in it, you will likely sink eventually if you cannot prevent the boat from filling with water. That event in itself may seem like a disaster at the time but when taken in context with other events taking place, how serious is that hole?
The future will provide you with many events that you must navigate and to do so you must be able to see them clearly for what they are and determine which is the most dangerous. The question soon becomes, what requires more attention, the hole in the boat, the circling shark or the tidal wave heading in your direction?
My dad once had a boat he worked in called a Mckee craft, it is like a larger version of a Boston whaler. This type of boat is built in a special way. It is fiberglass inside and outside but in between these two fiberglass layers is a layer of Styrofoam. This gives this type of boat a lot of buoyancy to the point that you can literally fill it with water until water runs over the sides and it will not completely sink. You can even cut it into pieces and the pieces will float. It is like a boat with its own built in life preserver.
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An American Civil War Means Food Riots and Starvation
An American Civil War Means Food Riots and Starvation
One of the consequences of an American civil war would be a worldwide food shortage for many years. The disruption of the agricultural sector of the American economy during a nationwide war would virtually eliminate the tons of food exported to other nations from the U.S. A large percentage of these exports are grain that keeps many third world nations stable and peaceful.
Any national chaos would disable the system of seed production that allows farmers to plant the millions of acres in the U.S. It would also disable the production and distribution of fuels and fertilizers that farmers depend on to plant, grow and harvest.
The only way the food production system would continue operating is if the government or a corporate entity seized control of the large tracts of farmland in the Midwest and continued to operate them. Given the executive orders now on the books this is always a possibility. It is also likely that if that happened, food would be used as a weapon against those areas of the country in rebellion against government rule.
Some in the U.S. would possibly continue to eek out an existence on locally grown products but the vast majority of the country and the countries that depend on the surplus grain would either have to find another source or starve. Growing any food in the U.S. under those conditions would be very difficult and very dangerous. That is the main reason individuals must have ample supplies laid in for chaos that lasts for several years.
Even if a person does not have the financial means to store several years worth of regular meals, they can store some of the basics that will allow them to get by along with any fresh produce they are able to scavenge off the land. That may sound like a very extreme case but we are likely headed for unprecedented times and nothing should be taken for granted.
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