Neo-Survivalist

If you’re looking to pick up a shotgun for self-defense and general purposes, the Mossberg 500 and the less-expensive Mossberg Maverick 88 are tough to beat for the price and reliability.  I don’t own one myself at this point, but know several people who own both and have used them reliably for years.

Over the weekend, I went to my local Wal-Mart and was pleased to see that both shotguns were available and in stock.  The prices were outstanding.  The Mossberg 500 was being sold for $217 and the Maverick 88 for $170 I believe.  What a great entry price for a first shotgun for people like myself.

I don’t think there is a better price anywhere, at least from what I’ve seen.  Some websites have good prices, but you’re still paying for shipping.  Wal-Mart’s prices will be tough to beat.

For more information on firearms, be sure to check out the firearms guide on this website.

Defense

Amazing days indeed here in the land of the free.  Years ago, if someone were to tell you that the state of Arizona is threatening the city of Los Angeles to cut off its power if L.A. boycotts Arizona’s economy due to Arizona desiring to protect its southern border, all the while the President of Mexico delivers two speeches in two days (one from the White House lawn and one to the entire Congress) bashing Arizona’s intent to enforce its laws to the approval of the United States President and to the applause of hundreds of Democrats, what would you have said?  No way?  Well, today is that day.

The President who promised to bring us together has done anything but.  In fact, most Americans would be hard pressed to find a time when Americans were more bitterly divided.  Let’s add to the mix record foreclosures, decades-high unemployment, a potential currency crisis, and the likelihood of another stock market crash rising each day.  Oh yes, let’s throw in an historic environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico that might impact economies from Louisiana to Florida.  These major issues facing this country will only cause more bitterness, finger pointing and ultimately maybe civil unrest.

What happens if and when other states (such as Texas?) decide to also pass similar legislation to Arizona’s much-talked about illegal immigration legislation?  Will Los Angeles boycott Texas too?  It seems like the United States are moving in a direction of being anything but united.

If the civil order that Americans are used to were to be broken down, it’s easy to see some of the regional groups that would form.  People are very different here in America, and it seems like the more diverse the area of the country, the more issues there are (this is not a stab at diversity, just seeing reality).

As I watch these events unfold, I can’t help but think how important it is to prepare for some level of instability.  You don’t need to be an extremist to be concerned about current events here in America.  My recommendation, be able to defend yourselves.  If you haven’t checked it out, check out the beginner’s guide to firearms on this site.  It’s a great resource.  Secondly, make sure you have some basic supplies stored in the event of some kind of supply chain disruption or general unrest.  This includes food, water, toiletries, medicine, etc.  This is a risk-free pursuit.  If you stockpile some things, there is no loss (unless something goes bad).  If nothing happens, and life continues as is, then you can just consume the goods you’ve stockpiled.  Again, no risk.

The time to act is now, while you’re still able to do so easily.  Don’t procrastinate.

America

The global debt crisis is real and is not going away.  Currently, all eyes are on the European Union, but it’s important to remember that eventually the debt issues we’re seeing in Europe will spread elsewhere and make situations like Greece seem small.

For example, California’s fiscal situation is hopeless.  California has a massive budget deficit that really has no chance of being fixed.  At the same time, CALPERS (California Public Employee Retirement System) is requesting an additional $600 million in funds to keep the fund solvent.  If you’re wondering why the pension is so underfunded, check out the incredible projections by the CALPERS folks – hint: They projected the Dow to hit 26,000 in 2009 and 28,000,000 in 2099!!  The reality is that California is I believe the 8th largest economy in the world, much larger than Greece.  Once it becomes apparent that the only way out for California is a Federal bailout, which will become apparent and will likely be granted, you’ll see even more volatility in the markets.  A Federal bailout of California will also cause gold to spike and continue its multi-year bull market.

Be assured that this debt crisis has years to play out as it has been building for decades.  The situation is Europe isn’t over.  Greece will probably end up defaulting and the Euro will probably be done away with – replaced probably with a newer and better fiat currency!  Countries like the UK and Japan are also in terrible fiscal shape.  Demographics in countries like Japan will doom their economy.  Then, of course, the United States is heading down the same path.  With our debts, when factoring in entitlements, north of $50-70 trillion, we have zero chance of paying this back unless we execute a massive devaluation of the dollar.

With all of this said, I expect major changes to the global financial system over the coming years maybe even the entire next decade.  Financial systems come and go, so I do believe we could see a complete financial reset without the so-called “end of the world as we know it”.  Just make sure enough of your assets are outside the mainstream financial system so that you’re good-to-go should the system go under.

The typical political response to this will likely be printing dollars to backstop too much debt.  This will eventually be massively inflationary.  Be sure you’re hedged against inflation.  Use dips and pullbacks to buy precious metals – physical gold & silver is the way to go.

Then, just be patient and let this thing play out.  It has a ways to go.

Economy, Financial Preparation

For an excellent look at the current issues the American economy as well as the global economy face, check out this excellent video. It’s close to an hour long, but you won’t be disappointed.  Enjoy.

America

Inflationary times can very easily lead to food shortages across the country.  It’s a fairly simple formula that we’ve seen play out throughout history.

The way I see it is this…

Too much debt leads to…

Printing money to fund government which leads to…

High inflation which leads to…

Rising consumer prices which leads to…

Price controls which lead to…

Producers shutting down or slowing production due to price controls and losing money which leads to…

Food shortages

Price controls never work.  Government cannot artificially set prices on any good without causing disruptions.  The market must always set the prices.  By government capping consumer prices, they can force producers to sell a product under the cost of producing the product.  When this happens, the producer simply stops producing.  Why produce and lose more money?  The result is empty shelves in your grocery store.

I could see this situation playing out over the next couple years if and when inflation rears its ugly head here in America.  What are you doing to prepare for it?  Do you have food supplies?  I have been stocking up on some Value Buckets from The Ready Store to get a quick and easy several month supply of food with a 20-30 year shelf life.  Insurance against food shortages.

What’s your strategy?

Food Preparation

I’m a fairly politically engaged individual here in America.  I’m familiar with the debate going on over issues like health care, immigration, etc.  More importantly, and more passionately, I’m an econ-junkie.  I read constantly on the markets, the economy and global events in relation to the global economy.  The more you read on the economy and the financial situations of the United States and many countries around the world, the more the other issues (like health care) become less significant.  The reality is that the economic and fiscal woes of America and most of the developed world are nothing short of horrific.  This consequences of these issues will be felt much more and much sooner than say health care rationing as a result of America moving towards social medicine.

The policy responses to the global recession over the last few years are completely unprecendented.  Never before have global economies performed such an economic experiment to this degree in the history of the world.  Simply put, the central banks and their printing of money in concert together around the globe has never been done to this extent.  We are definitely in uncharted waters.

It is imperative that individuals take necessary precautions to hedge against these massive risks that we are facing in the years to come.  Investing in real assets like precious metals is imperative.  Holding physical gold is not an investment, it is insurance.  Furthermore, invest in useful, necessary items like ammunition, food, water, clothing, health products, etc.  If the shelf life is long enough, you won’t lose on these items, and any gains you haev on them won’t be taxed.  It’s a win-win scenario.  For more on such a strategy, check out the Alpha Strategy.  A must read for economic preppers.

The days ahead are scary.  For me, I have a growing family, and I look at my little children and wonder if we’re crazy to try and raise a family with the world moving into the direction that it is.  I take solace in the fact that God is sovereign and that my family will be fine without the luxuries that most Americans have become accustomed to.  Furthermore, I will take necessary steps to prepare and make our family more aware and more able to withstand potential risks down the road.

America, Financial Preparation

Last week, we had some fairly large disruptions to the financial systems of America and the global economy.  With the major events of Europe surrounding the debt crisis of Greece, the ramifications were felt around the world (welcome to the global integrated economy).  The result was on Thursday a major drop in the stock markets including a one-thousand point drop in a matter of minutes on the Dow.  While the markets recovered slightly, this is hardly a sign of stability.

The event is an important one even as the media and financial “experts” downplay its significance.  The reality is that the markets are a house of cards.  In fact, the entire global economy is a house of cards.  We have seen hard evidence of this in recent years with the financial crash in 2008 and events like a 1,000 point Dow move just last week.  While these events are papered over with freshly printed currency and government bailouts, the structural issues remain underneath the surface.

As such, I’m losing faith in the “systems” that we rely on.  Specifically, I’m losing faith in the financial systems and even the stock market.  Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs announces that they did not have a single day of trading losses in the last 63 days.  Yes, 63 out of 63 profitable trading days last quarter.  Can you say, “rigged’?

If and when the system comes crashing down as many of us predict, an entire generation of Americans will be crushed.  Over the last 30+ years, Americans have become way too connected to the financial markets.  Wall St. and their partners in Washington D.C. have convinced a generation of Americans that the only way to have any sort of retirement or financial security is to be invested fully at all times in the U.S. stock market.  While Americans see their savings and funds go up and down with volatility, there is always a consistent winner: Wall St and their constant fees that are generated regardless of performance.

The dependence on the stock market is one of many dependencies that have been cemented over the recent decades.  Dependence on government, welfare, corporate America, pensions, stocks, etc. have together replaced self-reliance and self directed financial security.

If the system collapses under its own weight, the result will be ugly.  Not only will people’s savings be wiped out, but they will demand answers or demand someone’s head.  I’d hate to be a wealthy Wall St. exec at this point in time.

It’s important to take action now.  Don’t be fully invested in the stock market.  Have some of your wealth in real assets: precious metals, consumer products, other things that have real value.  I’m not saying you should abandon all paper assets, but understand the volatility (just look at last Thursday’s Dow chart).

In the meantime, if you want to stay invested in stocks to some extent, I’d say you can afford to be patient before you buy more stocks.  Wait for the next crash.  Then, deploy your funds into well-run, well-established companies that pay a nice dividend.  Think stocks like Philip Morris Int’l (PM), Wal-Mart (WMT), McDonalds (MCD).  Then continue to collect dividends, pool your cash, and wait for the next crash.  Rinse.  Repeat.

Good luck and don’t trust the markets to act like pure markets.  They are manipulated and corrupt.  Be extremely careful with any trading or investing you do, and make sure you do your own research before acting upon anything mentioned here.

America, Financial Preparation

As I discussed in my post about building a core food supply, I have purchased some Value Buckets from the Ready Store.  I recently added another staple to my supply: a bucket of white rice.

This is a great addition and probably could have been the first bucket of food that I purchased since rice is an excellent core storage item.  I believe the bucket is about 40 pounds worth of rice.  I read often that many survivalists think wheat is the best core item for a food supply but I have zero experience with wheat.  Maybe at some point, I’ll learn how to prepare and utilize a wheat supply.  For now, I can easily manage with rice.

How much rice do you have in long-term storage?  What is your target amount of rice?

Food Preparation

I’ve been watching the History Channel’s “America: The Story Of Us” mini-series.  It’s a pretty cool production, probably not the most accurate, but the acting and film work make it worth watching.  One of the things that has stuck out to me the most has been the part that discusses the first settling of America by the European settlers.  It is truly amazing the courage and adventurous spirit that it must have taken for these people to sail across the Atlantic and create a new life in a completely strange and unsettled world.  Truly amazing.

One thing that I didn’t realize was that the pilgrims that landed at Plymouth after sailing over on the Mayflower… after settling, the Mayflower went back to Europe!  They had no way to return home.  It was either they make it or die trying.  Talk about survivalism.

This nation was founded by individuals with the most rugged sense of survivalism and the most dogged determination to survive and create a new life for themselves.  How far we have come since then.  Nowadays, we live in a country where tens of millions would have no idea how to feed themselves if they couldn’t go purchase food from a store.  We also have millions that refuse to get up and work in order to support themselves; instead, they expect government welfare and assistence programs to take care of their basic needs.

The prosperity and policies of this nation have softened millions of our citizens.  In fact, it seems like the people with the best work ethic these days might be many of the illegal immigrants who work tirelessly to attempt to create a better life for themselves.  Sound familiar?  So, how can we get back to this?  How can Americans get back to sefl reliance and survivalism?

I believe the following steps would help get our country back to its roots:

1. Make people become self reliant unless they have a legitimate disability that prevents them from being able to do just about anything.  This requires ending most welfare programs.
2. Encourage the public to learn basic survival & life skills like growing food.
3. Remove the presence of government from many aspects of life.  Cut taxes and cut the size of government.

It’s time for a revival in terms of self-reliance in this country.  It’s time for America to look back to the brave individuals who first came to this country!

America

America, General Preparedness