Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the accelerating urban exodus (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Gold stocks surge as spot price continues to rise. JWR’s Comment:  This month would be a good juncture to trade some of your physical gold for physical platinum. When I last checked, spot gold was at $1,804, while …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“American families are leaving dysfunctional cities such as New York City, Seattle and San Francisco and heading for Montana, Colorado, Maine and upstate New York in the Catskill Mountains among other safe havens. Big cities have always offered a trade-off between higher taxes and urban stress in exchange for entertainment, great restaurants, museums and intellectual buzz. Today the venues and buzz are gone, the crime rates are soaring and all that is left is the stress and taxes. So people are getting out. Changes like this are not temporary. Once people move out, they don’t return ever. Their children may …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 12, 2020

On July 12, 1865, George Washington Carver, the African-American scientist whose numerous discoveries helped to improve agriculture in the South, was born. He died on Jan. 5, 1943. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …




Tyranny Theory, by A.T.

It’s been said that left to itself, government will naturally devolve into tyranny.1 The natural tendency of government is to continue to grow and bloat ever larger, to the point that the state has almost complete control over every aspect of the individual’s life. Freedom often dies a slow death by a thousand cuts. The Founding Fathers of America understood this and did everything they could to prevent this from ever happening in the United States. As a result, The U.S. Constitution is the best government document ever written by man. However, I would like to propose a theory on …







The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 11, 2020

July 11th is the birthday of John Quincy Adams. He was born in 1767 and died in 1848. Not to be confused with his father– John Adams– the younger Adams also served as a diplomat, congressman, and as president. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A …




How to Teach Situational Awareness to Children – Part 5, by T.Y.

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article series.) Game 9: tracker Summary This will introduce your children to hunting skills through identifying animal signs in your area. Concepts Taught Animal tracking. Materials required You will need a drawing pad, pencil, and a basic book or printouts that shows detailed pictures of tracks from animals in your area. Before the Activity If you live in an area where animal tracks are easy to find, then you need no preparation. If not you will need to find an appropriate area, such as a park or forested hiking trail. How to Play …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!” So the Lord relented. “This will not happen,” the Lord said. This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 10, 2020

July 10th is the birthday of British novelist John Wyndham. (His full name was John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, but Harris shortened that to just John Wyndham for his pen name.) He we was born in 1903 and died March 11, 1969. Harris was a good friend of fellow novelist Samuel Youd (1922-2012), who wrote under several pen names, including John Christopher. Both men were famous for writing what are often called “cozy catastrophies”. Several of Wyndham’s novels and short stories have been adapted to film, with varying degrees of success. One of the best of these was a …




How to Teach Situational Awareness to Children – Part 4, by T.Y.

(Continued from Part 3.) Game 4: Bug Out! Summary Teach the concept of evacuation and what is important to bring by simulating an event where their toys must leave home. Concepts Taught Strategic evacuation. Materials required You will need a favorite character toy, a bag, and some basic supplies for the toy to have such as clothes, food, water, blanket, etc. A doll with doll items would be perfect, but you can also use a superhero action figure with some play food, or even a stuffed dog with pretend dog food and bowls. Before the Activity Choose one of your …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, I’ll describe the risk of a fourth major crisis for 2020: A banking and derivatives market collapse. (See the Derivatives section.) Precious Metals: First off, the latest from South African metals analyst Hub Moolman: Gold New All-Time Highs and Beyond o  o  o 83 Tons Of Fake Gold Bars: Gold Market Rocked …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 9, 2020

July 9, 1956 was the birthday of actor/director/producer Tom Hanks. His acting in the movie Saving Private Ryan is riveting. And July 9, 1938 was the birthday of actor Brian Dennehy. He is most often remembered for his role as the alien leader in Coccoon and as Sheriff Teasel in Rambo: First Blood, but he was also in the cast of in many other movies and in hundreds of television show episodes. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 89 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift …