Negotiating, by KMD

Negotiating is a useful skill in all aspects of life. Negotiating effectively in a SHTF scenario may be the difference between life and death. Whether haggling over the price of your next vehicle, home-repair service, that last box of shells, or something even more important, you want to make sure you walk away from the exchange, and walk away satisfied with the outcome. Below I present some tips to help in this regard. General Discussion As with all serious endeavours, careful planning and preparation prior to the affair, can pay healthy dividends. Actively negotiating is typically an exciting, stressful experience. …


Letter Re: Starting a Garden After TEOTWAWKI

Hugh and Jim, Thanks for posting this article. In my experience you can add to the rule of three here: Plant threeof everything that you want to eat– one that won’t grow, one for the critters to steal, and the last one for you to eat. – K.B. o o o HJL, I enjoyed reading the series on starting a garden post event. I’d like to point out that it’s not just a garden post collapse but any agricultural effort. I’ve raised chickens off and on for my entire life. When I was three years old we lived in the …


Economics and Investing:

We’ve Crossed The Tipping Point; Most Americans Now Receive Government Benefits – G.G. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Since 1990, Real Rents Are Up 15% While Median Incomes Are Unchanged NIRP Strikes: Spain To Create Tax On Bank Deposits 18 Signs That The Global Economic Crisis Is Accelerating As We Enter The Last Half Of 2014 How Few Wall Street-Backed Firms Manipulated The Entire US Housing Market


Odds ‘n Sods:

Expropriation Is Back – Is Christine Lagarde The Most Dangerous Woman In The World?. – J.W. o o o Fear and Rumors Hinder Containment of Ebola Outbreak. – G.P. o o o Are We Reading One of the Declaration of Independence’s Most Iconic Lines Wrong? – P.H. o o o Around Half the States in the Country are Now Experiencing Drought. – H.L. o o o The Military Is Already Using Facebook to Track Your Mood – JBG Considering that this is how the middle east revolutions started, it has huge implications here. Not just in the government tracking what …



Notes for Friday – July 04, 2014

Todd Savage (one of of our loyal advertisers and proprietor of Survival Retreat Consulting) has announced a new website where he is advertising retreat properties from both agents and individual property owners, in cooperation with famed relocation expert Joel Skousen. Check it out at StrategicRelocation.com. o o o Gun Mag Warehouse is offering a 30 Pack DPMS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec Magazines with Magpul Followers for $249.00 plus shipping to SurvivalBlog readers. Use the coupon code “SRBLOG30”.


June In Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and silver and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. Precious Metals Market Drivers in June Gold started the month under $1,250 an ounce, and climbed over $70 to above $1,320 by the end of the month. Silver gained steadily throughout June, from under $19 an ounce to over $21. Platinum and palladium saw peaks and valleys, due to the on-again, off-again labor negotiations in South Africa that had …


Letter Re: Harvest Right Freeze Dryer

Dear Mr. Latimer, Thank you for your in-depth review of the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. You mentioned in Part 3, Operation, Section 6 “Working with Trays”, first sentence that you “used both the aluminum trays and the stainless steel ones”. I checked the Harvest Right website and found no stainless trays available for purchase and I have only the aluminum trays. My question is: Where did you get the Stainless Steel Trays? I have the Harvest Right unit prior to your review and would like to purchase the stainless tray for my unit as well. I don’t like aluminum for …


Economics and Investing:

These Are The 5 Countries Most Plagued by Oil Theft o o o The BRICs Are Morphing Into An Anti-Dollar Alliance – J.W. o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Gold Posts Longest Rally Since 2011, Defying Goldman View Auto Sales Close To Hitting The Brakes World Bank ‘Now Is The Time To Prepare For Next Crisis’ Starting Today Interest On New Student Loans Rises By 20%


Odds ‘n Sods:

South St. Paul Beef Plant Temporarily Closing, 300 Jobs Affected – E.B. It’s not just the 300 workers who will be affected either. It doesn’t take much to make the leap from “shortage of cattle” to “higher prices” at the market. o o o Uncomfortable Independence Day Questions – T.P. o o o How Fast Food Providers Beat Inflation – Add Wood Pulp To Burgers – RBS o o o The Facebook Manipulation Study’s Mysterious Connection to the Military – G.P. o o o IRS policy that targeted political groups also aimed at open source projects – At the same …


Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“It took about 150 years, starting with a Bill of Rights that reserved to the states and the people all powers not explicitly delegated to the federal government, to produce a Supreme Court willing to rule that growing corn to feed to your own hogs is interstate commerce and can therefore be regulated by Congress.” – David Friedman


Notes for Thursday – July 03, 2014

Today we present another entry for Round 53 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value), A $300 gift …


So You Think Starting a Garden Will Be Easy After TEOTWAWKI, by Dr. Prepper – Part 3

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the preparation of a survival garden where grass used to be, amending the existing soil with compost, and the creation of rows or raised beds. In Part 2, I discussed the construction of an eight foot tall fence and gate with the intent of keeping out varmints. Specifically, and perhaps strangely to some readers, no mention has been made yet as to WHAT should be planted in the garden or how much and why. This is because many who are not familiar with subsistence gardening may be surprised at the true facts …


Letter Re: Confiscation of Stored Foods

Hi Hugh, I really enjoy the blog. There is a lot of good info. You mentioned about losing weight during TSHTF along with everyone else. I and others in my group have bought used clothing in bigger sizes than we wear now. I have worn this clothing around people who haven’t seen me in awhile. All of them commented on how much weight I had lost. Some even asked if I had been sick. In truth, I was the same size I was before. The clothes made it appear I had dropped 20-30 pounds. Perception goes a long way. I …


Economics and Investing:

Court Ruling Issues Setback To Fracking In NY – J.S. o o o Bitcoin for Oil? The Latest Threat to the Petrodollar System o o o Items from Mr. Econocobas: Why Investors Are Anxious About The Jobs Report Payrolls To Test Gold’s Resilience After Gains In Dry California, Water Fetching Record Prices Mortgage Volume Remains Stuck Despite Lower Rates