Budget Survival: The Ins and Outs, by J. Lewis

Where to Begin First, take into account how many mouths you have to feed, what resources you currently have available and what resources will be available if SHTF in your current location.  Figure out a monthly budget that includes money coming in, bills going out, and what you have left over.  This will give you an idea of where you can trim the fat. (We will cover more on this later.)  Next, take an inventory of you already have that will be useful if SHTF, such as lighters, matches, wool clothing or blankets, canned food.  If you have camping gear, …


Letter Re: Confusion on Food Grade Buckets

Mr. Rawles: I’m befuddled. My husband says that the new orange 5-gallon buckets they sell at Home Depot are the same as “food grade” buckets, because they are made of the same plastic. But my sister says they aren’t food grade. Who is right? Thanking You in Advance, – Lena in Indiana JWR Replies: This has been discussed before in SurvivalBlog, but it comes up so often that it bears repeating: As I explain in the Rawles Gets Your Ready Family Preparedness Course, determining whether or not a plastic bucket is truly food grade can be a challenge. I’ve had …


Letter Re: Recommendation for the Surviving Disaster Television Series

James, I’m writing to recommend the Surviving Disaster series. It was a simulation of real life disaster situations produced by Spike. Hosted by former Navy SEAL Cade Courtley, each episode retells situations in a worst-case scenario and what viewers can do to survive them. There have been ten episodes aired to date. The series was not picked up for a second season. Spike TV has the entire season available online. I have found this show to be quite helpful should you ever be caught in any of those situations. Enjoy, – KJP


Letter Re: Cooking & Canning Beans and Meat

Letter Re: Cooking & Canning Beans and Meat Mr. Rawles, Thank you for all of your efforts to share such useful information that can be used in our daily lives and in the times ahead!   I would like to compliment Marie H. for sharing much useful information on pressure canning beans and meat. However, there is one bit of information that scares me big time: using a tongs to remove the pressure regulating weight to decrease the pressure quickly. Even the thought of doing this sends shivers down my spine.   As a multi-generational food producer and processor, with …


Economics and Investing:

America Bails Out A Thankless World  Here is an excerpt: “Turns out the Fed had over a dozen emergency programs operating beginning in 2007-08, one of them lending close to $9 trillion to Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and other troubled institutions, often at the comical interest rate of 1%.” John R. suggested this insightful piece by David at Deepcaster: Profit-Lessons from The Ongoing Europe/USA Crises Reader Davis sent flagged this: Mounting State Debts Stoke Fears of Looming Crisis Bob G. sent this item: The Patriotic and Moral Imperative for Owning Gold and Silver Items from The Economatrix: FDIC Takes Gloves …


Inflation Watch:

I got a bit of a shock when I dropped by my local coin shop, planning to buy some pre-1965 non-numismatic (“junk”) U.S. silver coins for Christmas gifts for Rawles family members. Their asking prices was 21.1 times face value! I was also surprised to see a few minty-looking 1964 proof quarters mixed in with the dealer’s tray of junk silver coins. He said that the spot price of bullion silver has galloped up so quickly that it has completely overshadowed any numismatic value for the 1964 proof Washington quarters. These are strange and exciting times for the coin bourse! …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Is there a SurvivalBlog reader who lives offshore that has some available server space? My goal is to set up both a public access mirror (or multiple mirrors) and a closed peer-to-peer set of torrent files of SurvivalBlog, to keep as a “worst case” situation back-up. These back-up files will be automatically be updated daily. Please e-mail me if you have some server space available in a country that is not reflexively obedient to the U.S. government. (Preferably somewhere like Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Andorra, Sealand, or Tonga.) Alternatively, is there a scripting guru out there that can create a script …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Anyone that has ever considered using lesser-known caves beneath public land (or private land–by ownership or permission) as fallout shelters might find this article of interest. The many challenges and special safety considerations have been previously discussed in a previous SurvivalBlog letter and in follow-up letters. The prizes for this round of the writing contest will include: First Prize: A.) 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 …


Surviving in Caves, by Caver X.

I got hooked on spelunking in the early 1990s in Tennessee. It was an adventure that would last for about 5 years and take me in several different caves including one that I went in between 35 to 40 times. There are basics to know when planning a cave trip and you need to have a good plan up front before starting out on your journey. I can’t say that I had them all right when I first started but I think my guardian angel kept me safe. Leave an Itinerary Make sure to get plenty of sleep the night …


The Big Picture – Making a Life Changing Move, by A.L.

I am trying to picture my intended audience on a typical weekday, sitting down at your computer for a brief respite or perhaps you are working at your desk all day and are checking SurvivalBlog for your daily reality moorings. First about myself: With my family I recently relocated to a state “west of the Mississippi River with multiple right-angle borders” where I am very fortunate to have found a job at all. I thank God that I am making a living–which is 1/5th of the wage of my previous job back east, where I worked for a well-known corporation. …


Two Letters Re: Feed Corn for Family Food Storage?

James Wesley, I’d like to add my experiences regarding locally grown feed stock corn. One of the big motivators to buy local is cost savings. Shipping grain to add to food storage is expensive. I discovered the thousands of acres of locally grown feed corn may or may not be safe for human consumption. As you note there are higher levels of bacteria in this corn and the corn is not necessarily handled in a food grade manner. The local big name co-op will not recommend eating the feed stock corn they sell. While not as critical, yellow dent corn …


Four Letters Re: Cooking Beans and Canning Meat

Jim: Marie H. wrote a great article, however, it is imperative to remember that elevation plays a huge part in canning whether pressure canning or boiling water bath canning. So, if anyone above 1,000 feet above sea level elevation is canning beans, meat of vegetables that require pressure canning – using just Marie’s advice could be toxic. Improper canning whether in amount of pressure and/or time cooked could cause Botulism – a very deadly toxin. It is very important to follow the directions in a good canning book, preferably the Ball Book of Home Preserving, as the pressure for higher …


Economics and Investing:

Sue C. sent an article that illustrates the depth of the European sovereign debt crisis: A Day of Reckoning Failed bond auctions: Germany struggles to sell five year debt; Portugal stung Also from Sue: Deficit Commission Report Fails to Advance to Congress Items from The Economatrix: Consumer Price Inflation: The Wolf at the Door   Mug’s Game (The Mogambo Guru)   Could WikiLeaks Revealing Major Bank Secrets Crash The Global Economy?   Fed Survey:  Economic Growth Picks Up In Most Of U.S.   Economy Appears Headed For Strong Finish In 2010  


Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael Ruppert‘s interview documentary “Collapse“ (2009) just became available via “Watch Instantly” online streaming on Netflix. Despite some coarse language, I highly recommend it.    o o o The producer of the excellent DVD Food Production Systems for a Backyard or Small Farm are offering a 10% discount for SurvivalBlog readers  This is the most comprehensive DVD tutorial on home food production available showing you how much water you need, how mach land, highest efficiency gardening systems, home butchering and small livestock, orchards, and other topics.     o o o AT&T goes after copper wire thieves. (A hat tip to …