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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at copper supply and prices. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: John Rubino: Gold Or Silver? o  o  o Arkadiusz Sieroń, at Gold-Eagle.com: The Fed’s Crossroads – Hawkish or Dovish? JWR’s Comments:  My appraisal is that the Fed will be pressured by the U.S. Treasury to relent on raising interest rates, most likely  …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 29, 2023

Today is the birthday of journalist and inventor Thomas Paine (1737–1809.) On this day in 1845 Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” was published. And today is the birthday of actor Tom Selleck (born 1945), best known for playing the title role of Magnum, P.I.. He is an avid shooter and quite pro-gun. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could …


Risk Management for Small Business Owners, by T.S.

I’m willing to bet that many SurvivalBlog readers own a small business of some sort. Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store, sell homemade goods at a farmer’s market, or have a “side gig” with eBay or Etsy, figuring out how to make your small business resilient (without much expense) is an excellent use of your time. I own a small and entirely online business that ships products across the USA. This is currently an additional income source. My “day job” is in IT, where I’m certified in risk management and disaster recovery planning. I’m going to present an industry-standard plan …



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 28, 2023

On this day in 1986, the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Florida, killing all seven aboard, including a schoolteacher who had been chosen as the first American civilian to travel in space. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 27, 2023

On this day in 1832, mathematician and novelist Lewis Carroll, especially remembered for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass (1871), was born in Daresbury, Cheshire, England. On January 27th, 1945 the Soviet Army liberated Auschwitz. Established in 1941 Auschwitz was a complex of three large camps and 40 smaller camps used for slave labor, unethical medical experiments, and monstrous killing grounds where prisoners were gassed and cremated. As the Soviets headed for Auschwitz, the German Gestapo began a murder spree and began destroying the facility in an attempt to hide the evidence of their crimes. …


Economics & Investing For Preppers:

Today, in lieu of my usual economics and investing news and commentary, I’d like to briefly expound a bit on my view of the collapsing real estate market in the United States. I’ll begin by mentioning something published in Investment Watchblog that I found linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: US Median Home Price Drops 12% in Six Months – Largest Drop Since 2009. Please take the time to read that article. Now take a look at an ominous figure that was neatly buried down in the ninth paragraph of an article with a cheery headline over at the …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 26, 2023

Today is the anniversary of the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum, during the 2016 Malheur Wildlife Refuge standoff. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 104 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried …


Get The Training, and Keep Training!

One thing that I’ve stressed in SurvivalBlog over the years is the importance of training. Reading and research by themselves are great, but they are no substitute for practical hands-on training. Last year, one of my personal resolutions was to get refresher training, in several areas. In December, my family attended a one-evening CPR class. And in January we all took a two-day Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course. The latter was fairly intense training with plenty of hands-on outdoor practical exercises. For me, these classes served as a reminder that most skills are perishable.  It also reminded me that some …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at Second Amendment Sanctuaries. 61% of U.S. Counties are Now Second Amendment Sanctuaries One under-reported piece of news is that as of December, 2022, 61% of …