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 how collectibles and other tangibles fare in times of inflation. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Hedge funds will remain bearish on gold price until the Fed slows its pace of tightening. o  o  o Could a Red Wave Cool Off the Retail Bullion Market? Economy & Finance: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“To me, a wilderness is where the flow of wildness is essentially uninterrupted by technology; without wilderness the world is a cage.” – David Brower  JWR’s Note: David Brower was the brother of my uncle Joseph Brower, who was much more conservative. Having a strident environmentalist liberal like Dave Brower in the family certainly made for some interesting and lively conversations at their holiday gatherings!


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 3, 2022

On November 3, 1903, Walker Evans, the American photographer best known for his portrayal of America during the Great Depression, was born. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 103 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 …


Post-TEOTWAWKI Wound Care – Part 2, by M.V.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Another type of abscess which might be encountered would be a perianal or perirectal abscess. Though hygiene can play a role it is typically caused by an infection in the perianal crypts which extends into the subcutaneous space. Pain and swelling typically occur as in all abscesses and prompt drainage is necessary. The longer that these progress; the more extensive that they become, so time is of the essence. Drainage is as previously described and your incision should be radially away from the anus as if the anus was a hub on …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— 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. Today, some updates on the nuclear war threat. Rule of Law Clinic Reports: Maintaining Continuity of Government Over at the Fordham Law School website: Rule of Law Clinic Reports Focus on Maintaining Continuity of …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 2, 2022

On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour submitted a declaration of intent to establish a Jewish homeland, known as the Balfour Declaration. While Arab hostilities and the outbreak of World War II delayed the desired outcome, the Nation of Israel was eventually re-established in 1948. — We are continuing the deeply-discounted sale on all of our shootable replica black powder revolvers at Elk Creek Company. Note that no FFL is required to order, and that cartridge conversion cylinders are available for many of these models. This sale will end on Tuesday, November 8th, so order soon! — …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — An interesting vlog from Norwegian commentator Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen (pictured): We Will Not Comply. o  o  o Over at The Organic Prepper: How Bob Griswold Used Ham Radio To Save a Man’s Life. o  o  o Our Editor-at-Large Michael Z. Williamson found a site with some great cutaway views of guns. Two examples, …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 1, 2022

November 1st is the birthday of economist Martin A. Armstrong. For many years he was a prisoner of conscience, in part because he refused to turn over his proprietary trading algorithms to Federal prosecutors. After seven years in prison without a trial, the longest Federal incarceration for contempt in American history, Armstrong was finally put on trial in a proceeding that was branded as a sham. He was convicted on securities fraud charges based upon some marginal testimony and given a five-year sentence. He was released from prison in September of 2011. Notably, Armstrong continued to write his economics newsletter …


Building a Garden Dome to Increase Food Security, by K.R.

The pandemic has interrupted supply chains worldwide. Combine this with rising fuel costs, government crackdowns on fertilizer use, and suspiciously frequent fires at food processing plants, and people start talking about reductions in our society’s ability to produce enough food. While it is helpful to be able to store food, real food security comes from being able to grow enough food on your own indefinitely– in all situations. In this climate, and with inflation heating up, my wife and I felt that the best tangible investment we could make was to increase our ability to grow food. We already have …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we examine electric vehicle charging. (See the Region-Wide section.) Region-Wide A hat tip to H.L. for sending this link: Interactive: EV Charging Stations Across the U.S. Mapped. JWR’s Comments:  Note how few and far between these stations are in much of the American Redoubt. Someone …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 31, 2022

As Christians, our family does not celebrate the pagan Halloween. Since October 31st is also Reformation Day, that is what we celebrate, here at the Rawles Ranch. — A special word of thanks to reader C.N., who kindly sent me the gift of a license plate, for my collection. It is an Idaho two digit plate, dated 1960. (My birth year.)  Thank you very much! — Today’s feature article is a review written by Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.


Recipe of the Week: Retreat Beef Stew

The following recipe for Retreat Beef Stew is from SurvivalBlog reader John M.  He says: ‘The best stew I have ever tasted or made in over 50 years of cooking.” Ingredients 3 lbs lean hamburger 4 cups of beef broth 3 cans of diced tomatoes 8 med yellow potatoes 1 diced med onion 4 med carrots 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon A1 steak sauce 6 tablespoons salt (or less, to taste) 4 tablespoons pepper 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning 3 tablespoons of yellow mustard Directions In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown …