Preparedness on a Shoestring Budget (Updated)

Introductory Note: This is an update to a couple of articles that I wrote back in the early days of SurvivalBlog. — I often get e-mails from readers claiming either directly or indirectly that preparedness is “only for wealthy people.”  They believe that working-class people cannot afford to prepare. That is nonsense. By simply re-prioritizing your budget and cutting out needless expenses (such as alcohol, cigarettes, convenience foods, and subscription movie streaming services) almost anyone can set aside enough money for a year’s worth of storage food in fairly short order. It is amazing what can be done with hard …


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, a historical view of how inflation precipitates societal collapse. (See the Inflation Watch section.) Precious Metals: Société Générale sees gold prices falling to $1,550 in 2023 and recovering to $1,900 by 2024. o  o  o The Dollar, Safe Haven or Leaky Lifeboat? Economy & Finance: In Fortune: ‘These are very, very serious …




Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 20, 2022

October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in the American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the movie Hidalgo. Most SurvivalBlog readers probably know him best for his starring role in The Road. Today is also the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor. An today is the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, …


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. Nuclear War Survival Skills Updated for 2022 Edition The reference book Nuclear War Survival Skills has been updated and expanded in the 2022 Edition. It now highlights recent events in Ukraine and Russia. Uganda …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 19, 2022

October 19th is the birthday of three notables: investor Jim Rogers (pictured, born 1942), the late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski (born 1912), and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948). According to the Infogalactic Wiki: “James Beeland “Jim” Rogers, Jr. (born October 19, 1942) is an American businessman, investor and author. He is currently based in Singapore. Rogers is the Chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, Inc. He was the co-founder of the Quantum Fund and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI).” Kunstler is well known to SurvivalBlog readers as the author of the novel World Made by Hand …


Long-Term Storage of Gasoline Fuels – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Fuel Restoration Techniques These suggestions are appropriate as means of ‘last resort’ in an attempt improve a degraded fuel. Another advantage of storing Avgas is that we can blend it with other gasolines to bring up the octane level and to dilute the degraded automotive gas. Dilution is the solution. The combination of non-ethanol unleaded premium and Avgas 101LL can restore the depleted octane level of the automotive gasoline (Mogas) that has lost its octane rating over a one-year or much longer period of time. This blend can bring it back closer …


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. We are due to get our first snow, around October 23rd.  A bit earlier than usual. I trust that all our readers are ready for winter. Let it snow! — Reader C.B. sent us this: How harsh will winter be? Six organizations issue forecasts. o  o  o Imagine a 19-year-old from the Midwest starting …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The American dream is about achieving happiness. When you become a firefighter, a police officer or a teacher or a nurse, you know you’re not going to become a billionaire. And what my parents achieved working as a bartender and a maid at a hotel after arriving here with nothing, no education, no money. The first words my dad learned in English were: ‘I’m looking for a job.’ You know what my parents achieved? They owned a home in a safe and stable neighborhood. They retired with dignity and they left all four of their children better off than themselves.” …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 18, 2022

October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry (died 22 June 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar. — An update for those readers who are quitting PayPal: My GabPay account is now set up and working! The “@” address for that is “JamesWesleyRawles“, to send me Ten Cent Challenge funds (or other payments) via GabPay. Please note that GabPay is now our preferred payment method. — SurvivalBlog …


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 focus on the filming of 1923 — a Yellowstone television series prequel. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Idaho, The Place to Go: The moveBuddha 2021-2022 Idaho Migration Report. The report notes that Idaho’s population growth is slowing. o  o  o Nat wrote to mention …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 17, 2022

On this day in 1835, Texans approve a resolution to create the Texas Rangers– a corps of armed and mounted lawmen designed to “range and guard the frontier between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers”. After winning their revolutionary war with Mexico the following year, Texans decided to keep the Rangers, both to defend against Indian and Mexican raiders and to serve as the principal law enforcement authority along the sparsely populated Texan frontier. — My #1 Son (Jonathan Rawles) was recently interviewed by Mike Adams, on Brighteon: Jonathan Rawles of SurvivalRealty.com interviewed by Mike Adams about off-grid retreats, bunkers, and …