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 the strong demand for RVs. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Thai central bank leads pack, buying 90 tonnes of gold over April and May. o  o  o Gold & Basel III’s Trillion-Dollar Question. Economy & Finance: Reader H.L. sent us this: David Stockman on the Fed’s Socialist …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 8, 2021

Today marks the birth of actor Kevin Bacon (born 1958.) Preppers usually associate him with the campy movie Tremors. — The second batch of waterproof SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks is now available, and going fast. The first batch of 1,000 sold out quickly, so order soon. There are now less than 45 remaining from this batch of 250! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 95 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 …


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, we look at Polaris Solutions camouflage suits, from Israel. Camouflage: The IDF’s New Elven Cloaks Karen B. sent this article: Rocking the camo! New tech that makes soldiers virtually ‘invisible’ both to the …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 7, 2021

July 7th, 1907 was the birthday of science fiction novelist Robert A. Heinlein. He passed away on May 8, 1988, at age 80. — The second batch of waterproof SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks is now available!  The first batch of 1,000 sold out quickly, so order soon. There are now less than 115 remaining from this batch of 250 sticks! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 95 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 …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Reader S.B. sent this: Forget cicadas. Drought-stricken West is getting plagued by voracious grasshoppers. o  o  o St. Funogas had this reply to a query from another reader: “Monica sent this query: “I’d like to ask St. Funogas this question: I have more than 500 new in box canning lids that were bought about 20 to 30 years ago…….stored …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 6, 2021

July 6th is the anniversary of the 1994 Storm King Mountain wildfire that took the lives of 14 firefighters. Weather changes, resulting in 45 mph wind gusts, caused a modest wildfire to erupt into a blazing inferno, which threatened homes in and around the town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Firefighters from around the country were called to assist in fighting this wildfire. We will never forget the young men and women who lost their lives battling this fire: Prineville (Oregon) Hotshots: Kathi Beck, Tamera Bickett, Scott Blecha, Levi Brinkley, Douglas Dunbar, Terri Hagen, Bonnie Holtby, Rob Johnson, Jon Kelso Missoula …


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, a special edition, profiling trailer manufacturers in the American Redoubt. Idaho Double R Trailers of Nampa produces a wide range of custom-made utility enclosed trailers, toy haulers, and concession trailers. o  o  o Fox Trailers in Post Falls makes high-quality flatbed utility trailers. o  o  …




Ruger LCP MAX .380 ACP, by Pat Cascio

About 12 years ago, everyone jumped on the micro .380 ACP super-concealable pistol. Ruger was a bit late to the game when they came out with teh LCP, one of the smallest little .380s on the market. It followed by the LCP II – you can do your research on them to see the difference between them, but the LCP was striker-fired. In contrast, the LCP II is hammer-fired and had a more comfortable grip, making it a huge improvement. All in all, the LCP II was easier to fire, more comfortable to fire, and more accurate. Ruger has just …


Recipe of the Week: Scalloped Cabbage With Cheese

The following recipe for Scalloped Cabbage With Cheese is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book is one of the many bonus items included in the latest edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. The small second production run of this 15th Anniversary Edition (2005-2020) USB stick is now available for ordering. Once those 250 sticks run out, there will be no more of the 15th Anniversary Edition sold. Ingredients 1 small head cabbage …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

In place of my usual Monday Economics & Investing fare, I’m re-posting some information that dates back to the early days of SurvivalBlog: October of 2005.  I thought that updating and reposting this post would be particularly apropos, since I recently switched to pricing my Elk Creek Company inventory to Pre-1965 silver coin terms. On Gold, Silver, and Barter I am often asked in e-mails about gold and silver coins and their value, both in the present day and their eventual worth (post-TEOTWAWKI) for barter purposes. The basic unit of measure for most of us that are in preparedness circles …