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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at Rolex wristwatch prices. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Friday morning update:  Spot silver jumped to $40.13 per Troy ounce on Friday morning (29 August, 2025.)  It will be interesting to see if this rally continues in Asian trading, on Monday morning. o  o  o Gold (XAUUSD) and Silver Rally on …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 28, 2025

On August 28, 476, Orestes, father of Emperor Romulus Augustulus was captured and executed by Odoacer and his followers. Odoacer (coin pictured) led the revolt of Herulian, Rugian, and Scirian soldiers. This marked the end of the Western Roman Empire. Italy had its first Barbarian king. — August 28, 1833 is the anniversary of the abolishment of slavery throughout the British Empire. — On August 28, 1971, the US dollar was allowed to float against the Japanese Yen for the first time. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 120 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. …


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, life imitates art. Minneapolis: Muslim Adhan on City Loudspeakers Over at X/Twitter: What’s going on in Minneapolis? Muslim call to prayers will now be broadcast over the city …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 27, 2025

On August 27, 1859, the first successful oil well was drilled near Titusville, Pennsylvania, by Edwin Drake. — The birthday of Emory Upton (August 27, 1839 – March 15, 1881). He was a United States Army General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to successfully attack entrenched positions at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during the American Civil War, but he also excelled at artillery and cavalry assignments. His work, The Military Policy of the United States, which analyzed American military policies and practices and presented the first systematic examination of the nation’s military history, …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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. — Video: Abandoned Underground Bomb Shelter Sealed For 50 Years Under My Grandparent’s Garage! (You may want to skip forward to the 9:40 mark, for the actual opening.) JWR’s Comments: I saw and heard about a lot of similar shelters when I was growing up in Livermore, California. Many of them were around  …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 26, 2025

On August 26, 1346: The Battle of Crécy. Edward III‘s English longbows defeated Philip VI’s army south of Calais in northern France. At Crecy, cannons were used for the first time in battle. — August 26, 1946 was the official release date of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” — Today’s feature piece was too short to qualify as an entry for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the contest.  Round 120 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a …


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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, updates on the Travis Decker manhunt.  (See the Central & Eastern Washington section.) Region-Wide Scorching heat and smoky skies grip the Inland Northwest before a mid-week cool down. o  o  o Wildfire Updates: Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. Idaho “Swatting” Call: False hostage report prompts major …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 25, 2025

On August 25th, 1609, astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, including the Doge of Venice, Leonardo Donato. — August 25th,1898: 700 Greeks and 15 Englishmen were slaughtered by the Turks in Heraklion, Greece. — On August 25th, 2010: Panic caused by an escaped crocodile being smuggled aboard a domestic Filair flight led to the crash of a Czech Let L-410 Turbolet passenger aircraft near Bandundu Airport, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing all but one of the 21 passengers and crew. — Monday Morning Monsoon Update: Map shows flash flooding warning issued for eight …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Frozen Banana Smoothies is from SurvivalBlog reader St. Funogas, who writes: “My most important summertime day-to-day survival food is frozen banana smoothies. When the temperature is 95 degrees and the humidity is 110%, it takes all the fun out of working outside. These banana smoothies twice a day are a big help. A Banana smoothie can be kept to its most basic form, which is how I enjoyed them for most of my life.” Basic Recipe: 2 frozen bananas broken into 4 pieces each 1 to 2 cups of milk Blend until thick You’ll have to …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  Map showing the percentage of adults who are homeowners, by U.S. state. (A Civic Science graphic, courtesy of Reddit.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable.         — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.