Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on the possibility of a coming Euro collapse. (See the Forex section.)   Precious Metals: Gold Prices Unchanged Following Mixed Durable Goods Data   Global Economy: Japan will reach 2% inflation target and can begin reducing stimulus in five years, BOJ’s Kuroda says. JWR’s Comments: The …







A 21st Century Tangibles Investing Rationale

I often have people ask me: “Why do you stress tangibles investing, Mr. Rawles?” In my estimation, tangibles always trump intangibles. I have three primary reasons why I distrust intangibles:: First: Nearly all intangible investments are denominated in fiat currencies. Because of this there is an underlying currency inflation, revaluation, or repudiation risk. Even when buying stock in the safest, most secure and impeccably-managed company it still has some risk when the investment is denominated in Dollars. Ditto for Dollar-denominated bonds. Ditto for redeemable life insurance policies and annuities. Ditto for business investments. Ditto for money market funds. Ditto for certificates …







Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Bitcoin Market Manipulation. (See the Cryptos section.)   Precious Metals: First up, at Zero Hedge: Russia Buys 300,000 Ounces Of Gold In March – Nears 2,000 Tons In Reserves o o o Silver Short Squeeze Unable to Ignite the Gold Sector…Yet o o o Michael …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on RTIC Coolers. Books: With my prematurely aging eyes, this has become my preferred printing size: Holy Bible: KJV Large Print Thumb Index Edition: Tan o  o  o Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington   Movies: A Noble Lie: Oklahoma City 1995. Available on DVD. Also available for free download for Amazon Prime members. o o o The Chronicles of Melanie. Available on DVD. Also available for free download for Amazon Prime members.







SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the Sunshine Minting Company. Idaho (Sunshine Minting) The refined folks at Sunshine Minting (with several facilities, one of them in Coeur d’Alene) are seeing a jump in wholesale orders, because of rising silver prices. They make 1-ounce .999 silver planchets (blanks) for many other private mints and the popular U.S. Mint for the American Eagle coin minting …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There is but one step from all this sense of irresponsibility and self-separation from city government—and I believe this is the very road which is taken—to that deep pit of fallen citizenship into which men plunge who bribe their way through city government to what they want. These men commit the unpardonable sin of city life. I know of nothing in all the range of municipal reform more important than the tearing up by the roots of the infamous practices of bribery. There is no worse citizen in America than the good citizen who pays a bribe. He is as …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on private mints.   Precious Metals (Private Mints): One aspect of the thin precious metals market is often overlooked: The small number of private mints in the U.S. and Canada. There are only a handful of mints, and the volume of coins and bars that they …







Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, 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 the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on the recent Bitcoin price rally. (See the Cryptos section.) Precious Metals: Gold Down Slightly After April Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Rises To 23.2 o  o  o Silver Breaking Out; Gold Finds Higher Low Stocks: In a discussion about the likelihood of a recession, I had …