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, a look at the precious metals bull market and some conflicting predictions for the equities markets. Precious Metals: The bull market continues! Gold just hit another all-time high, in terms of US Dollars. Spot prices, as of Wednesday morning: Gold: $2,890.90  Up $32.50 Silver: $32.72  Up $0.36 Platinum: $1,000.70  Up $19.20 Palladium: $1,035.00  Up $8.80 …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 6, 2025

On February 6, 1869, Harper’s Weekly published the first drawing of “Uncle Sam”. with chin whiskers. — February 6, 1959: Texas Instruments filed for a patent for their first integrated circuit (IC), invented by Jack Kilby. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 117 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 …


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, we look at the rise of diabetes. 537 Million+ Diabetes Cases, Worldwide International Diabetes Federation: Global Diabetes Cases Are Climbing. Here is a quote: “The regions with the …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 5, 2025

On February 5, 1644, the first American livestock branding law was passed, by Connecticut. — February 5, 1953: Sweets rationing imposed in WWII ended in Britain. — Today is the birthday of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February, 1840 – 24 November, 1916). He was an American–British inventor best known as the creator of the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. Maxim held patents on numerous mechanical devices such as hair-curling irons, a mousetrap, and steam pumps. Maxim also claimed to have invented the lightbulb.  He was the father of Hiram Percy Maxim, who founded the ARRL. — The …


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. — A paper published by ScienceAdvances: Microplastics in the bloodstream can induce cerebral thrombosis by causing cell obstruction and lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities. JWR’s Comments: It was not until centuries later that one of the key contributing factors to the fall of the Roman Empire was identified as their extensive use of lead …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — February 4, 2025

On February 4, 1555, reformer and Bible translator John Roger was the first Protestant martyr (of nearly 300) under the reign of Mary I, when he was burned at the stake at Smithfield, London. Queen Mary was also known as Mary Tudor, and derisively nicknamed “Bloody Mary” by many non-Catholics. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. — On this day in 1789, George Washington became the first and only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College. This was repeated again on this same day in 1792. — February 4, 1924: Norway swept …


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, news of avalanche warnings in Idaho and Montana. Region-Wide It’s the mildest winter in 10 years, but will it stay that way? o  o  o Greater Idaho Movement: Another bill surfaces in Oregon Legislature. The article begins: “Will the Oregon Legislature gain ground this session …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 3, 2025

On February 3rd, 1947, a North American record low temperature was set at -81°F (-63°C), at Snag in the Yukon Territory. Snag is a village located on a small, dry-weather sideroad off the Alaska Highway, 16 miles east of Beaver Creek, Canada. — We are happy to announce a new writing contest prize sponsor, starting this month with Round 117: 3Vgear.com. Take a look at their great line of more than 100 outdoor and preparedness products. — As predicted, the 2025 tariff war has begun.  If you are planning to buy anything imported from Mexico, Canada, or China, then jump …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Rice Croquettes is from SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska. She writes: “These are fast, easy, and tasty way to use up leftover meat and vegetables. These croquettes can be deep-fried or pan-fried.” Ingredients 1 1/2 c cooked rice 1/2 c flour 1/3 cup shredded cheese 1 TBS melted butter or oil 2 eggs or 5 TBS powdered egg + 5 TBS water Directions Combine ingredients. The texture will between a dough and a batter. If too dry, add water or oil. If too wet, add more flour. Add in some combination of the following, in the proportions …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is a map showing the percentage of military veterans, by state. The high percentage in Alaska surprised me.  (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.