Category: Contest

Guerrillas In The Midst, by J.S.H. – Part 1

In All Matters Of Survival, Go Guerrilla A time existed when the methods the Guerrilla warrior uses were looked down upon. Accusations of dishonorable and cowardice behavior would be spat upon those who employed what might be called shadow tactics. Here’s the truth (as has become more and more apparent among the military). All is fair in war. The only dishonor is to yourself and/or your family or group, and it only exists when you have failed to do everything in your power to effect survival. The real cowards lay dead for all to see, because their pride wouldn’t let …


A Strategy For Profitable Investing, by JEH, CPA

I am writing this letter in response to the question posed in “Letter Re: Surviving Financial SHTF and Becoming Debt Free, by K.D”. I am a CPA who thought about investing the day I got my first job. I am not a licensed investment representative, so as a result I will not tell you what to specifically invest in. However, I want to teach you how to look at the market. The first tax season I worked, I noticed that people poured money into what was “hot” at the time, and they took a loss when the market went south. …


The Accidental Prepper, by J.C.

This isn’t as much of a “how to” as it is a “how I have done it” in the spirit of sharing my “experience, strength, and hope” instead of giving advice or instruction. I am a little over two years into my own serious preparations as well as recovery from my own personal TEOTWAWKI. Prior to August 12, 2012, I had been sort of a hobbyist or dabbler but mostly a self-absorbed guy. I was working 55 miles from home in my chosen career, which I will acknowledge will never be worth more than about 45K a year. My wife …


The Value of Human Relationships in a Grid-Down or Survival Event, by J.C.

There is an often-overlooked type of disaster preparation, which everyone can make a regular part of their lives, that has the following characteristics: It costs nothing, except time. It can reap benefits every week, year in and year out. It comes in really handy in a grid-down or other scarce-resource event, and it helps the prepper out in unexpected ways and pays dividends when you least expect it. I am talking about human capital– the network of relationships we form in our community with those public servants and elected officials that may, in the future, have interactions with us during …


Four Exercises To Stay In Shape While Holed Up, by Zac T.

As a brief introduction about me, aside from being an MPH student, I am an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. When I am not correcting peoples’ form and working in cardiac rehab, I spend my spare time backpacking, lifting weights, and reading economics books. Let’s say that you were a prepper. I say “were” because, for the point of this article, The Big Event has already happened, and now you’re not so much prepping as you are surviving. You stockpiled food, medicine, water, and ammunition. You read all the books. You built a secret retreat. Now there’s not much for …


I’ve Discovered I’m A Prepper, by H.H.

How did I get here? About a year ago, I was covered up with apples from my one, lonely apple tree in my back yard. (I have since planted another.) I ate some, gave some away, canned a lot of apple butter, but I still had about a bushel basket of apples left. Not wanting to waste them, I did an Internet search for ways to can the remaining apples and found some great information. I ended up canning applesauce and apple pie filling, too. This Internet search for ways to can apples led me to many prepper and survivalist …


The Costs of Survival, by F.R.

For many, the costs involved in preparing for any kind of emergency, whether man made or natural, is too high for most people to afford. It can be expensive to accumulate the things that would be necessary to give us some options in an emergency situation. I have always been cost conscious and have striven to get the most for my money, so this struggle is not new to me. Even if we had lots of money, it is still wise to try and get the most bang for our buck. When I first started preparing, I made some purchases …


Preparing Game Meat For The Table, by Kestrel

As a hunter I’ve often heard the question, “Doesn’t ____ meat taste gamey?” I get this question from people who have never eaten game meat or from those who have eaten improperly-prepared game. The word “gamey”, to me, speaks of meat with a rotten flavor. I’ve had spoiled meat before, and it does indeed taste “gamey”. My usual response to the above question is that wild game just has a different, often stronger, flavor than the beef that we are used to in this country, but there is no reason it shouldn’t be delicious. In this article I will give …


Surviving Financial SHTF and Becoming Debt Free, by K.D. – Part 2

Meanwhile, I made another spreadsheet. This spreadsheet listed everything we owned, and I do mean everything. Well, it included everything except our house. We were underwater and basically renting anyway. Since we were at war with the banks, everything was in the fight, including all of our preps, everything. After all, this was our SHTF situation to deal with. We prioritized our “stuff ” from 1-5. An item identified with a one was among the most useful to our survival, and those things that were least useful were given a five. We then began selling the items listed as fives …


Surviving Financial SHTF and Becoming Debt Free, by K.D. – Part 1

We recently experienced our own financial SHTF situation. Well, that’s true, if you could call six years “recent”. Before I get into our situation, I think a little history would be appropriate. The wife and I had started prepping together in 2002. We actually were taking baby steps prior to that but when the economy trashed we went all in. I thought that was it. There was no way we, as a nation, could just print money and keep the ship afloat. Early in 2009, I realized we may actually have a bit more time. If every civilized country in …


Seven Survival Tips for the Modern Feminist, by J.

1

Hello, my name is J, and I’m a recovering feminist. Sure, that may sound like a joke, but I am being completely honest and forthright when making that statement. In this article, I will explain my background and rational for this topic of choice as well as clearly spell out seven survival tips for the die-hard feminist. These tips can be put into action right now. It is my hope that at least one die-hard feminist will read this article and consider prudently preparing for the unexpected now. You may ask yourself, what the heck does feminism have to do …


Making Your Own (An Ebola Unafraid Followup), by ShepherdFarmerGeek – Part 2

This is the continuation of a list of supplements that you can make yourself to help in dealing with Ebola or any dangerous virus. Disclaimer: There are many foods and supplements with antiviral properties; some of them are common (garlic), while some of them are exotic (star anise). What I’ve tried to do with the recommendations below is focus on the most common and highly recommended. Nobody knows what will work against Ebola, so try your own favorites, to see what you can tolerate when ill. None of this is “medical advice” for purposes of federal obfuscation and interference. Consult …


Prepping from a Wheelchair, by The Petite Prepper

Howdy, friends. I am a 57-year-old, pint-sized, handicapped, widowed prepper. My awakening happened in 2011, when Congress voted yet again to raise the debt ceiling. I had desperately hoped that our elected leaders would do the right thing and get our government spending under control. When they didn’t, it dawned on me that they probably never would (was I right?) and that our nation was on a collision course with disaster. I started asking God to show me how to get off this runaway train before it goes over the cliff. Well, friends, there is no getting off. Not only …


“Yuppie” Turns Prepper, by J.T.

My conversion to become a “born again&rdqu o; prepper started in the summer of 2011, when I was settling down to bed and surfing the net with my iPad. Performing some calculations on the national debt, as a Certified Public Accountant, I understood one thing– all the money in the world from every country wouldn’t or couldn’t be enough to even make a dent in its reduction, let alone a complete pay off. At that time, I had even calculated that approximately 18% of the Gross National Product (GDP) was used to pay just the interest on the national debt… …


Average American Preparation Begins, by C.H.

I am writing this article to inform other average Americans of how I began prepping, in hopes that my suggestions will be helpful for those who are just beginning. I began prepping after watching numerous shows on the National Geographic channel in connection with current news channels. Recognizing that America is vulnerable in several aspects (i.e. our power grid, internal terrorists, and weather events), I began to visualize how unprepared my family and I were in the event of a national emergency. Now you may be saying to yourself “in the event of an emergency, our government will take care …