Category: Economics & Investing

Letter Re: A SurvivalBlog Reader’s Relocation to the Interior of Alaska

Dear Jim – Thank you for the note and I think its the least we can do to support such a worthy web information source. I’ve learned a great deal reading your archives and I’m doing my best to try and promote a self-sufficient lifestyle for our family. We have chosen to live in interior Alaska for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is a steady job, but not without serious consideration. We are very well aware that we’re at the end of the food chain up here and things are a bit more expensive (and can …


Letter Re: Selecting and Storing Bargain Barter Items

As Mr. Haney (Pat Buttram) from the television show Green Acres would say, “Have I got a deal for you!” In the spirit of Mr. Haney, I’ve come up with some good barter items. To make the list, the items have to be fairly light, extremely useful, practical, and cheap to buy, now! The items have to fit, and be able to be stored in six gallon plastic pails with a water proof seal. The items also must be available in large quantities now, to get the most for my money and be easily accessible now, at a low cost …


Letter Re: Pre-Paying Utility Companies in Anticipation of Worsening Banking Disruptions?

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Rawles, Thank you for your excellent blog. My husband and I are benefiting tremendously from the hard work you have put in to this valuable resource. My question: With banking integrity a growing uncertainty, would it be prudent to devote our rather limited capital to build up a credit balance with our utility providers (water, electric and natural gas) in anticipation of possible interruptions in bank transactions? We do have modest contingency back-up systems for all three supplies but as long as the grid holds up we will use the utilities. Sincerely, – Mrs. T. from …


Letter Re: Cheap is Good, But Free is Better

Mr. Rawles, I’ve noticed there have been several letters lately about getting prepped on a budget, and several people have suggested watching Craig’s List for good bargains. I’m surprised that no one has recommended Freecycle as a place to find good deals, because everything listed is free. I’m sure it’s been mentioned a few times in Survivalblog over the years, but I think it deserves as much emphasis as Craig’s List, if not more. I think there may be some misconceptions about what is found on Freecycle. There can be a lot more than just old baby clothes and blenders. …


Like Something Out of a Novel–Some Predictions for 2009-to-2019

The economic headlines in the past couple of weeks have sounded like something out of a disaster novel that I once read wrote. The international financial and equities markets are spinning out of control, with seemingly wider and wider gyrations with each passing day. Since there are so many variables, the end result is difficult to firmly predict, but one thing is clear: It will be neither easy nor pleasant. My current prediction is that the governments of the English-speaking nations and Europe will co-conspire with the banksters to concoct the most grandiose Mother of All Bailouts (MOABs) yet. This …


Replace Your FUD with Preparedness Action–a Pre-Crash “D” List

All of the recent economic news may be overwhelming to some. This has left many people virtually petrified by Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). Don’t be a proverbial “deer in the headlights.” I strongly encourage you get past your anxiety uncertainty and instead of sitting around glued to CNN, wringing your hands and saying “ain’t it awful”. Replace that angst with action. Get busy preparing. Here is my suggested Crash Countdown “D” List, for folks that are already fairly well-prepared: 1.) De-Hummelize Sell off any collectibles that are not family heirlooms. The worst offenders here are the mass produced “limited …


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Hedge Funds–A Disaster Story that Could Unfold in Quarterly Episodes

One of the consequences of the collapse of the credit bubble and the subprime lending fiasco in particular is with hedge funds. There is a substantial risk of uncontrollable instability in hedge funds that could potentially be disastrous for investors. This instability will likely be seen in waves of bad news that will come roughly once a quarter. First, let me provide a bit of background: 1.) Most hedge funds have rules that allow only quarterly redemptions (“cashing out”) by by their investors. (A few hedge funds even have only one annual redemption “window.”) Typically, the redemption requests must be …


Our Changing Times: The Advent of Rule 157 and Perhaps Rule 308

We are living in unprecedented times. The global economy is being asphyxiated for lack of credit, and we face the prospect of an economic depression that could be worse than the Great Depression of the1930s. The Advent of Rule 157 One of the contributing factors in the unfolding banking debacle was the advent of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Rule 157, that went partially into effect on November 15, 2007. This was a financial accounting rule change that yanked the bankers back from the Fantasyland games that they had been playing with Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs), Credit Default Swaps (CDSs), …


From FerFAL in Argentina: A US Crash that Will Parallel Argentina’s?

Hi James, These are hard times, indeed. The parallels between the days before our own economy [in Argentina] collapsed and what’s going on today in America today are very hard to ignore. Our local television seems to be getting some kind of sick kick out of all this. They showing the comparisons, even editing politicians and economists speeches showing how similar they were to the ones the American politicians and economists are using right now. In some cases, they even said the exact same line, the only difference being the language. About the article “Letter Re: What Are the Economic …


Letter Re: Expect Delays and Confusion During FDIC Settlements

Jim: If Michael A. in Seattle was surprised by his little run-in with the FDIC, I urge him and others to research what happened in Texas during the S&L crisis. That’s within fairly recent memory, just about 20 years ago, not like the Great Depression [which has faded from memory. And this was when the entire rest of the nation’s banking system was largely intact but the S&Ls in Texas (and a few surrounding states) caused all the fuss. Common problems included: 1. Inability to get at checking or savings accounts for months at a time. 2. Inability to get …


Letter Re: Investing in Foreign Currency CDs

James, Today the dollar posted its largest one-day decline against the euro since that currency was created. I am rebalancing my investment portfolio to account for the market’s recent gyrations – and the fact that our government is attempting to make the dollar even more worthless than it currently is. Several years ago I was in a similar mood and found EverBank, a bank that issues a number of CD products tied to foreign currencies (effectively getting your saving out of dollars into something that’s not dollar-denominated). I am not preparing for a complete meltdown or the end of civilization: …


Two Letters Re: Advice for City Folks on a Budget?

Dear Mr. Rawles, I am writing to ask for your advice and for your charity, and also because I think this subject may be of interest to many of your readers. I discovered your web site a week ago and have found it to be both very informative and also very alarming! It was major wake-up call for me. In my opinion, I am not at all prepared for the upheavals that are already underway and that lie ahead of us. I would very much like to change that situation, but it all (considered as a whole) seems so overwhelming. …


Letter Re: What Are the Economic Collapse Indicators to Watch For?

Jim, Some of us may be stuck within the city limits until ‘the last possible moment’ before an event such as WTSHTF. Can you suggest a day-to-day procedure or strategy to now follow for monitoring specific and reliable news outlets or information sources in determining when our G.O.O.D. action plan should be initiated? . Obviously, many people such as myself, have all the ‘other’ recommended Rawles preparations in place but are still at a disadvantage from those that were able to set up their retreat ahead of time and to have evacuated from a city. It’s the best that I …


Letter Re: Gauging Bank and Thrift Safety

James, I wrote you a month or two ago regarding a post of yours that was concerned about failing banks. I commented that I thought the worries were overblown – there was no reason to think that FDIC wouldn’t pay off the claims, just as FSLIC paid off the claims in the 1980s. I still think that’s true, but I have had a personal cautionary experience that has moved me much closer to your way of thinking. I had a brokered Certificate of Deposit (CD) issued by IndyMac. (In case you post this, for readers unfamiliar with the term, “brokered” …


The MOAB Accelerates the Inevitable Destruction of the US Dollar

Back in March, I coined the acronym MOAB (for Mother Of All Bailouts), to describe the Federal government’s continuously-expanding response to the global credit collapse. My family has been getting great chuckles mentioning each time that commentators and legislators start using the term. These have included Michelle Malkin, Congressman Ron Paul, Senator Richard Shelby, and Joel Skousen. So now we are waiting for a pronouncement for Al Gore, that he invented both the term and the acronym. The government’s virtually uncontrolled bailout spree has now expanded to more than 1.5 trillion dollars, and there is no end in sight. At …