Category: Reader-Written Contributed Article

Utilizing a Self-Directed IRA: A Case Study in Investing Outside of Wall Street- Part 2, by J.J.

In a conversation with a successful and well off friend, I discovered that it was possible to invest outside of Wall Street. I had experienced the extreme fluctuations of economic bubbles and wanted something more secure as I planned for retirement. After learning more about his approach, I took baby steps to reevaluate my own investment approach to move toward a self-directed IRA. In part 1, I shared the first step toward a self-directed IRA for investing outside of Wall Street to achieve greater safety and diversification and now let’s move forward. Following the Wisdom of a King In the …


Utilizing a Self-Directed IRA: A Case Study in Investing Outside of Wall Street- Part 1, by J.J.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 ASV Author’s Note Please note that this is only an example of my utilization of a Self Directed IRA, albeit in a minimal manner, to diversify investments into hard assets. This is not meant to give investment advice to anyone, and your decision to pursue this option should be done with careful scrutiny of the IRS rules governing this type of IRA. Very careful consideration …


Adaptation is Key to Survival, by B. L.

Over the years what it means to be a prepper and how to prepare has changed quite a bit for me. I have learned that adaptation is key to survival. Grew Up With Mentality and Heart of a Prepper I haven’t been a “prepper” my whole life, but I have had the mentality and heart of one due to the way I was raised. I grew up in a blue-collar family where if you wanted something you worked for it. If something was broke, you tried to fix it first before spending money on it, and where everything had a …


The New Urban Fortress- Part 2, by M.H.

Pulling from the fortress concept and the family of Anne Frank, who hid in an attic for two years, I am considering an idea of an urban fortress in the event of SHTF. My idea is based upon the construction of a multi-story commercial building, where the top floor is unmarked on the elevator and unknown and inaccessible to those who do not have a passcode. The idea is creating a large area that is totally overlooked because the construction is such that people cannot identify from the outside how many floors are within the building since there will only …


The New Urban Fortress- Part 1, by M.H.

Stealth vs. Tactical I am a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, retired Navy O-5, a mechanical engineer (academically), and an IT business consultant. I am considered by my colleagues to be an “idea machine”. I have made a good living based largely on my outside-the-box thinking. While I have too many ideas to viably act on all of them, there are enough good ones that all are usually worth at least consideration. An Idea To Have Readers Find Flaws in My Thinking I have been prepping for a couple of years now and have come upon an idea that …


How To Be A Financial Prepper- Part 3, by Brandon

No matter the crisis scenario for which a prepper prepares, the financial side of preparedness is unavoidable. Items are necessary and they are costly. Most of us have very limited resources, but I know that we can still prepare. I’m sharing the lessons my wife and I have learned. In the first two parts, I talked about budgeting, assessing your financial situation, saving, and now we have begun to talk about the step of living below your means. Saving and living below your means needs to happen concurrently. Reason For Living Below Your Means Living below your means serves several …


How To Be A Financial Prepper- Part 2, by Brandon

While skills and abilities are invaluable and arguably the most important part of preparing yourself for any disaster, it would be naive for a prepper to decide that it is unnecessary to have “stuff”. No matter the scenario for which you prepare, the financial side of preparedness is unavoidable. In part 1, I talked about the benefits of living debt free and importance of developing a budget and sticking with it to better use resources for preparedness efforts. Now, let’s move forward. Evaluate What’s next? Now that you have your budget, what is the next step (whether you choose to …


How To Be A Financial Prepper- Part 1, by Brandon

There are many parts of being a Prepper that do not involve money, or much money. And skills and abilities are invaluable and arguably the most important part of preparing yourself for any disaster. But it would be naive for a prepper to decide that the stuff part of preparing is unnecessary, useless, or just something to be overlooked. No matter the scenario for which you prepare, the financial side of preparedness is unavoidable. Finances, A Very Important Part of Any Prepper’s Life With this in mind, it would seem that having our finances in order would be a very …


Get Out of the Cities, NOW, By W.J.

What’s the rush? Why should we move away from the comforts of our cities? Meteorites, that’s why. Yes, according to the words of Jesus Himself, asteroids from outer space will be targeting the immoral cities of our land. Vulnerable To Fireballs But before we look at what Jesus said, let’s first notice just how vulnerable we are to these fireballs from heaven: Nightly News – March 3, 2017 “Earth weathers an asteroid near-miss: An asteroid roughly the size of a ten-story building came within 45,000 miles of Earth–too close for comfort. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.” Go to SpaceWeather.com. Then, scroll …


What is Survival?- Part 5, by MuddyKid

What is survival? I am talking about my journey from short-term to long-term survival and thinking on what is legible. We left off on the subtopic of the human predator and specifically with my question about whether the situation in Syria would be considered a short-term or long-term situation. Syria What has been going on in Syria is interesting and one of many regions that I pay close attention to in effort to understand survival. To the leftwing, Syria started because of a climate change induced drought. For the rightwing, Syria started because Assad is a communist sympathizer who is …


What is Survival?- Part 4, by MuddyKid

I’ve asked the question, what is survival. Mostly, up to this point, I’ve talked about providing long-term resources for food when the stores are no longer an option. We’ve talked about gardening, foraging for plants, and hunting or trapping. This was just part of my journey in developing a means for survival. Feeling Depressed, Looking Through Digital Window As I had previously mentioned, during my time out in the woods learning skills and testing my gear, I was also reading anything and everything I could that related to the state of the world and ways to protect my family. After …


What is Survival?- Part 3, by MuddyKid

I’ve asked the question, what is survival and am addressing my progress in discovery of solutions from short-term to long-term ones. In the last part, we left off talking about hunting as a survival technique and that not all hunting is the same. Many seem to have the opinion that the “Golden Horde” will strip the land of all flora and fauna and there will be no natural resources. It’s my opinion that this is sci-fi. I explained that not all hunting in the same. Let’s consider some more of my reasons for thinking that hunting will be viable as …


What is Survival?- Part 2, by MuddyKid

We are discussing the meaning of survival. In particular, we were looking at providing long-terms resources when we are no longer able to purchase items and considering food specifically at this point in the article series. We have taken a look at gardening and are now talking about wild edibles. We just left off with wild carrots that are considered a weed in my area and seem to be everywhere. Exploring New Species of Plants Then I thought, “What other types of edible plants are around that I do not know about?” I slowly began picking a new species of …


What is Survival?- Part 1, by MuddyKid

We are all interested in survival, and we read this site often to understand ways to survive. But, have we ever stopped to ask the question, what is survival? A Complex Question I think that is a complex question, because survival means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Survival always has different contexts or scenarios. For the purpose of this article, I want to challenge what the idea of survival is. I plan to do this through experiences and examples that I have personally participated in. Legibility I am beginning this with a framework of …


EMP And The Modern Computer-Controlled Car, by Oldgeezer

There seem to be a million different opinions on what will happen to computer-controlled cars, trucks, and vehicles of all kinds after an EMP attack. Maybe my experience will help expand your knowledge base. My First-Hand Knowledge I have spent many an hour reading about EMP, watching numerous videos about its effect on civilization, and had some real doubts about some of the claims. While none of us have experienced a true EMP attack, I now have first-hand knowledge of what we may experience when/if an attack occurs. In 2015, a highway patrol car in our state was struck by …