Category: Survival Mindset

Lessons Learned from Hurricanes Ike, Rita, and Katrina, by TiredTubes

In September, 2008, Hurricane Ike–a Category 4 hurricane–pounded the Gulf Coast of the southern US. Some coastal communities like Crystal Beach no longer really exist. Inland, life was severely disrupted. For those of us on the South Coast hurricanes are a frequent reality. We were quite well prepared, but used the disruptions and dislocations as a test and opportunity to tune up our preparations. 1. Be ready to help others and to accept help We didn’t need much during Ike, but the power went out before a neighbor finished boarding up his house. My 1 KW inverter, hooked up to …


Twenty-Two Reasons Why this Recession is Different and Why it Will Endure

I find it surprising that I’m now getting inquiries from readers, asking if “we’ve reached bottom” in the current economic recession, and asking if the time has come to start buying stocks or residential real estate. It seems that the talking heads of mainstream media are using some sort of voodoo. How can anyone think that we’ve hit bottom, and an economic recovery is in progress? To dispel the myths from the CNBC Cheering Section, please consider the following. (And note that I’ve provided references for each assertion, just so you know that I’m not talking out of my camouflage …


Prepping for the Worst Case: Becoming a Refugee, by Dr. L.D.

I am unable to make my home self-sustaining.  So, unfortunately, my family will probably become refugees in a true SHTF scenario.  My focus presently is in becoming desirable refugees rather than shunned refugees.  The key is minimizing any negative impact (extra logistics of all sorts) and maximizing any positive impact (filling in weak spots) to someone that is geographically fortuitous.  I was challenged to figure out how a small family could best become a wanted commodity when food is tight and security isn’t. I determined the key for us was that everything carried needed to be dense in value. Density …


What Recovery? Find Yourself a Recoveryless Job

For more than a month, the mainstream media has been yammering about an economic recovery. Chasing phantom “good number” statistics amidst an onslaught of otherwise bad economic and global credit market news, the Wall Street cheering section is desperately seeking some news that the current recession is coming to an end. They talk about “the recovery in progress”–almost a fait accompli. They have been so good at this that they have fooled some investors into putting their sidelined money back into the stock market. What a masterpiece of disingenuous grandstanding. But the sad truth is that there is no genuine …


Where You Live Matters: How to Assess Your Location and Develop Scenarios, by Brendan S.

A little foreknowledge will prevent you from becoming a victim. Most people don’t think about what they will actually do in the case of an emergency. One just has to see what happened after Hurricane Katrina to see how ill-informed the masses are. They simply expect the government to take care of everything. They meander like zombies to some location and wait to be fed and cleaned up after. Not me! I know what I’m going to do when any disaster strikes. In this article I want to share with you my thoughts on how to: •Assess the situation and …


Hard Love Preparedness Upbringing, by FBP

As a child, I was orphaned by age 10. I went from living in wealthy lifestyle with maids and yard handyman, with ponies and pet monkeys in Miami, Florida, to living in rural mid-West with my Grandparents. This was truly a culture shock. It has been with prepping that I have truly appreciated the time spent with my Grandparents. From them learned about gardening, canning, freezing, sewing, and mind expanding experiences from visiting relatives on the farm (acres and acres of corn, and livestock!) I remember Grandma’s bootstrapping on everything. She’d lived through the depression and WWII with its rationing. …


Three Letters Re: Travel Security, by CapnRick in Argentina

Sir: Having read Part 1 of an expatriate’s explanation of his travel safety preps – and being an avid motorcyclist in South America, I have a couple of cents to add: Batons are worthless, I’m 6’1″ and pretty strong. After having worked as a cop, I can attest that baton strikes are of little utility in a serious fight, holding onto a baton in a fight is a serious mistake, you tend to concentrate on the weapon that does very little actual damage and get swarmed under. I’ve had to abandon my baton most of the time in a real …


Travel Security, by CapnRick in Argentina (Part 2 of 2)

What Survival type Are You? Survivors of violent events have been studied extensively. Their faith in God, family and friends seems to head the list of essentials for survival, and survivors were successful at “rewiring” their attitudes to adapt to harsh–even inhumane–circumstances. And, they survived, while many others failed to adjust and survive. [I concur with the Glenn Beck and the Survivor’s Club that] there are distinct personality types of survivors. These are as follows: Fighter Thinker Realist Connector Believer It is important that each reader think about and analyze their feelings about each of these approaches to survival, come …


Travel Security, by CapnRick in Argentina (Part 1 of 2)

The following recommendations are a result of my travel throughout the world on business for 20+ years. These observations are offered as a helpful supplement to other sources on the web dealing with personal security issues while traveling. My apologies to those who do not find these observations pertinent to their particular situation. Allow me to say that these suggestions are offered freely and without restriction so they may be passed around with no obligation. Very little of this information is original to me, and I apologize if anyone has written anything similar. Also, I am not a security professional …


Five Preparedness Lessons Learned, by Allen C.

I was speaking with a friend recently who mentioned he still has a generator in the box taking up space in his garage.  It has been there for ten years.  He did not know what to do during the Y2K panic so he spent money to make himself feel better.  I am not knocking the value of a good generator.  I have used mine for almost twenty years.  However, purchasing a generator he did not know how to use without at least buying some gasoline to go with it was a waste of money.  It has been said the humans …


Letter Re: Think of Preparedness as Insurance

Jim, We preppers get labeled all sorts of things from mildly eccentric to paranoid, and so I ask, is it so imbalanced to want insurance? Clearly most people have health insurance (if they can afford it) car insurance (mandatory), home insurance and life insurance so why stop there? When friends ask about my lifestyle, this is my argument. 1) Why do you have firearms? Police insurance. If the police can’t come in time, (can they ever?) or are overwhelmed (Los Angeles riots anyone?) or just go home (Hurricane Katrina?) then you may need need firearms. 2) Why do you have …


Squeezing Efficiency Out of Every Second of Your Workday to Provide Quality Relaxation Time, by KAF

Yes, I actually said relaxation. Are you finding yourself overwhelmed with chores, or frazzled and just flat out fatigued trying to accomplish everything you must do in a workday on the homestead? I have recently lost my right arm support on my homestead. As all of you know who are practicing “prepper’s” of self-sufficiency, the Fall season, which by the way is my favorite, is almost equal to that of Spring in the number and intensity of the tasks and chores that must be performed in order to keep your slice of heaven on earth in sequence of the time …


One Woman’s View of Budget Preparedness, by Lisa L.

I wanted to write something for the contest for other ladies with children were in the same situation with wanting to be more prepared but not having the means to do so like the books recommend. I’ve had my frustrations but I’ve learned and bought gradually and wanted to share. 🙂 It always upsets me when I hear in the media or from people their point of view that people are helpless due to their income level. This is what I’ve learned so far, how to cook with wheat, stockpiling shampoo for very little and ways to acquire some supplies …


Letter Re: Living in the Time After TEOTWAWKI

Dear Mr. Rawles, I think there is a blind spot in a lot of preparedness/survivalist writing that I would like to address. There are a number of sites which do a good to excellent job of getting the word out about the nuts-and-bolts of getting prepared to allow a family to get through a short term emergency, and there are sites which encourages us to get a retreat in farm country. However, I have not seen anyone talk about how we will boot strap ourselves to back towards some sort of village life and civil society[, in the event of …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Shedding Bad Habits, and Developing Good Ones

Hello Mr Rawles, In response to Jane L.’s letter on shedding bad habits posted on September 3rd, it is admirable she has identified things in her life she can move away from for a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle. I would like to caution her, as well as others, that preparedness and survivalism is not an activity one does for a few weeks, and “is ready”. It is a lifestyle changing activity that probably reaches every facet of life, changing many things all at once. Don’t burn out on it. Things like the glass of wine, some breath mints or …