Category: Survival Mindset

Providing For Your Family During Power Outages – Part 1, by B.S.V.

For the last several months I have been thinking of writing an article for SurvivalBlog, but there have been so many great articles by so many knowledgeable people that I have spent most of my time learning from SurvivalBlog rather than writing for it. That changed last week (as I write this). I live in North Texas and was impacted by the storms that came through. A lot of news has, rightfully, focused on those areas where tornadoes caused damage – and there were enough of those to keep the news cycles busy. However, the news coverage was virtually non-existent …


Come Home, Now!, by M. Paul

This article is addressed to my adult children and their families. It should be useful to those readers who have family members who are spread out across a region of the country. It is intended to provide information and logistics for improving the odds of successful transport for those who may be planning to come “home” when there are natural disasters, or the Stuff Hits The Fan (SHTF). Disasters, in my judgment, can range from large storms, tornados, large fires, and floods, all the way up to EMPs, world war, or deep societal breakdown. Each of these, to varying degrees, …


A Glimpse of Armageddon, But Not For Me, by T.M.

Having lived in the American Redoubt for 26 years gives me hope that I chose the right place years ago to spend my final days on earth. In this article I will relate my upbringing, a story that happened on May 27, 2024, and two other incidents that occurred around this location in April, 2024 and July, 1996. These happenings demonstrate how ill-prepared the general populace is for any coming catastrophic event. We all know that absolute chaos will ensnare all major and minor urban enclaves when the SHTF. I am a 79-year-old, somewhat crippled. I have had drop-foot on …


Mental Preparedness for a Free Life, by Mrs. M.

What does this sound like, to you? “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away (2 Tim 3:1-5) To me, this sounds like a description of the present day. There are so many places that one could take an …


Our Black Swan Event – Part 1, by E.R.

The Black Swan is the metaphor often used when describing an unlikely event, that comes as a major surprise, having a catastrophic effect. Which Risks Do We Attempt to Mitigate? The news headlines in March, 2024 were rife with dire ‘official’ warnings of coming cyber attacks on water systems, echoing pronouncements previously made by that billionaires club and UN partner, The World Economic Forum, as the next big threat to follow the coronavirus. Was this yet more fear-mongering propaganda, or are they actually planning something? Also in the news, that hard-left urban center Toronto is contemplating the introduction of a …


An Elderly Prepper Moves On, by L.T.

My husband and I started following the writings of Jim Rawles many years ago and his advice helped us find our ideal location in the Missouri Ozarks. Then, unexpectedly, my husband passed away and now Jonathan Rawles’ SurvivalRealty website is helping me sell my homestead. The tapestry of life. My husband and I loved the challenge of creating a sustainable lifestyle, a productive homestead, and learning the rural life.  We took a piece of rather rough land and created a beautiful place. Not finished when he passed, but I’m not sure it would ever be finished, that was the enjoyable …


By Default: Habits, Good and Bad – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Altering Your Default Behaviors If you are not executing your own positive plan you’re a resource to other agents at best and their servant or slave at worst. As Seneca put it to his protégé discussing how people decry things but do not change themselves “they are lingering of their own free will in a situation which they declare they find it hard and wretched to endure. It is so, my dear Lucilius; there are a few men whom slavery holds fast, but there are many more who hold fast to slavery.” Or, …


By Default: Habits, Good and Bad – Part 1, by N.C.

Part 1: Design Your Default, or Lose We’ve all had the experience of realizing that you were zoned out while you were driving. Your brain was fried from a long day at work, you got in your car and realized that (without a conscious thought) you were somewhere. Maybe at a drive-through restaurant. Maybe your house. Maybe a bar. Wherever it was, it was not where you told yourself you would go this morning. Your conscious intent was to run an errand, hit the gym, go to Wednesday night service, or go to the park for a walk. But it …


Home Security for the Gun-Deprived, by R.J.

When your temporary or semi-permanent home has to be away from true-home, you want to be secure there as well. This review is based on experiences and plans my family and I had when living and working (and for many years with young children) in not-the-most-salubrious-parts of the planet. These places also didn’t allow foreigners to own firesticks whether long- or hand-guns; a couple of countries grudgingly allowed private possession of shotguns but only for citizens, not transients, even if the transient was going to be there for years at a time. As a consequence, the Lady of the House …


Coping With a Spring Snowstorm, by Hollyberry

Here in Maine we had been experiencing a mild winter and heading into spring warmer temperatures than normal. The ground was bare, little plants were poking their heads up and the birds were singing. Most people took the plows off of their truck and dreams of gardening early were running through our heads. Well, there is an old saying: Man plans and God laughs.  That came true. On March 20th into the 21st, we received about 9-10 inches of heavy, wet snow. Then the temperatures plummeted to teens with below-zero wind chills. Okay, this is spring in Maine and these …


Silver Stacking: Patience and Persistence Pays Off

I have been a “silver stacker” for many years. With money earned mowing lawns, at age 16 I started buying pre-1965 mint-date “junk”  U.S. silver dimes and quarters in 1976 at a small local coin shop in Livermore, California. It was called Bob’s Coin Corner. Bob was patient in explaining silver coins to me.  In 1979 I sold nearly half of my silver coins just after silver peaked, when spot silver was at $47.75 per Troy ounce. I started buying some silver and gold again in June of 1987, when silver was at $8.98 per ounce. A practical silver investor …


Liberty Safe HDV-150X Biometric Handgun Vault, by Thomas Christianson

I have grandchildren. I love my grandchildren very much. I earnestly desire for them grow up safely and to enjoy a healthy and productive adulthood. I also own handguns. I have other handguns that are entrusted to my care periodically for review. One facet of my strategy for helping my grandchildren grow up safely is keeping handguns and other firearms out of their hands until they are old enough to know how to use them responsibly. I own a full-size gun safe. The gun safe was getting a little full. If I was going to keep my grandchildren safe, then …


Persistence: Thoughts From An Old Prepper, by Bulldog

After a lifetime of living the prepping lifestyle, and as I reflect upon it, I would describe my prepping journey as an evolution of sorts. Such evolution appears present not only with my life but also within the entire movement. When I look back at my upbringing and early experiences of the mid 70’s and early 80’s I cannot even remember the term “prepping”. Certainly, however, I remember the term “survivalism”, particularly as I considered myself a student of the late Mel Tappan. I think it is safe to say that in those days and to a great extent, Joe …


Why I Bought a Pluggable Hybrid EV Car, by R.G.

I live in the high desert in the Southwest on a 20 acre homestead within a small farm/ranch community of 200 hardy souls. My homestead includes all the typical accouterments of a homestead including wells, septic, gardens, greenhouse, tractor, barn, and animals. I recently installed a 8,000 watt off-grid solar system. A good-sized county seat town is 20 miles away with WalMart, drug stores, grocery stores, local hardware store, courthouse, and regional hospital within that 20 mile range. An extra five road miles gets me to a Costco and big-box hardware stores. A major city is 100 miles away with …


Caveat Emptor – “Let the Buyer Beware”, by Steve M.

As you make prepping related purchases, bear in mind that there are transactional risks that should be considered and mitigated. Two recent incidents have served as a reminder that business practices have changed, for the worse in my experience. Business accountability that we once took for granted, can no longer be assumed. A common saying of old was “the customer is always right”, but I’m afraid that Biblical principles are increasingly ignored and negative societal trends have permeated the business world, changing the focus away from a customer-first. Let me first summarize two recent transactions. I am of course withholding …