Wake Up And Smell The Bull Trap!
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The Consequences Of Big Oil’s Exploding Debt. Big oil has seen its debt load increase tenfold since 2008 as a result of high spending and unstable earnings.
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Stocks a Screaming Buy in Fed Model That May Never Prove Right
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
Hillary seemingly freezes up again causing her personal medic/bodyguard to alarm. – H.L.
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Benghazi families sue Clinton for wrongful death, defamation – B.B.
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Forward Observer has an interesting article on understanding doctrine. When it comes to intelligence and security, this is an important concept.
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An hour long video on emerging infectious disease by S. Hatfill M.D., MSc, M. Med. These are diseases that are emerging which have never been seen before in human populations or in areas where they have never been seen before. – Sent in by S.C.
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“Government-to-government foreign aid promotes statism, centralized planning, socialism, dependence, pauperization, inefficiency, and waste. It prolongs the poverty it is designed to cure. Voluntary private investment in private enterprise, on the other hand, promotes capitalism, production, independence, and self-reliance.” – Henry Hazlitt
August 8th is the birthday of Terry Nation (August 8th, 1930 – March 9th, 1997), who was a Welsh television writer and novelist. Nation wrote two series, Survivors and Blake’s 7, in the 1970s. Survivors was re-made a few years ago.
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Last week I received word from Cold Steel that they now have less than 900 Rawles XL Voyager knives knives left on hand. This limited edition folding survival/utility knife of my design is now priced at just $69.99 with free shipping for Amazon Prime members. Remember that ALL of the profits from the sale of these knives are going to charity. Order yours before they sell out! (As with other limited editions, prices are expected to rise, on the secondary market.) – JWR
My wife and I were forced, by circumstances beyond our control, to move back to the Chicago, IL area in 1982. We stayed until the middle of 1984, at which time we moved to Colorado Springs, CO. While back in Chicago, I went to work for a large private detective agency that I had worked for in the past. I was the manager of the Investigations Division, and I not only supervised a good number of Investigators I also oversaw all the big cases from the many branches we had around the country. I was also the company gunsmith and maintained all the company’s handguns, many of which were Taurus 4” Bbl .38 Spl revolvers with a mix of similar Smith & Wesson revolvers. I kept a good supply of parts for the Taurus handguns on hand at all times. Back then, in my humble opinion, Taurus wasn’t producing the best revolvers; they were always breaking.
Believe it or not, Taurus has been around since 1941, when they started business down in Brazil, South America. Today, we have Taurus USA, and they handle all of the sales of Taurus firearms in the USA. Taurus started out producing near clones of the S&W Model 10, .38 Spl revolvers, as well as the Beretta Model 92. Again, they were near clones. Most parts will not interchange between the Taurus guns and the S&W and Beretta guns. Still, Taurus was copying some outstanding firearms to start with, and they were economical. They still are!
I hear some complaints about current Taurus firearms from those saying they are turning out a lot of lemons. Well, I’ve discussed this, in the past, with the former President of Taurus USA, and according to their records they have about a 1% return rate on new handguns, which is well below the return rate of many gun makers. It just appears that Taurus has a lot of “bad guns” because they sell so many. They are a leader in the western world, when it comes to firearms. So, don’t believe everything you hear or read on the Internet.
I will relate a bad experience I had with a brand new Taurus Model 85, little 5-shot snubby revolver. I purchased it brand new at a local gun shop, and I examined the gun closely, or so I thought. The fit and finish was perfect, and I cocked the hammer and dry-fired the gun with no problems. When I took the gun out to actually shoot it and I attempted to fire the gun by pulling the trigger in the double-action mode, I could not. As hard as I tried, I could not get the trigger to pull and fire the gun. I could cock the hammer manually and fire the gun, but I couldn’t pull the trigger. I sent the gun back to Taurus, because they have a lifetime repair policy, and had it back in three weeks. What happened was, there was a machining operation that got missed, and the trigger couldn’t be pulled in the double-action mode! Obviously, someone missed this at Taurus in the final inspection as well as the gun shop I purchased the gun from. I myself missed this when checking out the gun before buying it.
The gun under review today is the Taurus Model 85 Polymer Protector. It isn’t the old all-steel Model 85, not even close. Many readers have asked that I do more revolver articles, so here is yet another one. The Polymer Protector has a polymer frame, and the stainless steel barrel is enclosed inside of the polymer barrel shroud. The gun is traditional DA/SA, so it can be fired just by pulling the trigger or cocking the hammer. Depending on measurements and who you believe, the barrel is 1.875 inches long, 2 inches long, or 2.5 inches long. Mine measures at just about two inches.
Like most Taurus revolvers, it is rated for .38 Spl. +P loads, and in little snubbies like this I load them with +P to get a little more velocity out of the short barrel. It is a 5-shot, with a stainless steel cylinder, that looks great in the all-black polymer frame. Other colored frames are available from Taurus, even pink! Sights are fixed, and the front sight has a large red fiber optic insert that makes seeing that front sight a breeze with my aged eyes. The grips are textured rubber for a sure hold under any weather conditions, and they certainly do help absorb the recoil of those +P loads. The gun weighs a mere 18.2 oz; it’s a lightweight.
I really liked the Polymer Protector. It fit the hand nicely, never missed a beat when I fired it (single-action or double-action), and it was plenty accurate out to 15 yards, for the intended purpose of self defense. However, there was one feature that I didn’t care for, on the side of the frame, where the cylinder release is at. It just sticks out a bit too much, and you can not get HKS speedloaders to fit the rounds into the cylinder. I also teach my students, and anyone who will listen, to carry a spare reload, be it a spare magazine or a spare speedloader or two. This is impossible with the Polymer Protector. You can, of course, use speed strips to carry spare rounds, however, this is a much slower process if you need to reload in a hurry!
I have a number of holsters for the Taurus. However, tightly molded leather holsters for many snubby .38s are too tight, and the Polymer Protector wouldn’t fit. The polymer frame is just a tad thicker than an all-steel frame. That’s too bad! I did carry the Taurus in a fleece jacket that has a built-in holster inside of it, and the gun rode nicely. The gun also fit a Blackhawk Products ankle holster. However, the gun was hard to get out of the holster; the rubber grips made it difficult to get my cargo pants leg up and over the gun for a decent draw. That’s not a good thing.
I had a decent selection of .38 Spl ammo for testing in the little Taurus. From Black Hills Ammunition, I had their 125-gr JHP +P load and their always accurate 148-gr Match HBWC. From Buffalo Bore Ammunition, I had their 125-gr JHP standard velocity low flash load, 110-gr Barnes TAC XP low flash, short barrel +P load, 148-gr Hard Cast Outdoorsman +P load, and their 125-gr JHP low velocity +P load. From the folks at Double Tap Ammunition, I had their 148-gr Match full wad cutter load. So, this was a good sampling of .38 Spl ammo to run through the Polymer Protector.
As mentioned earlier, there were no problems with any of the ammo, or the gun. Everything worked as it should have. Needless to say, the +P loads I fired gave quite a bit of recoil, however the rubber grips helps absorb that. The standard velocity loads were not a problem. Recoil was very manageable with each load. I fired about 300 rounds though the little Taurus, over several shooting sessions. The gun was just a lot of fun to shoot and carry in my concealed carry fleece jacket.
Accuracy testing was done, standing at 15 yards, which is about the maximum distance you’ll be using a little snubby for self-defense purposes. However, that’s not to say that the gun isn’t capable of longer range accuracy. I could hit large rocks out to 50 yards, but that was the extent of it. Beyond that, the large fiber optic front sight would completely cover the target. Still, out to 50 yards is nothing to sneeze at with a short-barreled revolver.
Of course, when we speak about “survival”, as I’ve mentioned many times in previous articles, it depends on what you plan to “survive” from. In the case of the snubby revolver, I think we are talking serious city survival against two-footed criminals intent on doing you harm. And, that is what most little .38 Spl snubby revolvers are designed to do– save your bacon from the bad guys. However, the little Taurus, stoked with the Buffalo Bore 158-gr Hard Cast +P Outdoorsman load, would make a showing against some dangerous game out in the boonies. It penetrates deeply!
At 15 yards, I was getting three- to four-inch groups. Again, I was standing, two-handed shooting and no rest was used. I was hoping for smaller groups, and I’m sure the gun can give ‘em, if a rest is used. There is always a winner in the accuracy department. However, the difference was so small that it was hard to measure. I only had a limited number of the Double Tap 148 gr Match Full Wadcutter loads, but this load just barely inched out all the other loads, and we are talking a very tiny difference in group sizes, measurable, but so small that there really wasn’t much difference.
I’m torn between two loads that I carried in the Polymer Protector. Those two are the Black Hills 125-gr JHP +P and the Buffalo Bore 110-gr Barnes TAC XP load. I think the Black Hills traditional JHP +P load will penetrate a little deeper, but the Buffalo Bore Barnes TAC XP will open up and expand a bit more. I don’t think you can go wrong with either load for self-defense work. The 110gr Barnes load had a little bit less recoil, if you are recoil sensitive, though.
The ol’ fashioned revolver isn’t dead; it’s far from it . It is still a viable choice in a handgun for self defense use in the big city. It is easily concealed, with the right holster, and as always carry a spare reload even if it is on rubber speed strips. A revolver also has an easy manual of arms. Load the cylinder, close it, and all you need to do is take aim and pull the trigger. There is very little to go wrong with a revolver, compared to a seminauto loading handgun. In many cases, a revolver is a lot less money than a semiauto handgun. The little Taurus Model 85 Polymer Protector is selling for around $300 in my neck of the woods. Add in, that Taurus also has a lifetime warranty and they offer a free one year membership in the NRA, what’s not to like here?
If you’re in the market for a good ol’ fashioned, but up-to-date revolver, check out the Polymer Protector. I think you’ll like it.
– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio
Makes 4 to 5 servings.
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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!
Hugh,
I agree that the report, “The Profile of Wounding in Civilian Public Mass Shooting Fatalities,” as posted in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, is a bit arcane, but what would you expect? This is supposed to be the raw research methodology and data, and its actually reassuring to me to see that rather than the unsubstantiated claims often made in firearms conversations.
I’m not a trauma expert by any means, not in anyone’s wildest imaginations, though I have been trained as a Combat Lifesaver (and have taken other med courses over the years), so I have at least a basic understanding of the treatment issues. And I wouldn’t say anything further except that I think there’s something important here that we must not miss.
The point of the article is that the kinds of wounds most commonly seen in civilian mass shootings are somewhat different from what has historically been seen in combat. That’s what their research shows. More specifically, the types of wounds that could be survivable were they immediately treated are different.
They apparently mean to encourage civilians and civilian first responders to be prepared to treat chest wounds, and based on my experience they are right. It’s been my experience that preppers who have made any medical preparations will have one or more tourniquets, but often they have nothing else (but, well, bandaids and gauze)!
What’s strapped onto the buttstock of your rifle? Is it a tourniquet, or a tourniquet and a couple of chest seals? How many preppers carry chest seals (or the materials to improvise a chest seal) with their tourniquets (wherever they keep those)? You don’t think you’re going to get shot in the chest (center of mass)? Your wife or kids aren’t going to get shot there? This study wants to broaden the training given to have a broader focus than bleeding control.
In this study, head wounds were generally fatal, and apparently the initial care that can be given (a) on the scene (b) by a civilian responder (c) for a person who’s been shot in the head isn’t much or wouldn’t make much of a difference. (Certainly there are some things we can do– treat for shock, try to minimize blood loss, treat for hypothermia, protect them from further injury, et cetera.)
And while their results show few victims (none in their study) actually die from bleeding out, the authors are clearly not dismissing the value of tourniquets. In their own words: “Does this mean external hemorrhage control for civilians is unimportant? Emphatically no!” What more do you want? Tourniquets are relatively inexpensive, effective, compact, and easy to use. It would be irresponsible to not have one on you in an environment where you thought gunfire was a possibility (even at the range). [Here’s some useful information about tourniquet usage. Print and save: .]
And who says that gunfire is the only way to have life-threatening bleeding? How many industrial or vehicle or fall scenarios could sever a major artery in an arm or leg? Don’t lose sight of the fact that tourniquets aren’t only for gunshot wounds! Shootings are just the specific focus of this research article.
Chest seals likewise are relatively inexpensive, effective, compact, and easy to use. So why not learn how to use one (front and back)? Why not learn how to improvise one from Saran Wrap and surgical tape, or the wrapper off of your gauze package, et cetera? If you know what the problem is, you can better improvise the solution.
It’s just not that hard, but it is something we should learn about in advance. People need to know to not just cover a bullet wound to the chest/side/back (ribs) with gauze or Quik Clot, which will still allow air into the chest cavity! There is zero reason why every single first aid kit in the U.S. couldn’t have chest seals. They’re just a big, really sticky “bandaid” specifically for holes in your rib cage (to oversimplify). They’re even a little hard to screw up. Even if it’s not perfect, it’s probably better than nothing, until better trained help arrives!
Seal the entrance (and exit) wound ASAP and transport them to a hospital. If help isn’t coming or is delayed, then there are other techniques that can be used as well. I’ve read that in the Civil War soldiers survived through-and-through chest wounds with nothing much more than bedrest (and covering the holes!), so don’t lose hope even in a TEOTWAWKI scenario.
Can you self-care a chest wound? I don’t see why not. The only trick would be trying to seal an open wound on your back. So recruit a bystander or a less-injured victim to do it, or figure some way to close or at least minimize the opening by leaning or laying against something. Self treatment is important, vital even. So have the right tools.
Take a class! Learn how to apply these simple life-saving techniques. You spent a lot of money on a reliable firearm, ammo, and cleaning supplies. Why would you not also drop a few bucks and learn what to do if you or yours are on the receiving end?
Trust God. Be Prepared. We can do both. – ShepherdFarmerGeek
Will the Bubble Pop Even if the Fed Never Raises Rates? “There is no ready-made answer in Austrian business cycle theory (ABCT) to the multi-trillion dollar question now looming over the global economy and markets.”
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Bond Market’s Big Illusion Revealed as U.S. Yields Turn Negative
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America added 255,000 jobs in July, but unemployment rate unchanged
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
Clinton email led to the execution of an Iranian scientist. “The senator said this lapse proves she is not capable of keeping the country safe.”
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Stories of survival in SHTF: A Surreal Life on the Precipice in Puerto Rico – P.S.
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Thousands of Roaming Dogs Are Cited as Problem in Poor Areas of Dallas. This may be a consideration after a SHTF for those in urban areas. Stray dogs may form aggressive packs. A weapon may be a necessity. – P.S.
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8 Reasons Why Your Child’s Doctor Pushes Vaccines – DSV
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Multiple staffers help unstable Hillary up stairs – The questionable health condition of Hillary Clinton should be a major issue of the 2016 campaign.
“Man is free at the instant he wants to be.” – Voltaire
August 7th is the birthday of novelist Jerry Pournelle (born 1933.) He, along with Larry Niven authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer.
As I have said before, it is necessary to set priorities and develop a spending plan with your spouse and family in order to utilize your financial resources to achieve life goals. If you have followed along so far, you’ve documented your current income, your fixed expenses, and your flexible expenses. You have begun to consider other sources of income and maybe ways to cut expenses. Hopefully, you have also taken time to get a healthy perspective on money and its roles in your life as well as your spending habits. Have you determined that you are an emotional and spontaneous spender, a “keep up with the Jones” spender, or someone who is afraid to spend at all? Are you working to get discipline on these unhealthy habits? They are bad habits that prevent us from achieving all that we could otherwise achieve. No one has unlimited resources. We all must use them wisely, whether they are money, time, energy, or anything else. So let’s talk about some of the methods, considerations, and ideas that our family has applied and/or seen as a benefit to our friends and family.
Set very specific goals for how money is going to be used and allocated each month, remembering that each person may still need to have a little spending money of their own for “surprises” or “treats”. If you are well disciplined, major changes in spending can be done solely in writing and followed through written documentation, but most of us do best with tangible cash in envelopes for flexible expenses to help us literally see how much money is available for each of these budget categories. When our “dining out” money is gone, we know there will be no more meals out. When we see that the envelope for “family entertainment” is a bit heavy from saving up for a period of time, we know that we can count it and look forward to a day at the amusement park or maybe look forward to a really nice vacation, depending upon the budget envelope’s contents.
To use an envelope system, take regular envelopes and on each one write the name of a budget category and the monthly amount to be deposited in the envelope. For example, write “Groceries – $850” on the envelope that is to contain cash for purchasing the family’s groceries. The envelope may contain more than $850, if there was extra left from the previous month(s). You may be saving up for the purchase of a side of beef or seasonal sales and not need to spend your whole budget each month. However, having the monthly budgeted amount on the envelope will help on the day of the month that you withdraw cash from the bank to distribute between budget envelopes. You will know that you need to “deposit” $850 into the envelope for groceries.
You won’t need an envelope for every budget category, like the mortgage and utilities, if you pay for these electronically. However, you may need to electronically purchase some of the flexible expense items. As you may recall, I buy a lot of things from Amazon, using our Prime membership. I am able to use our credit card for these purchases and then place cash, taken out of the appropriate budget envelope(s), into a “bank deposit” envelope. This envelope’s contents are periodically deposited back into our bank account. If using a credit card versus a debit card, be sure to pay off the credit card charges in a timely manner to avoid interest fees! If you do not want to use a credit card or don’t have one but do have a debit card with a Visa/Mastercard logo for purchasing, then be sure to leave a base line balance in your bank account to cover electronic purchase amounts that might occur over the period of time until you get your budget cash deposited. If you only go to the bank once a week, you should keep a week’s worth of expenses in the account as a base line. At the end of the week, you will take the contents of the “bank deposit” cash to the bank to replenish you account for the next week of electronic purchases. In this way, we have discipline to prioritize our spending. Just this week, there were some things I really wanted but didn’t need. I have put them on a wish list until the 15th, when we will re-distribute our budget income for the month. At that time, I will decide if those items are still as important as they were and worthy of their cost. Sometimes, I find that the excitement of the items has faded and I don’t really need them at all. Other times, my desire for them remains strong and I am confident in my purchase. A little delay is usually a good thing, as it makes me think well about purchases and prioritize. I must consider the whole family’s needs, too, not just my wants as strong as my wants may be.
As you work with this budget process, be willing to talk through what is working and what isn’t. We have had to make adjustments to our budget many times. Priorities change, costs of goods change, and our circumstances change. It needs to be a dynamic plan but one that is well thought about and agreed to with eyes kept on the long-term goals and life priorities.
Think about the home that you are in and your location. Do you really need this much space? Are you in the right location? Have the children grown up and you could now downsize and put some of that money elsewhere, even into a bug out location? Do you have enough land where you are located? Where you live is one of the biggest decisions you can make. Living in the city is getting more and more dangerous all of the time. Is there an option to work from home that would allow you to move to the country? Have you even explored this? Maybe this is the time to look into it and consider relocating (or at least getting further outside of the city where your friends live). Getting a few hours drive away is better than living right inside the city, and your closest friends and family would likely come visit on the weekends or you visit them, right?
If you have your budget under control and are satisfied with where you live and have extra funds, you can look at a bug out home. You might want to check out SurvivalRealty.com website for property that you or a group of friends or family members could purchase together as a vacation home and bug out location.
If you are where you want to be right now but still have a mortgage, can you begin paying off your mortgage at an accelerated rate? Check into this. You may be able to pay it off much, much sooner than you think by making an extra full or partial payment each month. Maybe this should be one of your priorities and budget goals with the monies left over each month after necessities are paid for.
If you are in a great location but frustrated with aspects of your home, could you remodel or add on less expensively than selling and moving? Could you do some of the work yourself and save money? Not only have we done this, but we have friends and family who have lived in RVs while they built (or helped build) their own fabulous homes on their property. They gathered stone off their property for use on the home and went to garage sales, antique stores, demolition specialists, and junk yards for materials. They bought scratched appliances at discount. There are many ways to save and end up with a great home!
Look at ways to cut costs here. Have you implemented LED light bulbs throughout the house? There are now some very good quality LED lightbulbs. Does every member of your family really need a new iPhone, or could you get by with an older model and a small AT&T family plan with limited data? We were able to significantly cut our cellular phone bill when we had multiple children in the house by having only two cell phones that had to be shared. They were only available to our children when they were away from home and then just for emergencies, texting (not while driving!), and calling home. We, the parents, tended to use them the same way, except when we had business appointments and such. Hugh would take one with him to work but bring it home and share it. We told everyone of our friends and family that our phones were shared and we didn’t necessarily answer them, especially if driving, so they should call the house or office to reach us immediately. Text messages would eventually reach the appropriate person. It was amazing how much this has freed us also. We are no longer tied to our phones, living with our eyes glued upon them, and now that the children have grown they aren’t as inclined to be as dedicated to their electronics as other young adults either. They actually can walk away and focus on the real people who are in their very presence better than most others we know.
Another thing we cut in our household was cable television. Yep. We got rid of it quite a few years ago. Those shows that are not garbage have commercials that are, quite often! We didn’t want that in our household infecting our children. It has been refreshing and freeing to distance ourselves from the bombardment of cultural numbing of our moral senses. Because of this removal of cable television, our family (including our adult children) are still shocked at seeing sexual scenes in movies. We all scramble for the t.v. remote to fast forward, if we happen upon a Netflix movie that contains inappropriate behavior. What entertainment we have is quite intentional. We kept Internet and have always had plenty of access to books and even movies, older television shows, and news. Our children were encouraged to entertain themselves outdoors and with hobbies, art, sports, games, and developing skills. It saved us money and saved our children’s minds too!
If you live a ways out of town, plan your trips shopping and running errands so that multiple family members can get their errands run together, or one person can do all of the trips for everyone. If you commute to work, consider finding a ride partner.
We do much of our own, and Hugh has taught our children to do some too. There are courses that can be taken, even for women, to teach you how to change the oil and do some of the basics, which will save you labor costs while also teach you more self-sufficiency skills. There are also some good online resources for more complex repairs, too. Take advantage of learning about your vehicle’s repairs while the Internet is still available! Some of the auto part stores, like NAPA, will run computer diagnostics to determine what is going wrong with your vehicle, so that you don’t have to take it to a garage for diagnostics. Then, you can decide whether it is something you are able and willing to tackle or not. Use the resources available to you that are free or inexpensive before you go to a full-service, expensive service professional. You may end up there, but you may be able to change that air filter or belt yourself for minimal expense and learn something while you do. I have a lady friend who does all of her and her husband’s truck repairs, so this isn’t just advice for the men. Ladies, you can learn some of these things, too!
It is time we learned to sew, mend, and repair. Those items made in China by slave labor may be less expensive, but they won’t be around forever. We need to learn how to make some of our own. In the meantime, we can also benefit from thrift stores and then altar and modify. I have found some gorgeous designer clothes at the local thrift store, some with the tags still on! I have purchased a brand new sports jacket for my son with tags from a major department store for under $10. There are a lot of rags there, but there are some jewels, too. You just have to be willing to hunt a bit. Finding a new Talbots button-up blouse for $2 is worth five or ten minutes of my time. This is especially true of children’s clothes, because they wear them for such a short period of time before out growing them. Buy things that are not too trendy and are basic at thrift stores and then accessorize with the trendy or, better yet, the handmade items. Keep things simple, functional, and durable.
Having teens, there were demands placed upon me for certain items– specific brands of expensive jeans and tennis shoes, for example. My rule was that I would contribute what seemed like a reasonable cost for “average” brand jeans and tennis shoes. If they wanted something “special” they had to contribute the extra cost with their own money. I might pay $60 toward a pair of tennis shoes, but if they wanted those $150 shoes, they had to cough up $90. Now, they weren’t contributing to the family income at this time either, but this encouraged them to have income/jobs of some kind. If they didn’t, then they got Levi’s and ***AMAZONamazon.com/dp/B00LNHRYOO/ref=twister_dp_update?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1***Adidas. It was quite the motivator for them to mow lawns, babysit, and get jobs. They wanted their “style”, and I found that they were willing to work for it. It was a win-win situation. They didn’t buy everything, by any means, but they had to contribute the “extra” for what was really important. It made them prioritize what was important to them, too.
We invested in a front loading washer, which uses less laundry soap and water and is more gentle on clothes as well as seems to get clothes cleaner. My dryer also does an awesome job of steaming (yes steaming) to freshen up/de-wrinkle clothing, too! I am no longer inclined to use the professional cleaners for dress shirts and other garments any longer, thanks to the ease of use and effectiveness of my laundry system. It is a significant expense up front, but I believe it is one that eventually pays for itself (not only in terms of lower cleaning bills and reduced soap/water costs but in reduced car/gas use, time savings, and increased longevity of clothing) and makes for a happier household. Also, with the Dryel (and other) dry cleaning bags/freshening cloths, I can deodorize and spot clean many “dry clean only” garments between visits to the cleaners. If you have a professional or someone who must dress up for work in your household, reducing trips to the cleaners can sure help the budget. Set up a system to make it easier and more pleasant to do the laundry at home. Get the children involved, too, in doing their laundry to help out! They can begin folding towels when they are very young. This is, after all, a family matter. Everyone wants a roof over their head, food in their belly, clothes, security, transportation, and utilities as well as many other comforts and conveniences. Get everyone involved as much as they are capable and able.
Homemade laundry detergents and deodorizers are another way to cut costs as well, especially when ingredients like Borax and Fels Naptha are purchased in bulk. There are some wonderful articles on SurvivalBlog describing just how to make laundry detergents (and other soaps for the household and personal hygiene, too). Additionally, I found online instructions on the Internet for making homemade Dryel-like freshening cloths using things like warm water, Borax, oxygen bleach, and lavender (or other) essential oils.
It is my opinion that gifts should be about the person who is the recipient. The cost of the gift isn’t nearly as important and the thoughtfulness and how personalized it is for the recipient. It may be far easier to just spend a bunch of money on the latest trendy gadget for someone than to spend a lot of time thinking about the person, their interests, their history, and what would be meaningful to them, but it won’t have as big an impact usually on your relationship (unless they are a very materialistic person) and it will have a big impact on your budget. When it makes sense, look for things you can make or personalize that would be significant to the person. Is there something you can hunt for that is rare that they would really appreciate. Do they have a favorite author/politician/famous person? Maybe you can find a nice print photograph of this person and a favorite quote from him/her and make a wall hanging. Maybe your best friend loves all things about chickens, and you can make a chicken-shaped birthday cake and take it on a chicken platter that costs only $25. The effort and thoughtfulness will count more than the money spent! There are many ways to give a big gift without spending a lot of money. Sometimes, the way that the gift is given is part of the gift itself. Treasure hunts are great fun for the kids (and can also be fun for sweethearts, too). Use your creative resources instead of just your bank resources in gift giving. Make your gifts truly gifts of the heart and not just gifts of the pocket book! They will usually mean more.
Also, when it comes to the children, don’t spoil them with gifts and goodies every time you go to the store! Let treats really be treats and special times rather than the routine. What becomes routine becomes expected and loses meaning, while at the same time a lot of money gets wasted on “junk” and bad eating habits can be formed, too, as candy bars, lollipops, gum, and so forth get picked up at the check out line. If you have a youngster (or two or three) who gets hungry and cranky at the store, I suggest taking a healthy homemade granola bar or baggies of apple slices and/or carrot sticks from home. That way they will have a snack to keep them busy while waiting in line and you have something to give them when they each ask for the candy bar or bag of sugary treats that aren’t good for them and each cost a dollar.
While raising our children, we had responsibility charts and reward systems in place. Our children had to take care of their things. As they grew to be able to handle more responsibility, they were given responsibilities around the house and on our property, too. They got rewarded based upon their effort/performance in handling household and yard responsibilities, just as we adults get rewarded for handling our jobs. If their job wasn’t handled properly (or to the best of their ability), it was noted and they didn’t get compensated for that job. At the end of each week, they got their financial rewards in the form of “pay”. Sometimes, there were situations where they were expected to go above and beyond, because we were family and just had to help each other out. We made sure that it was clear that these jobs and responsibilities would some day be expected without pay, but while they were learning and until they could get jobs outside of the house we would reward their effort for caring for community areas and teach them how to manage money. Then, we expected them to buy what they wanted with this money. Hugh and I bought what was needed, but we didn’t buy “wants”, except on holidays and birthdays. Again, this taught them to make decisions with their money. They had to prioritize their wants. We also taught them that they had to save some of their money for gifts for their friends, too. If they got invited to a birthday party, they had to buy a gift of at least $10 (minimum) for the friend who invited them or they could not go. If they got invited by a friend to go to the movies, they had to pay for the movie. If they didn’t have the money to go, they didn’t get to go. There were some tears on occasion, but the lessons learned young were better than the lessons they would have to learn now. This taught them to put money back to be ready for opportunities that might come up. Some of our children learned to save more readily than others, but all of them eventually learned this concept.
Remember, that it is important to teach our children the life lessons we have learned (or are learning) while they are young. Better to learn when you are young than after you have more serious consequences to mistakes! I sure am grateful for the training I had, yet wish I had learned better what my parents tried to teach me so that I could have avoided more mistakes. Still, we do our best to teach our children and have to let them make their own choices and mistakes, just like I made mine. We are all hopefully growing in knowledge and getting better, day by day. I have much yet to learn!
There is so much to say here, but most of it has been said elsewhere on SurvivalBlog. Grow a garden, raise chickens and livestock as you are able. Can, dry, and freeze dry your homegrown foods. Buy beans, Band-aids, and bullets in bulk whenever possible, using Costco, Sam’s Club, Amazon Prime, SurvivalBlog advertisers, the LDS/Mormon store, and specialty wholesalers and retailers. (Also, don’t forget to buy Bibles, too.) Each month, you may need to focus on obtaining one type of food or prep supply in bulk, or you may need to set back some of your budget until you have the total you want to buy a whole order. Whatever you do, I suggest you do all you can. Watch for sales, too, at your local supermarket and in advertisers’ ads and then take advantage of those deals especially long-lasting loss-leader deals that are priced well below their normal price. I was surprised to get cans of quality black beans the other day for 39 cents each! There was a limit of eight, but each family member could buy eight and the sale was for more than one day, so I could make repeat visits to the store. Be smart. Be diligent! Keep on keepin’ on, saving one dollar at a time. It adds up!
Make treats using vegetable and meat scraps. Don’t waste! In looking for ways to use what you aren’t going to use in the kitchen, you will find that you are stretching your dog, cat, chicken, goat, or rabbit food. Just be sure that you aren’t giving them spoiled food that might make them sick. Keep tabs on your refrigerator contents. If it is losing texture or getting a few spots, give it to the animals, but if it is growing fuzz or is really old you should just toss it into the compost. There are, of course, somethings that just don’t go to the animals, like chocolate, peppers, onions, grapes/raisins for dogs, and so forth. (Check out some of the articles and letters on SurvivalBlog for treat recipes and “dos and don’ts” of feeding animals.) I try not to let anything get to the really spoiled point before it goes to the critters. I keep small buckets in the refrigerator of the “reject” vegetables from the garden and another for reject meat/cartilage/fats/oils. Later in the day or the very next morning it is given to the appropriate animal as a treat or put into the freezer to use in making batches of baked treats. We turn much of our waste into food (chickens/eggs) and security (dog), or it goes into compost. Be resourceful!
We do a lot of our own repairs, remodeling, and fixes. We look for ways to re-purpose things, too. We have a young friend who is making some nice deck chairs out of pallets. Get resourceful and see how you can stretch what you have without spending much! We also have found some great furniture buys on craigslist. Who would have thought we could buy the sofa/love seat combo I was considering buying at the furniture store (priced at over $1,300) for under $400 used? Watch clearance racks at home improvement stores for supplies that have been returned without packaging and so forth. You may get a great deal on a light fixture, tool, or something else you need in or for the house or property.
We have disciplined ourselves to set money aside each month for the future. Of course, precious metals (PMs) get purchased, junk silver, and some cash is kept also. It requires some discipline to know how much we can afford to “invest” in the future each month, as these are all for after a SHTF situation. Plan for this investment, if you have the other necessities covered, but you need to be sure you have food, water, shelter, and security secured before you set money aside for PMs. There is no benefit to you for having PMs if you don’t survive a disastrous event. Keep first things first. Still, there will be some emergencies along the way, and you will need some cash at times, so have some put back for those unexpected tires that blow out, that travel emergency to a family member, or something else. The banks are volatile and could close at any time, so be sure that you have a chunk of cash in hand, accessible to you even if the bank closes.
It is worth the effort to say “no” to some things, live with some older things a little longer, re-purpose something and make our own items rather than buying new, and delay a purchase in order to first fulfill a commitment and/or pursue our family priorities and life goals. It takes a bit more effort, but the savings Hugh and I accumulate through our budgetary discipline enables us to redirect our resources toward improving self-sufficiency, making family memories, increasing our Biblical training and ministry, and helping others like you learn to do the same. Are you using your resources wisely and with integrity? We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow and we can honor Him in how we live (and spend) today.
God bless you as you work to become better stewards of the financial resources He has entrusted you to utilize.
Hugh,
Pat was saying that he wished to change out the recoil spring for a heavier one on the commander size Springfield RO for +P loads. From what I’ve experienced Wilson Combat’s flatwire recoil spring kits for the 4 and 5 inch 1911’s are money well spent. In addition to giving More protection and control they will last considerably longer than conventional springs. Forty thousand rounds or more in comparison to the 5000 round life of conventional springs. Money well spent. – G.M.
Pat Cascio comments: Sadly, the ones made by Wilson Combat will not work in the current Springfield Range Officer. It is a completely different recoil spring set-up. By the way, Springfield is going to change the set-up. I haven’t heard what they will do, but I checked around and there are no other recoil springs that will work in this gun at present. It is a proprietary set-up!
IRS Increases ‘Marriage Penalty,’ Unmarried Cohabitants To Get Twice The Mortgage Interest Deduction – B.B.
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Deflation Is Always Good for the Economy
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A Shocking Story About How One Man Lost $83 Million, Plus China, Gold And U.S. Dollar
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No End Seen in Global Demand for U.S. Credit: BlackRock’s Rieder
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
72 Types Of Americans That Are Considered “Potential Terrorists” In Official Government Documents – H.L.
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Not Just Bees: All Insects Are Declining And Heading As We Head For ‘Mass Extinction’ – W.C.
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Amazon Echo is the ultimate spy device that records everything you say. Excerpt: “The “Amazon Echo” device, a constantly-listening Bluetooth speaker that connects to music streaming services like Pandora and Spotify at the sound of a person’s voice, can be easily hacked and used by government agencies like the FBI to listen in on conversations.” – J.H.
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The Revolt of the Media – T.P.
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Belgium police machete attack: Knifeman shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ hacks two female officers in face – G.L.
