White House: Budget deficit to rise to $600B – An increase of $162 Billion over last year’s tally. – G.G.
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Oil prices little changed as market shrugs off Turkey coup bid
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Buy Gold To Hedge Dollar Debasement
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Video: Bank of England Signals August Stimulus as Rate Kept at 0.5%
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
Over at Notes From The Bunker, our friend Commander Zero has some great comments on self defense and the importance of situational awareness in the context of the Bastille Day transport par chariot attack in Nice: French Stuff.
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Too Big to Jail – Thanks to reader MtH for the link
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A consulting client recently asked me for advice on selecting for an off-road vehicle and expressed an interest in buying a surplus Humvee. I recommended that he watch the auctions at GovPlanet, and wait to find a M1114 (the up-armored HMMWV variant) at a reasonable price.- JWR
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Four headlines from Sunday:
Baton Rouge shooting: 3 officers dead; shooter was Missouri man, sources say – (CNN) – Reporter notes that it is unknown why the shooter did this.
Three Baton Rouge Officers Killed, Three Injured in ‘Ambush’ – (NBCNews) – The shooter identified as a Marine.
Gunman Identified in Shooting That Killed 3 Baton Rouge Officers – (ABCNews) – The shooter identified as a Marine.
3 law enforcement officers killed, 3 others injured in Baton Rouge shooting – (FoxNews) – The shooter identified as a Marine.
Once again, did you notice what was missing from these major news headlines? It’s also missing from the content of the articles. Baton Rouge Shooter Gavin Eugene Long Was Nation Of Islam Member, Railed Against ‘Crackers’ On YouTube Channel
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“When politeness and orderliness are met with contempt and betrayal, do not be surprised if the response is something less polite, and less orderly.” – Glenn Harlan Reynolds
On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress learns of General George Washington’s refusal to accept a dispatch from British General William Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Viscount Howe, opening peace negotiations, because it failed to use the title “general”. In response, Congress proclaimed that the commander-in-chief acted “with a dignity becoming his station,” and directed all American commanders to receive only letters addressed to them “in the characters they respectively sustain.”
I recently heard of some people praying against the spirit of indebtedness. I thought to myself that all they need to do is resist the temptation to over-spend. It is not a spirit or Satan that causes anyone to go into debt. It is merely a desire for and purchase of things for which a person does not have the ability to pay. We have the choice to buy what we want or to walk away and make do with what we have. Those of us who either have or currently are struggling with indebtedness have made the choice to make purchases with money we borrowed rather than money or property we owned. It is not a spirit but a choice. Indebtedness may be addictive in that coveting and the desire for things that a person doesn’t have and can’t afford on their own may become somewhat of an obsession, but like any addiction the first step to making a change is owning responsibility for the wrong action. Blaming a spirit or Satan for our purchase decisions does not accomplish this. Anyone challenged with indebtedness should not be looking at others to blame but should take a hard look directly in the mirror to see who is responsible for over-spending.
I have to admit that in years past, when I was going through some rough patches in life, I consoled myself at the mall and bought more than my budget could afford, using my credit card. It felt good at the moment, but later on it was very painful. It took a lot of self discipline to get a handle on my “purchase therapy” shopping sessions, but I have done it. You can, too! A budget is a great way to set boundaries for ourselves and help us achieve well thought out goals. Boundaries are necessary in all aspects of our live to be healthy, and God put some excellent ones in place for our own good. When we don’t listen to Him, we get into all kinds of trouble.
The evil that exists in the world exists because people have allowed it to thrive. It doesn’t start out as a powerful, widespread evil. The pattern that I see repeated is one where evil usually gets a foothold when people do not follow God’s instructions, chaos ensues, and then there is an opening for the evil to step in with its lies and deception. We have to be discerning and wise and not fall for this deception that we “have to look like the Joneses’” or have to have what our parents had and more by the time we’re 30. If Christians had been responsible to follow God’s instructions and not made decisions selfishly regarding our finances, marriages, children, entertainment choices, and so forth, there would not be the foothold for the evil influences that we now face. Some of the responsibility belongs with each of us. We can make changes and can be responsible beginning today. It may not save our nation from financial crisis, but it will make a difference in our families, as we reduce debt and increase our real assets.
It may be that some just don’t know how to establish a budget to help make decisions. If this is your situation, I hope to provide you with a basic outline in this series of articles, but there are many detailed workbooks and resources available to walk you through also. Let’s talk about how to take responsibility for our finances and our purchase decisions so that they line up with God’s word.
The family income includes all monies that come into the household through work or sales, whether it is regular or irregular, that contribute to the family’s expenses/plans. This is the basis for our budget, because it is what we have to work with. Spending more than what comes in is what makes a person vulnerable and a debtor. It should be a goal to get out of debt, so the goal should be to spend less than the income amount. In order to do this, we must plan spending around the income amount.
Our family’s income is what will provide the basis for our family’s survival, for our needs, our wants, our future, and also for the needs of others we choose to help. It is necessary that everyone in the family do their part to contribute to the resources of the family in some way, whether it is in bringing in income or reduce expenses. Both count equally toward having money left over to reduce debt, buy things for the present and future, and save or invest. There have been times when a portion of my teenagers’ incomes were included in our family budget, too. Of course, this has to be a family decision, but when things are hard and the family is working together as a team toward goals, everyone pitches in. Teenagers get a roof over their head and meals and clothings and so forth from parents. There have been various ways we have handled their wants and needs. (We’ll talk more about this later in the “expenses” section.)
While some family members may not be able to bring in actual cash income, they may be able to save or provide substitutes for things that would otherwise have to be purchased and be expenses. For example, in our family, I cook things that are homemade rather than eating at restaurants or buying expensive prepared meals, and the children and grandchildren help with a garden, some animals, and orchard so that fewer groceries have to be purchased. This stretches our income. Other areas where family can help stretch the income by alleviating expenses is in: sewing, auto maintenance and repair, home maintenance and repair, hair cuts/services, house cleaning, animal care, animal husbandry/raising/butchering, cheese-making, candle-making, soap making, and much more. Furthermore, children should be encouraged to do their part as their age enables. It is still practical for children to do some “work”, like babysitting for family friends or cutting the grass of a known neighbor or taking care of animals for neighbors while they are on vacation. These are jobs that might pay something and can provide “fun” money for the children’s wants, where parents provide for their needs. It teaches children responsibility and that they had better choose their “wants” wisely, because there are limited resources. Then, our children are more likely to take care of the thing(s) that they purchased from their jobs, too, because they truly value them more.
While the government is readily handing out welfare to millions of Americans, we are told as Christians that we should look after our family members in need, so our incomes should not only look out for us but for our widowed mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. We are certainly to do all that we can to provide for our own families! To not provide for our own (or do our best to try to do so) is worse than someone who does not believe in God.
“And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless. 8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” I Timothy 5:7-8
In this economic condition, it is necessary to think outside the box for ways to bring in income and often a single source of income is not enough or not wise for the unstable future ahead. JWR and contributors to the blog have provided some good articles with ideas for careers or moon-lighting jobs to bring in extra income that is not dependent upon employment and are more likely to survive in a TEOTWAWKI situation. No one has a 100% sure job. Things happen. I have successfully worked myself out of multiple jobs by managing/publicizing my employers’ companies, which were then bought by buyers who only had positions for me if I relocated somewhere I had no interest in living. Congratulations and surprise! I got a nice bonus and severance check but had to look for another job all over again, sometimes at very inopportune times. The current job market is not one I’d want to have to seek employment. This is one where it is better to make your own job and develop products and/or skills that others need locally (or can easily be sold through online stores, like Amazon). Dependence upon a big company remaining stable through the rocky road ahead is a big gamble. We need to have work that our community will need and choose to purchase (or barter) no matter how hard times get.
So, first sit down and look at what is realistic right now for your family’s income. List everyone’s source of income– husband’s job, wife’s job, Social Security check(s), any extra work done or items or services regularly sold (eggs sold, babysitting or house cleaning services, quilts made and sold, etc), rent received from anyone on property you own, annuity payments received, interest income, any cash gifts or inheritance payments received, and any other source of income you receive each month. If you get paid weekly, multiply the weekly amount by 4.2 to get an approximate monthly amount and write that calculated amount down instead of the weekly. Figure out what your family’s total income during a typical month is for each source of income and then total them all up. This is what your family’s current income looks like.
If you don’t have the exact figures kept for all of the incomes sources you know about right now, then estimate on the low side and start writing down sources of income and amounts during the upcoming month as money comes in. Setting up a financial notebook that is dedicated for this purpose is a good idea. It can be a very useful tool to help you stay organized! Keep it near where you go through the mail so that when a check or a statement comes in, you can easily write the information down in your notebook. (The same will be true of expense information arriving in the mail, too, but we’ll talk about that later in this article series.)
After writing down the sources of income, begin thinking about how you could realistically increase your income. What skills, tools, capabilities, and opportunities do you have available to you that could help bring in more income and/or replace expenses? Do not yet write down what you are saving or potential income. Just write down what income you are currently bringing in, though you may want to make a list someplace other than your financial notebook of ideas of what you can reduce off the upcoming expenditure list and potential income sources you might pursue. Brainstorm those ideas and pray about what is realistic and what the LORD might be leading you to do. Ladies, just remember that caring for your home and family is your first priority so don’t jump on anything that would sacrifice that important job. Also, do not count on future income that you don’t yet have and make any commitments or spend any money in anticipation of possible income. However, you might want to begin working toward this future income. It often takes time to build up a small side business, so you better get started planning and working on it now!
In the next part of this series of articles, we’ll hit Self Discipline and Expenses.
Critical Silver Turning Point & U.S. Economic Crisis From Collapse Of Shale Energy
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The Sub-Zero Club: Getting Used to the Upside-Down World Economy – In the new reality of negative rates, borrowers get paid and savers get penalized.
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What has gone wrong in Venezuela? – R.T.
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
Fake CIA Agent & FOX News “Terror Expert” Sentenced to Prison for Lying to the Public for Years – T.Z.
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Warning About LED Streetlights – DSV
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Feds Have Released 86,288 Criminal Aliens Crimes Since 2013 – B.B.
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Cleveland Police Given “Stand Down” Order at RNC – Protesters to Wreak Havoc on Republicans and City
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:10-15 (KJV)
July 16th is the anniversary of the death of American volunteer Hugh John McCall, in Rhodesia, in 1979.
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As pointed out in The Daily Caller opinion piece French Lessons, we should have learned by now that passing bans on firearms only disarms the law abiding citizen. The criminals are still criminals and will just ignore such laws. France is about as “Gun Free” as you can make a country, yet we have still seen significant terrorist activity there that use guns. Even if you could remove 100% of firearms from the country, how will you deal with homemade weapons, or 5 ton box trucks? I seriously doubt that France will outlaw trucks after the Nice attack.
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Today, we present another entry for Round 65 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 65 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
In the after action review, I realized there were a lot of things I learned and will do differently in the future:
Neither of us is anxious to return to NYC. We both learned a great deal during this trip and modified our approaches to traveling in similar situations. Both of us continue to rehearse and test new kit and gear when we travel for both work and pleasure. I have continued to build up my preps and modify my “list of lists”, based on my day to day experiences. We concluded that if we really had to bug out from NYC in the midst of a brutal winter on foot with a goal of reaching his base of operations 250 miles south, it would be quite an ordeal, and the odds of making it on foot were stacked against us (as in the book The Last Layover, by Steven C. Bird).
HJL,
When it came time for the 6 month change-out of my emergency water, what a surprise to find how light the jugs felt! Both of my Reliance Products Desert Patrol 6 Gallon Traditional Jeep Style Rigid Water Containers had sprung leaks. Slow leaks, so I didn’t notice in my dry cool basement, but both were half empty. Okay, out they go! Then checking my Reliance Products Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Containers, one of them was light too, having sprung a leak some time in the not-too-distant past. One had a leak near the top from having the other stored on top of it – as is encouraged by the interlocking design, if not by manufacturer’s instructions. Once again, monitor your preps! – W.R.
Gold Prices: Explaining The 6-Month Gold Cycle
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USDA and Agribusiness Cartel Plot to Destroy a Small Business
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Video: Bernanke Floated Japan Perpetual Debt Idea to Abe Aide Honda
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U.K.’s New Brexit Czar Sees December 2018 as Likely Leaving Date
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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.
Cops Not Welcome, Says Washington State Restaurant Owner – B.B.
HJL Comments: I wonder how He will feel about that when he needs them to solve the inevitable robbery?
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Newly Declassified 28 Pages Reveal ‘Dry Run’ Two Years Before 9/11 Attacks – L.B.
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Clinton to Resettle One Million Muslim Migrants During First Term – Now that’s scary!
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The Reasons Why The Globalists Are Destined To Lose – P.W.
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The Roots Of Black Lives Matter Unveiled. “Special report reveals stunner: Except for website, there is no actual organization.” – P.M.
“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” – Psalm 37:1-2, 7-9 (KJV)
July 15th is the birthday of actor Brian Austin Green. Many SurvivalBlog readers associate him with his role in The Sarah Conner Chronicles.
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Today, we present another entry for Round 65 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 65 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.
