Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at some tax issues. (See the Taxes section.)

Precious Metals:

You may have noticed that silver is gaining, versus gold. As of Saturday morning, spot silver was at $25.34 per Troy ounce, while gold was at $2,003.30 per Troy ounce.  That is a 78.82-to-1 ratio.  I’m still looking at a ratio under 70-to-1 in the short term and 40-to-1 in the long term.  So if you have enough room for some  “ballast” in your vault and you can find a low-premium dealer, then buy silver, not gold.

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Signed as Law: Mississippi Takes First Step Toward Treating Gold and Silver as Money.

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At Gold-Eagle.com: Jim Willie: BRICS Are Driving Dollar & Precious Metals Markets.

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Chart: 200 Years of Global Gold Production, by Country.

Economy & Finance:

Moody’s: What if the Banking Crisis Is Not Over?

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JPMorgan, PNC To Buy First Republic After FDIC Seizure First Leaves Taxpayers Holding The Toxic Stuff.

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At Zero Hedge: So This Is What The Bottom Of The Freight Market Feels Like.

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CNN: The US economy grew at a much slower pace in the first quarter. JWR’s Adds: I fully expect to see a recession in Q2 or Q3 of this year. For some context, here is the trend —  not fully spelled out by the Pro-Bidenista CNN:

  • Growth rate in the third quarter of 2022:    3.2%
  • Growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2022:  2.6%
  • Growth rate in the first quarter of 2023:     1.1%

Taxes:

Lest we forget: 2023 Tax Brackets. JWR’s Comment: In an age of mass inflation, we’ll all become millionaire holders of near-worthless dollars, and we’ll all be in the top tax bracket.

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Tom Christianson suggested this article: IRS Hiring Gun-Carrying Agents in all 50 States.

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Reported last October: Inflation Is Surging, So Are Federal Tax Collections. JWR’s Comments: Despite record revenue, Congress consistently overspends. The National Debt is expected to jump from $31 trillion to $50 in the next few years.  The annual interest payments on the National Debt will soon exceed the size of the annual Department of Defense budget!

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Crypto Tax Rates: Complete Breakdown by Income Level 2023.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“This is a government of the people, by the people and for the people no longer. It is a government of corporations, by corporations, and for corporations.” – President Rutherford B. Hayes (ca. 1888.)

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 30, 2023

Today is the birthday of sci-fi novelist Larry Niven (born April 30, 1938). Along with Jerry Pournelle, he co-authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer.

April 30th is also the birthday of software engineer Ed Yourdon, who was born in 1944. He passed away in 2016.

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Today’s feature article was too short to qualify as an entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

Some Storage Food Challenges, by S.F. in Oregon

In this brief article, I will discuss some issues with stored food.

Pests

Insects – There are many sources of information on how to store grains and beans using dry ice, nitrogen or oxygen absorbers so I will not duplicate that here. I will add that if you use mylar bags, get 12 mil or thicker. Lower mil thicknesses are problematic. I know this from personal experience. Thinner ones tear, puncture, and seal poorly.

Rodents – Get two barn cats.

Botulism

Canned food – Botulism from canned food is also addressed elsewhere, but I will remind the reader of the following symptoms that would appear 18-36 hours after ingesting the toxin.

  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Muscle weakness
  • Double vision
  • Drooping eyelids
  • Blurry vision
  • Slurred speech
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Difficulty moving the eyes
  • Vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Stomach pain
  • Diarrhea

Signs and symptoms in an infant might include:

  • Constipation
  • Poor feeding
  • Drooping eyelids
  • Pupils that are slow to react to light
  • Face showing less expression than usual
  • Weak cry that sounds different than usual
  • Difficulty breathing

The botulinum toxin is destroyed by boiling for 5 minutes. Other than in infants and the immunocompromised, the spores (which require pressure canning to kill) do not seem to present much danger. Since treatment for the botulinum toxin would require specific drugs and months of rehabilitation, in SHTF, it would likely be lethal, so consider boiling your home canned food before eating.

Aflatoxins

Now comes some information you may not know.

Aflatoxins are toxins created by mold. Similar to botulinium spores, adults are more resistant than children.

Acute toxicity results when someone consumes a high level of aflatoxins in a very short time. The most common signs and symptoms are:

  • Nausea
  • Yellowing of skin and sclera (icterus)
  • Itching
  • Vomiting
  • Bleeding
  • Abdominal pain
  • Lethargy
  • Edema
  • Convulsions
  • Coma
  • Death

Chronic toxicity occurs through consuming small amounts of aflatoxins over a prolonged period. Chronic exposure to aflatoxin can result in the following:

  • Impaired growth and development, especially in children
  • Immunosuppression
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma (weight loss, abdominal mass, anorexia, vomiting, nausea, bleeding, psychosis, etc.)

Maternal exposure to aflatoxin is associated with a higher occurrence of preterm birth and late-term miscarriage.

There are test kits for aflatoxins (aflacheck) but a 365nm ultraviolet light* will cause kojic acid (a product of molds) to glow yellow-green.

The uvBeast V3 365nm Mini is a small light that may work well. While you may get false positives, you are very unlikely to get false negatives.

Don’t forget to test your stored animal feed for aflatoxins. If your animals eat aflatoxins, it will be in their tissue and you can get it by eating your animals or drinking their milk.

Histamine

Next comes histamine. Histamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with allergic reactions (and if high enough, schizophrenia.) The canning process increases histamine in foods, with the greatest source of histamine being in canned fish. If you find yourself itching after eating canned food, it may be a histamine reaction. Additionally, citrus foods, while not high in histamine, will cause histamine release.

How did I come to this conclusion? After months of unexplained itching, I found the effects of my consumption of canned sardines (highest in histamine) were being magnified by my daily lemon water drinks. I stopped them both, and the infernal itch disappeared shortly thereafter. There are also probiotics you can take (or culture in a yogurt maker with dairy or carrot juice), that degrade histamine in the gut**.

Finally, histamine is degraded by ascorbic acid, so if you don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, consider stockpiling some vitamin C.

Peace be with you in these challenging times.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, ad the world heareth them.

We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” – 1 John 4:1-11 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 29, 2023

On April 30, 1897, English physicist J.J. Thomson announced that he had discovered the electron, which helped revolutionize the knowledge of atomic structure; he later was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.

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I just belatedly learned of the death of economics commentator Richard B. Daughty (aka The Mogambo Guru.) He was born March 27, 1947 and died February 10, 2022. He stopped posting articles in 2017. Both his insight and his humor are greatly missed!

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. EBL is providing an EBL Voyager 500-Watt Power Station with deep cycle lithium batteries, providing reliable 120 Volt AC and DC (12 Volt and USB) power for emergencies or outdoor use. (A $399 value.)
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 106 ends on May 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.

Get Started With Scratch Cooking – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Batch Cooking

This is what I’ve heard over and over from young moms, working moms, professional working parents, older adults, and all kinds of people: We have no time to cook from scratch. We’re barely keeping our heads above water on the daily. I can’t keep up with the dishes! Groceries have gotten so expensive!!

Here is my advice: start small and involve the whole family. Meal plan together. Hey, it’s fun! You can talk about it over a meal – pick one when you’re all together. In another chunk of time, and this is especially good to do with children who need to learn how to do this, make an ingredients list from the meal plan. Shop together. When you go shopping, if you actually do that in person, take one or more children with you and give them assignments to find the ingredients for the meal plans on each aisle. You’ll teach them about reading the labels and about cost. If you’re like some people, and you order everything online to be delivered or curbside pickup, see if you can assign the task of ordering to an older child, review the “cart” before purchasing.Continue reading“Get Started With Scratch Cooking – Part 2, by SaraSue”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I had to make a couple of day-long trips to buy some fasteners, lumber, and hardware for the workshop remodeling projects. These trips take a frustratingly long time.  But this is just part of living in the hinterboonies. The detractors — like long driving distances — are more than counterbalanced by the many joys of living on the edge of the wilderness.

We took some hikes this week, and made a lot of progress on mucking out the sheep shed, and some other projects. On Wednesday and Thursday, our life was all about shoveling, hauling, spreading, and rototilling-in manure.  There was so much manure being flung about that I felt like I was under the capitol dome in Washington D.C.

Lily will fill you in on some details…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Make haste, o God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.

Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.

Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.

But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.” – Psalm 70 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 28, 2023

April 28th is the birthday of gun designer Aimo Johannes Lahti. (Born in 1896.) This inventive Finn designed (or co-designed) an amazing array of weapons including the L-35 Lahti pistol, the Suomi M-31 SMG, the Lahti-Saloranta M/26 LMG, the famous Lahti L-39 20mm anti-tank rifle (pictured), and even the 20 ItK 40 — a 20 mm dual anti-aircraft cannon.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. EBL is providing an EBL Voyager 500-Watt Power Station with deep cycle lithium batteries, providing reliable 120 Volt AC and DC (12 Volt and USB) power for emergencies or outdoor use. (A $399 value.)
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 106 ends on May 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.

 

Get Started With Scratch Cooking – Part 1, by SaraSue

A question that came up recently in conversation with friends and family, is how in the world can a person provide food for their families without relying on processed foods? – every day of the year, 3x or more a day? It’s actually a really good question. And in doing so, how can one afford it? Where does this food preparation time come from? These are practical questions that modern families face daily. I honestly would much rather solve a problem I can solve than worry about all the big problems in the world. Are we going into a civil war or world war 3? I have no idea! But, I can make a mean chili. No matter what horrible thing comes our way, a full belly of nourishing food will help us cope a whole lot better. Here’s my strategy for three square meals a day, plus snacks, of healthy, nourishing, non-GMO or adulterated foods, without breaking the bank or spending all day cooking every day.

There are two major components of my strategy:

  • Bulk food
  • Batch cooking
Bulk Food

Having a full pantry makes scratch cooking possible, so that is why I prioritize it. I rarely go to a grocery store for food once I’m stocked up. How to stock up has been covered here before, so I won’t go into that topic in depth. If you grow your own food, that is ideal, but not everyone can do that.

Whether you grow it yourself or buy it, you can obtain quality food (organic or nonGMO) at very affordable prices if you are willing to buy in bulk. The Amish live near me, and I’ve found that they are masters at growing food. When my cucumber and tomato crop failed last year due to excessive heat and me falling ill, I was able to pick up cases of both from the Amish very cheaply. I then processed them for the pantry and freezer (pickles and marinara sauce). In addition to growing my own food, I use Costco, Azure Standard, Walmart, and growers in my community for bulk purchases, depending upon where I can find the best quality and pricing. I don’t just buy a little bag of rice or flour, I buy 20-to-50lbs (high quality!) at a time. Those are two things I cannot grow, as an example.

The problem with bulk purchasing is you must have a way to store things. I probably have 60 or more 5 gallon food grade buckets that I’ve purchased over time. They are easy to use, stack, and you can seal them for long term storage if you desire. Storage space needs to be designated for bulk purchases. The initial investment for storage containers is not that expensive if you can get buckets and lids for a good price. I used to pay $3-4 for a food grade bucket, and now they are selling for $7-8, not including the lids. Buckets have a vast number of uses and last a long time. I’ve used them to transport water or feed, made mouse traps out of them, used them to collect rain water, as trash bins, etc. My opinion is you can’t have too many buckets, so your investment will not be wasted.Continue reading“Get Started With Scratch Cooking – Part 1, by SaraSue”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the commercial real estate market. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Fitch: Platinum And Palladium: High Risk Of Future Supply Disruption.

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At Kitco.com: Gold prices treading water around $2,000 an ounce as U.S. GPD grows 1.1% in Q1.

Economy & Finance:

First Republic Bank continues to crumble: First Republic advisers have lined up potential purchasers of bank’s new stock – CNBC.

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This piece from Fortune was linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: First Republic Bank lost more than $72 billion in deposits during the first quarter—and plans to lay off up to 25% of its workforce.

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And CBS reports: First Republic shares continue their free fall amid mounting worries.

JWR’s Comments:  In early February, First Republic stock was selling at around $147 per share. Yesterday morning (Thursday, April 27), the shares were at $5.81. That’s a massive and probably unrecoverable drop. There are dozens of smaller banks — with similar levels of capitalization — standing by as the next possible dominoes. These banks are continuing to lose deposits. Their shareholders must be feeling nervous. As I’ve mentioned before, the banking crisis was caused by the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates too low for too long. Years too long. This crisis is far from being over.

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David Stockman on Why Decades of Inflationary Finance Are Finally Coming Home to Roost.

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Jobless Claims Hover Near 17-Month Highs, Flash Recession Signal.

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US Discusses Ending Trade with Russia as Economic Sanctions Fail to Halt Aggression in Ukraine.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There is no such thing as an achieved liberty; like electricity, there can be no substantial storage and it must be generated as it is enjoyed, or the lights go out.” – Supreme Court Justice Robert Houghwout Jackson, 1953

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 27, 2023

On April 27, 1865, the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history occurred when the overloaded steamship SS Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River, killing some 1,800 people, many of whom were former Union POWs returning home from the Civil War.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 106 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. EBL is providing an EBL Voyager 500-Watt Power Station with deep cycle lithium batteries, providing reliable 120 Volt AC and DC (12 Volt and USB) power for emergencies or outdoor use. (A $399 value.)
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 106 ends on May 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.