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. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, an examination of how inflation is changing the lives of Americans, and how people are coping and hedging. Here is a roundup of articles on inflation published in 2022, with a brief fair-use excerpt from each:

Brookings: Five key takeaways on inflation from the May CPI report.

“Last year, goods inflation was incredibly high, services inflation was surprisingly low, and the net effect was high inflation. So there was a story that was told that as the pandemic’s behavioral impact eases, as people shift back from goods to services, as people return to the labor force, as things normalize, inflation will go away. Well, all of those things are basically happening, sort of roughly according to plan. Goods inflation is falling, but now service inflation is picking up. So the fact that we’re seeing the normalization, and core inflation, which was running at 7 percent last year and is running at six and half percent now over the last three months, has barely changed, I think should make us very nervous.” 

At Investopedia: Timeless Ways to Protect Yourself From Inflation.

“Inflation is often referred to as the “worst tax” because its effects go unnoticed by most people. Hypothetically, earning 4% in a savings account while inflation grows at 7% makes many feel 4% richer. In fact, they are 3% poorer.

That’s why it’s important for households and investors alike to understand the causes and effects of inflation, and how to plan so as to ensure that their assets maintain their purchasing power.”

From The Economic Times (of India): 10 Strategies for Combating Inflation.

“Sale is a small word that can be a big opportunity for the careful spender. Many hypermarkets offer heavy discounts on different items almost throughout the year. While you cannot buy too much of foodstuff, you can stock up on non-perishables when there is a sale. Paper towels, soaps, detergents and many such items can be easily stored for months.”Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“[T]he general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws: its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any.” – James Madison, Federalist 14, 1787

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 14, 2022

July 14th is the birthday of Colonel Einar A. Malmstrom. He was born in 1907 and died August 21, 1954 near Great Falls, Montana, in the crash of a T-33 jet. He was a decorated Air Force pilot, a Luft Stalag POW survivor, and test pilot. Malmstrom AFB was one of the settings for my novel Founders. (The base was named in his honor.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 101 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. 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,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 101 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.

First Year of My “Self-Sufficient” Farm – Part 2, by SaraSue

At last count, there are approximately 72 animals on my farm. Of these, 22 meat birds will be butchered very soon bringing the count down to 50. I learned that each type of animal needs their own type of shelter from the elements. I didn’t quite understand that when I got animals and have been scrambling ever since. I have lots of crazy stories of me trying to cope due to my lack of knowledge and experience.

Farm Infrastructure

Regarding outbuildings: When I bought the place there was a small barn and an oversized “shed” the size of a one-car garage, and I had thought that would be plenty. Not near enough! I started using the garage for everything: raising chics until they were ready to go outside, storing animal feed for the various animals, storing milking equipment, a freezer for beef, all the supplies and tools you never thought you needed for various circumstances, until the garage became impassible and the car sat outside no matter the weather. I finally constructed some commercial shelving and that was quickly filled. I was constantly cleaning out the garage and taking trips to the dumps.

The other day I saw a rat and that was it for me. I need to get another shed to store animal feed in galvanized trash cans, along with the farm tools. The garage shed was converted into a goat shelter, several chicken coops were purchased to accommodate the growing flock since I didn’t have the wherewithal to build a large coop by myself, and the small barn doubled as hay storage and a cow shelter. Now, if you mow or bush hog your own property, you need a garage or shed for that equipment, not to mention the gardening tools. I hire the mowing and bush hogging workout. If you have spare rolls of fencing and t-posts, bags of pine chips or bales of straw, the list goes on, those things need shelter too. Don’t think you can just tarp things outside. I tried. It really is a waste of energy and resources if you live in an area that has “weather”. It rains a lot here, the wind blows hard, and there’s lots of humidity, so keeping things dry is critical.Continue reading“First Year of My “Self-Sufficient” Farm – Part 2, by SaraSue”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, a retrospective on the ANOM  Phone/Trojan Shield sting.

ANOM: How the FBI Wiretapped the World

VICE News reports on the Anom phone honeypit sting operation: How the FBI Wiretapped the World. The article’s intro reads:

“For years criminal organizations around the world were buying a special phone called Anom. The pitch was that it was completely anonymous and secure, a way for criminals to do business without authorities watching over their shoulder.

It turned out that the whole thing was an elaborate honeypot and that the FBI and law enforcement agencies around the world were listening in. They’d help develop the phones themselves.”

Here is the description of the sting, from Wikipedia:

“The ANOM (also stylized as AN0M or ΛNØM) sting operation (known as Operation Trojan Shield or Operation Ironside) is a collaboration by law enforcement agencies from several countries, running between 2018 and 2021, that intercepted millions of messages sent through the supposedly secure smartphone-based messaging app ANOM. The ANOM service was widely used by criminals, but instead of providing secure communication, it was actually a trojan horse covertly distributed by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), enabling them to monitor all communications. Through collaboration with other law enforcement agencies worldwide, the operation resulted in the arrest of over 800 suspects allegedly involved in criminal activity, in 16 countries. Among the arrested people were alleged members of Australian-based Italian mafia, Albanian organised crime, outlaw motorcycle clubs, drug syndicates and other organised crime groups.”

JWR’s Comments: We must assume that the ANOM/Trojan Shield sting was not unique and that there are several similar large, long-duration sting operations still in progress, particularly for encrypted messaging, teleconferencing, and VPN services. Remember: There is NO truly secure electronic communication!
Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.” – John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States of America, 1787

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 13, 2022

On this day in 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance structuring settlement of the Northwest Territory and creating a policy for the addition of new states to the nation. The members of Congress knew that if their new confederation were to survive intact, it had to resolve the states’ competing claims to western territory.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 101 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. 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,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 101 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.

First Year of My “Self-Sufficient” Farm – Part 1, by SaraSue

Whewboy! What a year this has been. It feels like just yesterday that I got the keys. I can confidently say that I haven’t worked this hard since I had four babies, in quick succession, to care for. And even then, I don’t think I worked this hard. I did finally “crash and burn” recently and was sick as a dog for over two weeks and had to call for help just to keep animals alive. I think it’s interesting and helpful to take the time to review the year and make decisions about how things should go moving forward. Managing a small farm by yourself is not for the faint of heart. Hopefully, anyone dreaming about a homestead can pick up a few things from my story that will be helpful. The joke I make with my family is “I go, therefore, in order to set an example of what not to do.”

A Little Background

For those of you just tuning in, over a year ago I left Idaho, sold my cabin in the mountains, and moved to Tennessee. I did so because my children and grandchildren decided to move here and I didn’t want to be so far away from them. My roots are in Tennessee, my dad was born here, and I visited my grandparents and other relatives in these here parts when I was a child. I never dreamed I would come this way again as an adult. But, here I am. Previous to my Idaho respite, I worked in high tech as a professional and travelled the country consulting. I worked very long hours and was under tremendous pressure all the time. A series of serious illnesses stopped me in my tracks and I had to retire early. I was definitely in the “city girl” category and never imagined that I would become a “country girl” in my retirement years.

When I found this small farm, I felt like God said, “This is what you wanted ever since you were a little girl, right? You wanted a farm like your grandpa had, and you wanted animals to care for. Here you go.” I was pretty ecstatic at the time. And I am still grateful and still feel like I was given a big present. I had no idea what I was doing though. Which has made everything that much more interesting. I laugh a lot. I laugh at the sense of humor God has. I laugh at myself for thinking I can do anything I want. I laugh when I’m overwhelmed and every muscle is screaming at me. I do sleep well, though!

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

I guess the first question is: would I start a small family farm, at my age (60 something), if I had it to do over again? I can still say, yes! Would I do anything differently? Yes, just about everything. Honestly, no matter how brave you are, you just don’t know what you don’t know. You can read books, and watch movies and videos, and read blogs, and talk to people who farm, and you still won’t understand the full breadth of the undertaking unless you’ve actually worked or grown up on a farm. Until you have physically hauled water in five gallon buckets, until you have picked up dead chickens that were ravaged, until you have stood or squatted at the hind end of a birthing cow, until you have dragged hundreds of feet of hoses to get water out to different areas, until you have shoveled manure and stared down an animal 6x larger than yourself, until you have just missed stepping on a giant snake and seen rats or mice take up residence in your house, until you’ve completed your chores in smothering humidity and high heat, until you’ve recognized a tick and differentiated between various bugs of all sizes, until you’ve smashed a few dozen brown recluse spiders, until you’ve hoed tens of dozens of rows of dirt, attempted to move 100 square bales of hay into the barn, etc., you haven’t lived on a farm in the South.Continue reading“First Year of My “Self-Sufficient” Farm – Part 1, by SaraSue”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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First up, there is this, over at Live Science: Never-before-seen microbes locked in glacier ice could spark a wave of new pandemics if released.

o  o  o

Just as I suspected: Disinfo Governance Board is Back: ‘White House Task Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse’.

o  o  o

John sent this comment:

“As someone who has had to wash skunked dogs numerous times, I can suggest something better than just tomato juice. After our dogs have been skunked, the most important thing is to wash them as soon as possible. This has to be done before the oil-based skunk spray dries.

As I have washed skunk-sprayed dogs in the middle of the night to get rid of the smell.

We use a special mix to wash the dogs,

    • 1 cup of baking soda
    • 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide
    • 1 cup of dawn dish soap

Mix well, and use as soap to wash dog. (Keep it out of both your eyes, and your dog’s eyes.)

It does wash the smell away better than anything I have found. After using this mix more times than I want to remember, it does work.”

o  o  o

Up to 90% of governmental websites include cookies of third-party trackers.

o  o  o

The Homemade Gun That Killed Shinzo Abe. JWR’s Comments: Note the large clouds of smoke, indicating the use of blackpowder. And since this improvised weapon was electrically triggered, I suspect that the assassin used model rocketry igniters (such as Estes Solar Igniters) to set off the blackpowder charges. This sad incident illustrates just how delusional would-be gun banners are. They cannot keep anyone from making guns. No 3D printer is required…

o  o  o

Hundreds rescued as Sydney suffers fourth flood in less than 18 months. (A hat tip to H.L., for the link.)

o  o  o

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government which impartially secures to every man whatever is his own.” – James Madison, Essay on Property, 1792

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 12, 2022

On July 12, 1865, George Washington Carver, was born. He was a scientist whose numerous discoveries helped to improve agriculture in the South. He died on Jan. 5, 1943.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 101 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. 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,
  4. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. 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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 101 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.

 

Providing Pictorial Gear Manuals for Your Group, by R.H.

Introduction

The generator sputtered one more time, the noise only slightly louder than the un-Christian commentary coming from my mouth. The quarterly test-run for my generator checkout was not going well.

I have a Robin 11 HP generator that provides electrical backup for critical circuits in my house through a transfer switch and separate Circuit Breaker box. I can place the generator outside my garage, connect the cable from the generator to the junction box in the garage, start the generator, change the source isolation transfer switch in the basement circuit breaker box and start turning on the breakers to the circuits I need to power, such as the freezer, well, refrigerator, etc.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When installing a similar system, you must include a transfer switch. If you hook your generator into your house system without cutting the home wiring off of the power service, then with a back-feed, YOU CAN KILL SOMEONE WHO IS WORKING ON FIXING THE LOCAL POWER GRID. I used the services of a licensed electrical contractor for that part of the project. You should, as well.

I had put the system together after a long string of frequent blackouts in my neighborhood culminated in a 4-day shutdown. It was a great success! The local electrical company soon after fixed the overhead lines and local transformer yard. We have had two blackouts in the 15 years since. (I make sure to remind my neighbors that they owe me.) Seriously, it is a great system. It makes getting power where we need it much easier, and much safer.

I usually check it over and run the generator for 15 minutes or so once a quarter to ensure that it is ready for use. My problem during the test run stemmed from the fact that the generator is no longer in its original “stock” configuration. With a variation on “two is one and one is none”, it has been altered with the addition of a bi-fuel system that allows running on gasoline or propane. Propane is my usual fuel. This avoids problems with old gasoline and gives me a dual source of fuel with my gas cooking grill. In addition, propane fuel may be easier to buy in a grid-down situation where the gasoline stations don’t have power.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of more steps required to start with propane than with gasoline. I had forgotten one crucial one since my last test, and it resulted in a sore arm from pulling the starter rope and the blue language. After walking away and thinking for a while, it came to me, that I had not purged the system. Five seconds of pushing a non-obvious button, one pull of the starter rope, and the trusty generator roared into life and the quarterly test and check was on its way to successful completion.Continue reading“Providing Pictorial Gear Manuals for Your Group, by R.H.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on some more grizzly bear problems. (See the Idaho and Montana sections.)

Idaho

44-year-old man drowns in Elmore County after trying to save dog.

o  o  o

Bear breaks into car near Schweitzer Mountain.

o  o  o

Grizzly bear attacks a pig north of Sandpoint.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian has a theology. The issue, then, is not, do we want to have a theology? That’s a given. The real issue is, do we have a sound theology? Do we embrace true or false doctrine? – R.C. Sproul

Preparedness Notes for Monday — July 11, 2022

July 11th is the birthday of John Quincy Adams. He was born in 1767 and died in 1848. Not to be confused with his father – John Adams – the younger Adams also served as a diplomat, congressman, and as president.

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A new property listing at SurvivalRealty in Athol, Idaho: Homestead in North Idaho.

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Today we present a review written by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio.