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:

We are yet again helping one of our adult children make a household move. Because they’ve reached that stage of life, we’ve done this with four of our five kids in the past  two years. Our fully-enclosed three-horse gooseneck trailer is often called into service. Helping out our son will keep us on the road a lot, in the next three weeks. Thankfully, his move was close enough that at least one of us will be able to get home each night, to feed and water our livestock.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.

And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord‘s release.

Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;

Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:

Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.

If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:

But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.

Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee.

Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.

For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” –  Deuteronomy 15:1-11 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 30, 2026

On January 30, 1648, Spain and the Netherlands signed the Peace of Munster, ending the Thirty Years’ War.

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The late Actor Eugene “Gene” Allen Hackman was born January 30, 1930.  He and his wife both sadly passed away in February, 2025.

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January 30th is also the birthday of historian Barbara Tuchman (born 1912, died February 6, 1989). She wrote some very engaging history books.

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Jase Medical just updated their affiliate agreement with SurvivalBlog.  All SurvivalBlog readers now get an automatic $10 discount at checkout. Just click on their ad in the SurvivalBlog ad stack, or use this link, to be sure that you get that discount.

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Today, we present a guest article from a SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partially promotional for a published book, it is not part of the judging for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running the contest.  Round 123 of the writing contest begins on February 1st, 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 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Are You Emotionally Ready for the Coming Collapse? – Part 4, by Peter Cannon

(Continued from Part 3.)

In Part 3 of this series, we reviewed the Antichrist, the False Prophet, the Mark of the Beast, and the One-World Money System. In this installment, we will look at the Merchants of the Earth, the Persecution of the Saints, and the Harvests of the Righteous and the Unrighteous.

The Merchants of the Earth

One of the most overlooked topics from the Book of Revelation is that of the “merchants of the Earth.” (Revelation 18:11) This term appears repeatedly in Revelation, which shows the importance of certain types of commerce, especially during the Tribulation:

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:”

“The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.” (Revelation 18:9-13 KJV)Continue reading“Are You Emotionally Ready for the Coming Collapse? – Part 4, by Peter Cannon”

Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers.

On Monday (January 26, 2026), spot silver touched $116.59 per Troy ounce in Comex trading. That brought the silver-to-gold price ratio down to 43.3-to-1. (It was 102-to-1 in late May of 2025.)  I expect the ratio to drop perhaps to as low as 28-to-1, in 2026.

Friday PM Update: In reaction to news about Trump’s pick to head the Federal Reserve, there was some strong selling this morning in New York that brought silver down to below $77 per ounce (a 34% drop!), but that will do nothing to stop the insatiable demand in Asia. This dip may be your last chance to buy silver at a good price.

I was recently asked by a consulting client if he was too late to get into tangibles investing. I told him that it was indeed too late to jump into gold and nearly too late to buy silver, but he certainly wasn’t too late to buy guns and ammunition. I also mentioned that I’m surprised that we can still stack teller boxes of nickels at face value.

All in all, it is exciting to be holding tangibles at a time when the rest of the world has just awakened to their relative scarcity and their true value. We are now seeing so many individuals and organizations at all levels — everyone from Uber drivers to Central Banks — all now rushing in trying to acquire them, at a frantic pace. It is gratifying to see that our patient stacking of tangibles has now paid off. I’m often quoted as saying that we are living in The Age of Deception and Betrayal.  But a corollary is that we also now live in The Age of The Truth of Tangibles. – JWR

Economics & Investing Links of Interest

Economics & Investing Media Tips:

Please send your economics and investing links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“The fundamental source of all your errors, sophisms, and false reasoning, is a total ignorance of the natural rights of mankind. Were you once to become acquainted with these, you could never entertain a thought, that all men are not, by nature, entitled to a parity of privileges. You would be convinced, that natural liberty is a gift of the beneficent Creator, to the whole human race; and that civil liberty is founded in that; and cannot be wrested from any people, without the most manifest violation of justice.” – Alexander Hamilton, “The Farmer Refuted,” 1775

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 29, 2026

On January 29, 1944 USS Missouri (BB-63), the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy, was. launched. It was decommissioned in 1992, and was donated for use as a museum and memorial ship on May 4, 1998. It is now on display near the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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Today, we present a guest article from a SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partially promotional for a published book, it is not part of the judging for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 of the writing contest begins on February 1st, 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 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Are You Emotionally Ready for the Coming Collapse? – Part 3, by Peter Cannon

(Continued from Part 2.)

In Part 2 of this series, we reviewed the Trumpet Judgments, and how the people on earth will be affected by these catastrophic events. I sincerely hope that the pre-Tribulation rapture believers are correct, and that Christians will be gone to heaven by this point. However, what if Christians end up having to endure part or all of the Tribulation? If so, are you emotionally prepared for this possibility? In this installment, we will look at some of the specific events associated with the False Prophet, the Antichrist, the Mark of the Beast and the One-World Money System—and how all of these might affect you.

We begin by taking a close look at what Scripture has to say about the “Beast,” also referred to by most Bible experts as the Antichrist:Continue reading“Are You Emotionally Ready for the Coming Collapse? – Part 3, by Peter Cannon”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, a warning on possible terrorist threats to Starlink. (Pictured above is a Starlink ground station in Ketchikan, Alaska. Photos courtesy of Reddit.)

Starlink’s Achilles Heel

In a recent video, an AmRRON operator in North Idaho warns: Starlink’s Achilles Heel. JWR’s Comment:  To elaborate on an analogy, if the Starlink ground stations are the system’s Achilles Heel, then the fiber optics cables are the system’s Achilles Tendon.

Ex-Google Insider Warns on Near-Term AI Advances

An insightful video interview of Tristan Harris: Ex-Google Insider Warns: “You Are Not Prepared For 2027”. JWR’s Comment: I hope that after seeing this, SurvivalBlog readers will recognize why I am so passionate about keeping AI out of journal/newspaper/blog writing and book writing.

Norway Preparing for Property Requisitions in Wartime

Norway preparing for property requisitions in wartime.

Tucker Carlson Speaks Some Unspeakable Truths

A YouTube video clip of a conversation between Tucker Carlson and Shawn Ryan: Tucker Carlson: “We’re Going To Have a Revolution”. One interesting exchange:

Tucker; “It’s one of the two. We’re getting totalitarian government or a revolution.”
Shawn: “It’s going to work for a little bit, and then it’s not going to work at all.”
Tucker;  “I pray you’re right. I’m a gold buyer on that basis, [and] an ammo buyer. But again, I have no track record of seeing the future. But I’m convinced that the current course won’t work because it’s a lie.”

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You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks.

 

 

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“The idea that The State is capable of solving social problems is now viewed with great skepticism—which foretells a coming change. As soon as skepticism is applied to the State, the State falls, since it fails at everything except increasing its power, and so can only survive on propaganda, which relies on unquestioning faith.” – Stefan Molyneux, from “The Stateless Society: An Examination of Alternatives,” The Ludwig Von Mises institute of Canada, January 6, 2011.

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 28, 2026

On January 28, 1754, British writer Horace Walpole (pictured), in a letter to Horace Mann, coined the word serendipity.

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January 28, 1915: The first US ship lost in WW I, William P. Frye. It was sunk by cannon fire from the Imperial German Navy raider SMS Prinz Eitel Friedrich. The William P. Frye had been carrying wheat to the UK.

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And on January 28, 2014, DNA analysis confirmed that the 6th Century Plague of Justinian was caused by a variant of Yersinia pestis (the same bacteria attributed to the Black Death.)

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A USB Archive Stick Update: All of the waterproof 2005-2025 SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks have sold out. The stick mailings began on January 22nd. They are now being mailed out in the same sequence that the orders were placed. We should be caught up on the mailing of all of the orders on or before February 24th. And all orders should be in your hands by February 28th.  Please don’t send us any queries requesting tracking numbers before March 1st. Thanks for your patience. – JWR

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Today, we present a guest article from a SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partially promotional for a published book, it is not part of the judging for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 of the writing contest begins on February 1st, 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 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.

Are You Emotionally Ready for the Coming Collapse? – Part 2, by Peter Cannon

(Continued from Part 1.)

The Trumpets

In part 1 of this series, we reviewed excerpts from my book “Revelation: Illustrated and Explained”. I discussed the Seal judgments upon the earth. Now we will discuss the Trumpet judgments, the difference between the Seals and Trumpets; the Tribulation, the Great Tribulation; and finally, the timing of the Rapture.

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.” (Revelation 8:1-2 KJV)Continue reading“Are You Emotionally Ready for the Coming Collapse? – Part 2, by Peter Cannon”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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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A century in the Siberian wilderness: the Old Believers who time forgot. Here is an excerpt:

“The Lykovs were proud of their ability to read their smoke-stained Bible, though it was so thoroughly blackened that the words were no longer visible. Akulina had taught her children to read and write in Old Church Slavonic, using a stick dipped in honeysuckle juice to draw blue letters on birch bark.

Over time, the taiga had become an increasingly important source of calories, as the Lykovs reverted from a primarily agricultural life to one closer to that of Neolithic hunter-gatherers. They drank birch juice and ate wild nettles, wild onions, mushrooms, berries and fish.

Only when they were very lucky did they manage to catch an animal in their primitive pit traps. In late August, the whole family climbed Siberian pines, harvesting nuts.”

o  o  o

Enormous freshwater reservoir discovered off the East Coast may be 20,000 years old and big enough to supply NYC for 800 years.

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Reader D.S.V. sent us this: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Throw Out Those Silica Gel Packets.

o  o  o

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.” – Thomas Paine, from The Writings of Thomas Paine, edited by Moncure D. Conway, 1795

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 27, 2026

January 27, 1939: First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter plane. Pictured is a P-38 at an airfield in Panama, in 1945.

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January 27, 1944:  The siege of Leningrad ended, after 880 days, and the deaths of 2 million Soviet citizens.

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Today, we present a guest article from a SurvivalBlog reader. Because it is partially promotional for a published book, it is not part of the judging for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 123 of the writing contest begins on February 1st, 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 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.