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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, another look at prospects for a gold-backed BRICS currency. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

BRICS Gold-Backed Currency to Launch at 2024 Summit?

But also read this piece from Reuters: US dollar’s dominance secure, BRICS see no progress on de-dollarization – report.

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The latest piece by Hub Moolman: Silver and Gold: Insurance Against US Monetary Collapse.

Economy & Finance:

National Debt: Soon at An All-Time High.  The article’s opener:

“The most recent projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirm once again that America’s fiscal outlook is on an unsustainable path — increasingly driven by higher interest costs. Growing debt, in addition to the rise in interest rates over the past couple of years, has significantly increased the cost of federal borrowing. In 2023, interest costs on the national debt totaled $658 billion — surpassing most other components of the federal budget. “

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Accounting giant KPMG: Election year dissonance: Midyear economic outlook.

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By way of the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site, there is this from the leftist CNBC: Private payrolls grew by just 150,000 in June, less than expected.

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Reader C.B. spotted this: Canada Enacts Digital-Services Tax Amid US Reprisal Threat.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The ways of Providence being inscrutable, and the justice of it not to be scanned by the shallow eye of humanity, nor to be counteracted by the utmost efforts of human power or wisdom, resignation, and as far as the strength of our reason and religion can carry us, a cheerful acquiescence to the Divine Will, is what we are to aim.” – George Washington, from a Letter to Colonel Bassett – Tuesday, April 20, 1773

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 4, 2024

We wish our readers a happy Independence Day!

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July 4th is also the birthday of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) and of General Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882).

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 113 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 $2,000.
  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 Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. 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. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 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 $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 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.

 

Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 3, by SaraSue

(Continued form Part 2. This concludes the article.)

Preparing for WTSHTF

When I wrote the 7-year food plan, it wasn’t just an idea.  I actually did it.  I took a guest room in the farmhouse, and half-filled it with food-grade buckets of dried goods and supplies that were calculated to last seven years.  It has been nice to be able to pull out anything I needed.  In addition to that, I bought several freezers over the past 3 years.  They are mostly full as I write this.  The last freezer I purchased from Costco was the biggest chest freezer they make, and it was on sale!  It is full of pork and beef that I raised here on the farm, and venison that was a gift from a neighbor.  The other freezers are full of chicken, and miscellaneous produce and berries that I froze for later processing, and butter and cheeses made from the dairy cows’ milk and cream.

I do worry about extended power outages, but I also purchased a large gasoline-fueled portable generator and stored gas.  I have not spent a great deal of time canning, in order to make the freezer foods “shelf stable”, but I have all the canning supplies that I need for putting up a year’s worth of canned food. I have purchased additional supplies over the years, to replenish what I used, but the nice thing is that I rarely go to a grocery store.  My “grocery budget” goes into animal feed, but it’s a fraction of the cost of “people feed.”Continue reading“Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 3, by SaraSue”

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, we look at our northern border.

Illegal Border Crossings at Northern Border Breaking Records

At The Center Square: Illegal border crossings at northern border continue to break records. The article’s opening lines:

“Illegal border crossings at the northern border continue to break records, according to the latest data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A record-breaking 18,644, were apprehended illegally entering the U.S. at the northern border in May, the highest total for the month of May in recorded history.

The northern border has seen the highest number of illegal entries in U.S. history under the Biden administration, The Center Square has reported.

In the first eight months of fiscal 2024, more than 99,000 were apprehended after illegally entering through the northern border, according to CBP data. If the current trajectory continues, the numbers are on track to surpass fiscal 2023 apprehensions of 147,666.

Those numbers are up from 92,737 apprehensions in fiscal 2022 and 24,895 in fiscal 2021.”

AI is Exhausting the Power Grid

Our own Tom Christianson suggested this article: AI is exhausting the power grid. Tech firms are seeking a miracle solution.

Steve Bannon Interviewed by NBC

An NBC interview at full length, shortly before his Contempt of Congress prison sentence: Steve Bannon says ‘Donald Trump is a moderate in the MAGA movement’: Full interview.

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people. We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should. Happy Fourth of July.” – Ronald Reagan

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 3, 2024

On July 3, 1861, the Pony Express arrived in San Francisco with the first delivery of overland letters from New York.

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On July 3, 1778, British forces massacred 360 men, women, and children in Wyoming, Pennsylvania.

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On July 3, 1890, the Idaho Territory became the 43rd state in the Union.

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July 3rd is also the birthday of both musician Aaron Tippin and of actor Tom Cruise.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 113 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 $2,000.
  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 Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. 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. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 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 $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 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.

Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1.)

Gardens and Jungles

In my Year 2 update that was posted in SurvivalBlog last summer, I shared that I had nothing but garden failures.  There are several problems I had to solve with gardening where I live.  First, I had to turn a lawn into a garden.  Second, plowing only brought up dormant seeds that I jokingly say are from all the surrounding counties.  Third, there is no water piped out to the garden and I didn’t have enough water due to the previous well situation.  Fourth, we had a semi-drought in year 2.  Fifth, the wildlife here was absolutely delighted with the garden buffet set before them: birds, rabbits, voles, squirrels, deer, etc.  Sixth, I chose a wonderful spot for the garden with excellent sun exposure, only to find out it was in a “wind tunnel” every Spring!  The wind ripped up the ground cover and tossed it over the fence three times.  I would staple it back down, and boom, another storm, and more work.  Very discouraging.  And seventh, my homestead sits atop a rocky hill.  There are more rocks of all sizes in my soil than you can imagine.

Remember that if you purchase “emergency seeds” or a “seed vault”, there is zero guarantee that you are going to be able to create a garden from scratch and eat from it the first season.  This is year 3 for me!  Did I get some produce the last couple of years?  Yes, but it would never have fed a family.  It was more like Show and Tell: “Oh, look there, a potato, a zucchini, is that a little watermelon under the weeds, what in the world ate all the sweet potato slips?”  I ended up purchasing produce from a neighboring farm, and from the Amish.Continue reading“Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 2, by SaraSue”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This 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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An NIH medical paper:  An alternative hemostatic dressing: comparison of CELOX, HemCon, and QuikClot.

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At Instructables: Firepit and Tree Stump Removal All in One!

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Vernon R. had this feedback:

“I do appreciate the article you published today on the “New Neighbors”, the Amish.  Very interesting article and heartwarming to see people able to survive without “Big Brother’s ‘help.’ “

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Some historical curiosa from Ian at Forgotten Weapons: Belton Repeating Flintlock: A Semiautomatic Rifle in 1785.  JWR’s Comment:  This lays to rest the anti-second Amendment argument that the Constitution’s authors “…could not have foreseen advances in rapid-fire weapons” at the time of the enactment of the Constitution in 1789. That is an absurd leftist canard.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Last night I heard this politician
Talking ’bout his brand new mission
Liked his plans, but they came undone
When he got around to God and guns

I don’t know how he grew up
But it sure wasn’t down at the hunting club
‘Cause if it was he’d understand
Just a little bit more about the working man

God and guns keep us strong
That’s what this country was founded on
Well we might as well give up and run
If we let them take our God and guns

I’m here in my neck of the woods
Where God is great and guns are good
You really can’t know that much about ’em
If you think we’re better off without ’em

Well there was a time we ain’t forgot
You could rest all night with your doors unlocked
But there ain’t nobody safe no more
So you say your prayers and you thank the Lord

For that peace maker in the dresser drawer

God and guns, God and guns keep us strong
That’s what this country, Lord, was founded on
Well we might as well give up and run
If we let ’em take our God and guns
Yea we might as well give up and run
If we let ’em take our God and guns!” –

From the lyrics to “God and Guns”, by Lynyrd Skynyrd. (Written by Mark Stephen Jones, Travis Meadows, and Bud Tower.)

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 2, 2024

July 2nd, 1881, US President James Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau, a disappointed office-seeker. Garfield died 79 agonizing days later.

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July 2nd, 1937 aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. In January of 2024, there came this report: Explorers say they think they’ve found Amelia Earhart’s long-lost plane.

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July 2nd, 1679. Europeans first visited Minnesota and saw headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.

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On July 2nd, 1808, Simon Fraser completed his trip down Fraser River, British Columbia, and landed at Musqueam.

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And on July 2, 1901. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed a train of $40,000 at Wagner, Montana.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 113 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 $2,000.
  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 Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. 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).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. 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. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 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 $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 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.

Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 1, by SaraSue

Just when you think you’ve “arrived”, you realize you’re lost, or something like that.  One step forward, three steps back.  There are other ways that one might want to characterize homesteading.  None of it is easy.  Spring is particularly busy and I always think of selling the farm and “retiring” to a genteel life filled with laying poolside, chatting about absolutely nothing important, drinking mimosas, and dining on food that someone else raised and prepared.  But, I digress…

I have written about my experiences in SurvivalBlog in 2022 and in SurvivalBlog in 2023.  Now I write about where the farm is at in year 3.

Let’s see… in three years I have cycled through a lot of farm animals: chickens, guinea fowl, goats, rabbits, cows, pigs, sheep, cats, dogs, and more cows.  A neighboring farmer asked me if I was going to get a Giraffe just to round things out.  Ha!  I’ve spent three years trying to grow a large garden… the bane of my existence.  I started a side hustle of selling excess raw milk (in accordance with my State’s laws).

The good news is that the infrastructure is humming along although it was a significant amount of work and money.  I no longer worry about not having enough water for the cows (new well), or the roof leaking (new roof), tornadoes ripping the old siding off the house (new siding), mice eating the animal feed (barn cats and critter proof containers), etc.Continue reading“Year 3: An Honest Look at the Farm – Part 1, by SaraSue”

June 2024 in Precious Metals, by Everett Millman

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and silver’s performance and examine the factors that affected the metal prices.

WHAT DID GOLD AND SILVER DO IN JUNE?

The precious metals began the month near the bottom of the price range they have been trading in since late April. The first week of June saw some significant gains, particularly for silver, which surged 4.1% on June 6th to $31.15 per troy ounce.

Silver’s 11-year high around $32/oz appeared within reach. This came on the heels of a blistering 16% rally for the argent metal over the course of May, its best month since November 2022.Continue reading“June 2024 in Precious Metals, by Everett Millman”

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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today’s column has an emphasis on some news coverage of the recent ARRL ham radio Field Day gatherings in the American Redoubt.

Idaho

Field Day: What are you bringing to the table?

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Snake River Amateur Radio Club.

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Buck Knives Reopens Company Store. Here is a quote:

“Buck Knives, a family-owned American knife and tool manufacturer for more than 120 years, recently celebrated the grand re-opening of its factory store. The 1,600-sq.-ft. outlet is located at the company’s manufacturing facility and headquarters in Post Falls, Idaho.”

Full disclosure: Buck Knives is an affiliate advertiser on SurvivalBlog.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The American people are not naifs who yearn for isolationism, but they are starting to ask some hard questions about the way we have been doing business for 50 years, and it may well be time to grant the French, Canadians, Germans, Turks, South Koreans, and a host of others their wishes for independence from us: polite friendship – but no alliances, no bases, no money, no trade concessions, and no more begging for the privilege of protecting them.” – Victor Davis Hanson