The Price of Home Security: You Can Pay a Little Now, or Pay Much More, Later

JWR’s Introductory  Note:  This is an update to a SurvIvalBlog article that I posted in March, 2007.  Many home security technologies have advanced, especially with the advent of inexpensive webcams and trail cameras. So this is a fairly important article update.  I have also added mention of an alternative modular gun safe manufacturer.

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I’m often amazed to hear some of my relatively wealthy consulting clients tell me that they don’t own a home gun vault or safe room. I ask why not, and they make excuses like: “I’ve been too busy at my job to shop for one” or, “A gun vault is too heavy to move, and I seem to move every three years”, or “vaults are too expensive.” Yes, they are expensive but not nearly as expensive as having some of your key survival tools stolen. In essence, you can pay a little now, or pay much more, later.

A burglary can be psychologically devastating. I have a good friend in California who was burglarized in 2004.  By God’s grace, only a couple of his guns were stolen, since most of his battery was either cached elsewhere or locked up in his gun vault. (He had a few too many guns for them all to fit in his vault.) The burglars also walked off with several thousand rounds of ammunition. Even though his loss was relatively small, my friend still talked with anger and bitterness about the event in nearly every phone conversation with me for the next four or five years.Continue reading“The Price of Home Security: You Can Pay a Little Now, or Pay Much More, Later”

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, we look at some threatened tariffs on gold, and a quick reversal. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

Trump says gold will not be tariffed.

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I noticed that spot silver bounced back to $38.82 USD per Troy ounce in after-hours trading on Wednesday. (Thursday morning trading, in Asia.) Let’s see if the COMEX Short Sellers attempt their usual Friday shenanigans today.

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Jesse Columbo, in an August 12th piece at Gold-Eagle.com: Tariff Confusion Sends Gold on Round Trip.

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Gold Revaluation & the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve”.

Economy & Finance:

Average U.S. household debt reaches $152K; Here’s a breakdown of what Americans owe.

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Martin Armstrong: The Recession is Far More Complex Than Most Expect.

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Goldman Sachs: How to Know When a World Event Could Shock the Market.

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H.L. sent us this: General Motors’ Profits Drop 35 Percent as CEO Clings to EV Strategy.

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California’s $20 Fast-Food Minimum Wage Increase Linked to Whopping 18,000 Job Losses. (A hat tip to D.S.V. for the link.)

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Another from H.L.:  Dave Ramsey Says, ‘You’re Not Broke Because You Don’t Make Enough. You’re Broke Because You Give Your Income To Everyone Else’.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — Aug 14, 2025

90 years ago today, on August 14, 1935, in the depths of the Great Depression, the poorly-conceived and undeniably socialistic Social Security Act was signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). The first Social Security numbers were issued in 1936, and the first Social Security taxes were collected in January, 1937. The first benefits were doled out in 1940. The following is from the SSA website:

“On January 31, 1940, the first monthly retirement check was issued to Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont, in the amount of $22.54. Miss Fuller, a Legal Secretary, had retired in November 1939. She started collecting benefits in January 1940 at age 65 and lived to be 100 years old, dying in 1975.

Ida May Fuller worked for three years under the Social Security program. The accumulated taxes on her salary during those three years was a total of $24.75. Her initial monthly check was $22.54. During her lifetime she collected a total of $22,888.92 in Social Security benefits.”

That first beneficiary’s experience illustrates the folly of the whole scheme. The deeply entrenched (and mandatory enrollment for nearly all working people) Social Security program is essentially a Ponzi Scheme. It depends on the assured demographics of a continuously growing working-age population. That ended with the Baby Boom, and the Baby Boomers are now retiring. If the current SSA empire is not superseded by a genuine investment program that the congresscritters cannot touch with their greedy fingers, then my children and grandchildren will probably never recoup more than a tiny fraction of their “contributions.” – JWR

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And on August 14, 1864, gold was discovered in Helena, Montana.

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Today’s feature article is a brief review that is too short to be an entry for our writing contest.

We need more entries for Round 120 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 120 ends on September 40th, 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.

FNIRSI GC-03 Radiation Detector: An Evaluation, by Mike in Alaska

Introduction

This article is not a full review. It is just a cursory evaluation.

Several weeks ago, I ordered a Multifunction Nuclear Radiation Detector from a eBay seller who imports these units from China. FNIRSI also sells several other electronic test equipment units, one of which I bought was the multi-function oscilloscope hoping that I could use it on the bench as well as for portable operations. Alas, I didn’t like the unit because the probe connections for the oscilloscope don’t fit well into the connector (BNC type) on the top of the case and because of that issue I broke off the connector for one of the two channels and when I disassembled the unit it effectively destroyed the outer lining for the case. I contacted the company but never got any reply from them or the seller I bought it from. I was able to repair the unit and make it operational, and it is not as good as advertised as far as sensitivity is concerned. It is just a glorified DMM. In that regard, it is good. So up front, just beware that if you buy any items from the FINRSI brand you’re on your own for user support. I am under no illusion that this unit will be any different in that respect. Caveat emptor.Continue reading“FNIRSI GC-03 Radiation Detector: An Evaluation, by Mike in Alaska”

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 the end of traditional dial-up internet service.

AOL Discontinuing Its Dial-Up Internet Service

Several SurvivalBlog readers wrote to mention this news: End of an era: AOL to discontinue its dial-up internet service after 30 years. JWR’s Comment:   Like a lot of other folks, by the late 1990s we received so many unsolicited AOL CDs in the mail that we hung them up in our garden, to scare off birds.

The Latest Ransomware and Cyber Attacks

Reader “Neo” sent us this: July 2025: Biggest Cyber Attacks, Ransomware Attacks and Data Breaches.

Farmers’ Almanac Predicts a Cold, Snowy Winter Across US

And, speaking of AOL reports: Farmers’ Almanac winter forecast for 2025-2026: A long season of cold, snow across US. (Our thanks to H.L. for the link.)

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 13, 2025

On August 13, 1642, Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered that Mars had a southern polar cap.

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This is the birthday of screenwriter, director, and producer, Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980). His many films spanned five decades.

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Today is also the birthday of sharpshooter, entertainer, and folk heroine Annie Oakley (1860–1926.)

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Please pray for everyone at risk of the floods in Wisconsin.

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As part of the 20th Anniversary celebration for SurvivalBlog, we are running our biggest sale ever on all of our percussion gun inventory at Elk Creek Company.  (Elk Creek Company is a spin-off venture that helps pay the bills for SurvivalBlog.)  Take note that most of our percussion revolver inventory is hand-selected for the availability of cartridge conversion cylinders. This is particularly important for folks who live in any of the 23 states that have de facto registration on the sales of private party modern (post-1898) cartridge guns.  The sale pricing on our percussion guns will end on Friday, August 15, 2025. Oh, and by the way, if you’d like to pay in pre-1965 “junk” U.S. 90% coins, you can divide your order total by 29.7. That is a very generous rate.

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Today’s feature article is a short but important piece, written by a SurvivalBlog advertiser. We need more entries for Round 120 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 120 ends on September 30th, 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.

Sanitation for Preppers, by A.C.

Okay, folks. This is it: The unavoidable conversation that every prepper just pretends isn’t important; we’re going to talk about your poo. In the world of survivalism and prepping, the conversation almost always revolves around a predictable list of essentials: food, water, shelter, warmth, and weapons. These are the “sexy” parts of the apocalypse, the elements we see glamorized in movies and books. But in a real, long term grid-down situation, a far more mundane and devastating threat looms large, one that is almost never discussed and rarely planned for; sanitation. The truth is, without a proper plan for managing human waste, the modern world would swiftly descend into a public health crisis that could wipe out communities long before any other disaster does.Continue reading“Sanitation for Preppers, by A.C.”

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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SurvivalBlog reader Tim J. suggested this video: The Insane Number of Humvees in US Inventory. JWR’s Comments:  Once all those thousands of HMMWVs (“Humvees”) are inexpensively released as surplus over the next decade, for preppers, it will seem like manna falling from heaven. The key question is: Will any of the up-armored variants also be released? Oh, by the way, a full set of HMMWV operator and repair manuals is included as a bonus to our annual blog archive waterproof USB sticks.  Mark your calendar for Febraury 16, 2026, to order your 20th Anniversary Edition sticks.

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In response to the recent three-part feature article by St. Funogas, Mrs. Alaska wrote:

“I always look forward to articles by St. Funogas.  They are practical and insightful.

I concur with the advice to mark your prep supply usage to develop realistic plans for storage.
My husband and I live in a fly-in-only location in Alaska.  Seven years ago, we decided not to put our plane on skis to keep here in winter (the days are so short, and the snowstorms so frequent), but to leave it hangared with our airplane mechanic in a nearby town.  As a result, we go seven months each winter without seeing anyone and without resupply.
To do so, we maintain a spreadsheet of items and how many we have on hand and how many we need to buy.  This required exactly what St. Funogas suggested:  we wrote the dates we opened a tube of toothpaste or a bag of chicken feed or flour or rice or chocolate chips on the item. Importantly, we discovered that our seasonal use varies. Split peas we consume in winter but not in summer. Our free-ranging hens consume twice as much feed in winter as in summer. Therefore, we check our inventory list twice a year. For lightweight, shelf-stable products we maintain a multi-year supply.  For products that age out, like gasoline, even with Sta-Bil, we maintain about 18 months of supply.
Great advice, St. Funogas!”

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Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Reason, in a strict sense, as meaning the judgment of truth and falsehood, can never, of itself, be any motive to the will, and can have no influence but so far as it touches some passion or affection. Abstract relations of ideas are the object of curiosity, not of volition. And matters of fact, where they are neither good nor evil, where they neither excite desire nor aversion, are totally indifferent, and whether known or unknown, whether mistaken or rightly apprehended, cannot be regarded as any motive to action.” – David Hume

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 12, 2025

On August 12, 1865, British surgeon Joseph Lister (pictured) performed the first antiseptic surgery using a carbolic acid (aka phenolic acid) solution spray on his instruments and bandages.

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On August 12, 1867, US President Andrew Johnson defied Congress when he suspended Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.

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And on August 12, 1908, Henry Ford’s company built the first Model T car.

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Today’s feature article is an essay by our friend Brandon Smith, the Editor of the highly-recommended free site Alt-Market.us. He is also the Editor of the by-subscription e-newsletter, The Wild Bunch Dispatch.

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We need more entries for Round 120 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 120 ends on September 30th, 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.

As America Soul Searches, The Rest Of The West Is Falling Apart, by Brandon Smith

Editor’s Introductory Note: This perceptive essay was first posted at Brandon Smith’s Alt-Market.us. It is reposted with permission.

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In terms of geopolitics one could argue that allies don’t have to like each other, they just have to provide a mutual benefit that serves the greater purposes of peace. One could also argue that through cultural exchange the good habits of one country could easily influence the bad habits of another, but that kind of influence can also happen in reverse.

Though we might think of American culture as the content driver of the planet, the reality is that our ideals are an exceedingly rare dynamic found in no other society. We provide sanctuary to a fragile ember of free thought in an otherwise gloomy world of globalist oppression. It is something that must be protected at all costs.

Over the years I’ve heard many arguments from ignorant liberals about the grand progressive accomplishments of the European experiment and its centralized system. I’ve been told many times about how much safer Canada and Australia are. How the UK has near zero gun crime and how socialism works so well in Norway and Sweden.

Leftists in the US have long embraced this messaging as gospel and for generations they have told us that we must join the rest of western civilization by sacrificing certain liberties for the sake of future generations. We must become more like our allies in “more civilized” and liberal nations, or be left behind and labeled an “embarrassment”.Continue reading“As America Soul Searches, The Rest Of The West Is Falling Apart, by Brandon Smith”

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, some data on gun ownership rates in the American Redoubt region.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

Video: US States by Gun Ownership Rate — Comparison. JWR’s Comment:  If Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington were separate states, they’d both very likely be in the Top 10.

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Some after-action info on the July, 2025 TEOTWAWKI Readiness Exercise (T-REX) is now available at the AMRRON website.

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Bend man killed in wrong-way crash near American Falls, Idaho.

Idaho

Idaho National Guard members to aid ICE with administrative duties.

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Video: Didn’t Expect To Find This While Exploring In The Idaho Wilderness!

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Sole survivor of 2005 Idaho family murder returns to tell her story 20 years later.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“No tears in Heaven, no sorrows given,
All will be glory in that land;
There’ll be no sadness, all will be gladness,
When we shall join that happy band.

Glory is waiting, waiting up yonder,
Where we shall spend an endless day;
There with our Savior, we’ll be forever,
Where no more sorrow can dismay.

Some morning yonder, we’ll cease to ponder
Over things this life has brought to view;
All will be clearer, loved ones be dearer,
In heaven where all will be made new.

Chorus:

No tears, in heaven fair,
No tears up there,
Sorrow and pain will all have flown;
No tears in heaven will be known.”  – No Tears in Heaven
Music and Lyrics by Robert S. Arnold, 1935