How To Be A Financial Prepper- Part 1, by Brandon

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There are many parts of being a Prepper that do not involve money, or much money. And skills and abilities are invaluable and arguably the most important part of preparing yourself for any disaster. But it would be naive for a prepper to decide that the stuff part of preparing is unnecessary, useless, or just something to be overlooked. No matter the scenario for which you prepare, the financial side of preparedness is unavoidable.

Finances, A Very Important Part of Any Prepper’s Life

With this in mind, it would seem that having our finances in order would be a very important part of any prepper’s life. And to this end, I have dedicated this article.

Have A Plan In Place

When preparing, you should already have a plan in place for the potential threats considered. That plan should be well thought out, on paper, and easily accessible. Having a plan is the first step. But from there, a well thought out financial plan is crucial to the accomplishment of the prepping goal. It would be simple for a person, whether new or seasoned in the preparedness arts, to dive right in, start buying gear (whether necessary or otherwise), and end deep in debt, or at very least unable to make ends meet each month.

To Be Effective, Live Without Debt and Prep Your Finances

To be as effective (and not only in preparedness) as is possible, you must prepare your finances. In my humble opinion, the best goal is to live without debt. Either way, prepping your finances is crucial for prepping efficiency.

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Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on 3D Printers. (see the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold Bullion Rebounds After US GDP Data Released

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GOP Congressman Investigates Undisclosed Gold Market Intervention by China and the Exchange Stabilization Fund

 

Bonds:

CNBC reports: This unusual move in the bond market could be signaling interest rates are about to break out

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Also at CNBC, this from Cramer, the market mad man: Cramer translates what US bonds are saying, and it’s not good for the…

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JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on firearms maintenance tools. (See the Gear section.)

Books:

Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man

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The How Not to Die Cookbook: 100+ Recipes to Help Prevent and Reverse Disease

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A book by one of my favorite analysts of Middle Eastern affairs will be released in early September: The Last Hour: An Israeli Insider Looks at the End Times. It is already a bestseller, more than a month before release! (Note: I have not yet read the pre-publication manuscript, but Amir’s reputation for levelheadedness precedes him. He is a reserve Intelligence officer in the IDF.)

 

Movies:

The War – A Film By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

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Shogun

 

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“You really don’t understand. We don’t worry about What counts is that many millions of people have the knowledge that they can go to a weapon shop if they want to protect themselves and their families. And, even more important, the forces that would normally try to enslave them are restrained by the conviction that it is dangerous to press people too far. And so a great balance has been struck between those who govern and those who are governed.”
Cayle stared at her in bitter disappointment. “You mean that a person has to save himself? Even when you get a gun you have to nerve yourself to resist? Nobody is there to help you?”
It struck him with a pang that she must have told him this in order to show him why she couldn’t help him.
Lucy spoke again. “I can see that what I’ve told you is a great disappointment to you. But that’s the way it is. And I think you’ll realize that’s the way it has to be. When a people lose the courage to resist.”  A.E. Van Vogt, in The Weapon Shops of Isher

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – July 31, 2018

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July 31st, 1921, was the birthday of Army Air Corps veteran David Thatcher, one of the Doolittle Raiders. Thatcher was the tail gunner in the rear of the Mitchell B-25 medium bomber christened the Ruptured Duck, the seventh of 16 planes. Returning from the raid, the bomber crashed into the sea from low fuel and the crewmen survived, in no small part to Thatcher’s heroic efforts. The five airmen washed ashore and were given aid by Chinese fishermen who found them. Thatcher bound their wounds and being the only crewman able to walk, joined with armed guerrillas to carry the other crewmen to a hospital while evading Japanese troops. He lived in Missoula, Montana.

The Superior Crypto IRA, of Which You’ve Never Heard

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Cryptocurrency IRAs have become a major interest in our industry. The problems with these programs are numerous, mainly that you, the client, are not in control. These are centralized schemes that do not empower the individual. What’s worse is the fees are an astronomical 15-20% or more of your entire investment portfolio! You are limited in your investments, and most importantly you do not have access, control, or custody of the assets. With Perpetual Assets IRA LLC, you have it all, for a flat, affordable fee.

If You Don’t Hold It, You Don’t Own It

What happens with a crisis in confidence or the next banking crisis? Planning for these events are many investors’ main reasons for investing in cryptocurrency as we enter a new financial paradigm and move away from government-issued fiat currencies. Even if your centralized IRA crypto is insured, you still have a third party between you and your assets. If you don’t hold it, you don’t own it.

Counterparty risk will be a key buzzword in the coming financial turmoil. Think Bernie Madoff, only widespread, with numerous claims on the same asset, not to mention the insurance covers a U.S. dollar valuation at the time of loss. Even if your loss is made whole by a third party insurer, how long will it take to be paid, and what will happen to crypto prices in that timeframe? More importantly, what will happen to the value of the fiat currency in said timeframe?

Crypto Assets in Your Possession

Perpetual Assets IRA LLC is truly decentralized, a mechanism that the entire existence of crypto is built upon. This empowers the people, by and for the people, not financial institutions, custodians, and trustees. This platform allows you to control the storage of your crypto assets in your possession. This obviously eliminates counterparty risk but also provides you easy and fast access to your digital assets should you want to trade or take profits.

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SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on leather craftsman Norm Schertenlieb.

 

Idaho

First, over at Redoubt News: No Thanks, Senator Risch

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Big beards!  The 50 year-old rock band ZZ Top will be performing at The Festival at Sandpoint, on August 4th.

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Northwest of Boise: Mesa Fire grows overnight to nearly 15,000 acres. Here is a quote: New mandatory evacuations have been issued for the Cottonwood area and voluntary evacuations have been issued for the South Exeter area of Adams County due to the Mesa Fire, which is burning just off Highway 95 about four miles south of Council.

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Mass stabbing suspect summoned Boise police to jail before his attorneys intervened

 

Montana

Young Grizzly Bear Moved to Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem to Help Boost Population

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News from Glacier Park International Airport: Busy Skies, Full Seats

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I recently met a quite skilled leather craftsman who lives in Great Falls, Montana. His name is Norm Schertenlieb. He makes some great leather holsters. His specialty is a quasi-shoulder holster that is also belt supported. It is an ideal design for comfortable field carry (but not concealed carry) of heavy frame big bore pistols and revolvers, such as .454 Casulls, various .45/.410 revolvers, and the monstrous .500 S&W X-frame wheelguns. He also makes holsters for a wide variety of smaller pistols and revolvers.

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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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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 “HJL”. I’m finally understanding why our young people are so enthralled by socialism today.

Socialism

If you’re wondering why socialism seems to be OK with the new generation, it’s because of articles like this one. Remember, these are generally people who have never experienced the horrors of socialism and places like Venezuela and Argentina are far away. They’ve never seen people starving in mass and they have a view that even in poverty you can have a 100 inch flat screen TV and two cars. According to the article you can relax, the money won’t run out and the health care will remain the best in the world. Socialism is the new buzzword that conservatives use to scare you away from the Democratic party. Thanks to R.E. for the link.

Stand Your Ground

Reader T.P. sent in this article that shows how CNN is mangling the so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws yet again. While CNN claims that “Stand Your Ground” cases of self-defense are more complicated, they miss the boat completely. Actually self-defense cases are much simpler to evaluate. In a normal cases, you have to be evaluated on five criteria: innocence, imminence, proportionality, reasonableness, and avoidance. SYG laws simply remove the last criteria of “avoidance” making the evaluation easier for all involved. They also don’t seem to know that while SYG laws are only in 26 states, all states have some form of self-defense laws in place. Furthermore, they link SYG laws with racism. Once again CNN shows why all reasonable people don’t watch their news.

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Preparedness Notes for Monday – July 30, 2018

Today we remember the birthday of author Reginald Bretnor. He was born Alfred Reginald Kahn on July 30, 1911, in Vladivostok. He died on July 22, 1992 in Medford, Oregon. In addition to penning many witty science fiction novels and short stories in his characteristic style, he also wrote nonfiction articles for Mel Tappan’s P.S. Letter

Ruger/Black Hills Ammunition, Mark IV 22/45 Lite Edition, by Pat Cascio

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If you don’t have a .22 LR firearm in your survival battery, you should! We look today at an extremely limited, rare edition, of the Ruger Mark IV 22/45 pistol.

Survival Firearm

For more than 40 years now, folks have been asking me what type or kind of firearm should they purchase first for survival. Others ask if they only have funds to purchase one firearm, period, what would it be. My answer has changed, with knowledge, and I’m sure a lot of folks will disagree with me. For the longest time now, I’ve been recommending that folks purchase a good .22 LR rifle or handgun, if that’s all you have the funds for. Now, when we talk about “survival” it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people.

If you are a bush pilot in Alaska, you will surely want something in a larger caliber if your plane goes down in bear infested areas. If you’re out walking a wilderness trail on a Sunday afternoon with only a fanny pack, you might think a .22 LR handgun is a good choice for fending for yourself if you get lost. Look, before all the hate mail comments start pouring in, there is no right or wrong answer here. This is just my take on it.

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Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on off-road pickups and SUVs. (See the Tangibles Investing Section.)

 

Precious Metals:

Horwitz: Gold’s Groundhog Day

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The Road To War: Buying Fear – Gold

 

Commodities and Currencies:

Commodities Recap For The Week Of June 29, 2018

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Weekly Report Week 30 – Gold, Copper, CRB, Oil, Euro, Dollar

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