Prepper-Specific Financial Advice

Most of the advice and I've given in previous articles of the Prepper Financial Series has been general in nature, in that it is good advice for everyone, prepper or not. In today's article, I want to give some prepper-specific financial advice:

Let me start by reiterating this foundational advice: Financial preparedness is important for preppers and survivalists, even those preparing for "the end of the world." Financial preparedness includes spending less than you make, getting out of debt and setting aside money into an emergency fund, among other aspects.

My advice: Think of prepping for TEOTWAWKI not as an escape from your debts and lack of financial security, but rather as an opportunity to successfully address those areas in your life. 

Having said that, let's move on to the prepper-specific advice:

1- Avoid "buy everything now" syndrome. Food, guns, ammo, bug-out bags, knives, multi-tools, gear, a mountain retreat and a bug-out vehicle to get there, a homestead... It seems the list of stuff we need to buy is endless, yet we have to buy it all before the SHTF event happens, which will probably be next week. Its a perfect set-up for the "buy everything now" syndrome. Folks new to prepping are especially vulnerable to this syndrome, but it can strike even experience preppers at times. Unchecked, this syndrome can have devastating consequences - everything from money wasted on stuff you really didn't need to mountains of credit card debt.

2- Lists are your friends. In battling the "buy everything now" syndrome, making lists is probably your best defense. Make a list of everything you think you need.  Think about it.  Discuss it with your spouse/family/group members. Then prioritize that list. What are the most important essentials (maybe label them A)? What are the "nice to have but can wait" items (label them B)?  What can you make do without (label them C)? You can have one massive Everything List.  Or you might find it more useful to break it down into multiple lists by categories (Food & Water, Guns & Ammo, First Aid & Hygiene, Cleaning & Sanitation, etc.). Whatever works for you.

3- Avoid impulse purchases. This is where those lists come in handy. Don't buy anything that's not on the list. And try to stick to buying those things you labeled with an A (the truly essential items), before you move on to the Bs (nice to haves, but not essentials). Don't buy any Cs if you still have As on your list. See something you really want (and think you need), but it isn't on the list? Write it down and prioritize it, but wait 48 hours before buying it. After 48 hours, review it and see if you still think you really need it. Chances are the impulse will have ebbed.

4- Quality, not quantity. You are not going to be saved by the sheer quantity of supplies you have. First and foremost, you will be saved by your physical health, your mental attitude, and your skills. Next in importance will be the quality of your gear and supplies, not the quantity. Choose quality over quantity.  Remember this when working with your lists.

5- Tactical is just a word.  A great word for marketing, to be sure. But it is just a word, and one with no official meaning. It is so over-used in marketing stuff to preppers and survivalists that it seems anything available in black is called "tactical" and the price is often jacked-up accordingly. Don't fall for this tactic (pun intended). Evaluate possible purchases based on their usefulness, quality, and price, not on the marketing terms applied to them.

6- Avoid celebrity names. There are a number of survivalists who have become celebrities of sorts due to their TV exposure. Several of them have sold their name to companies making knives, kits, and other gear. I tried a number of these "named" products, and without fail I have found them to be over-priced and often of inferior quality. You will pay a 25%-50% premium just for the celebrity name for a product that will typically be of lesser quality than the cheaper no-name version. 

7- Avoid gimmicks. There are a lot of gimmicky products out there. I've bought a few of them myself, much to my later disappointment. Often these products are interesting ideas poorly executed. Sometimes they shoot for the prepper equivalent of "cuteness" or "wow" factor to entice buyers. And they invariably over-promise and under-deliver. Avoid gimmicks by sticking to your lists, searching out reviews (youtube is great for this), and actually holding or even using a item before you buy it.

8- Avoid super-high priced items.  A bigger price tag doesn't guarantee a better product. You can get a solid, good-quality survival knife for under $50 (here's one on Amazon that I own, use and like), or you can buy a super-high priced top-of-the-line survival knife for $500 or more. The $500 knife may, or may not, be better quality than the $50 knife, but I'm willing to bet it isn't 10X higher quality.

9- Don't get too caught up in the freeze-dried, long-term storage hype. Yes, many of these foods can store (under the right conditions) for 10 years or more. However, on a per serving basis they are ridiculously expensive, in my opinion. I firmly believe you can put together a 3 to 5 year supply of food using regular canned foods and dry foods for much cheaper, and with more variety and personal choice in what you're getting.

EXCEPTION: It does make sense to buy some perishable foods, like milk, butter, cheese, and eggs, in freeze-dried or powdered forms for long-term storage. I do, and my favorite company for these foods is Augason Farms, because I know their quality is good and prices are reasonable relative to other companies. By the way, I am NOT affiliated with Augason Farms, just a happy customer. (I am affiliated with Amazon.)

10- Look for cheap and even free ways to get your gear and supplies. Some examples: Discount stores, thrift stores, salvage stores, flea markets, yard sales, classified ads, Freecycle.... Also, comparison shop, shop sales, use coupons...
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This article is part of an ongoing Prepper Financial Series. Here are the other articles in that series:

*** Foundational Advice: Eliminate Debt and Build Savings 
*** Quick Financial Tips for Preppers (and Everyone Else)
*** How To Raise Money For Your Prepping Activities
*** Precious Metals and the Prepper    
*** Taming the Family Budget  
*** 18 Easy Ways to Save Money 
*** 10 Ways to Save Really BIG Money 
*** Prepper's Guide to Junk Silver (article from 2014)  

Future articles in the Prepper Financial Series will come out on an almost weekly basis, typically on Mondays.
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10 Ways to Save Really BIG Money

  Part of the Prepper Financial Series (see index at bottom)...

Not nickels and dimes, the following ideas may each save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year. 

1- Stop smoking. In my home state of NC, a pack-a-day habit will cost you more than $2000 a year. In many other states the cost is much higher (due mainly to taxes). Think how much food storage or ammo you could buy this year just by not smoking. Or how much debt you could pay off.

2- Conquer your other addictions. It is not just smoking which is costly, but all addictions - alcohol, gambling, drugs, etc. Not only are they bad for your health (physical and emotional), but they wreck havoc on your financial life, too.

3- Brown bag your lunch. Many of us eat out for lurch during the week, but this can be costly, even if you stick to the fast food value meals. If you spend just $5 a lunch eating out (and you probably average more unless you truly do stick to the dollar menu at McDonald's), it will cost you over $1200 a year.

4- Skip the next version of your iPhone, iPad, and other electronic toys. It will cost you hundreds of dollars to impress people by having the absolute latest toy. Do you really care that much about impressing others? If so, why? Besides, in all honesty there is rarely hundreds of dollars worth of improvements from one version to the next. Make do with what you already have.

5- Drastically reduce your entertainment expenses. Watch a DVD at home instead of going to the movies. Get a library card (lots of free knowledge and entertainment). Have a family game night at home. Cut back on your cable/satellite TV package (going from the EVERYTHING INCLUDED package to a more basic package could save you more than $100/month, $1200 a year).

6- Skip the expensive vacation. "Staycations" are the hot new trend anyway. Stay home, relax, play in the backyard, go on a picnic, visit local historical sites, art galleries, zoos,  parks, and museums. Go fishing at a local lake. The savings will range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on your family size and what your normal vacation is.

7- Shop around for a better deal on your bank accounts. Fees vary widely between financial institutions. Be especially aware of over draft fees. Switching from a high cost mega-bank to a low cost credit union potentially could save you hundreds of dollars a year. Same goes for your car insurance, home owners insurance, and other financial products. If you haven't shopped around lately, you could be missing out on hundreds of dollars worth of savings.

8- Don't ever take a pay-day loan. These loans are stunningly overpriced, and borrowers often get trapped into constantly taking out these loans each payday. If you really need short-term cash, talk to your bank or credit union. Many have started programs similar to pay-day loans, but with a much less expensive interest rates. If you really are desperate for a one-time short-term loan, take the uncomfortable step of asking a friend, family member, or even your church for help.

9- Avoid impulse purchases. Impulse purchases can really add up over the course of a year. Shop with a list, and stick to it. Pay with cash, not credit cards (this will make you immediately feel the impact of the purchase). Don't go shopping for entertainment. Don't shop with friends (friends tend to talk each other into things, not out of them). Avoid watching the home shopping channels. Throw away junk mail unopened. Don't browse catalogs unless looking for something specific that you actually need.

10- Drop the gym bill. Unless you are a professional bodybuilder, there are cheaper ways to get the exercise you need. Walk, ride a bike, go hiking on the weekends, get an exercise DVD or two, do your own yard work (use a push mower), garden, buy a set of barbells or free weights (and use them), get a jump rope, do yoga at home (get a friend to join you)... Depending on what your gym charges, the potential savings is hundreds of dollars a year or more.

Bonus Tip: Here is a way to make some extra money, and declutter your life in the process - have a yard sale. Chances are, there is a lot of unused junk in your home that you could get rid of and make a few bucks in the process.
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This article is part of an ongoing Prepper Financial Series. Here are the other articles in that series:

*** Foundational Advice: Eliminate Debt and Build Savings 
*** Quick Financial Tips for Preppers (and Everyone Else)
*** How To Raise Money For Your Prepping Activities
*** Precious Metals and the Prepper  
*** Taming the Family Budget
*** 18 Easy Ways to Save Money 
*** Prepper's Guide to Junk Silver (article from 2014)

Future articles in the Prepper Financial Series will come out on an almost weekly basis, typically on Mondays.
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Please subscribe to this website using the Follow By Email field at the bottom of the right hand column.

Follow me on GAB at  https://gab.ai/TimGamble

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimGamble  

Lessons from the History of Famines

During famines more people die from violence and disease than from actual starvation. This surprising fact has been noted by Economic Historian Cormac Ó Gráda and others who have studied the history of famines. 

Without getting into the causes and outcomes of famines (Ó Gráda and others have written many scholarly papers and books on the subject), I want to examine what this means for preppers and survivalists:

Disease prevention and medical readiness, along with security and self-defense, are equal to food and water as areas of concern.  

The need to address food and water is ubiquitous within the prepper and survivalist community. It is usually the first bit of advice offered to newbies, and it is probably the most discussed area of preparedness. Many articles and books have been written on the subject, covering everything from food storage, to raising and preserving food, to providing food through hunting, fishing, and gathering wild edibles. 

Taking care of this area to ensure you and your family won't die from lack of food isn't enough. During a famine, you will still be vulnerable to the violence and sickness of those in your area who aren't prepared food-wise. 

Threats from violence during a feminine are obvious.  Folks desperate from a lack of food will turn to stealing, looting, and rioting. But it is more than just the desperate masses you need to fear. Famines are often accompanied by wars and/or political collapse. Local warlords and strongmen often rise up attempting to take advantage of the situation.  These folks typically come from the ranks of the police, military, or criminal gangs, meaning they are surprising well-armed and well-trained, disciplined, with an already established chain-of-command and operating procedures. In other words, they will be much more dangerous than your average group of looters. 

Thus security and self-defense needs to be a major area of concern and preparation on your part. This includes not only hardening your home, as well as guns and ammo, but also training and developing standard operating procedures. Situational awareness is also a crucial skill to learn. First aid is a skill everyone in your family or group should have, including the ability to apply a tourniquet and dress a major wound (such as from a knife or gunshot).

I recommend the book Retreat Security and Small Unit Tactics by David Kobler (Southern Prepper 1) and Mark Goodwin for more information on security planning, training, and tactics.

Medical preparations for a famine include developing good health beforehand, practicing good hygiene and sanitation during the crisis (which includes stockpiling hygiene, sanitation, and cleaning supplies), learning and taking preventative measures, and learning how to deal with common medical conditions that may occur. This last suggestion includes stockpiling what medical supplies and medicine you may need, and knowing possible alternatives such as wild medicinals and foods, herbs, & spices with anti-bacterial or other curative properties. Having a medical professional or two in your group would be a tremendous blessing, of course, but even if you don't, someone needs to be made the group "doctor." This person should be given the primary responsibility to learn both advanced first aid and as much medical knowledge as they can before the crisis ensues.

A great medical resource all preppers and survivalists should have, in my opinion, is The Survival Medicine Handbook by Joe Alton, MD, and Amy Alton, ARNP.

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Planning Your Escape: Considerations for Bugging Out

Most people's Plan A should be to "bug in" or "hunker down" during an emergency. But, things may become dangerous in your area (wild fires, power plant accidents, rioters & looters, government actions, etc.), so plan now for your possible escape, should it become necessary. When will you bug-out? Where you will go? How will you get there? What happens if your primary path is blocked? Do you know alternative routes? What should you take with you?  

Here are some considerations for planning your escape:

1- Know when to Bug-Out. This is probably the hardest part of your planning.  The best advice for most people in most situations is to stay put as long as possible. Hunker down where you are, unless and until it becomes too dangerous to do so. You don't want to face the open road during a highly chaotic and dangerous time unless you absolutely have to leave for your own safety.

To put it in simple terms:  Bug-out when doing so is less dangerous than staying where you are.  But, how to know when that is? How do you strike the balance between leaving too early and leaving too late? 

The key is applying situational awareness and the OODA loop (link to my January article) to the developing situation. Pay attention to what's happening, not just on the national level, but especially what's happening on the local level. Local news & talk radio will be more useful to monitor during a crisis than national broadcast and cable news channels. Having the ability to monitor local police and emergency dispatch will also be very useful. Check out Broadcastify for a way to monitor local dispatch via the Internet. Other apps and websites are available. You can also get a hand-held or desktop radio scanners for when the Internet is out.

Use commonsense and rational thinking (don't be overly emotional) to analyze what is going on in your area. The goal is to bug-out when things are obviously going south, but haven't yet spiraled completely out-of-control.

"But what if my Plan A is to bug-out?"  Okay. I get it. Many people feel they have to (or want to) live in a big city or other unsuitable location for riding out TEOTWAWKI.  If your Plan A is bugging-out, then do so as early as possible to avoid the traffic jams, limited fuel supplies, and chaos of the last minute escape.  In your case, it is etter to bug-out too early, then to bug-out too late. You can always return home after you realize it wasn't SHTF after all.

2- Plan a Bug-Out location. Obviously, the best bug-out location is one which you already own and have developed for your needs. But for most of us, that is difficult to do. The next best choice is probably a friend or relative's place. 

Maybe your Uncle George has a fishing cabin in the mountains. Or Great Aunt Ida lives alone in that huge old house on the outskirts of a  small town in the Ozarks. Or Cousin Eddie has a small farm in Kentucky. Talk to them about using their place as a bug-out location. You could even stockpile some food, clothes, and other supplies there ahead of time. You don't even have to move into the house with them. Perhaps you could park a camper or RV in their driveway or backyard.  

Other potential bug-out locations include national or state parks, church retreats, and for-profit campgrounds. 

3- Know how to get to your bug-out location. This means knowing how to get there using at least two different routes (in case one is blocked for some reason) without using GPS or google maps. Practice driving all routes before you need to bug-out for real. Keep directions, maps and a road atlas in your vehicle.

You should also learn the potential "hot spots" in your local area, and along the routes to your bug-out locations. By hot spots, I mean areas that are more likely than others to be dangerous. Examples include heavily urban areas and college campuses which will likely see looting and/or rioting early on. Bad neighborhoods, already dangerous high crime areas, will only be worse during SHTF. Areas with a heavy Muslim population, or near mosques, will be dangerous for non-Muslims (forgive my political incorrectness).  Busy intersections and areas where traffic already snarls during normal rush hours, will likely be impassable during SHTF. Road construction is another potential hot spot, as one or more lanes may be blocked by equipment and materials. 

4- Make sure your vehicle is in good shape, and fueled up.  You're bug-out plans will fail if your vehicle breaks down, or if you run out of gas. Keep your oil changed on a regular basis, and quickly make any necessary repair. Make sure your tires, including spares, are in good shape. Check out my article Preppers' Auto Maintenance Schedule for more on this topic.

5- Put together a small emergency kit for your vehicle. Include things to keep your vehicle running (extra oil, transmission fluid, jumper cables, fix-a-flat, etc.). Include a good flashlight with extra batteries. If you can do basic auto repairs (a great skill to learn), keep some useful tools and spare parts in vehicle. Also include things you might need in an emergency (a first aid kit, a warm blanket, bottles of water, power bars or other food, etc.)

6- Have a Bug Out or Evacuation Bag already packed for each member of your family. Include a change of clothes, some food, water, personal hygiene supplies, individual first aid kit, a compact New Testament or prayer book, flashlight and extra batteries, emergency poncho, and whistle in each bag. Adults and teens should have additional items such as a knife, multi-tool, matches or lighters, duct tape, outdoor survival gear, sewing kits, etc. In the bags of children, be sure to include written information such as name & age of the child, family contact info, and lists of any allergies, medications & health conditions, should the child become separated from the rest of the family. Also include a favorite toy, coloring books, crayons, and/or a few other distractions for the kids. In your bag, be sure to include copies of insurance policies, deeds, birth certificates, vaccination records, medical records, bank numbers, passports, and other personal records (ideally in a small notebook or envelope, and possibly on a USB stick or other digital storage). 

7- Decide what to pack. You may only have time to grab your bug-out bags and go. But, should you have more time to pack your vehicle, decide beforehand what you want to take with you. Possibilities include extra food, water, and clothes, cleaning and hygiene supplies, tools (hand and/or gardening), reference books, camping gear, and even sentimental items such as family photos and heirlooms. Thinking about where you will bug-out to will help you determine what extra items you should take if there is time.
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