Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.
Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Many Topics Including The Oldest Dinar Community. Copyright © 2006-2020



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12 Bad Strategies That Will Get Preppers Killed - Mon 06 Jul 2015, 5:37 pm

[size=33]12 Bad Strategies That Will Get Preppers Killed[/size]
If you’re involved in the preparedness lifestyle, you’re probably into planning. Most likely, you research and study the excellent preparedness strategiesTopics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=prepping0a-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1496092589 put out by experts. Whether we prepare for incidents small or large, we all ponder what we’d do if something world-as-we-know-it-ending went down.
The trouble is, a lot of the plans that get made are more likely  to get you killed than to save you. And people post these plans online, then new preppers read them and think, “Wow, what a great idea.”
I really love being involved in the preparedness lifestyle. I get to meet and correspond with lots of like-minded, down-to-earth people.  We have those awesome conversations that you just can’t have with the checker at the grocery store cash register.  I get to engage in email and social media discussions too, the likes of which would never occur with my second cousin who thinks that missing a pedicure appointment is a disaster worthy of government intervention. But sometimes, I kind of cringe. Not all preparedness plans are well-thought out and practiced. In fact, there are several recurring themes that I hear or read that are not good ideas for most preppers, and I bet that many of you reading have also privately rolled eyes at one of the following strategies. (Or maybe even  publicly.)
I’m truly not trying to be mean when I share them with you here, nor am I trying to say that I’m the Queen Prepper of the Universe, who knows absolutely everything.  I’d just like you to consider the variables if one of these plans happens to be your default strategy.

Bad Strategy #1: “I’ll just hunt and live off the land.”

Oh my gosh. No, you probably won’t. You might try to hunt, but guess what? Loads of other people have this same idea.  Unless you live hundreds of miles from civilization, the population of deer and wild turkeys will be quickly decimated in an event that renders the food delivery system inoperable.
Furthermore, hunting is not as easy as simply wandering into the woods, taking aim with a rifle, and popping a wandering buck in the head. Have you ever hunted? Have you done so recently, and by recently I mean within the past year? Have you ever field dressed an animal? Can you hit a moving target? Do you know how to set up snares? Do you know how to butcher and preserve meat? Are you in good enough shape to drag a 200 pound carcass through the woods?
If you can’t say yes to every single question listed here, hunting should probably not be your go-to plan for feeding your family.

Bad Strategy #2: “I’ll go into the woods and live there.”

This is closely related to Bad Strategy #1.
But it’s worse. Living in the wilderness is not going to be a marshmallow roast. First off, there are no marshmallows out there. Just lots of predators and food that has to be killed and skinned before you can eat it.
In this strategy, people like to talk about their proximities to a national forest. “There are thousands of acres, just on the other side of my fence.”
Okay. But when is the last time you went into that forest more than a few miles on foot?  Did you spend more than a couple of nights there? Was the weather inclement? What are your local predators (not including the human variety)?  Do you have a camping kit that you can carry in on foot? Will your children and spouse be able to also carry supplies? Are you planning to build a house with some tarps and a Swiss Army knife? What will you eat and drink? Are you adept at foraging in your area? For how long can you actually survive on what you can carry?  How are your First Aid skills and what supplies will you have?  Can you handle the loneliness? And what about the other, perhaps less than moral, individuals that have the same idea? Have you ever lit a fire with wet wood?  Have you ever camped, outside of a campground area? What if it rains? In many climates, getting wet is a death sentence.

Bad Strategy #3: “I’ll bug out on foot for 73 miles through the mountains, even though I don’t regularly exercise.”

If bugging out on foot is one of your plans, I’d like to suggest you pick a clear day, put on a loaded backpack and some hiking boots, and go for a practice hike to your location.  Go ahead. I’ll wait here.
This one really bothers me. There is a large contingent of armchair preppers who have this idea. However, they don’t exercise regularly. They look back 20-30 years to their high school or military glory days, when they played football, ran track, or had a drill sergeant screaming right behind them as they ran. Just because you were once very physically fit, that doesn’t mean you are still able to hike up a mountain in bad weather with a 50 pound kit on your back.
This is a classic recipe for a heart attack, by the way. Extreme over-exertion. High-stress situation. High-sodium, easily packable food. Out-of-shape person. A few miles into the journey, particularly if it includes a steep climb, the person will experience a pounding heart, dizziness, and faintness, as the body tries to shut down to protect itself from the unaccustomed demands.  If the physical stress continues, the heart won’t be able to keep up with the demand to pump blood. Game. Over.
Embarking on an overly ambitious bug-out journey can endanger not only you, but the people making the trek with you.  What if you have a heart attack half way up the mountain?  What if you have an asthma attack? What if you injure your out-of-shape self? Who is going to help you? If the situation is bad enough that you’re bugging out, you aren’t likely to be airlifted to a hospital for medical care.  Will someone put their own safety at risk to hang out with you while you recover, thus forcing the family to divert to Bad Strategy #2?
I’m not trying to talk anyone into staying in a bad situation when bugging out ould be the wiser course of action (like in Bad Strategy #11). But if your bug out route is a long distance or over difficult terrain, you need to get out there and start training before you put the lives of everyone in your team or family at risk.

Bad Strategy #4: “I don’t need a group. I’m going to go it alone.”

Ah, the rugged loner.
This is not a winning plan for many reasons.  Being with a group, even a small one, has many benefits. As Scott, from Graywolf Survival, wrote:
[size=20]Humans started banding together to survive millions of years ago. They did this for one thing: because there’s safety in numbers. If you live by yourself, you can’t collect food, improve your fighting position, patrol the area, chop wood, filter water, and be on all sides of your property – all at once. Plus, you have to devote a large amount of your day to sleeping each night. And besides, who are you gonna bitch to about your day if you’re all alone?
…Even a small group of 12 has a HUGE advantage to defending an area and continuing on with other operations at the same time. With an adequate number of personnel, not only can you have a rotation of assignments to support 24 hour operations, you can afford people to specialize in certain tasks. This specialization increases the efficiency of the group overall (synergy) and was one of the largest reasons why we developed into a society.
[/size]

It isn’t just enough to have a team, either. You need to train with your team, tactically, with an expert if possible.  And by training, I’m not talking about going out to play paintball in the woods. Max Velocity, [url=http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=max velocity&linkcode=ur2&sprefix=max v%2cstripbooks&tag=prepping0a-20&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&linkId=3OKYCUCYKNN2QLVM]author[/url]Topics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=prepping0a-20&l=ur2&o=1 and founder of a combat school in West Virginia explains:
[size=20]‘Tacticool’ training is not only designed to simply make you look and feel good, but more insidiously it will give you the idea that you are tactically trained and proficient, when you are not. It is the sort of training that will give you enough to really get yourself in trouble. For example, basic marksmanship and square range training have a solid place in the training progression, but you must move beyond the static range to tactical field firing training in order to be tactically trained. You have to understand how to operate your weapons ‘out in the wild,’ and to maneuver in real environments. Often the problem with ‘tacticool’ training is that among the instructors there is not the experience or facility to move beyond the square range, and there is only so much you can do, so instructors make stuff up that may in fact be disadvantageous to your heath. At Max Velocity Tactical the tactical ranges have been designed out in the woods and utilize electronic pop-up targets, bunkers and other such training aids to bring a realistic tactical environment, This allows a certain amount of stress and battle inoculation to be brought to the students in training. And critically, this is all done in a safe and practical manner. (You can read the rest of his interview HERE)[/size]

Maybe you only have a handful of people you trust. Maybe you only want to be with other military dudes. Keep in mind that there are things that you will need in a SHTF scenario that are a bit kinder and gentler.  It’s not just about brute force and protecting the camp or retreat. It’s about food, building a future, farming, sitting down, and  even relaxing from time to time. Not every moment in a situation like that will be like a scene from an action-adventure movie.  We’ll still eat dinner, read a book, talk with others, sleep, and have relationships.

Bad Strategy #5: “I don’t need to store food, I’ll just take everyone else’s because I’m a bad-ass.”

Who can forget that episode of Doomsday Preppers that was shared all over preparedness social media and websites, in which a redneck and his team of merry marauders discussed their plans to take everything that preppers living nearby had stored away?
I wrote about Tyler Smith and his plan a couple of years ago:
[size=20]Most preppers, Smith says, are concerned with marauders taking their supplies. It’s not an unfounded fear, he says.
“We are those people,” he says. “We’ll kick your door in and take your supplies. … We are the marauders.”
We’re not in it to stockpile. We’re in it to take what you have and there’s nothing you can do to stop us,” Tyler Smith says. “We are your worst nightmare, and we are coming.”
Smith, 29, is the leader of Spartan Survival. The group has more than 80 dues-paying members. Smith founded the organization in 2005 to train and prepare others on survivalism.
[/size]

Smith (a paroled felon who incidentally went back to jail shortly after his televised waving around of firearms) might be a joke, but you can’t ignore the danger of groups with similar plans.  This yahoo had 80 people on board with him, for crying out loud. And if you happen to have such a plan, you should probably realize that those of us who are really prepared won’t stand around wringing our hands and crying when you come to attempt to relieve us of our supplies. We’ve prepared for people like you, too. The post-SHTF life expectancy of those who plan to survive using Bad Strategy #5 will probably be a short one.  You might manage to raid a few people’s retreats (particularly those using Bad Strategy #4, but if the situations is WROL (without rule of law), it’s pretty much a given that the justice which will be meted out by the intended victims will be swift and final.

Bad Strategy #6: “I have lots of weapons and tools. I’ve never used them. But I have them.”

Do you have prepper tools that are still in the box?  How often do you make it to the shooting range?  When’s the last time you actually felled a tree then chopped firewood?  When did you do it without a chainsaw?
There are loads of different examples that I could give about tools that just sit there in their boxes, awaiting their moment of glory when it all hits the fan. For the purposes of Bad Strategy #6, I’m including firearms as a tool.  Skill with an axe is not a given.  Accurate aim doesn’t stay with you if you don’t practice. Have you ever attempted to pressure can over an open fire? Even building a fire is not easy if you’ve only done it once or twice. (See Bad Strategy #9 for details.)
Not only is it vital to practice using your tools during good times, when you have back-up options available, but you need to test your tools to be sure that they operate as intended. I once purchased a water filtration system for use during off-grid situations. It was missing an essential gasket.  Without that gasket, it would be totally useless. Sure, I could have tried to MacGuyver something, but the point of buying all of this stuff is to save your MacGuyvering for things you don’t have. Because I checked out my tool before I needed it, I was able to send it back and get a replacement.

Bad Strategy #7: “I don’t store food. I store seeds.”

I really love gardening and have stored an abundance of seeds. Seeds are a very important thing to store. However, if you store them to the exclusion of food, you’re going to have a really bad time.
The problem with depending on seeds for your food supply is that Stuff Happens. Stuff like droughts. Stuff like aphids. Stuff like blossom-end rot. Stuff like the thrice-damned deer that managed to get past your fence.
Furthermore, if this is your plan, have you grown a garden recently? Have you produced food on your current property or your retreat property? Do you have a compost system? Have you developed your soil?  First year gardens almost never produce what you expect them to. Do you know how much produce your family will consume in a year? How are you at food preservation? What about off-grid food preservation?
Because of these concerns, a garden should not be a stand-alone survival plan. It is a vital part of a long-term preparedness scenario, but you must also be prepared for the potential of failure.

Bad Strategy #8: “I’ll just run a generator and continue on like nothing ever happened.”

Generators are loud, smelly, and finite.
If you want to bring attention to yourself in the midst of a down-grid scenario, the surest way to do it is to be the only house in the area with lights blazing in every window. Generators are commonly stolen, because they’re impossible to hide, rumbling away beside your house. A person following Bad Strategy #5 would be likely to think that if you have a generator with extra fuel, you might have some other awesome stuff that they’d want too.
It goes further than simply drawing attention to yourself though.  Gas, diesel, and propane generators can be dangerous. They can produce high levels of carbon monoxide very quickly, so if the plan were to enclose it to deter thieves, it could be deadly. Trying to power your entire house by backfeeding while still hooked up to local utilities could endanger the lives of neighbors or utility workers. Refilling a generator that has not completely cooled is a fire hazard. Make sure that your generator doesn’t fall into the category of Bad Strategy #6.  There’s more to it than simply flipping a switch and having  power.  You need to learn to operate and maintain the generator long before you have to rely on it.
Keep in mind, if you do opt to use a generator, that this is not a long-term solution. There’s only so much fuel that anyone can store. Eventually, it’s going to run out, and if your plan was completely dependent on being able to run a generator, what will you do then? My personal preparedness plan is to revert to a low-tech lifestylethat doesn’t require electricity.

Bad Strategy #9:  “I’ll just use my fireplace for cooking and heating.”

This is one that I learned about the hard way, myself. A few years ago, my daughter and I moved from the city to a cabin in the north woods of Ontario, Canada.  I figured that with a giant lake at our disposal, a well, our supplies, and a woodstove, we’d have all we needed to surive an extended power outage.
Unfortunately for us, born and raised in the city, lighting a fire and keeping it going was not that easy. The mere presence of a fireplace or woodstove does not warmth create. It took me an entire month of daily trial, error, and frustration to master a fire that would warm the house. I also learned that cooking on a woodstove was not as easy as sitting a pot on top of it. Dampers had to be adjusted, heat had to be increased, and the food required far more monitoring than expected. The year we spent there taught us more than we ever imagined about what we didn’t know.
If using your fireplace or woodstove is part of your survival plan, how much wood do you have? Is it seasoneed and dry? Can you acquire more? Have you actually chopped wood before? Recently?  When is the last time you prepared food using your stove or fireplace?
The good news is, you can make this strategy work, as long as you don’t go all Bad Strategy #6.  Ramp up your wood supply and begin using your fireplace or woodstove on a regular basis to work out the bugs in your plan now.

Bad Strategy #10: “I’m going to hunker down in the city and scavenge what I need.”

This is a terrible idea on so many levels it’s hard to know where to start.
First of all, when utilities are interrupted, those in large metropolitan areas are left with few options. It’s hard to dig a latrine in the concrete jungle. Remeber when New York was hit by Superstorm Sandy? People were defecating in the halls of apartment buildings to try and keep their own apartments moderately sanitary. Unfortunately, sewage built up in the pipes and spewed into apartments, filling them with deadly human waste.
Store shelves will quickly be emptied before and after disasters, leaving little to scavenge.  If you happen across the wrong place, you’re likely to be shot by a property owner defending his or her goods. If you wait too long to evacuate, roadways will be blocked, and you can end up being a refugee, with no option but camps. Cities will be populated with desperate people, some of whom were criminals before the disaster struck. Even those who were friendly neighbors before the disaster can turn on you, because desperation can turn anyone into a criminal in order to feed their families.
Highly populated areas without outdoor space will quickly become death traps in the wake of a disaster.

Bad Strategy #11: “I’ve got my supplies, and now I don’t need to think about gloom and doom.”

Some people like to stock their goods and then forget about preparedness.  They don’t like to consider the threats they might face.  But mentally preparing for disasters is a very important step. I recently made a list of prepper movies (you can find it here) and suggested that they be used to run scenarios in your head.
This very vital step can help you to do the most important thing when a disaster occurs: accept that it has actually happened. The prepper mindset is one of problem-solving and flexibility.
[size=20]It’s a unique way of looking at a situation, assessing the options, and acting that defines the prepper mindset. Think about any stressful situation that has ever happened to you.  Once you accepted the fact that it had happened you were able to set a course of action. Once you had definitive steps to take, you probably felt much calmer. You took control of the things you could, and you executed your plan.  Only by taking that first step – accepting that this mishap had indeed occurred – could you take the next two.[/size]

By refusing to consider the things that could happen, you run the risk of being unable to immediately accept it when it does happen. This sets you up for a very dangerous period of hesitation that could mean a death sentence for you and those who depend on you.

Bad Strategy #12: We’ll set up a perimeter and shoot anyone who breaches it.

With folks like the ones who intend to practice Bad Strategy #5 around, it’s no wonder that some people intend to practice Bad Strategy #12.
However, there are a few reasons that this is a bad idea.
First, instead of just protecting you, this can actually make you a target. Less than ethical people may start to wonder what you are protecting so stringently, and may work to develop a plan to overtake you. Alternatively, more ethical people may decide they don’t want a group like yours in the area and plan to forcibly evict you.  If the situation doesn’t start off like the wild west, people who adhere to this Bad Strategy will turn it into that scenario.
And finally, the real kicker: those who survive some life-changing event will be the new founders of our society.  Do you really want to live in a place where people have to shoot first and ask questions later?  How we choose to live will set the course for how we continue to live.

There’s time to adjust your plan.

There’s good news, though, if I just peed all over your favorite plan.
There’s still time to make adjustments to make your plan more workable.  You can brush up on your hunting and foraging skills. You can start an exercise plan so you don’t die when hiking.  You can test out your tools and find your weak points. You can adjust your plan to be more ethical. You may not need to chuck the plan altogether, but merely test and modify it.
The key with all things preparedness is to practice, to drill, and to make it your lifestyle. Work out the bugs now, while back-up is as close as the hardware store or grocery store.  Get yourself mentally prepared to accept the situation and change your plans on a dime if necessary.
Finally,  consider the kind of world you want to live in. If there was a giant reset, those who survive would  pave the path for a different society. By our plans and actions, we can create a different type of world. One with justice, kindness, ethics, and freedom.
Right now, our society is led by criminal corporations, sell-out politicians, and thugs, both in and out of uniform. I’d like to believe that we can do better.

Resources to help you build a better plan:

The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any DisasterTopics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=prepping0a-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1496092589
Contact! A Tactical Manual for Post Collapse SurvivalTopics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=rscorig-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1478106697
Rapid Fire!: Tactics for High Threat, Protection and Combat OperationsTopics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=rscorig-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1478280514
The Organic CannerTopics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=prepping0a-20&l=as2&o=1&a=148959924X
The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three MonthsTopics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=theorgpre-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1495933415
Prepper’s Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means NecessaryTopics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Ir?t=prepping0a-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1612431151

12 Simple Things You Can Start Doing Right Now To Prepare - Thu 02 Jul 2015, 8:44 pm

[size=36]12 Simple Things You Can Start Doing Right Now To Prepare For The Coming Financial Apocalypse[/size]
Topics tagged under 2 on Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality - Page 10 Financial-Apocalypse-250x131It is becoming increasingly apparent that the U.S. economy is heading for complete and total disaster.  State and local governments across the nation are uncontrollably bleeding red ink.  The federal government has accumulated the largest debt in world history.  Every year we buy hundreds of billions of dollars more from the rest of the world than they buy from us.  That means that we are getting hundreds of billions of dollars poorer as a nation every single year.  Meanwhile, thousands of factories and millions of jobs continue to be sent overseas as American cities turn into post-industrial wastelands.  Incomes are down, unemployment remains at depressingly high levels and very few of our politicians seem to have any idea how to fix things.  Yes, things are really, really bad.  So what are some things that we can all be doing to prepare for the coming financial apocalypse?
Well, the truth is that we all need to start becoming less dependent on "the system".  If the economy does completely fall apart at some point, your employer is probably not going to take care of you.  Neither is the federal government - just look at what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.  In the end, you are going to have to take care of yourself and your family.
So are you ready?
Now is the time to prepare.  If you wait until things totally fall apart it will be far too late.
The following are 12 simple things that you can start doing right now to prepare for the coming financial apocalypse....

#1 Become Less Dependent On Your Job


Many people define a job as the state of being "just over broke".  The truth is that it is incredibly difficult to become financially independent working for someone else.  Now, the truth is that most Americans would not be able to survive without a job, but what would you do if someday you suddenly lost your job during a financial apocalypse?  Now is the time to start investigating alternate sources of income and different ways to build wealth.  Today it takes the average unemployed American over 33 weeks to find a job.  You may not always be able to count on being able to get a good job, and the economy is only going to get worse over the long-term.  All of us should be operating under the assumption that any jobs we now have will someday be taken away.


#2 Get Out Of Debt


Some people disagree with this, but unless society degenerates into complete chaos or we experience Weimar Republic-type hyperinflation, the truth is that your debts are going to continue to hang over you wherever you go.  Getting out of debt can be completely and totally liberating.  It will give you much more freedom and will make you far less dependent on your job.  In fact, it looks like a lot of Americans are already moving in this direction.  It was recently announced that 8 million Americans have stopped using their credit cards over the past year.  Why not join them?  When things start really falling apart and it is incredibly difficult for anyone to get a job, the last thing you want is a huge amount of debt hanging over your head.


#3 Reduce Expenses


For decades, most Americans have been living far beyond their means.  In the future, times are going to be really tough and we are all going to have to learn to tighten our belts.  Do you and your family waste money right now?  If you can eliminate that, you can live on a smaller income and you will have more money to invest in the things that are really going to matter.


#4 Purchase Land


Real estate is still priced too high in most areas of the United States, but the truth is that you don't want to wait forever to get your hands on a piece of land.  If a "financial apocalypse" does happen, you don't want to be stuck in a big city with no place to go.  You always want to have somewhere that you can "bug out" to.  The U.S. real estate market is continuing to struggle right now, so hopefully prices will come down even more and there will be some really great deals available over the next couple of years.


#5 Learn To Grow Food


Another reason why you want to purchase some land is so that you will have somewhere to grow food if you need to.  100 years ago almost all Americans knew how to grow their own food, and most of them also knew how to raise farm animals.  Today, relatively few Americans have those skills.  A great way to begin is by starting your own "survival garden".  If you are not already doing this, then why not start this upcoming year?


#6 Find A Reliable Source Of Water


Water is going to become a very, very valuable resource in the years to come.  It will be absolutely key for you and your family to have a dependable source of clean drinking water.  If you do not have water you will not be able to survive for long.  In the event of an economic meltdown, basic services such as power and water may not be there.  So be certain that you and your family have an alternate source of water to depend upon.


#7 Explore Alternative Energy Sources


This point is similar to the one above.  Do you think that if a financial apocalypse happens that you will always be able to depend on the power company?  The truth is that there is a good reason why so many Americans have been trying to go "off the grid".  Without power, life gets really difficult very quickly.  But if you are generating your own power then you won't have to worry about that.


#8 Store Supplies


In the event of a major disaster or emergency, store shelves are going to empty really fast.  If supplies are disrupted on a permanent basis, you may have to get by on what you already have in your home.  So do you and your family have enough warm clothes, personal hygiene products and medical supplies to last for an extended period of time?  Hopefully your local stores will always be able to supply what you need, but we need to prepare as if that is not guaranteed.


#9 Protect Your Assets With Gold And Silver


The way that the Federal Reserve is abusing the U.S. dollar, it is only a matter of time before rampant inflation sets in.  Even now, the U.S. dollar has already been seriously declining and precious metals like gold and silver have been shooting into the stratosphere.  In the future, your paper money may not buy much for you at all, but if you have some gold or silver coins you can always exchange them for the things that you are going to need.


#10 Learn Self-Defense


Did you see what happened at stores from coast to coast this past Black Friday?  Americans were literally trampling one another just to get their hands on some cheap foreign-made plastic crap.  So what do you think is going to happen once these people have been without food for two or three days?  Now is the time to think about how you will defend your home and your family from crazed looters.  It is not a fun thing to think about, but unfortunately we are heading for times that will not always be pretty.


#11 Keep Yourself Fit


As Americans, we live such "cushy" lives.  But when times get hard things will not be so cushy.  In fact, the years ahead are likely to demand quite a bit of physical activity.  So keep yourself in good physical condition right now.  In the future you will be very glad that you did.


#12 Make Friends


It is really, really hard to "survive" by yourself.  Those who will thrive the most in the future are those who will have a community that they can depend on.  Americans are always at their best when they work together.  Don't be afraid to reach out to your family and friends.  In the times ahead the world will be a very cold place, and a little love and compassion will go a long way.

A Medium of Wealth vs. a Medium of Exchange – Time To Buy Precious Metals - Sun 28 Jun 2015, 3:51 pm

A Medium of Wealth vs. a Medium of Exchange – Time To Buy Precious Metals


May 20, 2015



A Medium of Wealth

A medium of wealth is an item that will hold its value no matter how good the times are or how bad the times are. That item will still maintain their value and solvency. The more the item is wanted, the more valuable and the higher that item retains its value.
If more people want said item and there just isn’t enough of the item to go around, then the value of that item goes up. Value is based on demand so items that maintain a medium of wealth will be items that will be continually in demand in one form or another.
Here is a quick example. Food is a small example of a medium of wealth.
Food is worth far more to starving people than to well fed ones.
If the starving man can save his life, there is value from both the person with the food and the person who needs the food.
Therefore a medium of wealth is established.
Other things that are mediums of wealth…

  • Gold, silver, and other precious metals
  • Land
  • Livestock
  • Consumable tangible assets / commodities

Just about anything that will not lose its barter and trade value is a safe medium of wealth.
If you are purchasing an item that will lose %50+ of its value the moment you take it with you, then it isn’t a good investment. This is why it is good to research any item that you may purchase to see if it will retain its value or not.
A great example of NOT retaining value is most new cars today. Now granted, once you get over the $50K mark for a car purchase, they tend to hold their value a little more. But your average car will lose close to 30% – 50% the moment you drive it off the lot.
No matter what, the average BRAND NEW car does not hold its value.
This is why I am a person who believes in purchasing good “newer” used car over that of a brand new car off the lot. This is called a “cash car” and in most cases is the better investment and might hold its value longer than the car that is driven off the car lot. To get an even better deal, I also believe in buying from another person, not from a used car lot. Lots have overhead that they must fulfill, a person usually just wants to sell the car. There is no overhead and in some cases you can get a great car for just a little bit of money.
Money saved is money earned.

Consumable Tangible Assets / Commodities

I want to touch a bit on what I call “Consumable Commodities”, these are items that we and others consume daily. When they are in short supply, we feel the pinch. Because of this, there is a certain amount of “value” that we place in these sorts of items.
Quick examples are toilet paper & feminine products, medicines, baby formula, toothpaste, soap, just about anything can be a consumable commodity.
So how do you figure out your consumable commodities? Look at the grocery receipts. If you track these over a couple of months, you will start seeing trends in items that you “cannot live without.” These items are your consumable commodities. When you do not have them, life is a little more difficult and you wish that you did have them.
Now, if you wish you had these items, I bet that there are other people out there that wished they had them.
Get the picture that I am painting here?
If you buy and stock up on your consumable commodities, you are creating value as well as saving money.
In a pinch you could use some of these items to barter with or even sell, and if you are going to sell them, I bet that you will be able to sell them for a nice little profit. Why? Because these consumable commodities have gone up in value and there is a higher demand for them. Remember, the higher the demand, higher the value.
Let’s say Crest Toothpaste is a consumable commodity. The SHTF and we are 90 days into the mess. Crest Toothpaste cannot be found on the shelves, but you have 20 tubes that you purchased on sale for $1.00 each. You take a few of these tubes to the open / farmers / flea market, which these will naturally start popping up all over when the SHTF and you are able to sell each tube for $8.00 – $10.00.
Those 20 tubes of Crest Toothpaste were a good investment and you made a great return on that investment.
You have preserved your wealth in the Crest Toothpaste and you increased your profits when you sold those tubes.
You can now take those profits and possibly “invest” them into another consumable commodity that you have had your eye on that will probably give you an even higher return on your “investment.”
I strongly believe that consumable commodities will be an excellent place to preserve some of your wealth.
More on this in later chapters where we will discuss many items that you may wish to consider to help you to preserve your wealth.

A Medium of Exchange

A medium of exchange is the stuff we use to exchange goods and services. It is commonly called money. Well let me correct that. What we have today, that paper stuff in your pocket is really just currency. It is an IOU from the Federal Reserve that we are to have faith in that it will hold its value so we can get the goods and services that we need today.
The problem is that for the last 30+ years, that piece of paper has been losing its value and it is taking more of those pieces of paper to buy goods and services today.
Now do not get me wrong. There is a place for this medium of exchange we call the dollar.
No matter what, cash is king.
You might need a wheel barrel full of it to buy a loaf of bread, but still YOU WILL NEED that medium of exchange to get goods and services.
All these ideas that once the dollar goes belly up everyone will be dealing in gold, silver and bullets are not quite correct.
Here is a picture of a girl holding a 100 trillion dollar bill.
In that picture we see a little girl holding a 100 Trillion dollar bill. I have a couple of these. In Zimbabwe, cash is king just like cash is king here. The paper is pretty worthless. It will buy a dozen eggs, some milk, some produce and that is about all. But no matter what, the people of Zimbabwe are using the worthless pieces of paper as the medium of exchange.
SO, ditch all these Hollywood ideas that the day the dollar dies is the day the dollar will no longer be used.
All it means is that it will take a whole lot more dollars with probably a lot more zeros behind it to buy your day to day goods and services.
You will need a lot of pieces of paper (medium of exchange) to buy the things you want. It will take even more of those pieces of paper (medium of exchange) to “buy” items that will retain their value (medium of wealth)
And what is important to remember is that in many cases the things that held their value (medium of wealth) will often go up in value, thus protecting your wealth; where it will take more and more dollars (medium of exchange) to gain those items that are mediums of wealth.
In times of financial hardship items that are Mediums of Wealth will almost always retain their value where the Medium of Exchange will almost always lose its value. This is a historical fact that dates back to 600 B.C. Greece when the first fiat currency was created.
WEALTH PRESERVING TIP #2 – IF YOU MUST BUY… buy things of value and high quality. If you need that item, look at how much value does it retain? If you had to sell it on eBay or craigslist could your get most of your money back or would you only get half to less than half back? These are items that can be considered “mediums of wealth.”

Coins / Precious Metals

How much is a penny worth? If it’s a 1943 bronze Lincoln penny then it’s worth $1.7 million. That’s what a southwestern businessman bought the coin for at auction in September 2010. The penny is so valuable because the U.S. Mint in Denver mistakenly struck the coin in bronze rather than zinc. The government needed copper — the metal of choice for pennies — for the war effort during World War II.
Still, before you break open the piggy bank or check behind the sofa for loose change, there are some things you ought to know. Numismatists, or coin collectors, look for rare coins that are in good condition, freshly minted or old.
Beware! Some coin dealers will often tell you something is rare, when it’s really not. This is why it is critical that you know your investment inside and out or at least as much as possible.
When it comes to coin collecting, price guides are indispensable. Buy and study multiple guides so that you have a broader knowledge. If you don’t take the time to educate yourself, you’ll pay more than the coin is worth.
Buying from the U.S. Mint is a good idea and this is where you can also get involved in buying precious metals.
Buying gold and silver produced by the US mint is a great means to protect your wealth.
No matter what, gold and silver retain their value. The key is that you have got to stop looking at them in dollars, but look at them in how they retain value.
Example…
1 ounce of gold has always purchased a good business suit, shirt, belt, shoes, & undergarments. This can be traced back to the roman days when a gold coin bought a good tunic, belt, sandles, and undergarments.
Half ounce of Gold has always bought a good dependable weapon, be it a gun or a sword.
5 ounces of Gold buys a car
40 ounces of gold buys a starter home
1 Ounce of Silver was a standard day’s wage
1 / 4 ounce of silver buys a gallon of gas
1 / 10 of an ounce of silver buys a loaf of bread
There are many more examples of how precious metals retain their value. But you have to look at them as means to maintain wealth and not look at them in currency worth. The value of currency goes up and down, inflates and deflates in light of precious metals. Stop looking at the currency and start looking at what gold and silver will purchase.
A really simple way to collect coins is by purchasing commemorative coin sets. Nearly all have increased in value. Best place to check these out is the US Mint – http://www. usmint.gov

Where to Buy Coins?

Well the easiest place is Amazon.
Here are some recommendations…
1 oz. Sunshine Mint Silver Bar .999 – Approx $23.00 per
Engelhard 10 Troy Ounce Silver Bar – Approx $225 per
1 oz American Silver Eagle .999 Fine Silver Dollar Uncirculated – Approx $23 per
$10.00 of pre 1964 face value coins – all the coins add up to $10, but made of 90% silver – Approx $180 per lot
$1.00 Face Value 90% Silver Washington Quarters – four 90% silver US quarters – Approx $18 per lot
$5 American Gold Eagle (1/10 oz) – Approx $160 per
$10 Gold American Eagle Coin 1/4 Ounce Approx $660 per
American Gold Eagle .999 Fine (1 oz) $50 Uncirculated – Approx $1390 per
Another place where I buy a lot of my precious metals is from American Precious Metals Exchange – They have GREAT customer service and their markup is very little.
APMEX – http://www. apmex.com
This was a A Snippet From Ray’s Latest Book…
“Survive  The Coming Storm – The Poor man’s Guide To Preserving Your Wealth In an Economic Collapse”
 You can get Ray’s book on Kindle for only $5.00 by clicking here

Lobo

Storage Life of Dry Foods - Sun 21 Jun 2015, 5:21 pm

Storage Life of Dry Foods
In Consultation with Stephen Portela


Jump within page to:




Storage Life of Foods
Determining the storage life of foods is at best an inexact science as there are so many variables. These range from the condition your food was in when you first purchased it and includes many other factors. This page was written with input by Mr. Stephen Portela who has over 30 years of professional food storage experience. This information should be used as a general guide only, and should not be followed "as the gospel truth" because your results may be different.



Four Factors that effect food storage:
Factor #1: The Temperature:
Temperature has more to do with how long well dried foods store than anything else. The USDA states, "Each 5.6 C. (10.08F) drop in temperature doubles the storage life of the seeds." Obviously, there is a limit as to how far this statement can be taken. However I expect it basically holds true from room temperature down to freezing. No doubt, the inverse could also be considered true. "Each 5.6C. (10.08F) rise in temperature halves the storage life of seeds." This theory holds true for non-garden seeds as well.


Storage Life Differences
Depending on Temperature
Constant Storage Storage life
Temp in degrees F In Years
---------------- ------------
39.76 - - - 40
49.84 - - - 30
59.92 - - - 20
70.00 - - - 10
80.08 - - - 5
90.16 - - - 2.5
100.24 - - 1.25


Note: the above chart is not for a specific food but shows the relationship between temperature and storage life.



Lets look at a couple of real life examples of good and poor food storage practices:
About a year ago we got an unopened paper bag of white flour which had been stored at 70 degrees F, in a dry climate. It had been sitting for 3 years in a closet. It made fine looking bread but had such an 'old' and bad flavor that it was difficult to eat. For another example, a couple of years ago in the Puget Sound area we were given a 4 gallon can of wheat that had been stored up high in a garage for about 30 years. This part of the country is not as hot as some places, yet in the summers the average garage still gets up into the 90's. Even though wheat will store for 30+ years under good conditions, the bread from this particular wheat was very bad tasting and after a few batches we ended up throwing the wheat away (something I always dislike doing).
Counter these stories with several examples told by Mr. Stephen Portela, Walton Feed's manager: He stores his long term food storage in his basement where the temperature hovers around 60 degrees F. The experts give brown rice a 6 month storage life because of all the oils in it that go rancid. Yet, Mr. Portela has been eating from a supply of brown rice that has been in his basement over 10 years. It is still wholesome! In another example, there is a family living near him who purchased a supply of food in #10 cans 30 years ago. Their basement hovers around 58 degrees F. After 28 years, Mr. Portela took a sample of many of these items to the Benson Institute at BYU to have it tested. The results can be seen at the bottom of Mr. Portela's welcome page. You will see everything tested had a 'good' to 'satisfactory' rating except for the eggs which had a 'minimum passing' rating. After 28 years I think it is most interesting that it passed at all. Mr. Portela tells me as 30 years have now passed, their storage is still in very good condition.
The bottom line is even with the very best packaging methods, if you are planning on storing your food in a warm environment, it will only last a fraction of the time it would last if stored in a cool, dry place. You can expect good storage life if your storage temperature is at 60 degrees F or below. Optimum storage temperature is at 40 degrees F or less. It is important you also find a place where the temperature remains constant. Frequent temperature changes shorten storage life. If you don't have a cool place for your food storage, plan on rotating your storage quickly enough to prevent food loss. See ourunderground storage area pages for ideas.
Factor #2: Product moisture content:
By looking at the USDA nutritional tables, dry beans, grains, and flours contain an average of 10% moisture. Although it is very difficult and unnecessary to remove all moisture from dry foods, it is imperative that any food be stored as dry as possible. Foods with excess moisture can spoil right in their containers. This is an important consideration when packing food with dry ice as moisture condenses and freezes on the outer surface of the dry ice. For long term storage, grains should have a moisture content of 10% or less. It is difficult to accurately measure this without special equipment. See the misc.survivalism faqsfor a quick and easy way of getting a rough estimate of the water content in your foods. It is also important to know that you can not dehydrate foods at home that reach these levels. Food that is dried to a moisture level of 10% moisture crisply snap when bent. Those of you who dehydrate foods at home know dehydrated foods from your dehydrator are quite pliable when bent, especially fruits. These will not store well long term.
Factor #3: Atmosphere the product is stored in:
Foods packed in air don't store as well as in oxygen free gasses. This is because air contains oxygen which oxidizes many of the compounds in food. Bacteria, one of several agents which make food go rancid also needs oxygen to grow. Food storage companies have a couple of different processes for removing the oxygen:

  • Displacing the oxygen: This is done by purging out all the air in the product with an inert gas. Nitrogen is almost always used because it is the most inert gas known. People doing their own packing occasionally use dry ice which gives off carbon dioxide gas, and probably works just about as well.

  • Absorb the oxygen: Oxygen absorber packets do just that. Air contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, leaving about 1% for the other gasses. If the oxygen is absorbed, what remains is 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum.


If oxygen absorber packets are used, care must be taken to use a storage container that can stand some vacuum. If it's not air tight, air will be sucked into your container as the oxygen is absorbed, reintroducing more oxygen that must be absorbed. Before long, the oxygen absorbers will have absorbed all the oxygen they can. Obviously, your product won't be oxygen free under these circumstances.
Seeds store better in nitrogen. On the other hand, seeds you plan on sprouting, such as garden seed, or seeds set aside for growing your own sprouts store better in air. For this reason Walton cans their garden seed packs in air.
Oxygen absorbers also contain a minute amount of moisture to activate the absorber. Sometimes, with the heat generated by the absorber, they can cause sweating if you use glass bottles or tupperware type containers. Factor #4: The container the product is stored in:
To get the best storage life out of your product it must have a hermetic (air tight) seal. Containers that do this well are:

  • #10 Cans (Use only cans that are enamel lined, otherwise your food flavor will be tainted by the steel it comes in contact with. An enamel lined can also prevents the inside of the can from rusting.)

  • Sealable food storage buckets

  • Sealable food quality metal (lined) or plastic drums.


Whatever container you use, be sure it is food grade as your product can be tainted with whatever the container is made from. Plastic sacks are not good air tight containers, for even if they are sealed, the relatively thin plastic 'breathes,' allowing air to pass through. Paper sacks are of course even worse.
There is some concern as to how good a seal is made by the lids on plastic buckets used by food storage companies. Manufacturer studies show an extremely small amount of air transfer. This amount is so small, however, that it can be considered a hermetic seal. It has also been found that the lids can be re-used several times without dramatically degrading the performance of the seal.
People who purchase products from food storage providers are often concerned about receiving their buckets bulging or with one side collapsed in. Collapsed buckets occasionally occur when ordering from Walton's as the elevation of their packing facility is above 6,000 feet. As the buckets are shipped to a lower elevation, the increased ambient air pressure can sometimes push in one side. If a side is popped in, it is a great indication that the bucket is indeed sealed. And this also holds true for buckets that might be under a slight amount of pressure. If either condition concerns you, crack the lid to equalize the air pressure. You can do this without seriously degrading the storageability of the product within the bucket. Remember to re-seal the lid after doing this.
Bulging cans: Some bulging cans have been returned to Waltons. In almost every case, these cans held mixes that contained baking powder or soda. It is believed that occasionally the extremely small amount of moisture found in the product interacts over time with the baking powder or soda and creates a small amount of carbon dioxide gas. Oxyten absorbers can also react with the baking powder causing the cans to buldge. These cans have been sent off for bacteria analysis and and in each case came back negative.


Storage Life Notes About Specific Foods:

The Soft Grains
Barley
Hulled or
Pearled Oat
Groats
Rolled Oats
Quinoa
Rye
Soft Grains have softer outer shells which don't 
protect the seed interior as well as hard shelled seeds 
and therefore won't store as long. Hermetically sealed 
in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of
8 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They 
should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler 
temperatures.


The Hard Grains
Buckwheat
Corn, Dry
Flax
Kamut
Millet
Durum wheat
Hard red wheat
Hard white wheat
Soft wheat
Special bake wheat
Spelt
Triticale
The Hard Grains all store well because of their hard 
outer shell which is nature's near perfect container. 
Remove that container and the contents rapidly 
deteriorate. Wheat, probably nature's longest storing 
seed, has been known to be edible after scores of years 
when stored in a cool dry place. As a general rule for 
hard grains, hermetically sealed in the absence of 
oxygen, plan on a storage life of 15-20 years at a 
stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep 
proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.


Beans
Adzuki Beans
Blackeye Beans
Black Turtle Beans
Garbanzo Beans
Great Northern
Kidney Beans
Lentils
Lima Beans
Mung Beans
Pink Beans
Pinto Beans
Small Red Beans
Soy Beans
As beans age they lose their oils, resist water 
absorbtion and won't swell. Worst case, they must 
be ground to be used. Storing beans in nitrogen
helps prolong the loss of these oils as does cool 
temperatures. Hermetically sealed in the absence 
of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 8-10 years at
a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep 
proportionately longer if stored 10-20 degree F cooler 
temperatures.




Dehydrated Vegetables
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Peppers
Potatoes
Dehydrated vegetables store well if hermetically sealed in the absence of oxygen. Plan on a storage life of 8-10 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.



Dehydrated Dairy Products
Cheese Powder
Cocoa Powder
Powder Eggs
Butter/margarine pdr
Powder Milk
Morning Moo
Whey Powder
Dehydrated Dairy Products generally store very well if stored dry in hermetically sealed containers with the oxygen removed. Plan on a storage life of 5 to 10 years if stored at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep, probably 5 years longer, if stored at cooler temperatures.
One exception is Morning Moo. As a new whey based product, it hasn't been tested for long term storage. Plan on rotating this product after 5 years.
Our dairy powders (excluding our sour cream powder) contain no fat, an agent that markedly decreases the storage life of dairy products.

Flours and Other Products
Made From Cracked/ground Seed
All Purpose Flour
Bakers Flour
Unbleached Flour
White Flour
Whole Wheat Flour
Cornmeal
Mixes
Refried Beans
Cracked wheat
Germade
Gluten
Wheat flakes
After seeds are broken open their outer shells can no 
longer protect the seed contents and seed nutrients 
start to degrade. Don't try to store unprotected 
flours longer than a year. Hermetically sealed in the 
absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 5 years at 
a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep 
proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.
Note: Granola is not a long storing food because of the nuts. They contain high concentrations of oil which go rancid over the short term. Expect granola to last about 6-9 months.




Pasta
Macaroni
Noodles
Ribbons
Spaghetti
Pasta will store longer than flour if kept dry. Hermetically sealed in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 10 - 15 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. Pasta should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.



Dehydrated Fruit
Fruit doesn't keep as well as many dehydrated items. Hermetically sealed in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 10-15 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.



Honey, Salt and Sugar
Honey, Salt and Sugar should keep indefinitely if stored free of moisture. Watch out for additives in the honey. It is possible to buy honey with water and sugar added. This honey generally doesn't crystallize like pure 100% honey does when stored for a long time. If there are additives, there is no saying how long it will last.



Peanut Butter Powder
Peanut Butter Powder will not store as long as wheat flour. Hermetically sealed in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 4-5 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. It should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.



Brown and White Rices
Brown and white rices store very differently. Brown rice is only expected to store for 6 months under average conditions. This is because of the essential fatty acids in brown rice. These oils quickly go rancid as they oxidize. It will store much longer if refrigerated. White rice has the outer shell removed along with those fats. Because of this, white rice isn't nearly as good for you, but will store longer. Hermetically sealed in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life for white rice of 8-10 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. It should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures. Stored in the absence of oxygen, brown rice will last longer than if it was stored in air. Plan on 1 to 2 years. It is very important to store brown rice as cool as possible, for if you can get the temperature down another ten degrees, it will double the storage life again.



Garden Seed
or Sprouting Seed
All viable seeds are hibernating tiny living plants that only need moisture and warmth to sprout. And much like a chick in an egg, all the nutrients this little life needs to spring into existence is contained within it's shell. Like boiling an egg, heating a seed will kill that little life within it. However, unlike an egg, a seed can withstand cold temperatures. As seeds usually remain edible after the life within it dies, we must use different criteria when determining sproutable seed storage life. And again the big deciding factor is temperature. Plan on a storage life of 2 to 3 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures. And remember, you want to store all of these seeds in air. Packed in nitrogen, the viability of some seeds will last longer than others. This is still to a large degree an unexplored science, and therefore we recommend you store all the seeds you plan on sprouting in air.
Alfalfa is a unique seed as it actually germinates better if the seed is 2 or 3 years old. Most any sample of alfalfa contains 'hard' seed and 'soft' seed. Soft seed germinates within two days while hard seed germinates in about a week. The problem is, by the time the soft seed sprouts are ready to harvest, the hard seed may not have germinated yet. As storage time draws on, the hard seed turns into soft seed. Older seed germinates closer together. Stored in cool conditions, alfalfa seed should have a good percentage of germination up until it is 8 years old.



Total Vegetable Protein
Total Vegetable Protein, made from soy beans, has an unusually long storage life. Hermetically sealed in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 15-20 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. meat substitute should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures.



Yeast
Yeast, a living organism, has a relatively short storage life. Keep yeast in the original metal foil storage containers. If the seal remains intact, yeast should last 2 years at 70 degrees F. However it is strongly recommended that you refrigerate it, which should give you a storage life of 5 years. Frozen yeast should store for a long time.

Tips & Advise (finally came accross them)! - Fri 17 Apr 2015, 9:09 pm

Tips and Advise!


Feb 20, 2012

This message contains blocked images.




These are tips and advice-check with professionals regarding tax and investments in your area. Not all may apply to your situation.
 
 
_Things to Consider or help round out your Final Plans -- Worth Printing or saving as document

I posted this last year, and I just wanted to bring it forward again for people whom may have not seen this. For those that did, please bear with me..

Things to consider with your new found wealth. Some items you will use, others may not be for you. Do what you feel comfortable with, as I am just trying to help you round out your plan… 

1) Do your due diligence, Choose your bank (s) carefully, and set up CDARS (Certificates of Deposit Account Registry Service) accounts and all accounts should be POD (Paid on Death) accounts.

For an added level of protection consider insuring your money with lloyd’s of London. Even most brokerage accounts are fully insured.
 
_2) Recognize that your government, both State and Federal are your biggest enemy to securing your wealth, see a CPA, tax accountant and or tax attorney. Contact an attorney / CPA or both that specializes in taxes, trusts, asset protection etc.

If you know someone who is wealthy, and I mean really wealthy, ask them. You can also check here
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Set up your family’s trust(s).

3. A guide: Set aside 15%-20% of your new wealth for your “mad money” and use this amount for your flings into wealth. This is your payoff for your dreams and frustrations.

If you spend more than this on new homes, automobiles etc., you are on a well known pattern of blowing it all. Of course this will depend on how much you have invested and how much it RV’s for. This is “just a guide”

4. Invest the remaining 80% -85% [after taxes] in safe high paying interest insured CD's etc. Your in the big leagues now, banks will want your business. They have private bankers and high wealth options for investing. That have proven track record. Again, do your due diligence here…

And don’t forget, you can look out side the US for good rates, Panama is paying up to 7% on large CD'S. Dubai is paying up to 10% on the same amounts, Check Cyprus as they have been in the 10% bracket also. Pay the interest to a debit account, spend and live on the interest with a Debit card.

These monies can be split up in multicurrency account to help keep depreciating currencies from taking your earned monies. Depending on how much Dinar you have to cash in, there could be a lot of interest; to be almost as exorbitant as you like, living the life so to speak.

A 10M savings here or off shore could bring you interest of $700,000 to more than 1M a year in income. I am sure you could survive on that …lol Always do your due diligence and seek professional help to setting these up.

5. Get an unlisted telephone number. for your home, with caller ID. For a private home phone, use a company name or your Trust when setting up a new phone account, rather than your own.

6. Keep things low key and quiet as you don't want long lost friends and family members bothering you. Some will eventually find out, but you need time to put your plan into action.

7. Remember [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], everything you buy will be taxed yearly either in Real estate taxes, sales taxes and or personal property/ luxury taxes, and if you live in one of the States with State Income taxes, you will pay the State on all interest earned and not to mention on the principal amount when it is received initially.

Think about this statement.... Maybe move to a State that has the lesser of the applicable taxes or no state taxes at all. All States are creating new taxes daily to preserve their bloated Beauracracies under the guise of service.

Check with the professionals on this, but most states have guidelines on how long you must live there before you can take advantage of of the lower taxable income/ no state taxes.

8. Pay off ALL debt.

9. Fix everything that needs repair.

10. Upgrade your insurance; medical, personal/ life, home, auto and really consider getting umbrella insurance it’s cheap enough.

11. Stock up provisions, necessities, medical and survival items to get you and your family through any type of emergency. Get enough for 8-12 months. You will have the money. Hopefully you won’t need it, but you will be thankful if you/ family/ friends do...

12. Set aside enough liquid funds for you to survive for 8 months to 2 years. What ever you feel comfortable with.

13. When prices come down (which they will post-RV) Invest in precious metals (gold & silver). Do your due diligence here. Everybody has their own preferences, do what you feel comfortable with. Make sure you have access, but it is secured. Never tell anybody, except maybe your spouse how much you have and where it is kept. No exceptions…nuff said This is why I mention having two safes below item [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] One hidden, one obscure.

14. Attend seminars to learn to make money through GOOD investments, not schemes .

Learn about your investments, understand them, watch them like a hawk. As a good steward, it is your responsibility and no one else’s…

15. PAY YOUR TAXES!

16. Pay your tithe

17. Pick your friends judiciously.

18. Contribute to Charity on a fixed rate yearly; do not over contribute as they ( most of them ) spend money like drunken sailors as they contribute increasingly lower subsidies to the needy.

This should be done through your corporation/ trust for benefits and anonymity. This is another area that should be discussed and planned with your tax/ CPA professionals.

19. Change your lifestyle to a calmer existence; find peace and harmony with yourself. Find a compatible travel mate if you are single, travel the world into safe places and educate yourself to their way of life, as it helps you understand how they think, rationalize and perceive americans.

This promotes peace and harmony within you, while hopefully building perspective and insight. Do NOT flaunt your wealth, especially when your are out of country. You can very easily become a victim of crime not to mention a victim of abduction.

Consider getting a second citizen passport that will let you travel freely but not as an american citizen. Many law firms can help you with this. It not as expensive as you may think.

20. Someone will be "watching you" so you'll want to do the following:

Be very low key (non-descript) Lower your profile; do not flaunt your new wealth as the tort laws in this country allow Trial Attorneys to target you as a defendant. Trial or Tort lawyers are the only profession that never contribute to society but just create misery so they can take your rewards for your hard work.

There are some good books on becoming invisible, buy one and follow as much as you feel comfortable with. Your Trust will help you in these some of these areas. You will want to heed this advise when traveling outside of the united states, you can and will become a target. Do Not become a victim…

21. Think about personal/ family safety.

A) Open up a secure Email address.

B) Get a new cell phone number; cancel the old one. Get a cell phone with two sims cards, one number is for family and close friends, the other for business or ???

To add a further level of phone privacy, purchase a prepaid cell phone – such as those offered by Trac Fone through Blockbuster, WalMart, and Staples.

No name, address, credit check, etc. is required to set up an account, and you can buy phone cards for cash to add more time.

C) Get a P.O. Box. Receive all mail personally addressed to you at a nearby mail drop, such as Mail Boxes, Etc. (about $15 a month), or an Executive Office Service ($50 to $150 a month), or at the address of a friend who owns a nearby business (free).

Then use this address for your driver's license and car registration. Naturally, your car will also be registered in the name of your corporation/ trust.

D) Put a monitored security system in your house. Install high security locks. Medco and Mul-T locks they are pick, bump and drill resistant. Schlage Primus are good locks too. I believe these locks all have a patented key systems.

Only a locksmith can duplicate keys for you and only the people you list, can go in and get a copy done.

E) Install reflective film on your home windows.

F) Consider building a safe room.

G) Install two safes, one hidden and the other obscure.

H) Get training in self-defense / firearms.

I) Use PGP (or better) encryption on your computer and Email.

J) Don't trust anyone ... keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

K) Shred or burn important documents. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it's 100% legal for snoops to rummage through your curbside trash and keep any papers they find.

So never throw any important papers in the trash without shredding them – including bank and credit-card statements, utility bills, letters from Social Security or other government agencies, information from your stock broker, etc.

At a minimum, use a cross-cut shredder ($100-$150) which reduces documents to confetti, rather than a less-expensive shredder that cuts paper into strips which can be pasted back together.

I will use a level 5 or 6 shredder, because I will have the money and security will be important to me. For ultra-sensitive documents, nothing beats burning them.

L) Isolate sensitive computer files from snoops. As we use our computers more and more to keep sensitive records and correspondence, it becomes more important to protect them from snoops.

The [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] threat to your sensitive files is your modem, fax, or DSL Internet connection – anything that electronically connects your computer to the outside world.

Thanks to cookies, e-mail wiretaps, and other techniques, when you're browsing the web or reading your e-mail, snoops at the other end can download files from your computer hard drive.

The only sure way to protect yourself is by keeping all sensitive information on a different computer (or at least a different hard drive with its own, separate operating system) than the computer you use for web browsing.

In other words, you use Computer [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to browse the web and send e-mail; and you use Computer [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for word processing, accounting, and storing important information. Computer [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] has no important files or sensitive information.

Computer [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] has no electronic connection to the outside world.
To minimize expenses, your two computers can share the same keyboard and monitor, by the addition of a network hub (about $100).

M) Keep your web browsing and e-mail private. Whenever you contact a company or organization on the Internet, the computer at the other end will often insert a "cookie" into your computer – enabling merchants and government agencies to keep track of your web browsing.

The information that can be collected about you in this way is absolutely mind-boggling and includes your name, address, phone number, detailed information on the type of computer you are using, your Social Security number, credit-card numbers, a list of your friends and business contacts, and much more.

To keep your web browsing private, use an anonymous connection service, such as Anonymizer (
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]).

Another alternative is Hushmail, based in Anguilla, which offers a free e-mail service that allows you to encrypt e-mail using ultra-powerful 1024-bit encryption.

For further protection, encrypt your e-mail, using high-level, 1024-bit encryption software, such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Zero Knowledge Systems (ZKS) offers software called "Freedom" which also uses 1024-bit encryption and which:

1) Allows you to use multi-pseudonyms that can't be traced to your real name
2) Prevents the receipt of Internet cookies

3) Provides multi-layers of encryption

N) Keep your medical records more private. Information in your medical files can be used to deny you insurance, jobs, and legal benefits. It could be even used by a government just slightly more authoritarian than the one we now have, to take away your children or commit you to a mental hospital.

Unfortunately, each time you see a doctor or check into a hospital or clinic, they will usually demand your Social Security Number, which in turn will be used to file and locate your medical records.

You can protect yourself from unwanted snooping by getting an alternative Medical photo ID from ID Network (IDN). No SSN is required, and medical records are kept in your own handwriting. $9.95. Call
1-888-329-3686 or 314-416-7411, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

O) To keep your home address private, rent or buy your home in the name of an out-of-state corporation (Delaware and Nevada corporations (NOT LLC.) or trust are the best).

Also put your utilities in the name of the corporation/ trust, as well as your phone, and magazine and newspaper subscriptions. This is precisely what TV personalities, professional athletes, and film stars do to protect their privacy.

And it's not expensive. A Delaware corporation can be set up for as little as $150 and maintained for $50 a year! Trust will vary in cost (Just my two cents below)

22. Pray for guidance but please do not turn into zealot, as this can override your mindset to a point you will not recognize happiness when you see it.

Everything in moderation, be truly happy for you are blessed. Be a friendly person not someone who is critical of others lifestyles and their views on faith. Recognize everyone is born free and with their own opinion.

23. Make sure to personally change at least one persons life for the better, pay it forward… Personally, I will pick 5 people and change their lives forever….I am hoping they will do the same. Whether they do or don't, makes no never mind to me. I will know in my heart, and God sees everything. Maybe one by one, we will help to rebuild this great country again.


 
 
If you have faith the size of a mustard seed-Nothing shall be impossible onto you.

recommended the collection of the tax from the oil with determining the value of the dinar as a spri - Wed 15 Apr 2015, 3:41 pm

I care, I will be hanging for [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].... [You must be [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to see this image.]

Iraq has a plan to overcome the financial crisis - Sun 22 Mar 2015, 9:28 pm

Isn't it a same about what we have learned about the Maliki reign? I was one of the totally in the dark followers too. Just shows why Shabibi stayed away and still may. Adabi is from the same tribe too use to be [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] behind Maliki in the Dawna Party, just shows how two from the same can be so differently influenced.


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