I am going to go through everything you would need to know to set up a food storage supply that would provide enough for one person for 1 year and could last up to 25 years if properly stored. I’ll cover the specific food and storage items you should buy, where I bought these items, how to properly store them, and where to store them all. By the end of this article, you’ll have all the information you’ll need…all the guesswork will be removed. I worked with a consultant on this article that has been prepping since the 1970s and she’s shared a lot of lessons she’s learned over the years while storing food that we’ll cover.
I realize it can feel a bit overwhelming when you start. There’s a lot to do and to buy. But just remember, you can move at your own pace and don’t have to buy everything at one time, but rather over time if you so choose. So let’s jump in.
So here’s what we’ll cover:
Types of pantries
Calorie considerations
What food to buy
Where to buy everything we’ll discuss
How to store food
We’ll cover where to store the food, mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, buckets, storage totes, labeling, and other considerations.
Keeping track of inventory along with rotation
Recipes
Cooking and water
Additional considerations
Types of pantries
Before we jump in, let me point out that there are 2 types of long-term food storage pantries: a working pantry and a long-term pantry. A working pantry is rotated on a constant basis following the old prepper adage of “Eat what you store and store what you eat”. Our family tends to eat fresh food we prepare each week but I wanted a food backup supply if there were a major, prolonged disaster. So I went with a long-term pantry approach, which I’ll detail in this article, which mostly contains food items that can be stored for 5 to 25 years. Some of these items we don’t eat on a daily basis, some we will and we’ll rotate these items, so really what I’ll outline here is a hybrid approach with a focus on long-term food storage. But how you rotate or use your food is completely up to you. Regardless of which type of pantry you ultimately build, the principles we’ll layout will still apply.
Calorie considerations
How many calories does a person need to survive each day? The general rule of thumb is around 2200 calories per day, but many factors have to be considered such as gender, age, weight, and activity (this is the important one). If you were to multiply 2200 by 365 (the days in a year), you would get 803,000. This is the target we’re aiming to hit for calories.
If you divide the amount of food we’ll cover by 12 (the months in a year), you will have the following each month to eat: 66 lbs of grain, 20 lbs of beans, .83 quarts (about 24 oz.) oil, 10 lbs sweetener, 2/3 lbs salt (less than 1 salt container), and 4 lbs milk.
What food to buy
What I’ll cover next is based on ONE adult person. If you have more than 1 person in your household, don’t get dismayed but scale this up accordingly. All the information I’m about to list is in this spreadsheet, so don’t feel like you have to copy all this information as I go through it. If after reading the items I selected you decide you have different tastes or prefer different choices, again, by all means, change to what you want.
800 pounds of grains. I went with 300 lbs of white rice, 20 pounds of corn, 400 pounds of wheat (and you’ll need a wheat grinder), 50 lbs of oats, 15 pounds of barley, and 150 pounds of pasta. I went a little over 800 pounds, but again, adjust the numbers as you see fit.
240 pounds of beans. I went with 120 pounds of pinto beans, 30 pounds of red kidney beans, 100 pounds of black beans, and 15 pounds of split peas.
10 quarts of oil. This would probably be enough for a family. Oil is one of those items you need to make sure you properly rotate on a regular basis as it can go rancid. I went with olive oil, shortening, coconut oil, and butter powder.
120 pounds of sweetener. This can include white sugar, brown sugar, Karo syrup, maple syrup, Jams and Jelly, and raw honey. Not only is honey a sweetener, but it also has medicinal value.
8 pounds of salt. This seems like a lot and could probably be used for your family. But remember salt can be used for preserving food.
50 pounds of milk. Milk is so versatile. You can use your powdered milk to make sour cream, cream cheese, bread, cereal, or faux cheese.
25 pounds of juice or beverage sweetener. You can store large cans of powdered punch, lemonade, or Tang. Your taste buds will thank you.
20 pounds of meat. If one serving is about a quarter pound, this will be 80 servings. At 20 pounds, you’ll be eating meat about once every 4-5 days. I plan on freeze-drying a lot of meat this year to boost this number up. For now, I have a lot of canned chicken and SPAM.
90 pounds of dry fruit/vegetables. This is a quarter pound of fruit or vegetables a day for a year. Most cans at the store contain 15 oz. Not quite a pound, but close enough. 90 lbs of fruit equal approximately 90 cans.
Spices. Spices help add variety to your food so you don’t experience food fatigue. You’ll probably want to consider adding the following:
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Ginger
Ketchup
Nutmeg
Oregano
Cinnamon
Vinegar
Vanilla
Italian seasonings
Cumin
Thyme
Mayonnaise
Dehydrated onions
Where to buy everything we’ll discuss
For the food I purchased, I would say about 75% of what I bought was purchased at Costco. The rest I picked up at Sam’s club, Winco, a few items at Honeyville.com and Amazon.com. If you don’t have these stores in your area, many of these items can be picked up at large chain stores like Walmart or Target. In the spreadsheet, I list out where I got each of the items so you can prepare your shopping list before heading out.
For the shelves, mylar bags, and oxygen absorbers, I purchased all of these on Amazon. Some of the items like the buckets, storage bins, and shelvescan also be purchased at your local stores. Pro tip: if you contact your local bakeries, they may have food-grade buckets that they’ll give to you as they often discard these.
How to store food
Where should you store the food in your home?
Food lasts longer when stored in a cool, dry, dark place. Heat reduces the lifespan, so don’t store your food in a garage or attic. I am using a downstairs closet that stays relatively cool throughout the year and is dark. Ideally, you need to store this somewhere that is under 70 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also store buckets under a bed or in other, out-of-the-way locations. Get creative, but try to avoid anywhere with a lot of heat, sunlight, and moisture. You can read more here about temperature and the impact on your food. Just remember, the cooler, the better.
Mylar bags, buckets, and storage totes
There are a few ways to do this, but you have to factor in a setup that allows you to remove the oxygen and at the same time protect your food from rodents. You can store food directly in food-grade buckets as long as you have an airtight lid with oxygen absorbers. For me, since I’m storing this long term and many of the items probably won’t be consumed unless there’s an emergency, I am adding the food to mylar bags, placing them in food grade buckets, and then adding oxygen absorbers directly in the mylar bags before sealing them up. While you can buy bucket lids with seals, I would hate to open a bucket only to find out the seal deteriorated. Some of my smaller food mylar bags will be placed inside of totes. These are items that I will likely use in the near future and are easier to access using the items in the small bags. Again, make sure that you’re putting the mylar bags inside of a hard storage container to prevent rodents or pets from gaining access to the bags. Our cat chewed through a few of the mylar bags in the past sitting on a shelf, so you have to watch out for this. Can you use mason jars with oxygen absorbers? Yes. But plan on the lifespan being shorter as they will have exposure periodically to light depending on how you store them and canning jar lids typically have a lifespan of 5 years.
Labeling
Before adding food to your mylar bags, be sure to label them. Nothing is worse than adding food to a bag and then sealing it and forgetting what you put inside. I typically write on the mylar bag and then on the bucket including the food item, the date it was added, and the weight. Defining the weight isn’t necessary, but I measure the weight of each bag on a scale just so I can inventory this information.
How to add food to mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and sealing the bag
Let’s start with 5-gallon mylar bags. Now that we’re ready to add the food to the mylar bag, typically what I do is the following. First, I try to do a batch depending on how many oxygen absorbers I will be using. For example, if I am going to be opening a bag containing 10, 2000 CC oxygen absorbers, I try to line up the mylar bags with the food already in them based on how many 2000 CC oxygen absorbers I’ll be using. Let’s say I have 5, 5-gallon buckets that have beans in each of the mylar bags. In this case, I’ll be using all 10 of the 2000 CC oxygen absorbers in these 5 buckets, 2 for each bucket. Some food items require more oxygen absorbers, such as pasta and beans which have more space in between each item while items that are more tightly packed like rice require fewer oxygen absorbers. Here is a link detailing how many oxygen absorbers you’ll need for each food item…it’s really easy. Just look up the food item and it will show how many oxygen absorbers you’ll need based on the size of the mylar bag you’re using. Once you’ve determined this, move to the next step.
Now that you have the items ready to go, fill up the bags with the food, then to make things easier, seal off the mylar bags about ¾ of the way with a regular iron at around 350 degrees for 4 seconds. I use a level from home depot which has a hard edge allowing me to iron on top of them. Just hold the iron in place for 4 seconds. No need to move back and forth like you’re ironing clothes. I seal off ¾ of the way so that before I add in the oxygen absorbers, I’ve already sealed off most of the bag and I can simply push out the air and seal off the rest with something like a hair flat iron at around 350 degrees. Be sure to look at the indicator that comes with them which will indicate whether they’re still good or not. The pink color on these specific oxygen absorbers indicates whether they’re still good. Your color may be different, but just look at the indicator to make sure they haven’t gone bad, otherwise, it defeats the purpose of what we’re doing here.
Once I’ve lined up my buckets, I fill them up most of the way leaving a little space at the top to push the bucket lid down and then sealed off ¾ of the mylar bag. Now we’ll open the bag that holds our 2000 CC oxygen absorbers, then drop them into each bag based on how many oxygen absorbers that bag needs which we discussed a moment ago, and then seal them off one by one, and then you’re done. There’s no need to vacuum these bags before sealing them off. Any bacteria or larvae inside the food buckets will need oxygen to survive. The oxygen absorbers take care of that problem. What’s left behind is mostly nitrogen which will not support life. If you feel like vacuuming all the air out, go for it, but it’s not necessary at all. If you aren’t going to use all the oxygen absorbers, you can put them in a small mason jar with a sealable lid. Just fill the jar up with rice leaving space at the top for the oxygen absorbers. The rice will displace most of the air so the oxygen absorbers won’t take in much.
For the smaller bags, I follow the same approach but I have an impulse sealer. Again, I just line the bags up, drop the oxygen absorber in, push the air out, and then seal them off. If you don’t have one of these devices, follow the same exact approach we referenced above with a regular or flat iron and seal them off. I typically store these in a storage tub you can buy at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, etc. I like to put the smaller food items in this that I can quickly grab and use.
Inspecting the bags after sealing them
Come back a week later to make sure that the oxygen absorbers did their job and these bags have shrunk in as the oxygen absorber has absorbed the oxygen. If after you come back a week later and the bags are not shrunken in, simply cut a small slit, drop in a new oxygen absorber, push the air out, and then iron it to reseal it. Repeat the cycle until you confirm the bag is sealed.
Remember, some food items such as beans and pasta have more space in between them and the oxygen will more easily be removed whereas items that are more tightly packed like wheat and rice will take time to get all the oxygen out so give them a little more time.
A note about rodents and insects
Some people put their food in a freezer for a few days to kill the larvae in their food. Yes, the food you buy at the store has larvae in it. Others use diatomaceous earth. If you find moths in your closet where you store your food, pick up moth traps and try to figure out where they’re coming from. Regarding rodents, again, be sure to store these mylar bags inside of hard containers to prevent rodents or pets from chewing on these bags plus the plastic containers makes it easier to move these and for stacking.
Finding food and rotation
On my storage racks, I have added labels on each level. Also, on the side of the storage bins, I’ve added labels as well. I do this so that if there is an item we need to find, we can simply type the food item in the spreadsheet search and look at the corresponding column to find out where that item is stored. Obviously, if you have a small storage amount, you may not need this, but as you grow your inventory, it would be a smart idea to think ahead to have some system of organization. I’ve got a QR code on the wall to load the spreadsheet even faster.
I also add a label outside of the side of the buckets and on the top so I know what’s inside.
Recipes
You also need to consider what recipes you’ll have on hand if there’s no internet and you need to cook based on the items you’ve stored. A few books you may want to consider are:
Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst-Case Scenarios: https://amzn.to/2OsZCgA
Cooking and water
Of course, the question will come up: how will you cook all of this and where will you get all this water for cooking? I’ve done a number of videos covering different ways to cook after a disaster and water storage.
Conclusion
Again, I worked with a prepper that has been doing this since the 1970s and we’ve tried to boil this down to a firm foundation that if properly followed, you can easily build on top of this and make modifications where you want. I tend to be the type of person that likes to line things up and knock them out at once so that I’m not having to think about it anymore. I spent a few days shopping to get all the food and storage items and spent another few days putting up the shelves and storing away the food. But if you want to work on this over time, then, by all means, go that route. Move at your own pace. The key is to not procrastinate and instead get it done. There is a sense of security that comes with knowing you’ve got the food items properly stored away. You and your family have the security of knowing you’ll be fine.
If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in the comment section below.
As always, be safe out there.
One of the most overlooked discussions within the prepper community is in regards to personal health but is by far the most requested topic whenever I do surveys on my channel. So instead of the typical “eat healthily and exercise” article, I reached out to a licensed Occupational Therapist that works with patients on a daily basis training them in diet and exercise routines and I asked him to help me build the foundation for this article. I’m going to present a lot of information, some you’ve probably heard before, but at the end, I’ll share with you something I recently discovered that has helped me implement what we’ll outline plus I’ll share some personal goals I’m setting. So let’s jump in.For this blog, I’m going to start off by pointing out some background information you really need to understand. Let’s start with a very critical discussion most people have never heard of. Again, stick around until the end where I’ll discuss a way I’ve learned to practically implement all of this.Improving Your HealthspanYou have assuredly heard the term lifespan, but have you ever heard of healthspan? Your healthspan is the length of time in your life during which you are in reasonably good health. While you might live a lifespan of over one hundred years, if forty of those years are spent in a wheelchair, drug dependent, blind, or dramatically diminished, your healthspan is shorter. Experts have been able to break down the critical components of an excellent long healthspan by starting with older, healthy individuals and working backward to define what elements of their lifestyle had led them to not only longevity but useful and healthy life. These decisions we make now will impact us long-term, but we need to decide now and begin taking actions to secure a longer healthspan. Experts agree that increased sedentary behavior, inadequate sleep, poor eating and drinking habits, and negative psychosocial factors are the leading risk causes for decreased health and wellness. However, these risk factors are within our control because they are attributed to lifestyle choices, habits, and routines. Additionally, which may come as no surprise, is that these factors are all interconnected. A positive change in one area will positively impact another area.This is important to us as preppers because our healthspan correlates to our survivability– the ability to remain alive or continue to exist. Our bodies; our healthy well-being are all directly in relation to our overall health. The greater our healthspan is, the more likely it that it will intersect an optimal point in our healthspan when disaster strikes. Then, the impact of added physical and mental stress, the effect of sudden dietary changes, even the effect of traumatic injuries are less likely to derail us.Consistent MovementStudy after study has revealed the same outcome. A body in motion is healthier. One recent study of more than 1 million men and women showed that those who were mostly sedentary (whether sitting, lying, or reclining) and had little moderate or vigorous physical activity had the highest risk of mortality. A consistently sedentary life can double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and increase the chances of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression, and anxiety. As we have seen, these comorbidities can dramatically decrease your healthspan. Conversely, those who sat less and had higher moderate or vigorous physical activity had the lowest risk for disease.You may be thinking that this equates to anaerobic exercise, but it doesn’t. When we were children, we weren’t necessarily in need of exercise. For most people, our bodies could go on forever, tirelessly running. The choice to exercise for health reasons probably was a conscious decision made sometime around our mid-30’s when we noticed a few unwanted pounds or started to get fatigued a little easier. Fortunately for those who still didn’t decide to exercise at that point, experts say any physical activity is good. Your opportunity to start getting activity is always right now. The guidelines are 2.5 to 5 hours a week of moderate-intensity activity or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or some combination of those two. The bottom line is you need to be moving between 2.5 hours and 5 hours a week.This could take the form of traditional exercise. It could also be hiking, brisk walking, gardening, dancing, cycling, sports, raking leaves, stair walking, running, swimming, or any other activity that elevates the heart rate and breathing. If you work at a desk all day, as I do, set the alarm to get up, get some water, maybe do some deep knee bends or jump around a little bit. Don’t let your healthspan sink into your sitting. That’s the key, and here are the other keys to getting on a program and sticking to it. First, break up the physical activity into smaller chunks. Many people fail their exercise programs because they try to instantly commit to a very high level of activity when they really can’t handle that level yet. Instead, try to commit to walking the dog an extra little bit a few more times a week. Try to walk to and from your lunch break at work. Look up some chair aerobic exercises and stretch to keep your blood flowing. Get out on the weekends. Think of what you will do to keep moving, and then do it.Second, insert movement breaks into your daily routine. As I mentioned, if you have to sit for long stretches, set the alarm to get up and move every 30 to 60 minutes. Research shows your body can start an inflammatory response after approximately 45 – 60 minutes of sitting. Chronic sitting for long periods can cause chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can eventually damage healthy cells, tissues, and organs that can lead to DNA damage, tissue death, and internal scarring, so commit to breaking up any sitting periods. Third, make an activity to-do list. Plan to take your dog out or go for a walk after work. Go to bed and wake up a little earlier, and use that time to go for a walk or exercise. Fourth, remember that you don’t have to go at it full force and risk burning out. Start small with a mind to continue to build a little more every few days. Get in a few more steps or stairs. Get in a few more stretches and deep breaths. Get in a bit more weekend work in the garden. Death from unintentional falls is the 8th leading cause of death if you are over the age of 65, so go it slow until your coordination, balance, stamina, and muscles are ready to, literally, take the next step. Finally, print a calendar and keep track of your progress. Don’t just rely on your memory to recall what you have done. Keep a visual record to help inform you of when you may be doing too much or haven’t done enough.Physical inactivity and being sedentary are some of the most significant risks to our well-being. On a positive note, there is evidence to support that once someone starts becoming more active regularly, it tends to spill over into other areas and positively influence sleep, eating and drinking habits, and psychosocial factors.Get Some RestThe second key factor to a long healthspan is rest and sleep. Getting enough sleep can be challenging, especially as we get older and our bodies change or as we increase our physical workload. For optimal health, sleep is non-negotiable. Any sleep deficiency, categorized as 6 hours or less per day, can decrease the immune response, lead to high blood pressure and heart disease, increase the risk for diabetes, increase weight gain, lower sex drive, reduce balance and coordination, affect mood, behavior, emotional control, decision-making, and problem-solving. Also, one of the ways sleep deficiency promotes weight gain, and obesity is that it results in increased cortisol production. Cortisol is a stress hormone that prepares you for fight or flight, so this hormone’s extra production over time can lead to diseases, anxiety, depression, digestion, and lack of memory or focus.Proper regulation of Cortisol is the difference between your body making it through a disaster and your body becoming overloaded when disaster strikes. The same hormone that tells us to fight or flee is the same hormone that gives the body the little extra it needs to survive. It’s like human nitro in our tanks. The downside of it is that it’s hard on our engines. It can age us prematurely or compound other problems like stress, weight gain, and high blood pressure. So when we have a release of Cortisol, we want it to be during times of disaster, and we want our bodies to be able to utilize it properly. The only way to make our bodies ready to handle the Cortisol stress of disasters is through consistent physical activity and adequate rest.To achieve proper sleep, develop good sleeping habits. Establish a routine to help transition the mind. Keep stressful conversations to the early evening or earlier to avoid the release of stress hormones. Avoid artificial light by turning both your TV and your devices off. Excessive blue light from these devices in the evening and right before bed can decrease your melatonin levels. Your body makes melatonin to help you wind down and sleep better. Therefore, trade your electronics in for a book in the evening or calming music. If electronics are a must in the evening, use a “night mode” on your phone or invest in some inexpensive blue light filter glasses. However, you should still “unplug” from screens, at the very least, 30 minutes before bed.Of course, avoid alcohol and caffeine consumption several hours before bed. Avoid napping during the day. If I’m tired during the day, I typically go for a walk or jog. Set aside a specific window of time to start your bedtime routine and get to sleep. Don’t get frustrated if sleep doesn’t come to you. Just relax and rest until it does. Keep your room dark and cool. Don’t look at your clock and instead wake up at the same time each day. Find the combination and ritual that works best for you and stick to it. If you are increasing your physical activity, your sleep should want to increase and deepen naturally.Eat & DrinkThe third aspect of cultivating a long healthspan and properly prepping your body is eating and drinking right. Most diets only work because they deny your body suddenly some fat or fiber that it typically needs. The prepper should be already aware of the quality and caloric content of the food they are taking into their body. If you aren’t, start keeping a food journal. Write it down, so you have a visual representation of what you are taking into your body. This may, at times, motivate you to increase your physical activity. Eat fewer highly-processed foods. Reduce refined sugars in your diet. Favor healthier non-hydrogenated fats. Think of what you are eating as what you will be carrying with you for the next weeks or months. Is it food your body needs as fuel, or is it going to be extra weight?Don’t make dietary changes you won’t be able to maintain. Reflect upon what you are eating and when you are eating. Are you eating out of boredom or stress? Identify your food triggers and the types of food you are consuming. Replace triggers with healthier activities and options. Slowly replace foods you know aren’t truly feeding your body with anything good with foods that you know are healthier. Don’t be hard on yourself if you occasionally still reach for a donut at work. Just let it be a motivator to add a few more steps to your physical activity program. Let it motivate you to drink more water. Don’t skip meals, and try to make your meals balanced between carbs, fats, and proteins. When it comes to carbs, make sure they are quality carbs like vegetables–especially leafy vegetables. I have found eating a cup of red grapes reduces my hunger and is low in calories. Make sure your fats are healthy and natural. Make sure your proteins, if from meat, are fish, chicken, turkey, and lastly, red meats. Avoid processed meats.The second part of the equation here is to drink water. Cut out most of the drinks that aren’t water. Make sure you are drinking water in the morning before you drink coffee or tea or anything else. Make sure you are drinking water throughout your day. Make sure you are drinking water a few hours before bedtime. Make it a conscious choice. If you make only one change in your life, let it be to commit to drinking at least 2 liters of the cleanest, purest water you can find per day. If you make only one change in your life, let it be to commit to drinking at least 2 liters of the cleanest, purest water you can find per day.ConnectThe last component proven to lead to a long healthspan for individuals is psychosocial. Studies have shown that people who live the most extended useful life are connected to their communities, other people, and themselves. They are well-grounded, well-established, rooted, and relied upon. The connection between feeling good and functioning effectively is how experts define psychosocial wellbeing. Studies have discovered that people with higher psychological well-being are more likely to live healthier and longer lives. To achieve this, connect to yourself and connect to a community. Create a life founded in purpose.By creating a life with meaning and purpose, we can all improve our psychological well-being. It can be as simple as showing kindness, encouragement, acknowledgment to someone who is unseen, or advocating for the voiceless. Ultimately, it boils down to how you want to be remembered by others and not forgetting that each day, you’re leaving a legacy behind whether you like it or not. For many, this will mean freeing yourself from toxic people and toxic arguments. Get rid of your divisive nature and embrace a more accepting and meaningful existence. Tune the noise out if you have to because, at the end of the day, so much of it is only noise.Start thinking about your future and what it could look like if you’re living your best life. Then, think of small attainable goals to start living your best life now. Routinely spend time reflecting on positive experiences, memories with people you care about, places you’ve been, and some of your greatest moments. Intentionally be thoughtful or go out of your way to show kindness to someone else. This can create a sense of empowerment that you can have an impact on others and your surroundings. Even if that doesn’t fit your personality type, our bodies are hardwired to release both endorphins and oxytocin—the feel-good hormones—and create new neural connections with performing these selfless acts, making it easier over time. Endorphins elevate your mood, and oxytocin is the same hormone released when we connect with someone by hugging or touching.Finally, and most importantly, make sure to have meaningful and quality connections with people. Although technology has provided some unique ways to connect with others and even allowed for creating new ways to keep long-distance relationships during this pandemic, there’s no proper substitute for in-person contact and human touch. Without quality human connection, we are subject to the perils of loneliness that are just as damaging to our health as smoking a pack a day of cigarettes. So strive for maintaining those healthy relationships over the phone and in-person and don’t get caught up in the pseudo-connections on social media. They are no replacement for real engagement with other people. We genuinely need those social interactions when things are great and especially when experiencing adversity. Building a network for the prepper should be as high of a priority as storing food and water. If you don’t have people or aren’t feeling connected to people, go get some people. They will help you survive life, and not just life’s hard times.ConclusionThe science is in on improving your healthspan, that time you have where your health is good between your lifespan. Consistent movement, adequate rest, a well-regulated and intentional diet, hydration, and connecting to the core of yourself and a community are all essential elements of a long healthspan.As always, please stay safe out there.
In the first blog of this three-part series on the stock market collapse this year, we looked at the multiple key indicators that a collapse may be imminent. In the second blog, we looked at how you can position yourself to survive a stock market collapse and its subsequent economic recession, even depression. In this final blog of the series, we will look at the indicators and issues that point to everything working out and being fine when it comes to our financial markets this year. The good signs, like the ominous signs, are not without caveats.Regardless of whether the stock market collapses this year, next year, or not again in our lifetimes, which is the least likely, I hope to provide you with a few practical things you can do to better position yourself should a crash occur. And, if it doesn’t happen, you will still benefit from the practical advice in many ways, not the least of which will be more savings money in your pocket. Right upfront, I will tell you I am not a financial consultant or advisor. I am merely here to educate you on steps you may consider to prepare yourself for disasters, from natural to human-made, from power outages to grids down to stock market collapses and economic depressions. With that said, let’s examine the signs everything may be alright this year.The Economy’s Pulse & TemperatureMany of the indicators that alarmists indicate to try and show that the stock market collapse is inevitable may not be the most useful indicators. When we look at the big picture, the 30,000-foot view of the economy, there’s less attention we have to give to any specific indicator. A single indicator or a handful of indicators can, after all, signify nothing but a smaller trend. Volatility indexes, investor sentiment, margin-to-debt ratios, the Buffet indicator, and all the other indications examined in the first video of this series are good for their parts, but they may not indicate a whole. Think of all the small indicators as individual pieces of the larger whole. Just as you might see dark clouds rolling in above you, the wind may pick up, and you may hear thunder and see lightning, it is no guarantee that you will get a drop of rain, let alone a flood. When you get enough indicators pointing to the same bad thing, you have to pay attention; but you also need to keep perspective.When we just want to feel the pulse of the economy and take its temperature to get a general idea of how it’s doing, we can see more clearly the indicators that things will likely be alright, the historical context rather than the minutiae of the moment, and the real challenges that we face. Such a wide-angle, overall view of the economy reveals some positives and a clearer picture of the challenges we still face. From a macro viewpoint, we can see the government’s willingness to encourage a recovery, a virus that, at least for now, seems to be receding. We see businesses realigning themselves to new realities. We see businesses failing, but we also see new businesses emerging. When we take the pulse and temperature of the economy as a whole, it seems to be doing well enough. It is, perhaps, possible for us to ignore a few of the gloomy, downward-pointing indicators in favor of a holistic view of our economic health. When we take the US economy’s pulse and temperature, the heartbeat is getting more robust, and the temperature appears to be returning to normal, even heating up a bit.Sick & Sluggish Economy RecoversUndoubtedly, the most damaging thing that occurred to the world’s economies was the COVID-19 virus. Many countries closed down entirely; many remain more or less closed to this day. Manufacturing slowed, leisure and business travel ground to a halt, events were canceled, and more. Many businesses folded. Others changed the way they operate to face the new realities. Though it may feel very personal and local to many, every nation around the world was affected somehow. The International Monetary Fund had to revise its estimates of global growth considerably and further projects 2021 to end almost six and a half percentage points lower than pre-Covid days.Many will be wearing masks, washing hands, practicing physical distancing, and getting vaccinated against the virus. The silver lining is that the global scientific community came together to share information, quickly sequenced the virus’s DNA, determined specific spike proteins to target, and developed an mRNA vaccine based upon years of research on mRNA delivery methods. While the virus appears to be still mutating, a topic I will cover in a future video, the virus’s infection rate and mortality rate appear to be dropping around the world. Between the heightened safety practices, vaccinations, and those who have recovered and developed some immunity, we seem to be turning a global corner on this particular COVID-19. As consumer confidence increases along with a healthy workforce and increased manufacturing and trade, economies will return to or soar beyond their pre-pandemic growth numbers. We will see an increase in optimism, movement, and spending, which bodes very well for the economy.People have understandably been holding their purse strings tightly. Job insecurities and being forced to reduce spending on out-of-the-home entertainment and meals realigned, at least temporarily, the American spending habits. For the first time in many years, personal consumer debt decreased as people applied their extra assets and stimulus checks to indebtedness. That’s great for the average consumer, but it doesn’t dramatically stoke the fires of a thriving economy. Yet, as the pandemic recedes, consumers worldwide will be better positioned to spend, spend, spend. This could cause manufacturing, trade, and consumption to increase dramatically. That’s the best news we have had for several years for the stock market. Traditional Industries ReopenTravel for both leisure and business, big oil, transportation of goods and people, and entertainment will reopen once the pandemic recedes behind us. They will come roaring back. Americans tired of being cooped up at home and heavily laden with unused vacation time will venture from their homes into the sunlight. When people feel safe enough to travel, they will. Already, many investors are purchasing stock in hotel chains, as they expect an increase in bookings and higher profits. Already, the RV industry has received an unexpected boost because of the pandemic.The essential industries to reopen in the travel sector are leisure, business, and events. When workers feel comfortable returning to the road, conferences will begin again. A decent-sized conference generates millions in revenue and employs thousands–from the rideshare driver to the catering crew to event coordinators to hotel staff. Even the wedding and event industry’s return will be like gasoline on the fire of the economy. Tying the knot was a 55 billion dollar industry pre-Covid.Many industries will realize an immediate gain and uptick in business once Americans feel safe to venture out again to the office or to a concert or a wedding. These are contingent upon confidence. Suppose the infection rate continues to drop and the vaccination rate continues to go up. In that case, if treatments increase in effectiveness, confidence will return, and some, not all, traditional businesses will return. With the upswing of business will come profits, and profits drive shareholder value and kick the stock market into high gear.New Businesses Will EmergeThe COVID-19 experience has caused some businesses to shutter their windows and close their doors forever. Many were operating on thin margins already in the months and years before the pandemic. The sudden slow down or halt in business coupled with the lack of resources and ingenuity to realign business models, if possible, caused them to fold. Some of the major businesses that suffered significant losses, which I didn’t mention earlier, were men’s suits, buffet-style restaurants, commercial real estate like malls, and movie theatres.Other businesses, though, emerged. Video conferencing, online education providers, prepared food delivery, grocery delivery, online shopping, online payment services all gained. With more people at home, big chain hardware stores gained from do-it-yourself remodelers. Even online pet stores rushed to IPO and were rewarded with 100% stock gains. Another positive was industries for preppers – power generators, food, body armor, and medical mask suppliers realized black Friday sales levels. Power outages, a pandemic, repeated natural disasters, and inclement weather brought many to our community. People are starting to realize that placing their trust in the government or big business when times get tough may not be the right choice.We aren’t likely to see a complete return to the 5-day commute to large office buildings, as more Americans have been forced to recognize and realize the potential of remote working. We aren’t likely to see the men’s suits and tie industry come roaring back. Admittedly, I’m not too broken up about that. I hate ties. I also think movie theaters will struggle somewhat. It is undeniable, though, that these newly expanded businesses will continue to thrive. This will create new opportunities and new markets. This will keep the stock market churning, even if not in traditional directions.A Newish DealAs Ernest Benn once said, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” That’s probably true when it comes to the economy and the stock market. The Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, will dictate much of the monetary policy in the coming years, but she finds herself without many tools left at her disposal. Does she raise the interest rates that have been lowered to historic lows and left there so long to fling wide the valve of the economy? This would assuredly result in inflation during a time when the economy needs to recover. Does she and the Administration increase the national debt to never-before-seen levels by borrowing even more to infuse money directly into the economy and consumer pockets? This will result in a dramatic increase of debt to GDP and may threaten America’s future creditworthiness. Does America, in its urgency to get big business rolling again, outsource or move jobs overseas? So many factors are at play, but we find ourselves with most of the tools in the Fed’s toolbox used up.In September of 2019, the Federal Reserve began conducting its fourth quantitative easing operation since the 2008 financial crisis. In March of 2020, it announced approximately $700 billion in new quantitative easing via asset purchases to support US liquidity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of mid-summer 2020, this resulted in an additional $2 trillion in assets on the Federal Reserve books. A new bail-out package will equal or exceed that. Unfortunately, the government has to spend money to make money, but we are spending money that we may not be making back in this case. The US government has been printing more money and spending more money far more rapidly than the Gross Domestic Product has expanded. This has set things out of kilter.It would be beneficial to look at the First and Second New Deals of the 1930s to determine what direction we are likely to go. The first was an “alphabet soup” of relief that’s not too dissimilar to what we see with the Coronavirus relief packages. The second offered further legislative reforms that actually created the basis for our modern social welfare system like Social Security. The second also saw a massive investment in infrastructure. The New Deals were made up of the three Rs–Relief, Recovery, & Reform. Sound familiar? We seem to be heading in the same direction.One thing is assured, we are in the infrastructure phase of our own Newish Deal. The Biden administration will be pushing for as large of an infrastructure bill as they can. Democrats are proposing as much as $3 trillion in new spending as part of what they envision as a wide-ranging job and infrastructure package that would be the foundation of Biden’s “Build Back Better” program. It would be one of the most enormous infrastructure bills in history, from increasing broadband accessibility to fixing bridges and roads to revitalizing the energy grid and incentivizing green energy. Already lobbyists are lining up for and against it, and the ink hasn’t even been set to paper. The government is in control of the Democrats right now, and they are still determining whether they will be able to work with Republicans or they will be forced to go it alone.Some prominent business leaders like Dow Chemical’s CEO, Jim Fitterling, have indicated they are supportive of a large infrastructure bill. He recently told the Financial Times, “I think this is a little bit like the pandemic: you don’t waste the crisis, you use this to drill in.” Many are also realizing that Texas’s power grid’s failure provides a rare opportunity to push for a far-reaching infrastructure bill. The Texas outages underscored the need for national infrastructure spending and put a chill on any legislator’s arguments that spending on America’s infrastructure isn’t necessary. This will make Biden and the Democrats’ infrastructure case more solid.Whether a bill as high as $3 trillion or something lower inevitably gets passed through and signed, I think it is likely that some kind of infrastructure bill will happen this year. The result will be some panic on Wall Street, as investment priorities are realigned, but it will result in a decent period of stock market growth and employment after that. It’s interesting to note by comparison that the New Deals of the 30s helped matters, for sure, but they weren’t the only reason the economy recovered. The massive military expenditures of World War II, not the New Deal, eventually pulled the United States out of the Great Depression.ConclusionAfter every economic crash in our history, people say, “Nobody knew that was about to happen.” A few months later, they say, “We should have seen all these signs.” Then, they invariably say, “Well, next time.” If you start preparing now for “next time,” you will find yourself positioned to survive even the worst of economic downturns. Many indicators point to the stock market and the economy taking a nosedive this year or next. As the other two videos in this series point out, the warning signs are there; however, we are in relatively new and unchartered territory. There are a few opportunities on the horizon we have yet to realize fully. If the coronavirus numbers continue to decline, if Americans rush out of their homes and into the sunlight with open wallets and new priorities, if new businesses gain confidence again and expand their workforces or expand their markets, if a Newish Deal can be struck that pleases people, government, and business, maybe we have enough promise to keep the stock market churning positively forward. That is a lot of ifs, but even a few of those ifs becoming successes will result in positive growth. The long-term risks are still genuine. America’s out-of-control debt, inflation, the continued devaluation of the dollar, and any further reduction in the country’s credit-worthiness, will hinder us later in life and will threaten the security of future generations. So, the most significant success would be anything that addresses our current situation and doesn’t just kick the can further down the road to successive generations. What do you think? Are we heading over a cliff, or are we at the cliff’s edge with wings of opportunity spread and ready to take flight? As always, please stay safe out there.
NOTES: * If you are planning on buying and transplanting anything, here are a few tips.
After you transplant, you only have about 10 minutes to water. Once the roots have been exposed to air, they need to be replanted and then watered to remove the air around them. 10 minutes!!!
Keep them in shade for 3 days. This allows the plant to rest and recover from the shock of the move. If you can’t “move” the plant to the shade, cover it with a sheet, or towel, or something to simulate shade. I use something like this: Vensovo 50% Sunblock Shade Cloth Net Black Resistant – 8×12 Ft Garden Shade Mesh Tarp for Plant Cover They come in varying shade degrees. Mine are 50% shade. They really work! Once it gets to be 90 degrees or so, I start covering my plants. It really is cooler under the shade cloth.
prepping-sustainability
Try to keep the part above the ground shorter than the roots. We bought a beautiful flowering plant on Saturday for $45 (I almost NEVER pay that much!!!), and when we went to repot it, the root system broke off and only about 1/2 of the roots came out with the plant. After replanting and watering, I immediately pruned the top WAY back. It was hard to cut off all the flowers and buds, but I wanted the plant to survive, not struggle. I also covered it with shade, and talked to it nicely, praised it, and encouraged it along. BTW, Alma says you can pray over your fields, so I do. LOL
Rice is a grain, so it can take the place of your wheat, or add to the variety of grains you have stored. Plus, rice is very versatile. You can use rice in main dishes, mixed with other stored foods (rice and beans), and even used in desserts (rice pudding). I remember in college, I was invited to spend the night at a friend’s house in Idaho. For breakfast, she got out leftover rice from the night before, sprinkled sugar on it, and added milk. I was skeptical, to say the least; but it was surprisingly good! Who knew?
My grandson has celiac disease, so rice and potatoes have taken the place of pasta for him.
* “Long grain rice cooks up dry and fluffy and is good in curries, pilafs, and casseroles. Short grain rice is more tender and sticky and is good for breakfast cereals, puddings, Oriental dishes, and casseroles too. Basically, all rice can be used interchangeably.” (Preparedness Principles, Barbara Salsbury, p.59)
According to “An Approach to Long-Term Food Storage“, it is recommended to have about 60 pounds per person for a year’s supply. Never fear, I did the math for you. LOL 60 lbs = 120 cups dry rice = 350 c. cooked rice. In other words, 60 lbs of rice will give you 1 cup of rice a day for nearly a year. Not bad.
I look for rice that is about $20 for 8 pounds. That’s a pretty good price.
SHORT TERM FOCUS: Canned Meat
Just about any kind of meat can be purchased in a can. DON’T BUY TUNA IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO EAT TUNA!!! Canned meat is pricey. That’s why I’m ALWAYS telling you to can your own.
In the meantime, think about what you usually make for dinner. Canned chicken is about $2 for 10 oz. Maybe pick up 10 cans and put it away. Get tuna if you think your kids will eat tuna casserole. Get salmon or even roast.
Can you survive without canned meat? Yes. But do you want to??? LOL
72-HOUR KIT FOCUS: First Aid
This week, get a quart-size baggie and stick some bandaids in it. Maybe buy a small tube of Neosporin or some other cream. We will add to this “kit” throughout the month. Each of my 72-hour kits has a small FAK (first aid kit). I have different sizes of bandaids, and maybe 2 knuckle bandages, and 2 fingertip bandaids, and 2 very large bandaids. This is not a large “family” FAK, but a small personal kit that I can carry around. If you want a family kit, then it should be something easy to grab and carry. In fact, you should probably have something in each car, just in case. Start with bandaids.
MISC. FOCUS: Sun Screen
It’s time for sunscreen and sunburn lotion to go on sale soon. Get some for your family FAK. If you have to evacuate, you may end up being in the sun for extended periods. Be prepared.
Rice Pudding
There are dozens of rice pudding recipes. This one is by Christin Mahrlig. Posted to spicysouthernkitchen.com
Makes 4 servings.
In a saucepan, combine:
5 1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp salt.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in:
(heaping) 1/2 c. long grain white rice and reduce heat to low. It should be at a gentle simmer. Cook for 50-60 minutes. Mixture should thicken up to the consistency of yogurt.
Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in:
2 tsp vanilla extract. Let cool, then refrigerate. An additional 1/2 c. milk is stirred in just before serving. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
Chili with Rice
From Taste of Home
(I’m wondering if you could just open a can of chili and serve it over the rice? I’ve never done this. Anyone???)
1 lb ground beef (or 1 pint “canned” ground beef)
1 medium onion chopped (or 1 TB dehydrated onion rehydrated in 1/4 c. water for 20 min.)
1/2 c. chopped green pepper (or 1 TB chopped green pepper rehydrated in the same water as onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
Brown together until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Add:
2-3 c. tomato juice (or 16 oz. tomato sauce and 2 c. water)
1/2 c. uncooked long grain rice
1 TB chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 min. or until rice is tender. Stir in:
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen corn (or 1 can corn drained)
1 can sliced ripe olives, drained
Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey jack cheese. Sprinkle and cook 5 min longer or until cheese melts.
After a disaster of any kind, you or someone else may be critically injured. If medical services are slowed or unavailable, a minor injury could lead to death. Even if you are not injured in the initial disaster, the aftermath and exposure to the elements and the disaster zone can easily endanger your life.In this blog, I will examine seven of the primary first aid skills you absolutely should know and three extras you should consider learning. While this video cannot cover all the range of possibilities, nor go too far in-depth with the exact and full procedures, it will provide you with a basis of understanding you can build upon with further studies. Let’s learn to save some lives… Stop BleedingBleeding to death can happen very quickly. If the hemorrhaging isn’t stopped, a person can bleed to death in just five minutes. And if their injuries are severe, this timeline may be even shorter. Apply firm, direct pressure on the wound using a clean cloth or sterile dressing until the bleeding stops. If a sanitary material isn’t available, use whatever you can get– a t-shirt, scarf, cloth napkin. Elevate the wound and support the injured area above the level of the heart while applying pressure. Maintain the pressure until bleeding stops. If an artery or vein has been severed, a tourniquet may be necessary, and survival will depend on more advanced medical treatment.Cardiopulmonary ResuscitationThe high mental and physical stress of disasters can lead to strain or damage to the body that may require cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CPR should be performed on anyone whose heart has stopped, so you will want to determine if there is a pulse first of all. CPR is performed to provide chest compressions and rescue breaths when the heart is not pumping at its normal pace. There are several online courses now available for CPR and AED– automated external defibrillator, so there is no excuse for not knowing this essential of first aid skills. Take an afternoon and learn this skill. If the time ever arrives where you need the skill, you won’t be left desperately searching for help from others, and you might just save someone’s life.ChokingIn the same category as CPR, learning how to check for choking and provide assistance is one of the most common forms of emergency aid you can render. If someone is choking, they may clutch their throat or chest while gasping for air. They won’t be able to speak to tell you what is wrong, so you have to act quickly. Stand behind them and bend them forward before giving them five firm blows between the shoulder blades to try and dislodge whatever is choking them. If they are unconscious, check their mouth and the back of their throat for any obstructions. Roll them on their stomach and attempt the back blows.If this doesn’t work, you need to try the Heimlich maneuver. Place your arms around the choking person from behind, and pull upwards and inwards on the abdomen below the rib cage. This movement’s pressure can force out whatever is blocking the airway, allowing the patient to breathe again. If you are choking and cannot get help, try the abdominal thrusts on yourself. Throw your abdomen at the solar plexus into the back of a chair or counter. Don’t hold back, as you will only have seconds to free your airway.HyperthermiaHyperthermia is when the body is overheating, and the body’s temperature-regulating system cannot handle the environmental heat. It may not seem too probable, but it is highly likely after a disaster, during warm weather. The fact is that we live in temperature-controlled environments, and we are usually poorly hydrated. When that all goes south because of a disaster, the threat of hyperthermia increases dramatically. Only a change in environment, rehydration, and external cooling efforts, such as cool water or ice packs on the skin, can reverse hyperthermia. It is essential to recognize the signs of it, as they are very subtle. Dizziness, weakness, confusion, nausea, extreme thirst, accelerated pulse, coordination issues, cramps, fainting, or a headache are all symptoms but may not all occur all at once. Cooling the person is essential to survival. Get them into the shade, apply cool water, damp cloths, or ice under the arms, on the wrists, the elbow, and the crotch and forehead. Ensure that the person immediately starts drinking cool fluids. Electrolyte fuels are the best. Soak them in a cool body of water. Get them cooled down fast.HypothermiaThe opposite of exposure to too much heat is hypothermia or exposure to too much cold. Some of the symptoms are similar, like confusion, exhaustion, loss of consciousness, and shallow breathing. Other hypothermia signs include numb extremities, a drop in body temperature, shivering, and bright red or bluish skin. Here you want to bring the person’s body temperature back up slowly. Get the person out of the elements and indoors. Remove any wet clothing, and wrap the person in blankets or dry clothing. Warm the person’s trunk first, as warming the extremities first may cause shock. Do not submerge the person in warm or hot water, as this can cause heart arrhythmia. The key is a slow but progressive application of heat. If available, provide them with warm but not hot liquids. Keep the person warm until symptoms have passed. Revive a Drowned PersonRoll the person onto their stomach and try to push on their back gently and push from the lower back up to the shoulder blades. The old remedy was to tie a person stomach down over a horse and force the horse to trot rapidly in a circle. It sounds crazy, but the up and down pumping on the abdomen encouraged water to flow out of the lungs. A big person can gently jump or jog in place with a person flung over their shoulder to accomplish a similar initial treatment and allow water to flow from the lungs. If CPR is necessary, turn the drowning person’s head to the side, allowing any water to drain from their mouth and nose. Turn their head back to the center, and begin mouth-to-mouth and CPR if there is no pulse. Mouth-to-mouth is one of those essential skills learned in CPR training. The drowning victim isn’t completely safe once they start to breathe, choke, and spit up water. The first 48 hours after a drowning incident can be the most dangerous. Complications resulting from water exposure—pneumonia, infection, heart failure—can occur during this time.Treat a BurnBurns are tricky, but effective early treatment will reduce long-term damage or further trauma. The first thing to do is to stop the burning process. Submerging or running cool, not cold, water over the burn area for at least five minutes is the first thing to do. Do not let the person shiver, as this can kick into gear the body’s natural temperature-regulating processes and could warm the area you are trying to cool. Remove all jewelry and clothing around the burn area, especially before any swelling occurs. Application of aloe vera, burn creams, or topical antimicrobial ointments are all good to treat and cool the area. Do not apply butter or oil, as older generations have recommended. This adds cooking oil to the fire. Also, do not apply ice or break any blisters. Cover the area lightly with a sterile gauze bandage or cotton cloth. Have the burn victim continue to drink plenty of water. If a clean environment can be maintained, using wet dressings can aid the healing process over several days. The Bonus ThreeThe first seven emergency procedures touched upon here will get you through many of the most common injuries. If you don’t have one already, consider an excellent hard copy field medicine book like the Survival Medicine Handbook. Suppose secondary care isn’t a possibility because of an extended period of disaster. In that case, you will be glad to have it to reference for the thousands of other medical complications you could encounter. As a prepper, you may want to take your initial first-aid treatment a step further, so I have three more first aid skills you may want to consider to broaden your capabilities.Splinting & Bone SettingYou may not ever have the skills necessary to set a bone, and you wouldn’t want to if secondary care is at all possible; however, you should know how to splint and isolate a broken or potentially broken bone. To make a splint, you will need one or two rigid pieces to run the length of the injury. This can be a stick, rolled-up newspaper, a board, or even a rolled-up towel. You will need to fasten the splint in place. To do this, wrap the limb between the two braces with shoelaces, rope, strips of cloth, even duct tape so long as it doesn’t make contact with clothing or skin. You will want the splint on the joint above and below the injury. Once the splint is in place, check it periodically through the first few hours to note any signs of decreased blood circulation like tinges of blue, swelling, or paleness. If you notice any of these, your splint may be too tight, or one of your ties may be inhibiting arterial flow. Loosen and adjust the splint. Making and using a splint is not something you want to do for the first time in a crisis. To be adequately prepared, practice this skill a couple of times.Deliver a BabyIf you can see the baby’s head and no advanced medical care is available, you may need to spring into action to deliver the child. Realize that women have been giving birth for thousands of years, so you are more or less a guide in this procedure. Remind the mother to breathe. You will need clean cloths, like sheets, shirts or towels. You will need hand sanitizer or soap and water, shoelaces or string, clean scissors, or a sharp knife. Do not try to pull out the child or the umbilical cord. As much as possible, you want the mother and child to do the work of delivery. Put down any clean cloth, even newspaper. Lie the mother down with her knees up. Sanitize your hands and up your arms. Encourage the mother to breathe and push, but only until you see the child’s head emerge. Cradle the baby’s head, and as the shoulders clear, the rest of the body will soon and quickly follow. If at all possible, you want a medical professional to cut the cord. If this isn’t possible, tie the cord in two places with your ties approximately four and eight inches from the baby. Cut in the center. Clear the baby’s air passages by wiping down from the forehead to the chin. If the baby does not breathe, gently pat her feet. If that doesn’t work, you may have to blow a few very gentle breaths into the baby’s mouth. Wrap the baby in a warm cloth and encourage the mother to breastfeed immediately. The sucking of the child will further clear the child’s passages and will encourage the mother to dispel the placenta. Let this occur naturally. If you have even a little preparation possible, the skin-on-skin contact between the mother and child has been statistically proven to promote health during these early initial minutes.Suture a WoundFinally, and more likely needed but often overlooked, knowing how to suture a wound is one of the best skills you can learn. Also, it’s a smart idea to have suture needles, thread, and equipment in your pepper’s first aid kit. Suture practice kits are available for under forty dollars, and I will link to a decent one in the comments below. Knowing various sutures and how to sew up various-sized wounds is a skill you cannot do effectively without practice. When your mind is racing, and your hands are shaking in the moments after a disaster, even a little practice ahead of time will result in your better effectiveness. In many disasters, bleeding out or deep wounds becoming infected are two of the leading causes of death. Knowing how to suture a wound will tremendously increase your and other people’s odds of survival.ConclusionThere you have ten of the most critical first aid skills that you will, hopefully, never have to use. These are cursory looks at them, but I do encourage you to pick one and explore further. As a prepper, you cannot rely on learning the skill at the moment the need becomes critical. As you know, even a little forethought and preparation will pay off for you in the long run. When disasters of any kind strike, our bodies, and our health are in jeopardy. Learn what you need now. Practice a suture or two. Take a CPR course. Understand the early symptoms of various afflictions and the treatments for them. Ensure there is a good, easy to follow, medical book in your prepper supplies and read ahead.Have you ever had to perform emergency aid? What was the critical thing you are glad you knew? As always, please stay safe out there.
The end of the world has been predicted and anticipated as far back as recorded history. Since our creation, we have gone to sleep at night, uncertain that the dawn was guaranteed. Doomsday and apocalyptic scenarios have existed in every culture and through every time. Whether the end of humanity’s days is because of biblical prophecy or scientific events or a combination of both fulfilling each other, will never be foretold.In this blog, I’ll examine two contemporary indicators meant to provide us a snapshot of how bad things are getting compared to how bad they have been in the past. Both devices are supposed to inform us of how close we may be to an end-of-day scenario. One is the scientifically-based Doomsday clock, which sits at a mere one-hundred seconds until midnight or “zero” hour. The other is the evangelical-based Rapture Ready Index designed to measure the types of activity that could act as a precursor to the Rapture– a religious teaching which believes there will be an ascension of believers to heaven at the Second Coming of Christ. While I try to avoid interjecting religion into this channel, I think looking at this Rapture Ready Index at least gives us an awareness to a belief system many in the U.S. hold. And let me be clear: I don’t think these 2 are exact predictors of a future event. Still, I think the types of activities they look at are indicators of future threats and worthy of examination, and at a minimum, you’re aware of their existence. As a whole, the Doomsday Clock and the Rapture Index may not mean much to us, but their common parts can help us to make sure that we’re aware of potential disasters, even global disasters, that others are spending a large amount of time to research. So let’s take a look.The Doomsday Clock The Doomsday clock was developed in 1947 by the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. This non-profit group has been composed of many of our times’ leading philosophical and scientific minds, including Bertrand Russel, Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Paul Weiss, Edward Teller, George Brock Chisolm, and many more. From Nobel Prize winners to nuclear physicists, to botanists, medical experts, and philosophers, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists considers existing and emerging global threats to determine how close humanity is to annihilation. The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation of the likelihood of a predominantly human-made global catastrophe. The global catastrophe to occur at midnight on the clock is measured in the distance from that time in “minutes” and “seconds.”When it was first established in 1947, it was set to seven minutes to midnight. The most significant threat was considered to be atomic warfare and the proliferation of atomic weapons. The first time the symbolic minute hand of the clock leaped forward was in response to the first Soviet nuclear test in 1949. It moved one full minute closer to midnight. Over the years, as atomic threats increased or decreased, other weapons of mass destruction proliferated, hypersonic glide vehicles, ballistic missile defenses, and weapons-delivery systems were developed, the climate became more erratic, politics or international relations became strained, natural resources became threatened, disruptive technologies emerged, artificial intelligence grew, and biological threats like pandemics emerged, the minute and seconds hands of the symbolic clock have moved forwards and backward–mostly forward. At the beginning of 2020, the clock’s hands moved to a mere one minute and forty seconds before midnight– just 100 seconds. That makes the seven minutes seem like forever. This was based upon increased global nuclear threats, politics, climate activity, and an emerging pandemic threat. Surprisingly to me, the time was left the same, still 100 seconds before midnight, even a year into the COVID-19 crisis. In the Bulletin’s own words, they indicated:“Though lethal on a massive scale, this particular pandemic is not an existential threat. Its consequences are grave and will be lasting. But COVID-19 will not obliterate civilization, and we expect the disease to recede eventually. Still, the pandemic serves as a historic wake-up call, a vivid illustration that national governments and international organizations are unprepared to manage nuclear weapons and climate change, which currently pose existential threats to humanity, or the other dangers—including more virulent pandemics and next-generation warfare—that could threaten civilization in the near future.”The Doomsday Clock is a great metaphor to help us assess looming threats, but its efficacy as an accurate tool is questionable. One of the biggest complaints is that it is merely a theoretical tool to help scientists and world leaders visualize threats, and it encapsulates “humanity’s tendency toward historical pessimism.” The Bulletin is also criticized for being so theoretical and neither explaining nor attempting to quantify their methodology, which is the very hallmark of good scientific analysis. If we take it at its face value, though, as it was intended–merely a theoretical tool to illustrate our current position on the timeline of human existence–we would still be wise to heed some of the same indicators that these leading scientific minds use to develop their theories.There is no denying that the threat of mass destruction weapons and nuclear proliferation has increased in the last decade alone. The possibility of a large high altitude electromagnetic pulse attack has risen exponentially as Iran and Korea have developed longer-range missile capabilities. Extreme and erratic weather patterns have become more prevalent in recent years, defying modern records and forcing us to turn to scientifically assessed core samples to find a rivaling time. Today’s conflicts between nations are not as transparent as the Axis and Allied forces of World War II. Clandestine operators, state-sponsored terrorist organizations, organized hacking endeavors, even sabotage are all the behind-the-scenes weapons of many nations as they struggle to bring themselves power by destroying their perceived enemies. Technology continues to marginalize humanity through automation and Artificial Intelligence. Precious resources are consumed and not replenished at the same rate of consumption. And, socio-economic disparities grow exponentially year-over-year, which leads to an increasingly more disillusioned and desperate population.One of the most striking additions to the Doomsday Clock’s Bulletin is what they are calling an “Infodemic.” That is, the proliferation across all mediums but particularly the internet of so much information, both false, true, and hypothetical, that people turn away from scientific-based inquiry and determine their facts from contradictory narratives based upon ideological lines. While that’s not an existential threat to humanity, it does portend an intensification of future events. The Bulletin considers it a “threat multiplier.” The misinformation in the Infodemic throws fuel to the fire of conflict and increases partisanship and the violent threat to social order through the dehumanization of political rivals and the radicalization of the mentally unstable. They write in the Bulletin that “Social media, search engines, always-on mobile computing technologies, and other technology applications have exploited human cognitive propensities to be misled and enraged and to react impulsively, exacerbating political and ideological differences.”That’s much to process, and I have indicated where I think the Doomsday Clock isn’t the most accurate of indicators. Still, the threats it addresses, both new and old, are reliable indicators of the immediate threats we face. While they may not lead to an actual Doomsday scenario and tomorrow is always another day to perchance side-step disaster and circumnavigate our collective fates, the threats the clock highlights are a real danger and something for which we should prepare. The Rapture Ready IndexThe Rapture Ready Index is a non-scientific, evangelically-based assessment of how close we find ourselves to the Christian Rapture event. The Rapture, as it is foretold in the Christian belief systems, is where the living will be taken up to heaven, and those left behind–the leftovers–will face the sudden aftermath of the instant disappearance of millions of believers and year upon year of future tribulation until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I will not engage in a theoretical discussion of this in this video, as much as I want to look at the indicators used in the Rapture Ready Index, where it came from, and if any of it can be useful to our own prepping. Rapture Ready is an Evangelical Christian website, originally a Usenet forum, founded by a man named Todd Strandberg in 1987. The Rapture Ready Index promotes the belief that the rapture will occur in the near future, with true Christians being taken up to Heaven and non-believers left behind to suffer. The site tracks the real-world occurrence of events that Strandberg believes are prophesied in the Bible, and uses these to calculate what Strandberg sees as the rapture approaching. Originally, Rapture Ready (then called “Rapture Index”) consisted of threads in Usenet newsgroups. In 1995, Rapture Index became a website. The apparent shortcomings of the Rapture Ready Index are that it is faith-based and not scientifically based. That wouldn’t be so much of a problem if the conclusions the Rapture Index made were achieved through a consortium of religious leaders. Still, here it is just one person determining what they perceive to be the real threats that signal an end-of-time Second Coming and Great Tribulation.The Rapture Ready Index seems scientific enough as it scores on a scale of 1 to 5, 45 different indicators that range from the usual like volcanoes, earthquakes, and floods to the more esoteric like the Gog and the kingdom of Magog (modern-day Russia), false prophets, apostasy, Beast government, and the Tribulation Temple. The totals of these 45 indicators are then compared to a scale ranging from 100 and below, meaning “Slow prophetic activity” to Above 160, meaning “Fasten your seat belts.” The all-time high of the index was 189 in October of 2016. The all-time low was 58 in December of 1993. Right now, the index sits near its all-time high of 185, so I guess we better fasten our seatbelts.If we remove the more esoteric and religious references from the index, we are left with some empirically measurable things to look at. Separating the wheat of scientifically measurable events from faith-based interpretive events is counter to the Index’s beliefs, but doing so lets us compare some of its indicators to those of the Doomsday Clock. The measurable indicators on the Rapture Ready Index are debt and trade, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, the economy, oil supply and price, financial unrest, drug abuse, crime rate, nuclear nations, arms proliferation, climate, volcanoes, earthquakes, wild weather, civil rights, famine, drought, plagues, food supply, and floods. Those 21 indicators sit at a little over 90 points on the scale or almost ½ of the total final score.If we just look at those indicators with a top score of five, we can see the Doomsday clock’s parallels and a good indicator of what we should continue to prep for. Debt & Trade, inflation, the economy, and financial unrest are all at a five on the scale. If you have followed this channel for any amount of time, you know that I often point out our financial systems’ fragility, the likelihood of collapse, and what precautions you should be taking. Though related only from a civil perspective, a score of 5 for both the crime rate and civil rights seems to foretell continued civil discord, the possibility of heavy-handed policing or government intrusion upon the citizenry, and threats of martial law or continued civil unrest. All of those I encourage people to prep for the possibility of occurring. On an international stage, a top score of 5 for nuclear nations and arms proliferation indicate the continued high probability of global conflict. From nuclear weapons to EMPs, to biological weapons and terror attacks, these indicators closely align to the indicators corresponding to the hands on the Doomsday Clock. Finally, while many ecological indicators have a score of 4, only plagues and floods have a top score of 5 on the Rapture Ready Index at this time. For many years, this channel has encouraged people to prepare against the obvious natural disasters that absolutely will occur in your lifetime and your area and for the tangible disasters like pandemics and biological infectious agents that could dramatically impact society. What Does it All Mean?Can either the Doomsday Clock or the Rapture Ready Index be taken seriously? They are what they are. They are indicators of troubles that are increasing, challenges we continue to face, and coming hardships. I think they both overlook or barely factor in some things like the real threats of artificial intelligence, automation, and over-dependence on technology. They ignore the planetary threats of near-Earth objects and geomagnetic storms like the Carrington Event. What they do both indicate, though, has an alarmingly high total score. That alone should trigger some red flags for us. Not red flags that we should prepare for the end of times, perhaps, but they should trigger red flags enough to get our houses in order, our supplies in stock, and to look at the world with a sober view. You do not have to agree with the conclusions of either the Doomsday Clock or the Rapture Ready Index, but you would be wise to assess for yourself the strengths and weaknesses of their parts.Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The worst are the apparent indicators on these two scales. The best is that we can either avert these catastrophes or prep enough to make our way through them. Cultivate your skills, prep an adequate inventory of food, water, supplies, and tools, and sure, fasten your seatbelts, but get prepared, so you aren’t at the whim of whatever disaster befalls you.ConclusionDo you agree with the findings of the Doomsday Clock or the Rapture Ready Index? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below or by taking one of the surveys on this CityPrepping channel’s community tab. I’ll put links to both in the comments section below for you to explore further. Whether you agree or disagree, I hope you are prepping and getting things in order, including getting yourself in order. Whether the end of humanity’s days is because of biblical, prophesy, or scientific events or a combination of both fulfilling each other, or not in our lifetimes at all, should not determine our readiness. Prepping goes beyond just storing up the necessary supplies and equipment. Successfully surviving any cataclysmic event starts and ends with you and your capabilities.If you found this video informative and helpful, please feel free to like and share it with your friends, family, and community. If you would like to be notified when other videos become available, join this channel’s community by subscribing to it. When you click subscribe, you will be notified of future videos, and it helps us reach more people and boosts our positive message.As always, please stay safe out there.
It’s not a question of if the stock market will crash. It’s only a question of when. No market in history has ridden the highs of growth forever. Yet, knowing this, hundreds of millions of Americans find themselves entirely at the mercy of others to provide them the essentials of life. When we prep, we reduce our dependence upon others. We increase our self-reliance, and we increase our odds of survival.In this blog, part of a three blog series on the stock market crash, we will look at the ten things you need to do now to prepare yourself for a stock market crash and subsequent hard times. I am not a financial advisor or consultant and nothing that I am going to say here is financial advice, but the items I will list out have been used by others to help them through hard times. In the first video, I examined ten key indicators that parallel the crash of two-thousand and the possibilities of a crash this year. The final video will look at why a crash may not be imminent to provide you with a 360-degree view of the threat and what you can do about it. Even if there is no crash this year, you will be more solid after implementing the preps I cover in this video. To see the other two videos, I’ll post them in a playlist which you can access from the cards above. So let’s jump in.
Why It Matters To You
The first thing to do before a stock market crash is to realize that it will dramatically impact your life. This is hard for most Americans to understand. Only about 14% of Americans are directly invested in individual stocks. About 52% of Americans own stocks as part of a retirement fund. In that format, they are meant as stable value retention tools. Typically, they are a buy-and-hold strategy with a late maturity date. While they might lose a third or half their value in a nasty crash, the retirement account owner would likely be back to the pre-crash value in five to ten years. Retirement accounts that hold securities are meant to be at a maximum value at a person’s retirement– ten, twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years into the future.So with such little real ownership and with the majority of American’s owning stock in a long-term buy and hold strategy, many people believe that a stock market crash will not impact them. After all, if the fat cat on Wall Street loses his shirt, how could that possibly affect me? These tend to be the same people who are unaware of how dependent they are on infrastructure systems and cannot be self-sufficient.Stock is all of the shares into which ownership of a corporation is divided. A single share of the stock represents fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion to the total number of shares. Stock value is part of a company’s valuation method. If the company wants to generate capital for significant upgrades, they could sell stock, or they could borrow capital from financial institutions based upon their stock value, inventory, and capital equipment. If the company is, let’s say, engaged in manufacturing widgets used to harden off electrical components against freezing temperatures, what happens when their stock value plummets so low that their valuation and creditworthiness suffer and they are no longer able to get the raw materials to manufacture widgets? If the company transports food from the farm to the processing plant, what happens when they have to lay off truckers or selloff trucks or raise prices for their services? If the company processes food, what happens when it can no longer get the electricity it needs or the delivery of foods and raw materials it needs? I could go on and on about case after case, but suffice it to say that when one system fails, we can usually compensate for it. When many systems fail, we run out of workarounds at some point. That fat cat on Wall Street probably just takes the loss. You, the average consumer, have to learn to live without the product– even if that’s food. Are you ready to grow your own oats, corn, or beans? Are you ready to grind your own flour? So, the first thing you can do is take a deeper dive into understanding how failure in the larger system out there can impact you in your safe home or apartment. If you suddenly couldn’t get anything from any store or manufacturer or utility provider, how bad off would you be? Becoming even a little more self-sufficient will position you better when suffering through a market crash. When the stock market falls, unemployment numbers skyrocket, as businesses have to trim their workforce to make ends meet. At the same time, inflation can leap up, pricing goods out of the reach of many Americans. Even those who don’t own any stock tighten up their purse strings and delay or cancel purchases. This chills the economy even further. When farmers cannot find low-wage immigrant workers, cannot afford storage costs, cannot secure transport for their product or processing facilities wanting to buy their product in a time of decreased production, or the price for their product rises or drops dramatically, crops can end up rotting in the fields. When the workforce is reduced at a city, State, or Federal level, services you rely upon can also be slowed or cut altogether. When the chaos of the market crash occurs, the first thing you must do is focus on what you can control: your attitude, your outlook, your preps, and your actions.
Simplify Your Finances
In preparation for a crash or in the first few hours and days following a crash, you have to simplify your finances. You have to squeeze every last penny out of your dollars. The first step of this, just like those businesses losing money, is to trim the fat. Cancel gym memberships, reduce or eliminate cable bills, cut online subscription services, consider selling off that second car if you don’t need it. Will you need that trailer to go on vacation now or next year? Probably not, but during an economic downturn, the price for mobile homes and trailers shoots up dramatically. Sell things through local online exchanges that you have meant to get rid of anyways. Unload what you don’t need to raise capital and hold on to the money that flows from you. If it doesn’t have real, tangible value for you through an economic crisis, this is your opportunity to clean house and realign your priorities. Prioritize food, water, shelter, and utilities. Those are what will get you through.
See Crisis as Opportunity
In every crisis, there is also an opportunity. Sometimes we become complacent, or we just cannot seem to find the time to do what we know we probably should do. Immediately preceding or following a stock market crash, your opportunity to make substantive changes to your finances will be short. Can you pay off your car and still have some savings in the bank? While you still have secure employment, can you refinance your house and raise capital by retaining the month or two mortgage payment while it is processing and also lower your monthly mortgage payment? It may seem counterintuitive to allocate more money to your employer’s 401k plan or startup a traditional IRA. Still, these are pre-tax dollars, and if your employer matches any percent of it, you are instantly making a return on your money and likely buying into stocks at rock bottom prices. Your post-market crash recovery will be even better. Because these are pre-tax dollars, raising your contribution a hundred dollars will barely show up on your take-home pay. I have seen some people do this and end up taking home more because it just bumped them off the cusp of a tax bracket. Let the brewing economic storm be what you need to seize the opportunity to batten down your personal finances.
Diversify
When we hear “diversify” in financial settings, it means not having all your money in one place. Having money in cryptocurrency, stocks, bonds, commodities, precious metals, and things of that nature will definitely help you in the recovery phase of an economic collapse. Still, they’ll have little value if you need to buy a loaf of bread or a 25-pound bag of flour. I see diversify as a broader term. You have to diversify yourself and generate other revenue streams for yourself. It’s hard to get a job when businesses aren’t hiring, but have you ever considered teaching a class in your neighborhood, selling your baked goods, fixing someone’s car, or leveraging in any way your unique skills. I knew someone who mowed lawns every Saturday. He didn’t need to do that to survive. He mowed lawns to get tackle, bait, and fuel for his little boat. He would then catch Catfish on the Missouri River and then sell it out of the freezer in his garage. On Mondays, he went to his regular job like everyone else. Any side hustle like food delivery or rideshare services can add a little extra income. That extra income, when combined with the trimming and refinancing you just did, might be enough to carry you through.Diversify yourself. It might lead you to a more enjoyable occupation when the markets recover. Even if it doesn’t, you will be cultivating the most important resource you have– yourself.
Consolidate
Do you have more than one credit card, but one of them just offered you one of those zero interest checks? Now is the time to consolidate your debt to one low-interest card. Making one minimum payment is going to be easier than making two. Even if your credit card company hasn’t sent you a check, now would be a good time to give them a call and see if they’re willing to pay off your other card through a no-interest loan. Ideally, if you are genuinely prepping, you know how bad credit card debt is for you and you’ve been working on a plan to rid yourself of it. Any financial moves you want to make may not be possible three months into a deepening economic crisis, as banks will be overloaded and then just stop offering many services.Understand, hereto, that “consolidation” goes beyond just the financial term. By definition, it means “the action or process of combining a number of things into a single more effective or coherent whole.” Consolidating your buying power by buying in bulk or forming a buyer’s club of friends and family that buy in bulk together serves two purposes. It gets you more for your money, and it builds a network and community to help you get through even the most challenging financial times. So, think of consolidation as a debt management tool, but also understand that it means to pool all your resources, including human resources, to create “a single more effective or coherent whole.”
Stock-Up
Runs on stores and failures in the food supply chain from farm to table will happen after a stock market crash. Inflation or hyperinflation are also possible contributors to the empty grocery aisles you may see. Remember that surreal trip to your local grocery store when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic? The pasta aisle and canned goods aisle, and meat department were empty or sparse. Now is the time to top off your food storage. Now is the time to kick that garden into high gear with a few extra plants. If the crash sinks into a deep recession or an economic depression, you will be glad you did.If the dollar’s value declines and the inflation hits hard after an economic crash, having several thousand in the bank won’t matter too much. Sure, make sure you have an emergency fund if you can, but if you have extra funds, having them sit on the sidelines won’t do you much good. I am not a financial advisor, but several I follow indicate that a stock market crash is a good time to stock-up on stocks when they’re on the sale. This is what the wealthy do and how many became wealthy to begin with. Really solid conglomerate stocks often decline drastically along with everything else. It creates a buying opportunity for you, just like maxing out your 401k does. If the depression sinks the world into a dystopia, post-apocalyptic wasteland, those dollars in the bank won’t matter anyway. Again, make sure you have enough to cover your needs, but any extra you may want to apply to stocking-up.
Invest in Yourself
Light a fire under yourself. Get motivated. Read, learn, and retool your skill sets. If the insecurity of the markets, the lockdowns and sicknesses, the cyberattacks, and the wild and extreme weather isn’t enough, if there isn’t something in there that motivates you to pay attention and prepare yourself for the same or even worse, I don’t know what will. Use that time you reclaimed spent on entertainment like watching television or going out to learn a new, practical skill you can apply in your life.Every skill you learn and even slightly master is like putting money in your own personal savings account. When you need to make a withdrawal, you are paying yourself back with interest. You may have always told yourself that you were going to learn Spanish, learn to knit, learn to cook, learn to do whatever. If your land affords you the possibility, could you be learning how to raise bees or raise chickens? Well, now more than ever is the time. Just making those connections with people who already tend bees or chickens might keep you in honey and eggs when times get even more challenging. If you never master any of the skills and only end up with a cursory understanding of them, you will at the very least have entertained yourself and kept your mind busy. At the very best, you will have a skill when you need it, or a skill you can cultivate as a resource to, literally, bring more to the table.
Fire as a Tool
For all the thousands upon thousands of years man has utilized fire, it is surprising that the average person does not know the basics of wielding it or how ubiquitous it is even when you don’t see flames. The average American who doesn’t smoke probably could not light a fire easily. Beyond that, most Americans don’t understand how fire somewhere is lighting their house and heating or cooling their home. The average American doesn’t truly grasp the fact that explosions of fire are driving the engines that take them to work or fly them through the sky. Fire is a tool, and you need to understand its many uses to you and your dependence upon it for your survival.Any prolonged economic collapse may also have intermittent or somewhat permanent disruptions in service. If gas prices skyrocket, those fires in your car’s engine aren’t going to be able to burn. If utilities are disrupted or go offline because maintenance schedules can keep step or municipalities can’t keep them funded, you will need to heat or cool your own home. Oil, natural gas, propane, and other fossil fuels may be in reduced supply or at exorbitant costs. You may need to boil your own water, and you won’t have electricity or gas to do so. You may need to light your own home. If you don’t have electricity, do you have a better candle than the lavender, eucalyptus, or melon scented and regifted candle you got this Christmas?As a prepper, understand your relationship to fire as a tool and equip yourself to wield it confidently. It may seem odd to some to tie fire in with a stock market crash, but understanding your relationship, supply, and ability to supply yourself with fire, water, shelter, and food are what every single one of your preps circulates around. Make sure you have alternate sources of energy to provide you with heat and light. Understand your relationship with fire and have alternate means for cooking food and boiling water. Think about your reliance upon fire and develop a long-term plan to sustain you through the worst of economic times.
Preserving Your Food
I am a huge proponent of eating your preps. After any crisis, one as large as a grid down or as small as a stock market crash or unemployment, it’s not the time to suddenly and drastically alter your diet, learn to cook hard beans or remain reliant on fragile food supply chains. When I say preserve your food, I mean a lot. I mean, start to ration and reduce your overall consumption. I mean, try to eat every last bit of what you make. I mean, try to prepare every scrap of food that crosses your kitchen counter. Don’t throw out the broccoli stem or carrot tops. Do you grow artichokes? That whole stem is nothing but excellent artichoke meat when boiled along with the head. I just saw a recipe for pea shell puree. When I say preserve your food, I also mean reducing your dependence on restaurants that are too expensive, or grocery stores that may have wildly fluctuating supplies and prices, or industrial farmers whose quality of product may suffer in a deep enough economic downturn. Grow your own food, if you can. Get local and buy from the beekeepers, egg producers, small gardeners, small farmers, jam makers, and so forth. Learn to forage your environment. Preserve the flow of food to your table.Sure, if you want to learn how to dehydrate everything, can anything, or pickle something, absolutely do so; but think of preserving your food as also preserving the flow of food to your table. Be in the habit of saving money and cooking your supplies, so you know how to sustain yourself independent of fragile, just-in-time delivery systems and through the hardest of times.
Recognize Suffering
Finally, recognize suffering. Here too, I mean this in a very broad sense. I want to leave it up to you to determine what recognizing suffering means to you, but I will get a little philosophical. When you recognize that everyone is suffering along with you through a stock market crash and subsequent economic downturn, you will realize you are not alone. This will increase your compassion and your understanding. This will give you confidence that you are not alone and you can get through this. Coping with the unknown creates uncertainty. Uncertainty for many manifests itself in fear then anger. Understand that others may be suffering more than you. Recognize, too, that others may be suffering more than you. Is there a way you can show compassion and help them? You will be surprised how your act of kindness towards another gives you also what you need to make it through. I once heard it said that when you feed a person in need, you feed yourself as well. I believe that. Even beyond food, though, have you ever offered to help a neighbor? Even though you give freely, there almost always is an immediate return on your time and labor investment. When you shovel a neighbor’s driveway for them because you know they have a bad back, see if you don’t get something baked for you, or a good word placed for you, or some other gift in return.Understand, just as you understand a stock market crash is not just confined to pain for the fat cats on Wall Street, that everyone in the economy will suffer in some way. Recognize that suffering to keep pressing on to better days. Recoveries always happen. Even if a recovery doesn’t come and our country’s fabric unravels forever, you will have built a new network and self-reliant ways.ConclusionAfter every economic crash in our history, people say, “Nobody knew that was about to happen.” A few months later, they say, “We should have seen all these signs.” Then, they invariably say, “Well, next time.” If you start preparing now for “next time,” you will find yourself positioned to survive even the worst of economic downturns. Don’t wait for later but act while you can. If you wait until the day of or the weeks before, you can still be prepared, but you will not be as prepared as you could be. If you do as hundreds of millions of Americans are doing right now…nothing…you will have to suffer the worst of the storm with the rest of the herd. Use this time to prepare before the stock market crashes.As always, please stay safe out there.
* I read several comments from people in Texas who went without power and supplies. One of them made a list of things they wish they had and things they were thankful that they DID have. That information is attached below. Spelling and grammar are original.
* I also saw THIS image:
I thought this was a good idea. The milk cartons diffuse the light from the flashlights to create more light.
We have maybe 2 dozen outside solar lights in our yard. In an emergency, we could just bring them inside at night.
A 100+ Hour candle or a Kerosene Lantern might be a good investment.
* I couldn’t help myself and planted most of my garden last week, including the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and all the warm, loving vegetables. Today I looked at the weather and saw that the night temps would get low in a few days. Watch, watch, watch, and be prepared to cover them up if the weather predicts less than 37. Give yourself a 5-degree leeway.
LONG TERM FOCUS: Beans & Legumes
Did you know you can substitute black beans for oil and butter in desserts? Legumes have a wonderful way of keeping desserts moist and chewy while cutting back on calories and adding fiber and protein. (Black Bean Brownies, by Leigh Zaleski at ydr.com) Pureed beans can be substituted for oil or butter or flour. The recipe for brownies using black beans is below. Just a note. I tried this. BUT, my blender did not blend as fine as I would have liked. Don’t get me wrong. The brownies “tasted” wonderful!!! BUT, there were bits of bean skins that didn’t get blended enough, and I couldn’t get past the texture. I have a better blender now and might try this again.
When you substitute beans, use a 1:1 ratio if the recipe calls for 1 c. butter, use 1 c. beans instead. Be sure to match the beans to the color of the baked goods. Brownies: black beans. White cake: white beans.
SHORT TERM FOCUS
If there is no water, it makes it difficult to clean dishes. A pack or two of paper plates and cups would be a good thing to include. Find a place in the garage to keep them – just in case.
MISC. FOCUS: Getting Clean Water
There are three ways to make water safe:
Boil: According to the CDC, Making Water Safe in an Emergency | Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene-related Emergencies & and Outbreaks | Healthy Water boiling is the surest method to kill disease-causing organisms, including viruses bacteria, and parasites. Strain dirty water through a cloth or coffee filter, then boil for 1 minute. Above 6,500 feet, boil for 3 minutes. Let cool.
There are several YouTube videos about distilling water at home on your stove or over a campfire. I did it once at school. I used a large container of very dirty water (I let the kids add the dirt and trash. LOL), then I covered it with some Saran Wrap and placed a small rock in the middle so that as the water evaporated, it would drip down the center of the plastic wrap and into a clean cup. We just put it in the sun and let it evaporate. No fuel is needed.
Add disinfectant: You can use bleach. For one quart, add 10 drops. One gallon, add 40 drops. (1/2 tsp), and for 5 gallons, add 2 1/2 tsp bleach. Stir and let stand for 30 minutes before drinking. You can get these: Potable Aqua Germicidal Water Purification Tablets – 50 Count. The bottles are tiny and easy to carry. It takes 2 tablets to purify 1-quart water. This twin pack will purify 50 quarts of water. Follow the directions.
Filter – The Seychelle filters from last week are an example of this. Berkey filters are expensive but easy to use. You can make your own primitive filter using a 2-liter bottle upside down with the end cut off. In the bottle, layer a coffee filter, some charcoal (fish supplies at Walmart), sand, another filter, small gravel (fish supplies again), and a filter on top. The first batch will come out black because of the charcoal, but it will clear up and actually work pretty well. It’s bulky and not very efficient, but it DOES work.
FOOD STORAGE RECIPES
Boston Baked Beans
This recipe was included in a food storage package that we bought from Perma Pak.
2 c. navy beans. Wash and drain. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Let sit for 1-2 hours. Drain. Cover again with 4 c. water, bring to a boil, and simmer, uncovered, for 1-2 hours, or until tender. (Do not boil rapidly, or beans will burst.) Drain, reserving liquid.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Layer beans with 2 TB chopped onions in an ungreased 2-quart casserole dish. Stir together
1/4 c. cooking oil or butter
1/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
3 TB molasses or honey
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp pepper
1 c. of the reserved liquid. Mix and pour over beans. Add enough of the remaining reserved liquid or water to almost cover beans. Cover. Bake 3 1/2
Removing the cover and stir in
1/2 c. bacon-flavored TVP, or chopped fried bacon. Continue baking uncovered for 30 more minutes.
Black Bean Brownies
From the article: Black Bean Brownies: Substitute beans for butter, oil
By Leigh Zaleski at ydr.com
2 cans of black beans rinsed and drained. Add to a food processor with 1/4 c. water and puree for about 1 minute or until smooth.
Transfer puree to a large bowl and add:
1 c. sugar
6 TB Stevia (1 c. sugar)
1/2 c. skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. dark chocolate chips
Spray 13 X 9 inch pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan.
Bake 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake
It makes one 9″ layer cake.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9″ cake pan with cooking spray or grease with shortening. Dust cocoa all around the inside of the pan. Cut a round of parchment and line the bottom of the pan. Spray the parchment lightly.
1 15-oz can unseasoned black beans Drain and rinse.
OR 1 1/2 c. cooked beans, any color, drained and rinsed.
Place beans and…
3 large eggs
1 TB vanilla
1 tsp stevia extract (1/2 c. sugar)
1 tsp salt
into a blender. Blend on high until beans are completely liquefied.
In a separate dish, beat…
6 TB butter
1/2 c. honey (or 2/3 c. sugar) until light and fluffy. Add
2 eggs, beating for 1 minute after each addition.
Add bean batter and mix.
Stir in…
6 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda and beat on high until smooth.
Scrape into pan. Tap on the counter to release any air bubbles
Bake 40-45 minutes. Cool 10 min. Turn out cake from pan. For the best flavor, let sit overnight.
Don’t be caught, not prepared. Please don’t put it off. Do something—–soon!!!
Marti
Texas Storm List: Many of you are aware of the situation in Texas, but I thought I’d share a couple of things I am grateful we’ve had on hand here in TEXAS. Our town was like the Whos on the show Horton Hears a Who. We were on the rolling blackout schedule at first. Then they dropped our border town, saying we didn’t need help… There is a natural spring in town. Our town’s water plant required electricity to run and had no backup generator. What a blessing to have the creek for those that needed it. Then toilets backed up into it, contaminating it because the processing plant also relied on power and was overflowing into it. Parts of our town were without power for days with no water. We couldn’t do the dishes and couldn’t wash clothing. Everything in our freezer thawed even though it was cold in our home. Our children loved this ‘glamping’ experience, and we did well, but many of our neighbors were mentally and physically not okay. Our town distributed bottled water the best they could, and we didn’t need to take any so others could be okay. The town also opened up the swimming pool so everyone could haul water for plumbing. They also provided free meals to those that could get to them. Pipes burst for many. Windows aren’t insulated in many homes. Roads were never cleared (no way to do it).
What I’m grateful we had:
Zip ties
Pushpins to secure blankets over windows when power was out
Berkey water filtration system
Gas range (burners work with lighter, the stove didn’t work as it was electric we didn’t know that was a thing to put gas burners and electric underneath–had no way to start it without power)
Disposable plates and utensils
Candles/flashlights
Empty buckets
Plastic garbage bags
Plastic store bags to shove in cracks of doorways to keep cold out best we could
Tape
Food to eat that required nothing extra (we need more variety in the future)
Can opener
Books- we homeschool, and my husband reads to the family at night. Adding candlelight was magical.
Large Cooler
Craft supplies and games (we don’t let the children play on devices, but they do watch movies, but they didn’t ask once for one as this was too much fun for them)
Inviting friends in as it was warmer together
Peace of mind–we were ok. We have holes and ways to improve, but these things were necessary.
A couple of things that would have been more comfortable:
Generator and small portable heater
Clean home to begin with– we just moved and have boxes of things to unpack still, our laundry was backed up–washer and dryer both had wet clothing in them when the power went out, dishes hadn’t been fully done when the power went out.
We have 5 children, 7 and under, two adults, and a dog.
This isn’t over, and we might lose power and water again, but for the last 12 hours we’ve had these things back, we have been counting our blessings. There is more to add, I’m sure, but here is a start.
The TexasInterconnect power grid failure should be an eye-opener for many. Even if you are far removed from Texas and don’t expect any prolonged period of cold weather, there are many reasons why the power grid can and will go down. The U.S. Power grid is fragile and aging, and it will take several years of dedicated resources and work to bring it up to speed. In the meantime, you would be wise not just to brush off what just happened in Texas. Texas’ power grid was “seconds and minutes” away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months had they not immediately started implementing rolling blackouts to balance the demand and production. A few hours without power is an excellent opportunity for a BBQ. A few days without power and people have a little more concern and maybe learn to prepare better. But a month or more without power and the region’s social order and norms will cease to exist. Don’t dismiss what happened in Texas wherever you live. It’s a wake-up call. It should awaken you to the fact that your preps have to be able to sustain you through all sorts of disasters and for longer than just a few days. If you are new to prepping, you may be wondering where to even begin. If you have been prepping for a while, you may have found some of your preps didn’t work as planned or didn’t address your real needs for long enough. In this blog, I’ll discuss the basics of what you need to survive an extended grid-down period of at least two weeks, and I will use examples from Texas to illustrate clearly what we need to prepare for and why. So let’s jump in.Six Prepper EssentialsI have categorized six essential things to get in order that will get you through the majority of disasters that may occur. There are other blogs on this website specific to everything from wildfires to earthquakes and even cold weather power outages, but these six essentials will provide you a basis from which you can grow. Remember that for each, you need to be sure you have a minimum of two weeks supply. I’ll be covering a lot of supplies in this video that can make a major difference in an emergency situation and I’ll post links to all of them in the description section below if you want to check any of them out. So let’s get started.WaterThe first essential is, without a doubt, water. I recommend storing at a minimum of 1 gallon per day per person. If you can store 3 gallons per day per person, that would be ideal if space is not a constraint. 5-gallon BPA-free, plastic water storage containers can provide you with a stackable solution, but you will need to stack several of these to accomplish your water storage goals, and many are not designed to be stacked beyond 2 or 3 at the maximum. Another solution is interlocking WaterBricks. The interlocking and stackability of these make it possible to line the closets’ walls, the trunk of cars, or space under beds. Just remember that any water storage product that may freeze should only be filled to ¾ capacity. This will allow for expansion without compromising the container’s walls.Beyond storing water, you also need to have the means to heat, treat, or filter water. When municipal treatment and pumping systems fail, everything from bacteria to raw sewage could taint your water supply. With the intent to extend your stored water supplies or if you need to obtain your water from the wild or precipitation collection systems you have made, you will need to render the water safe for drinking. Something as simple and inexpensive as a mini-sawyer can mean the difference between life and death, especially if you cannot boil water. Germicidal Water Purification tablets are another lightweight, portable solution for you. Whatever you implement, don’t just store water. Make sure you can treat and drink water from the wild as well.FoodFood is the second essential. Relying on your existing pantry with the hope that you can go to the grocery store just before an unforeseen disaster strikes won’t cut it. Sadly, most Americans have only a few days worth of real meals. Unless you want to be creative and learn to make Ranch dressing, mustard, ketchup, maple syrup, and soy sauce soup to survive, you will want to make sure, at a minimum, you have at least two weeks of food on hand that is calorically dense enough to sustain you. I’ll post a link in the cards above to a video detailing how to build a 2 week food supply. You should take in a minimum of 1,200 calories, and you should make sure to get a good dietary blend of meats, vegetables, vitamins, minerals, sugars, and starches. Beans, rice, and pasta can form a base for you to build upon with further additions. Even pouring a can of soup over a cup of rice will sustain you and make you feel full. In addition to having your own supply of food on hand, you may want to consider supplementing your supplies with Freeze-dried food. The advantage of freeze dried food is that you simply have to boil water, add it to the mylar bag and you’ve got a solid meal in 10 minutes.Also, a mild multi-vitamin and an electrolyte drinking powder will keep your metabolism steady during a disaster.CookingCooking is one of the essentials to surviving a minimum of two weeks after a grid-down situation. I already mentioned eating from your supply, so I don’t repeat it here. Think also of how you are going to cook. Having a small, relatively inexpensive cooking propane stove will allow you to boil water and cook food. Just make sure you have propane on hand. I’ll post a link in the cards above if you want to see a video I did a few years back covering the basics of cooking after a disaster.If you are an apartment dweller without a balcony, your range of options is smaller. There are not many fires you can safely bring indoors because of deadly carbon monoxide. If you can’t afford a propane camping stove (which can be safely operated indoors), you could survive by cooking over candles or cans of Sterno, if necessary. It’s not an ideal solution, and it isn’t one I would recommend trying for the first time after disaster strikes, but a person can easily cook with this method. Be aware of smoke, smell, and light. After two weeks, people will be starving, and you won’t want them around. Heating or warming food at lower temperatures will keep fragrances down. Finally, think of your cooking source as also your heating source. Many in Texas benefited from their camping stoves when the natural gas stopped flowing or when wood for fireplaces couldn’t be easily obtained. Speaking of fire, several subscribers emailed stating they were glad they had firewood prepared and stored in a wood rack. Also, be sure to have carbon monoxide detectors already in place if you don’t use them now. Preferably a battery operated option. After a major disaster, it’s not uncommon to learn that people perish as a result of operating gas generators or operating cooking devices incorrectly indoors.PowerMy other blog on What You Should Know to Survive the Next Prolonged Grid Down Situation explores in more depth how to define your real power needs. Essentially, you have to assess how tied to electricity you are and then be able to minimally and occasionally meet those needs. If you are dependent upon a drug requiring low temperatures, you will need a power supply for a small refrigerator of some kind. Most portable generators range from gas to propane to solar. Solar is great, so long as the sun is shining. Gas may not always be available. Propane gives you a little more portability and options. I’ll post a link in the cards above if you want to read the blog where I discuss the pros and cons of gas versus solar generator options.I personally have a combination of gas generators, solar generators, and I recently just picked up a dual fuel generator yesterday to allow me to run off both gas and propane. Living in Southern California, we’ve become accustomed to rolling blackouts and seasonal high winds causing the power to be turned off to prevent fires. I also am adding 8kW of solar panels on my roof next month which I’ll tie into a battery backup system that can charge directly from the panels and power certain circuits in my house if the power goes down creating a true off-grid suburban power setup. More to come about that shortly.And while we’re on the subject of power, I might mention that you make sure you have several headlamps or flashlights available as well, preferably options which can be powered via a USB if you have a backup solar or gas generator.MedicineThe second to last essential I will address here is medicine. When it comes to medicine and medical aid, you have three considerations: maintenance, first aid, and information on hand. Maintenance is any drugs or solutions that get you through your day-to-day. Is there a possibility you might need an Epipen? Do you often suffer from allergies? Are you on any medicines that you have to take daily or can titer off of? If so, these need to be part of your maintenance prepping plan.The next consideration is first aid. I always suggest you start with a basic first aid kit and build it out from there. Many first aid kits advertise hundreds of items in them, but having 200 band-aids of low quality and don’t stick will be worthless to you when you genuinely need them. Add to your basic kit quality products and extras you may need like a tourniquet, Israeli bandage, and gauze. In the event of a major emergency, 9-1-1 may not be able to make it to you at all and getting to the hospital may be very difficult.When you think of your medicine needs, also think of having printing information. Most don’t consider that the internet may be down as we’ve become so accustomed to having information on hand readily available on our phones and computers. Having at least one good book you have read, like the Survival Medical Handbook, could mean the difference between life and death. You should have information that can be readily available if the internet is not available.Climate & ShelterFinally, you must be able to literally weather the climate you find yourself in during the disaster. Before winter comes, review your warm-weather preps. As many learned in Texas or hopefully learned in the CityPrepping video 4 Critical Rules to Survive A Winter Power Outage I released two months ago, there are many techniques to survive a winter power outage. It may seem odd to pitch a tent inside your house, but it creates a microclimate for you. Even throwing a tarp and blankets over a table and on the floor creates a temperature-stable environment for you. When it comes to keeping warm, make sure your emergency preparedness goes beyond a couple of emergency mylar blankets. Do you have wool blankets, a hat, gloves, and a scarf? If the disaster is wet, do you have the means to get and stay dry? If it is a hot weather disaster, can you stay cool? Can you recognize the early signs of heatstroke and know what to do? Before each season, sit down and consider your preparedness for the weather. If you can’t live in the weather occurring out your window right now when the furnace goes out or the air conditioning stops, what do you need to do to survive the climate? Exposure to the elements without protection will kill a person faster than dehydration or starvation, so give this element top consideration as you prep.ConclusionThere is much to consider when you start prepping for a power grid failure that could last days, weeks, or months. When the power is down, the roads are closed, and the pipes are freezing, your options become extremely limited. Set a clear two-week self-sufficiency target for yourself. Realize that the Texas grid failure happened twice before for the exact same reasons. It is likely to happen again. Even if you weren’t swept up in that disaster, understand that the three power grids in America are fragile and precariously balanced. Set a two-week target, build the six essentials I outline in this video, and you will have a solid foundation from which to build. What do you think? What’s your essential? As always, stay safe out there.
Despite a thirty-percent correction last year, investors have enjoyed a twelve-year-old bull market. Even amateur traders have been able to bet against hedge funds and drive up some stock prices to triple digits. Cryptocurrency has been a sandbox for savvy investors as the crypto space promises to change financial markets as we know it. Interest rates are at historic lows, and the Fed keeps borrowing in the present for an uncertain future. It’s all very reminiscent of the late nineteen-nineties’ dot-com boom, and Bearish signals are starting to outweigh the Bullish ones.While I will be the first to tell you I am not an economist and I don’t recommend any investment over not investing at all, I think it’s worth paying attention to right now. Many of the signs we see today, many of the historical highs and lows, are likely a harbinger of much darker days ahead. Every sunrise has a sunset, and our economic health is critical to our fragile infrastructure. If the markets collapse, so can other things we rely upon, like utilities, infrastructure, and our food supply chain. In this blog, we will look at a few key indicators that parallel the crash of two-thousand, and we will examine the possibilities of a crash this year. Are we about to go over the cliff again? Can we recover from this one? The second video will look at practical things you can do today to insulate yourself and protect yourself from a crash. The three-part series’s final video will look at why a crash may not be imminent to provide you with a 360-degree view of the threat and what you can do about it. So let’s jump in.IPOs & SPACsInitial Public Offerings or IPOs are offerings of stock in a company. You have probably heard of those. While IPOs dipped a little in the recent past, 2020 had 538 IPOs, which was right in-line with the average 500 public-market debuts from 1995 to 1999, before the crash of 2000. You may not have heard of SPACs, though. Almost half of those 538 IPOs were SPACs or Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies. Those are shell companies in search of a business. A SPAC is explicitly created to pool funds to finance a merger or acquisition opportunity within a set timeframe. The opportunity usually has yet to be identified. Just as people invested in vaporware that was merely a concept during the dot com bubble, people invest in SPACs that do not have a solid business behind them. Maybe they’d like to invest in blockchain technology. Perhaps they would like to invest in the cannabis sector. Still, they tie up billions of dollars on the sidelines. Eighty-three billion in 2020 compared to just 13 billion the year before.Investors are gambling on a less than sure future during a precarious present. While this may not be an ominous indicator of future dark clouds, and these SPACs are required to be Sarbanes-Oxley compliant, they tie up billions of dollars, lack clear business purpose, and are susceptible to abuse. There also no guarantee that the politics between countries won’t undo their intended business dealings. SPACs are a similar type of speculative frenzy as we saw in the dot com bubble’s final days.The Buffett IndicatorWarren Buffett’s valuation metric represents the total U.S. stock market value compared to annual gross domestic product. The current ratio is a market value of 42 trillion to a GDP of 21 trillion. Omaha’s Oracle said that the unprecedented highs preceding the dot-com bubble’s burst should have been an indicator. To put this in perspective, the Buffett Indicator preceding the Dot-Com Bubble popping was 159%. Our current number is riding a high of 195%. Buffet warns that anything close to 200% as we are now is fastening your seatbelt territory. Valuation is far out of whack from actual production. Like the SPACs, this indicates a valuation that isn’t true to actual hard economic production. It’s possibly more bubble-frenzy investing.Economic RedliningEven before the pandemic slowed down the actual economy, the Fed’s quantitative easing, lowering interest rates, and heavy borrowing were pumping adrenaline into the economy. The Fed was using every tool at its disposal to open every valve of the economy. Quantitative easing is a monetary policy whereby a central bank purchases at-scale government bonds or other financial assets to inject money into the economy to expand economic activity. Quantitative easing has been largely undertaken by all major central banks worldwide following the global financial crisis of 2007–08 and definitely at a much higher level in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has revved the economic engine, but when the pandemic hit and the economy slowed, they couldn’t close off of any of those valves for fear of doing real damage. In fact, they were forced to inject even more money into the economy. So, we continue to borrow from Peter to pay Paul, as they say. Our GDP isn’t keeping pace, so we are borrowing money we don’t have in hopes of continued and even growing production. Just like an engine can’t run in the red forever, neither can our economy charge ahead full steam with no method of pumping the brakes.Sickness & the EconomyWe are now a full year into a global pandemic. While the unemployment rate has fallen off of its tremendous highs, things are far from going back to normal. Many have had to adjust their lifestyles, work, and spending to accommodate the new normal. Even though consumer spending– a natural catalyst for economic health– is projected to increase over last year’s purse-clutching uncertainties, people’s spending priorities have shifted. Personal savings have increased. Household indebtedness has decreased slightly. The recent economic tools being deployed by the government are an extension of the moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, suspension of student loan payments, and a possible additional round of stimulus checks. If an increase to the federal minimum wage also occurs, the new tool to stoke the economy will be consumer spending.Though projected to increase and bolster the economy, consumer spending may not break any records, as people shift priorities, refocus on essentials, and still approach their spending with tremendous caution. With more people working from home, buying a second car and long commutes to the office may be a thing of the past. This slows spending. As the vaccinations increase, travel, leisure, and public events will increase, but will it be enough to rally back to pre-pandemic levels? Probably not this year. So, spending will remain slow. While stimulus checks and a hike in the federal minimum wage will have some stimulative effect on the economy, if the first round of checks were any indicator, savings will go up, and consumer debt will drop slightly. While those are great household economic choices, they don’t precisely stoke the nation’s economy.Much will depend on the political wrangling in Washington D.C. and what deals and bargains can be struck. We do know that Yellen’s policies will be different from Mnuchin’s. While Mnuchin oversaw the distribution of billions to businesses, non-profits, churches, and individual taxpayers, Yellen has already indicated support for helping the consumer. She stated back in January, “Neither the President-elect nor I propose this relief package without an appreciation for the country’s debt burden. But right now, with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big.” Critical in that statement is that she now lacks the tool of rolling back interest rates further, and she is well aware that any move will add trillions to our national debt. She will portray her job as having two mandates: helping people to stay afloat until the pandemic is over and rebuilding the economy so that Americans can better compete in a globalized world. She will also expand regulation and has called for a new Dodd-Frank. That will scare investors and slow or even force a backtrack of the gains realized in the stock market. While that may slightly impact your 401k, as I have pointed out before, the majority of Americans don’t own stock, but the stock market drives the economy. Only 51% of Americans own stocks, and most of those stocks are in retirement plans or 401ks. These plans are mostly stagnant in the market. They don’t move much. They are not the quick sales and purchases of options, day traders, or hedge fund managers. While panic selling can still occur, typically, this isn’t panic selling by fund managers, so it is definitely not part of the average American’s stock market activity.As an indicator of an economy’s health, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ, or any market index based on stock, isn’t really a suitable temperature of the economy’s overall health. So while markets remain up, despite the apparent gloomy news, we could still be hurtling towards a collapse. Will gambling on taxpayers’ spending work? Will it stimulate the economy enough? Will it justify the highs of the stock market? Will we return to a new normal and be able to put this pandemic behind us? That’s a lot of questions that all have to have positive answers to positively influence the economy.VolatilityThe markets still have massive volatility, at least according to the CBOE VIX Index. The index averaged nearly 30 last year, compared to about 25 at the dot-com bubble height. The VIX is a real-time market index that represents the market’s expectation of 30-day forward-looking volatility. Derived from the S&P 500 index options’ price inputs, it provides a measure of market risk and investors’ sentiments. You may have heard of it by its other names like the “Fear Gauge” or the “Fear Index.”When it is this high, it means that investors are scared. Their uncertainty outweighs their confidence. Their likelihood of pulling out of the market in an exodus to precious metals or bonds is much higher, and this is like wholesale banking on the economy doing poorly. As more and more investors flee the market, it starts a freefall of panicked selloffs. This can be countered by an entire horde of others buying in cheap, so the market appears to be spasming.In short, you don’t want fearful investors, so a healthy economy needs the fear factor to be very low and investor confidence very high.Unknown Impact of CryptocurrenciesThe biggest unknown in the economy right now is the rise of cryptocurrency. The crypto market is like the wild west. With thousands of alt-coin cryptocurrencies available, some with highly specialized functions, and some with no real intrinsic value at all (dogecoin, we’re looking at you), national banks have had a hard time pumping the breaks on the market. Just the nine most common cryptocurrencies of the thousands account for over one million transactions per day. In two years, cryptocurrency has grown from a market capitalization of 67 billion to over 1.4 trillion for the top 200 cryptocurrencies. To put this in context, there are only 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in circulation right now. Bitcoin alone is at a market cap of 906 billion, equivalent to three-quarters of all the dollars in circulation right now. It’s time to talk about cryptocurrency as the threat to global economic stability that it potentially is. In the last year, Bitcoin has gone from just under six-thousand dollars to almost fifty-thousand dollars, and some project it to double or even triple by year’s end from current levels. There are massive movements of wealth from institutions occurring in cryptocurrency, increasing exponentially every month. It also makes the potential for a mass exodus away from fiat currencies and traditional investing methods like the purchase of stocks, options, futures, and commodities.Suppose consumers lose confidence in one nation’s stock markets and exchanges. In that case, it is possible to rapidly convert currency into cryptocurrency, move it to another global currency, or keep it from the markets altogether. It’s already happening in some countries where their fiat currencies are faltering. Their population is converting over to Bitcoin and making purchases with it instead of their nation’s money as it is more reliable.When it is realized even partially, though, the stock market will suffer. Banking will suffer. Economies will suddenly leap up to a global level and away from national controls. This will cause a backlash by national banks to gain control over the wild fluctuations. But as history has taught us where countries like Pakistan and India have tried to ban the use of Bitcoin, instead it has caused the use of Bitcoin to flourish. As people take their financial future into their own hands and away from the Central Banks that run their country, it may result in problems for the markets. Time will tell.Economic InequalitiesAnother sign of a possible financial meltdown is the continued problem of income inequality in the U.S. This has been a problem for many decades already, but the income inequality gap has increased since 1970. An analysis by the Brooklyn Institute showed that this wealth gap is wider now than at the start of the century. According to a paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, growing income inequality is a good predictor of an impending financial crisis. The report demonstrated that “years of rising income inequality and persistently low productivity growth also sow the seeds for a crisis.” Recessions tend to be more severe and recovery slower if there are significant income inequalities.In fact, a 2019 article from the Washington Post mentions that the wealth concentration is once again returning to levels last seen during the Roaring Twenties, which preceded the Great Depression. While the wealthy can flee one national economy for another, the average person is stuck within the economy. Over the last decade, many wealthy individuals have become super-wealthy individuals. Many middle-class workers have, at best, held their own; and, at worst, suffered significant declines in their liquid assets and spending power.Margin to Debt RatioReturning specifically back to Wall Street, the margin debt to cash or the gap between options and actual cash balances is exploding. Thanks in part to low rates, margin debt balances hit an all-time high of $778 billion—nearly 37 times the $21 billion investors held in March 2000. To look at this another way, customer accounts are currently 72% more debt than cash. They are betting money that they don’t have, and in many cases, they are losing big.Margin debt is what drove up GameStop’s stock price, so that should give you an idea of how impactful it can be on current markets. It can infuse massive volatility into the markets and force government bailouts of investment firms and banks deemed “too big to fail.” Those investment firms and hedge fund managers are the very same ones who control most Americans’ retirement accounts. If the margin investor fails and the firm suffers, that pain gets translated to the customers and the economy as a whole.Rogue InvestorsGenerally, the herd of investors has been followers and not leaders. They jump on trends they see emerging from the big whales of Wall Street and hope to make a little money along with them. That all changed this year with the Game Stop investors from a Reddit board called WallStreetBets. Noting that several significant hedge funds sought to short stocks like GameStop and AMC theaters, they bought up shares. This drove up the price markedly. When those short sell orders came due, they cost hedge fund managers billions of dollars.Here the little guy wins one, right? Yes and no. The little guy won, that is for sure, but the primary driving mechanism of the vibrant stock market has been these large whales that were, in a sense, manipulating the market in their own ways. So, you have the potential for even more future disruption in the markets. While regulators and investment firms quickly moved to stop announcing their intended short sales to non-clients, and the investing platforms halted trading to guarantee the hedge fund managers losses were not too great, and investigations were launched, a collective herd demonstrated its ability to dramatically determine the direction of the market.Traditional and accepted market methodologies will continue to be challenged by an increasingly organized group of organized online investors. This could lead to wild fluctuations in stock or crypto markets as rogue investors or “populous-collective investors” flip traditional investing methodologies and outcomes on their heads.Foreign InterferenceThere are more than just a few countries that would like nothing better than to see the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency lose its place and topple. China, for example, could launch a cryptocurrency tied to the Yuan. But even without these overt assaults on our market stability, continued hacks of our infrastructure could result in a dramatic collapse in our financial infrastructure.Cyber-attacks directly or indirectly affect companies, institutions, and organizations economically and cause significant financial losses. The full impact of the mega-breach SolarWinds hack revealed at the beginning of this year may not yet be realized. Each attack on our infrastructure results in dollars being spent to repair and harden systems. That increases debt and decreases investing.Cyberattacks have become so massive and commonplace in recent years that a genuine threat to the financial systems is more plausible by the day. As secure as we would like to think the systems running the numbers and tallying the transactions are, they have been attacked before. Since day-to-day financial operations have moved online, Wall Streeters have grown increasingly concerned about their data safety. While most hacks are for gathering information and espionage, one well-executed cyberattack could bring down the financial system’s entire structure. NASDAQ’s central servers were infected with Malware in 2010. The sophistication of cyber-attacks and state-sponsored cyber-attacks today would make those attacks of a decade ago look like child’s play. A collapse in the markets may not be the result of clever market manipulation. It might come in the form of an overt attack on the fiscal infrastructure.ConclusionThis blog examined a few key indicators that parallel the crash of two-thousand and other natural threats to the stock market we face in 2021. You may not hold a single share of any stock, but the health of our stock market does impact you in genuine ways. Our critical infrastructure and food supply chains are all tied to a vibrant economy. When the economy fails, all systems suffer, and declines can be felt everywhere.The second blog I’ll release shortly will look at practical things you can do today to insulate yourself and protect yourself from a crash. The three-part series’s final video will look at why a crash may not be imminent to provide you with a 360-degree view of the threat and what you can do about it. Do you agree with the indicators I have highlighted here? As always, stay safe out there.
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You have assuredly heard the term lifespan, but have you ever heard of healthspan? Your healthspan is the length of time in your life during which you are in reasonably good health. While you might live a lifespan of over one hundred years, if forty of those years are spent in a wheelchair, drug dependent, blind, or dramatically diminished, your healthspan is shorter. Experts have been able to break down the critical components of an excellent long healthspan by starting with older, healthy individuals and working backward to define what elements of their lifestyle had led them to not only longevity but useful and healthy life. These decisions we make now will impact us long-term, but we need to decide now and begin taking actions to secure a longer healthspan. Experts agree that increased sedentary behavior, inadequate sleep, poor eating and drinking habits, and negative psychosocial factors are the leading risk causes for decreased health and wellness. However, these risk factors are within our control because they are attributed to lifestyle choices, habits, and routines. Additionally, which may come as no surprise, is that these factors are all interconnected. A positive change in one area will positively impact another area.
Study after study has revealed the same outcome. A body in motion is healthier. One recent study of more than 1 million men and women showed that those who were mostly sedentary (whether sitting, lying, or reclining) and had little moderate or vigorous physical activity had the highest risk of mortality. A consistently sedentary life can double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and increase the chances of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression, and anxiety. As we have seen, these comorbidities can dramatically decrease your healthspan. Conversely, those who sat less and had higher moderate or vigorous physical activity had the lowest risk for disease.
The second key factor to a long healthspan is rest and sleep. Getting enough sleep can be challenging, especially as we get older and our bodies change or as we increase our physical workload. For optimal health, sleep is non-negotiable. Any sleep deficiency, categorized as 6 hours or less per day, can decrease the immune response, lead to high blood pressure and heart disease, increase the risk for diabetes, increase weight gain, lower sex drive, reduce balance and coordination, affect mood, behavior, emotional control, decision-making, and problem-solving. Also, one of the ways sleep deficiency promotes weight gain, and obesity is that it results in increased cortisol production. Cortisol is a stress hormone that prepares you for fight or flight, so this hormone’s extra production over time can lead to diseases, anxiety, depression, digestion, and lack of memory or focus.
The third aspect of cultivating a long healthspan and properly prepping your body is eating and drinking right. Most diets only work because they deny your body suddenly some fat or fiber that it typically needs. The prepper should be already aware of the quality and caloric content of the food they are taking into their body. If you aren’t, start keeping a food journal. Write it down, so you have a visual representation of what you are taking into your body. This may, at times, motivate you to increase your physical activity. Eat fewer highly-processed foods. Reduce refined sugars in your diet. Favor healthier non-hydrogenated fats. Think of what you are eating as what you will be carrying with you for the next weeks or months. Is it food your body needs as fuel, or is it going to be extra weight?
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Many of the indicators that alarmists indicate to try and show that the stock market collapse is inevitable may not be the most useful indicators. When we look at the big picture, the 30,000-foot view of the economy, there’s less attention we have to give to any specific indicator. A single indicator or a handful of indicators can, after all, signify nothing but a smaller trend. Volatility indexes, investor sentiment, margin-to-debt ratios, the Buffet indicator, and all the other indications examined in the first video of this series are good for their parts, but they may not indicate a whole. Think of all the small indicators as individual pieces of the larger whole. Just as you might see dark clouds rolling in above you, the wind may pick up, and you may hear thunder and see lightning, it is no guarantee that you will get a drop of rain, let alone a flood. When you get enough indicators pointing to the same bad thing, you have to pay attention; but you also need to keep perspective.
Undoubtedly, the most damaging thing that occurred to the world’s economies was the COVID-19 virus. Many countries closed down entirely; many remain more or less closed to this day. Manufacturing slowed, leisure and business travel ground to a halt, events were canceled, and more. Many businesses folded. Others changed the way they operate to face the new realities. Though it may feel very personal and local to many, every nation around the world was affected somehow. The International Monetary Fund had to revise its estimates of global growth considerably and further projects 2021 to end almost six and a half percentage points lower than pre-Covid days.
Travel for both leisure and business, big oil, transportation of goods and people, and entertainment will reopen once the pandemic recedes behind us. They will come roaring back. Americans tired of being cooped up at home and heavily laden with unused vacation time will venture from their homes into the sunlight. When people feel safe enough to travel, they will. Already, many investors are purchasing stock in hotel chains, as they expect an increase in bookings and higher profits. Already, the RV industry has received an unexpected boost because of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 experience has caused some businesses to shutter their windows and close their doors forever. Many were operating on thin margins already in the months and years before the pandemic. The sudden slow down or halt in business coupled with the lack of resources and ingenuity to realign business models, if possible, caused them to fold. Some of the major businesses that suffered significant losses, which I didn’t mention earlier, were men’s suits, buffet-style restaurants, commercial real estate like malls, and movie theatres.
Hi Everyone,
has a small FAK (first aid kit). I have different sizes of bandaids, and maybe 2 knuckle bandages, and 2 fingertip bandaids, and 2 very large bandaids. This is not a large “family” FAK, but a small personal kit that I can carry around. If you want a family kit, then it should be something easy to grab and carry. In fact, you should probably have something in each car, just in case. Start with bandaids.
Bleeding to death can happen very quickly. If the hemorrhaging isn’t stopped, a person can bleed to death in just five minutes. And if their injuries are severe, this timeline may be even shorter. Apply firm, direct pressure on the wound using a clean cloth or sterile dressing until the bleeding stops. If a sanitary material isn’t available, use whatever you can get– a t-shirt, scarf, cloth napkin. Elevate the wound and support the injured area above the level of the heart while applying pressure. Maintain the pressure until bleeding stops. If an artery or vein has been severed, a tourniquet may be necessary, and survival will depend on more advanced medical treatment.
The high mental and physical stress of disasters can lead to strain or damage to the body that may require cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CPR should be performed on anyone whose heart has stopped, so you will want to determine if there is a pulse first of all. CPR is performed to provide chest compressions and rescue breaths when the heart is not pumping at its normal pace. There are several online courses now available for CPR and AED– automated external defibrillator, so there is no excuse for not knowing this essential of first aid skills. Take an afternoon and learn this skill. If the time ever arrives where you need the skill, you won’t be left desperately searching for help from others, and you might just save someone’s life.
In the same category as CPR, learning how to check for choking and provide assistance is one of the most common forms of emergency aid you can render. If someone is choking, they may clutch their throat or chest while gasping for air. They won’t be able to speak to tell you what is wrong, so you have to act quickly. Stand behind them and bend them forward before giving them five firm blows between the shoulder blades to try and dislodge whatever is choking them. If they are unconscious, check their mouth and the back of their throat for any obstructions. Roll them on their stomach and attempt the back blows.
Hyperthermia is when the body is overheating, and the body’s temperature-regulating system cannot handle the environmental heat. It may not seem too probable, but it is highly likely after a disaster, during warm weather. The fact is that we live in temperature-controlled environments, and we are usually poorly hydrated. When that all goes south because of a disaster, the threat of hyperthermia increases dramatically. Only a change in environment, rehydration, and external cooling efforts, such as cool water or ice packs on the skin, can reverse hyperthermia. It is essential to recognize the signs of it, as they are very subtle. Dizziness, weakness, confusion, nausea, extreme thirst, accelerated pulse, coordination issues, cramps, fainting, or a headache are all symptoms but may not all occur all at once. Cooling the person is essential to survival. Get them into the shade, apply cool water, damp cloths, or ice under the arms, on the wrists, the elbow, and the crotch and forehead. Ensure that the person immediately starts drinking cool fluids. Electrolyte fuels are the best. Soak them in a cool body of water. Get them cooled down fast.
The opposite of exposure to too much heat is hypothermia or exposure to too much cold. Some of the symptoms are similar, like confusion, exhaustion, loss of consciousness, and shallow breathing. Other hypothermia signs include numb extremities, a drop in body temperature, shivering, and bright red or bluish skin. Here you want to bring the person’s body temperature back up slowly. Get the person out of the elements and indoors. Remove any wet clothing, and wrap the person in blankets or dry clothing. Warm the person’s trunk first, as warming the extremities first may cause shock. Do not submerge the person in warm or hot water, as this can cause heart arrhythmia. The key is a slow but progressive application of heat. If available, provide them with warm but not hot liquids. Keep the person warm until symptoms have passed. 
Roll the person onto their stomach and try to push on their back gently and push from the lower back up to the shoulder blades. The old remedy was to tie a person stomach down over a horse and force the horse to trot rapidly in a circle. It sounds crazy, but the up and down pumping on the abdomen encouraged water to flow out of the lungs. A big person can gently jump or jog in place with a person flung over their shoulder to accomplish a similar initial treatment and allow water to flow from the lungs. If CPR is necessary, turn the drowning person’s head to the side, allowing any water to drain from their mouth and nose. Turn their head back to the center, and begin mouth-to-mouth and CPR if there is no pulse. Mouth-to-mouth is one of those essential skills learned in CPR training. The drowning victim isn’t completely safe once they start to breathe, choke, and spit up water. The first 48 hours after a drowning incident can be the most dangerous. Complications resulting from water exposure—pneumonia, infection, heart failure—can occur during this time.
Burns are tricky, but effective early treatment will reduce long-term damage or further trauma. The first thing to do is to stop the burning process. Submerging or running cool, not cold, water over the burn area for at least five minutes is the first thing to do. Do not let the person shiver, as this can kick into gear the body’s natural temperature-regulating processes and could warm the area you are trying to cool. Remove all jewelry and clothing around the burn area, especially before any swelling occurs. Application of aloe vera, burn creams, or topical antimicrobial ointments are all good to treat and cool the area. Do not apply butter or oil, as older generations have recommended. This adds cooking oil to the fire. Also, do not apply ice or break any blisters. Cover the area lightly with a sterile gauze bandage or cotton cloth. Have the burn victim continue to drink plenty of water. If a clean environment can be maintained, using wet dressings can aid the healing process over several days. 
The first seven emergency procedures touched upon here will get you through many of the most common injuries. If you don’t have one already, consider an excellent hard copy field medicine book like the Survival Medicine Handbook. Suppose secondary care isn’t a possibility because of an extended period of disaster. In that case, you will be glad to have it to reference for the thousands of other medical complications you could encounter. As a prepper, you may want to take your initial first-aid treatment a step further, so I have three more first aid skills you may want to consider to broaden your capabilities.
If you can see the baby’s head and no advanced medical care is available, you may need to spring into action to deliver the child. Realize that women have been giving birth for thousands of years, so you are more or less a guide in this procedure. Remind the mother to breathe. You will need clean cloths, like sheets, shirts or towels. You will need hand sanitizer or soap and water, shoelaces or string, clean scissors, or a sharp knife. Do not try to pull out the child or the umbilical cord. As much as possible, you want the mother and child to do the work of delivery. 
Finally, and more likely needed but often overlooked, knowing how to suture a wound is one of the best skills you can learn. Also, it’s a smart idea to have suture needles, thread, and equipment in your pepper’s first aid kit. Suture practice kits are available for under forty dollars, and I will link to a decent one in the comments below. Knowing various sutures and how to sew up various-sized wounds is a skill you cannot do effectively without practice. When your mind is racing, and your hands are shaking in the moments after a disaster, even a little practice ahead of time will result in your better effectiveness. In many disasters, bleeding out or deep wounds becoming infected are two of the leading causes of death. Knowing how to suture a wound will tremendously increase your and other people’s odds of survival.
The Doomsday clock was developed in 1947 by the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. This non-profit group has been composed of many of our times’ leading philosophical and scientific minds, including Bertrand Russel, Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Paul Weiss, Edward Teller, George Brock Chisolm, and many more. From Nobel Prize winners to nuclear physicists, to botanists, medical experts, and philosophers, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists considers existing and emerging global threats to determine how close humanity is to annihilation. The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic representation of the likelihood of a predominantly human-made global catastrophe. The global catastrophe to occur at midnight on the clock is measured in the distance from that time in “minutes” and “seconds.”
The Rapture Ready Index is a non-scientific, evangelically-based assessment of how close we find ourselves to the Christian Rapture event. The Rapture, as it is foretold in the Christian belief systems, is where the living will be taken up to heaven, and those left behind–the leftovers–will face the sudden aftermath of the instant disappearance of millions of believers and year upon year of future tribulation until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I will not engage in a theoretical discussion of this in this video, as much as I want to look at the indicators used in the Rapture Ready Index, where it came from, and if any of it can be useful to our own prepping. 
Can either the Doomsday Clock or the Rapture Ready Index be taken seriously? They are what they are. They are indicators of troubles that are increasing, challenges we continue to face, and coming hardships. I think they both overlook or barely factor in some things like the real threats of artificial intelligence, automation, and over-dependence on technology. They ignore the planetary threats of near-Earth objects and geomagnetic storms like the Carrington Event. What they do both indicate, though, has an alarmingly high total score. That alone should trigger some red flags for us. Not red flags that we should prepare for the end of times, perhaps, but they should trigger red flags enough to get our houses in order, our supplies in stock, and to look at the world with a sober view. You do not have to agree with the conclusions of either the Doomsday Clock or the Rapture Ready Index, but you would be wise to assess for yourself the strengths and weaknesses of their parts.
The first thing to do before a stock market crash is to realize that it will dramatically impact your life. This is hard for most Americans to understand. Only about 14% of Americans are directly invested in individual stocks. About 52% of Americans own stocks as part of a retirement fund. In that format, they are meant as stable value retention tools. Typically, they are a buy-and-hold strategy with a late maturity date. While they might lose a third or half their value in a nasty crash, the retirement account owner would likely be back to the pre-crash value in five to ten years. Retirement accounts that hold securities are meant to be at a maximum value at a person’s retirement– ten, twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years into the future.
In preparation for a crash or in the first few hours and days following a crash, you have to simplify your finances. You have to squeeze every last penny out of your dollars. The first step of this, just like those businesses losing money, is to trim the fat. Cancel gym memberships, reduce or eliminate cable bills, cut online subscription services, consider selling off that second car if you don’t need it. Will you need that trailer to go on vacation now or next year? Probably not, but during an economic downturn, the price for mobile homes and trailers shoots up dramatically. Sell things through local online exchanges that you have meant to get rid of anyways. Unload what you don’t need to raise capital and hold on to the money that flows from you. If it doesn’t have real, tangible value for you through an economic crisis, this is your opportunity to clean house and realign your priorities. Prioritize food, water, shelter, and utilities. Those are what will get you through.
In every crisis, there is also an opportunity. Sometimes we become complacent, or we just cannot seem to find the time to do what we know we probably should do. Immediately preceding or following a stock market crash, your opportunity to make substantive changes to your finances will be short. Can you pay off your car and still have some savings in the bank? While you still have secure employment, can you refinance your house and raise capital by retaining the month or two mortgage payment while it is processing and also lower your monthly mortgage payment? It may seem counterintuitive to allocate more money to your employer’s 401k plan or startup a traditional IRA. Still, these are pre-tax dollars, and if your employer matches any percent of it, you are instantly making a return on your money and likely buying into stocks at rock bottom prices. Your post-market crash recovery will be even better. Because these are pre-tax dollars, raising your contribution a hundred dollars will barely show up on your take-home pay. I have seen some people do this and end up taking home more because it just bumped them off the cusp of a tax bracket. Let the brewing economic storm be what you need to seize the opportunity to batten down your personal finances.
When we hear “diversify” in financial settings, it means not having all your money in one place. Having money in cryptocurrency, stocks, bonds, commodities, precious metals, and things of that nature will definitely help you in the recovery phase of an economic collapse. Still, they’ll have little value if you need to buy a loaf of bread or a 25-pound bag of flour. I see diversify as a broader term. You have to diversify yourself and generate other revenue streams for yourself. It’s hard to get a job when businesses aren’t hiring, but have you ever considered teaching a class in your neighborhood, selling your baked goods, fixing someone’s car, or leveraging in any way your unique skills. I knew someone who mowed lawns every Saturday. He didn’t need to do that to survive. He mowed lawns to get tackle, bait, and fuel for his little boat. He would then catch Catfish on the Missouri River and then sell it out of the freezer in his garage. On Mondays, he went to his regular job like everyone else. Any side hustle like food delivery or rideshare services can add a little extra income. That extra income, when combined with the trimming and refinancing you just did, might be enough to carry you through.
Do you have more than one credit card, but one of them just offered you one of those zero interest checks? Now is the time to consolidate your debt to one low-interest card. Making one minimum payment is going to be easier than making two. Even if your credit card company hasn’t sent you a check, now would be a good time to give them a call and see if they’re willing to pay off your other card through a no-interest loan. Ideally, if you are genuinely prepping, you know how bad credit card debt is for you and you’ve been working on a plan to rid yourself of it. Any financial moves you want to make may not be possible three months into a deepening economic crisis, as banks will be overloaded and then just stop offering many services.
Runs on stores and failures in the food supply chain from farm to table will happen after a stock market crash. Inflation or hyperinflation are also possible contributors to the empty grocery aisles you may see. Remember that surreal trip to your local grocery store when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic? The pasta aisle and canned goods aisle, and meat department were empty or sparse. Now is the time to top off your food storage. Now is the time to kick that garden into high gear with a few extra plants. If the crash sinks into a deep recession or an economic depression, you will be glad you did.
Light a fire under yourself. Get motivated. Read, learn, and retool your skill sets. If the insecurity of the markets, the lockdowns and sicknesses, the cyberattacks, and the wild and extreme weather isn’t enough, if there isn’t something in there that motivates you to pay attention and prepare yourself for the same or even worse, I don’t know what will. Use that time you reclaimed spent on entertainment like watching television or going out to learn a new, practical skill you can apply in your life.
For all the thousands upon thousands of years man has utilized fire, it is surprising that the average person does not know the basics of wielding it or how ubiquitous it is even when you don’t see flames. The average American who doesn’t smoke probably could not light a fire easily. Beyond that, most Americans don’t understand how fire somewhere is lighting their house and heating or cooling their home. The average American doesn’t truly grasp the fact that explosions of fire are driving the engines that take them to work or fly them through the sky. Fire is a tool, and you need to understand its many uses to you and your dependence upon it for your survival.
I am a huge proponent of eating your preps. After any crisis, one as large as a grid down or as small as a stock market crash or unemployment, it’s not the time to suddenly and drastically alter your diet, learn to cook hard beans or remain reliant on fragile food supply chains. When I say preserve your food, I mean a lot. I mean, start to ration and reduce your overall consumption. I mean, try to eat every last bit of what you make. I mean, try to prepare every scrap of food that crosses your kitchen counter. Don’t throw out the broccoli stem or carrot tops. Do you grow artichokes? That whole stem is nothing but excellent artichoke meat when boiled along with the head. I just saw a recipe for pea shell puree. When I say preserve your food, I also mean reducing your dependence on restaurants that are too expensive, or grocery stores that may have wildly fluctuating supplies and prices, or industrial farmers whose quality of product may suffer in a deep enough economic downturn. Grow your own food, if you can. Get local and buy from the beekeepers, egg producers, small gardeners, small farmers, jam makers, and so forth. Learn to forage your environment. Preserve the flow of food to your table.
Finally, recognize suffering. Here too, I mean this in a very broad sense. I want to leave it up to you to determine what recognizing suffering means to you, but I will get a little philosophical. When you recognize that everyone is suffering along with you through a stock market crash and subsequent economic downturn, you will realize you are not alone. This will increase your compassion and your understanding. This will give you confidence that you are not alone and you can get through this. Coping with the unknown creates uncertainty. Uncertainty for many manifests itself in fear then anger. Understand that others may be suffering more than you. Recognize, too, that others may be suffering more than you. Is there a way you can show compassion and help them? 
Boil: According to the CDC, 
Many of you are aware of the situation in Texas, but I thought I’d share a couple of things I am grateful we’ve had on hand here in TEXAS. Our town was like the Whos on the show Horton Hears a Who. We were on the rolling blackout schedule at first. Then they dropped our border town, saying we didn’t need help… There is a natural spring in town. Our town’s water plant required electricity to run and had no backup generator. What a blessing to have the creek for those that needed it. Then toilets backed up into it, contaminating it because the processing plant also relied on power and was overflowing into it. Parts of our town were without power for days with no water. We couldn’t do the dishes and couldn’t wash clothing. Everything in our freezer thawed even though it was cold in our home. Our children loved this ‘glamping’ experience, and we did well, but many of our neighbors were mentally and physically not okay. Our town distributed bottled water the best they could, and we didn’t need to take any so others could be okay. The town also opened up the swimming pool so everyone could haul water for plumbing. They also provided free meals to those that could get to them. Pipes burst for many. Windows aren’t insulated in many homes. Roads were never cleared (no way to do it).
The first essential is, without a doubt, water. I recommend storing at a minimum of 1 gallon per day per person. If you can store 3 gallons per day per person, that would be ideal if space is not a constraint. 5-gallon BPA-free, plastic water storage containers can provide you with a stackable solution, but you will need to stack several of these to accomplish your water storage goals, and many are not designed to be stacked beyond 2 or 3 at the maximum. Another solution is interlocking WaterBricks. The interlocking and stackability of these make it possible to line the closets’ walls, the trunk of cars, or space under beds. Just remember that any water storage product that may freeze should only be filled to ¾ capacity. This will allow for expansion without compromising the container’s walls.
Food is the second essential. Relying on your existing pantry with the hope that you can go to the grocery store just before an unforeseen disaster strikes won’t cut it. Sadly, most Americans have only a few days worth of real meals. Unless you want to be creative and learn to make Ranch dressing, mustard, ketchup, maple syrup, and soy sauce soup to survive, you will want to make sure, at a minimum, you have at least two weeks of food on hand that is calorically dense enough to sustain you. 
Cooking is one of the essentials to surviving a minimum of two weeks after a grid-down situation. I already mentioned eating from your supply, so I don’t repeat it here. Think also of how you are going to cook. Having a small, relatively inexpensive cooking propane stove will allow you to boil water and cook food. Just make sure you have propane on hand. 
My other blog on What You Should Know to Survive the Next Prolonged Grid Down Situation explores in more depth how to define your real power needs. 
The second to last essential I will address here is medicine. When it comes to medicine and medical aid, you have three considerations: maintenance, first aid, and information on hand. Maintenance is any drugs or solutions that get you through your day-to-day. Is there a possibility you might need an Epipen? Do you often suffer from allergies? Are you on any medicines that you have to take daily or can titer off of? If so, these need to be part of your maintenance prepping plan.
Finally, you must be able to literally weather the climate you find yourself in during the disaster. Before winter comes, review your warm-weather preps. As many learned in Texas or hopefully learned in the CityPrepping video 4 Critical Rules to Survive A Winter Power Outage I released two months ago, there are many techniques to survive a winter power outage. It may seem odd to pitch a tent inside your house, but it creates a microclimate for you. Even throwing a tarp and blankets over a table and on the floor creates a temperature-stable environment for you. When it comes to keeping warm, make sure your emergency preparedness goes beyond a couple of emergency mylar blankets. Do you have wool blankets, a hat, gloves, and a scarf? If the disaster is wet, do you have the means to get and stay dry? If it is a hot weather disaster, can you stay cool? Can you recognize the early signs of heatstroke and know what to do? 
Initial Public Offerings or IPOs are offerings of stock in a company. You have probably heard of those. While IPOs dipped a little in the recent past, 2020 had 538 IPOs, which was right in-line with the average 500 public-market debuts from 1995 to 1999, before the crash of 2000. You may not have heard of SPACs, though. Almost half of those 538 IPOs were SPACs or Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies. Those are shell companies in search of a business. A SPAC is explicitly created to pool funds to finance a merger or acquisition opportunity within a set timeframe. The opportunity usually has yet to be identified. Just as people invested in vaporware that was merely a concept during the dot com bubble, people invest in SPACs that do not have a solid business behind them. Maybe they’d like to invest in blockchain technology. Perhaps they would like to invest in the cannabis sector. Still, they tie up billions of dollars on the sidelines. Eighty-three billion in 2020 compared to just 13 billion the year before.
Warren Buffett’s valuation metric represents the total U.S. stock market value compared to annual gross domestic product. The current ratio is a market value of 42 trillion to a GDP of 21 trillion. Omaha’s Oracle said that the unprecedented highs preceding the dot-com bubble’s burst should have been an indicator. To put this in perspective, the Buffett Indicator preceding the Dot-Com Bubble popping was 159%. Our current number is riding a high of 195%. Buffet warns that anything close to 200% as we are now is fastening your seatbelt territory. Valuation is far out of whack from actual production. Like the SPACs, this indicates a valuation that isn’t true to actual hard economic production. It’s possibly more bubble-frenzy investing.
Even before the pandemic slowed down the actual economy, the Fed’s quantitative easing, lowering interest rates, and heavy borrowing were pumping adrenaline into the economy. The Fed was using every tool at its disposal to open every valve of the economy. Quantitative easing is a monetary policy whereby a central bank purchases at-scale government bonds or other financial assets to inject money into the economy to expand economic activity. Quantitative easing has been largely undertaken by all major central banks worldwide following the global financial crisis of 2007–08 and definitely at a much higher level in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
We are now a full year into a global pandemic. While the unemployment rate has fallen off of its tremendous highs, things are far from going back to normal. Many have had to adjust their lifestyles, work, and spending to accommodate the new normal. Even though consumer spending– a natural catalyst for economic health– is projected to increase over last year’s purse-clutching uncertainties, people’s spending priorities have shifted. Personal savings have increased. Household indebtedness has decreased slightly. The recent economic tools being deployed by the government are an extension of the moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, suspension of student loan payments, and a possible additional round of stimulus checks. If an increase to the federal minimum wage also occurs, the new tool to stoke the economy will be consumer spending.
The markets still have massive volatility, at least according to the CBOE VIX Index. The index averaged nearly 30 last year, compared to about 25 at the dot-com bubble height. The VIX is a real-time market index that represents the market’s expectation of 30-day forward-looking volatility. Derived from the S&P 500 index options’ price inputs, it provides a measure of market risk and investors’ sentiments. You may have heard of it by its other names like the “Fear Gauge” or the “Fear Index.”
The biggest unknown in the economy right now is the rise of cryptocurrency. The crypto market is like the wild west. With thousands of alt-coin cryptocurrencies available, some with highly specialized functions, and some with no real intrinsic value at all (dogecoin, we’re looking at you), national banks have had a hard time pumping the breaks on the market. Just the nine most common cryptocurrencies of the thousands account for over one million transactions per day. In two years, cryptocurrency has grown from a market capitalization of 67 billion to over 1.4 trillion for the top 200 cryptocurrencies. To put this in context, there are only 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in circulation right now. Bitcoin alone is at a market cap of 906 billion, equivalent to three-quarters of all the dollars in circulation right now. It’s time to talk about cryptocurrency as the threat to global economic stability that it potentially is. 
Another sign of a possible financial meltdown is the continued problem of income inequality in the U.S. This has been a problem for many decades already, but the income inequality gap has increased since 1970. 
Returning specifically back to Wall Street, the margin debt to cash or the gap between options and actual cash balances is exploding. Thanks in part to low rates, margin debt balances hit an all-time high of $778 billion—nearly 37 times the $21 billion investors held in March 2000. To look at this another way, customer accounts are currently 72% more debt than cash. They are betting money that they don’t have, and in many cases, they are losing big.
Generally, the herd of investors has been followers and not leaders. They jump on trends they see emerging from the big whales of Wall Street and hope to make a little money along with them. That all changed this year with the Game Stop investors from a Reddit board called WallStreetBets. Noting that several significant hedge funds sought to short stocks like GameStop and AMC theaters, they bought up shares. This drove up the price markedly. When those short sell orders came due, they cost hedge fund managers billions of dollars.
There are more than just a few countries that would like nothing better than to see the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency lose its place and topple. China, for example, could launch a cryptocurrency tied to the Yuan. But even without these overt assaults on our market stability, continued hacks of our infrastructure could result in a dramatic collapse in our financial infrastructure.