Author: CityPrepping

  • Will Our Debt Doom America?

    The U.S. national debt, at the time of the writing of this article, is at more than $22.627 trillion. It is at a record high and numerous people, including some economists, are expressing concern. What’s worse is that the current debt-to-GDP ratio is at 105.21%, which means the country’s debt is 5% higher than what it produces. 

    Though this fact is concerning for numerous people, is there really something to be concerned about? Will our huge debt doom America?  In this article, we’ll break down this issue to see if this is something we should be worried about.

    Understanding the Debt of America

    Before we get into the discussion of answering the question of whether our nation’s debt will doom the country, let’s first discuss the debt of America in more detail to give us an understanding of what it really is and how it impacts the country.

    The U.S. needs money to spend on its programs and projects, but since the country has a lot of them, they also need a huge amount of money to support all of it. The federal government generates its income from collecting taxes and these include corporate, excise, and individual. But the amount of income it generates is not enough for all of its programs, resulting in what we call a budget deficit. To cover the deficit, the government has three options, to cut spending, raise taxes, or borrow money. The first two options are not popular options since it means governments will have to scale back on several of the promises they made to the people or they’ll have to add burden to the people in the form of more taxes. So borrowing is the best option in this scenario. 

    To cover the deficit, the Treasury Department issues bonds, notes, and bills that they use to borrow money from investors. Corporations and financial institutions (both foreign and domestic), as well as other governments from around the world, can purchase the securities that the Treasury sells. These securities act as an agreement that the federal government will pay back the money they owe with interest after a specific time period. This is how America accumulates debt. The national debt is basically just the measurement of how much money the federal government owes its creditors. As the government spends more money on its programs and projects, the national debt will just continue to rise.

    National Debt and Gross Domestic Product

    Debt-to-GDP ratio is a common term that you would usually hear in the news when a discussion about the country’s debt is brought up.  GDP is the measure of the goods and services that a country produces in a given year. Some economists and media outlets usually compare the national debt of the country to its GDP and its not really wrong to do so since there’s a correlation. But comparing these two doesn’t really provide a good picture since the country’s debt is not paid back using the country’s GDP. Tax revenues are what pays for the country’s national debt. This is why raising or cutting taxes is always one of the main talking points of Congress when they’re discussing the national budget.

    The Two Categories of Debt

    The U.S. debt is divided into two categories: intragovernmental holdings and public debt. The intragovernmental holdings are the portion of the debt that is owned by other federal agencies, while the public debt is the one held by everyone else, including foreign corporations and governments.

    As of August 2019, the public debt is at $16.6 trillion, which is about 73.9% of the country’s $22.46 trillion debt during the same period.  The foreign holdings were at $6.64 trillion in July 2019, which is a $97 billion increase compared to the month of June. Japan is the number one holder of U.S. debt with $1.13 trillion and China as the close second with $1.11 trillion.

    The rest of the debt, about $5.9 trillion or 26.1% of the country’s national debt is held by other federal agencies. This would include the Social Security Trust Fund, which accounts for most of the U.S. debt holdings of federal agencies, the Military Retirement Funds, Medicare, and Federal Retirement Funds to name a few.

    How The National Debt Affects the Country

    Now that we have a better understanding of the U.S. national debt, it’s time to discuss how it affects the country. This huge debt is concerning since $22 trillion is an astronomical number. But this debt, though a record-high, is not really new for the country. It was during Barack Obama’s term when the U.S. debt reached a high of $20 trillion, but that was also the period when the Great Recession hit the country.

    The huge debt accumulated during the great recession was deemed as necessary since it jump-started the economy. In the short-term, deficit spending is beneficial to the economy since it will drive growth. As the U.S. spends money on health care, building and road construction, and defense equipment, just to name a few, it hires private companies and contractors to provide these services. This means money is infused and circulated in the country. As the number of projects that governments have increased, more money is infused into the country. To keep up with this demand, companies start to hire new employees, thus providing jobs as well. With the federal government ramping up on projects and programs, they’ll also start to hire new employees and provide more available jobs in the country.

    People will have money to spend on goods and services, which is again good for the country’s economic growth. Basically, as the government spends money, the country’s GDP will also increase since there will be more goods and services produced. Government spending is also responsible for a big chunk of the country’s GDP, so increasing spending affects that as well.

    However, the long-term effects of huge debt are not as rosy.  An article from “The Balance” compared a growing federal debt like “driving with the emergency brake on.” This means that the economy is growing, but the growth is slow since it is also hampering it. Having a huge debt increases the risk of the country defaulting on its obligations, which could have lenders asking for higher interest rate payments on the money they lent. Though this has yet to happen, there is a real concern about this coming from many economists and experts. Another long-term effect that a huge national debt has is that the demand for U.S. treasuries could diminish meaning securing money to run the country could dry up.

    This is actually happening as the demand for U.S. debt by foreign investors has decreased. A report from The Fiscal Times in November 2018 showed a chart that revealed the demand for the 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds is at its lowest since 2009. Another report from The Fiscal Times in February 2019 that foreign ownership of U.S. debt continued to decline, reaching below 40%.

    The issue here is that the yields (interest rates) could increase since the demand for treasury bonds are decreasing. Though high-interest rates would attract more lenders, it also means the country will have to pay more once the bond matures. This will slow down the economy since the country will have to allot more money to interest payments. Fortunately, the void left by foreign investors was filled up by domestic demand. The country’s households increased its exposure to U.S. bonds from $1.4 trillion in 2017 to $2.3 trillion in 2018. This is keeping interest rates lower.

    But one thing that domestic demand for bonds can’t save is the value of the U.S. dollar. When foreign investors want to buy U.S. bonds at an auction, they’ll need to buy U.S. dollars in order to do so. As foreign demand for U.S. bonds increases, the value of the dollar will also increase relative to the currency of the foreigner buying the bond. So, if foreign investors start dumping U.S. bonds, they’ll also start dumping the dollar, thus providing downward pressure on the currency. This also means the country will have to pay back foreigners holding the security at a currency that has less value. A lower dollar will also affect the country’s imports since this means they’ll buy goods abroad at a higher price because of the dollar’s lower value.

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    Can the Huge U.S. Debt Be A Problem For Us?

    After learning all of the information that we have discussed up to now, it is now time to discuss if this huge debt of America will doom us all. In order to properly see if this $22 trillion dollar debt will be the country’s downfall, we’ll have to look at it in two aspects: Why it doesn’t matter and why it matters.

    Why it Doesn’t Matter

    Though the country has reached a record-high debt and the debt-to-GDP ratio is at 105%, not all economists, experts, and politicians are concerned about it. One of the reasons they’re not concerned is the fact that more than a quarter of the country’s debt is held by the federal government themselves. As discussed earlier, 26.1% of the U.S. national debt is held by the different federal agencies, which technically means the government owes money to itself.

    But even the rest of the debt that the country owes is still not enough to cause concern since the U.S. government actually has the capacity to pay, not the entire debt, but the interest on them. The U.S debt that it sells to investors has a maturity date and it doesn’t need to pay off its entire debt until that maturity date. The country only needs to pay the interest rate, which is done twice a year.  A September 2019 report from USA Today stated that the interest rate payments of the country are only 9.8% of tax revenues. This means that the U.S. has the money to pay its debtors their interest rates twice a year. This figure is lower than during the 80s and 90s when interest payment was at 18.4% at its peak.

    It is also important to note that the huge debt of the country is a bad indicator to determine bad fiscal policy.  What we need to look at is if the government is spending the money properly. As our government increases programs and projects, spending increases as well. So a high debt is not necessarily bad, especially if the money is used to generate opportunities for the population. Take a look at a country like Venezuela who has a debt that is only 23% of its GDP in 2017. But the country’s economy has been in chaos for several years already, so their debt is not an indication that they have a good fiscal policy or that they’re not being a burden to the population.

    Why Does it Matter?

    Though the huge debt might not be concerning if you look at it from a certain perspective, it doesn’t mean that we should just ignore it or let it continue. This huge debt will still have an impact on our economy and we’ve already tackled the effects it could have like the decreasing demand for our securities from foreign investors, which in turn put downward pressure on our currency.

    Yes, domestic demand is filling the void left by foreign investors. But with the country already showing some cracks on its economy and a looming recession on the horizon, the country would need to rely on investors and creditors, especially foreign creditors, to help keep its economy afloat. And with foreign lenders already starting to shed their exposure to U.S. debt, relying on foreign investment could be an issue should the country enter into a recession.

    Speaking of recession, having a huge debt will limit the government’s capacity to respond to another financial crisis. When the Great Recession hit in 2007, one of the country’s responses was to increase spending to try and jumpstart the economy. This is why our debt ballooned to $20 trillion during the Obama administration, as they ramped up spending as a response to the crisis. With our country already dealing with massive debt, increasing spending by borrowing more money is already out of the picture should we experience another recession.

    Interest payments are actually a concern as well, especially if the interest rates will go up. Though the Federal Reserve Bank recently cut interest rates, the interest rates of bonds can still go up. If foreign investors continue to shed their exposure to U.S. debt and demand continue to soften, the interest rate will still continue to rise due to the rule of supply and demand. Another thing to worry about is that the net interest cost of the country is still projected to increase to $921 billion by 2029. This means that the country could soon find itself spending more money on net interest costs than on other important aspects like medicare.

    Another cause for concern is paying back all of the country’s commitments. The $22 trillion debt actually just represents the country’s formal commitment to pay back its creditors. There are also other future commitments that the country has that are not on the books. These other commitments include support for housing, actions taken by the Federal Reserve, deposit insurance, other loan guarantees, and government trust funds. The estimated total commitment of the country is actually at $70 trillion, which is more than 3 times the national debt. Should the U.S. need to start paying back on these commitments, the huge burden will likely fall on the shoulders of the citizens. The government will likely have to raise taxes to get more revenue to pay for all of these commitments.

    The debt situation of the private sector is not doing any better as well since the non-financial corporate debt has already reached 74% of GDP. This is projected to increase, especially after the Fed has cut interest rates. Companies, even those with poor credit, will continue to borrow money to finance their expenditures. The problem here is that earnings outlook in the private sector appears bleak, which means numerous companies might not have the capacity to pay back their debt and increase the likelihood of default.  Business and investment sentiment could also decrease due to the high debt burden.

    Looking at the things that we have discussed here, the huge debt that the U.S. has will not doom the country in the short-term. The strong economy and fiscal policies in place will ensure that the U.S. won’t succumb to the massive debt and cause the entire economy to collapse. However, there are still some causes for concern, especially if we look at the long-term effects of a huge debt.

    In the short-term, the talk of a looming recession in the next 2 years is the main concern with regards to the impact of our country’s huge debt. It decreases our options and financial tools to fight back the crisis, which makes us even more vulnerable. As for the long-term implications, one of the main issues is if the country’s commitments start taking effect, the financial burden it will cause to the population will be massive. The projected rise in interest rates and net interest costs also means that the bill for this debt will be expensive in the future.

    Conclusion

    America’s huge debt, in theory, should not cause the country to collapse in the short-term. However, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be concerned since the country can’t keep up this kind of high debt burden forever.

    Plans and policies should soon be implemented to start lowering the country’s massive debt and avoid having to deal with harsher consequences in the future.  Obviously, the changes that would need to be made now will not be popular with voters as it will mean cuts in government spending will have to be made or taxes will need to be raised, neither of which is good for politicians when they seek re-election.  For now, we’re simply kicking the problem down the road.

    If you enjoyed this article, please click the like button and share it on social media. Please feel free to provide tips, suggestions, or added information in the comment section below.

    As always, stay safe out there.

  • Will This Recession Be Worse Than In 2007? 5 Things To Consider

    Last week, fears of an upcoming recession intensified after a reliable indicator, which we’ll discuss momentarily, that signals the economy could contract appeared. This was followed by a  survey that says 38% of economists are expecting the U.S. to enter into a recession by 2020, while 34% believe the country is heading for a recession by the end of 2021.  

    Though a recession is part of the natural economic cycle, many are beginning to wonder if this looming recession could be worse than the one that occurred in 2007. In this article, we’ll discuss the 5 things experts consider when determining the severity of the recession to answer the question: will this recession be worse than the 2007 market crash?

    Signs That The U.S. Is Heading Into A Recession

    Before we discuss what experts look at to see if this looming recession is going to be worse, let’s first talk about the indicators that show an inevitable recession is coming.

    According to a report from Forbes, several signs and indicators point to the economy entering into a recession soon have appeared. The primary indicator of a looming recession is the inverted yield curve, where short-term interest rates of bonds are higher than that of the long-term interest rates. Based on historical precedence, it signals that the economy could experience a recession within 6 months to 2 years.  And for those who may not know, a bond is simply an I.O.U. that includes the loan and payment details between a lender and a borrower. It is used by governments and corporations to help finance their projects and operations. Short-term bonds are the ones that are payable in less than 5 years, while long-term bonds are those that are payable in 5 years or longer.

    An inverted yield curve is problematic because it shows investors are losing confidence in the economy. Bonds are considered safe investments, thus their interest rates are lower compared to stocks. But as the demand for bonds increases, the interest they pay when it matures goes down. This is why the inverted yield curve usually appears before a recession because it shows people losing confidence in the economy, thus they flock to safer investments than riskier ones.

    Another sign of a coming recession is the slowdown of global growth. Countries with large economies like the UK and Germany are starting to contract, while the world’s second-largest economy, China is experiencing a slowdown. With global economies being interconnected, the U.S. economy is not immune to these developments.

    Germany, in particular, will have a severe effect on the country because it is one of the top trading partners. The U.S.’s trade war with China is affecting Germany severely since its heavily reliant on exports. The country’s auto industry is also taking a hit due to tougher emissions requirements and technological change. These could affect Germany’s consumer confidence and slows down purchases, affecting other countries reliant on Germany buying their goods.

    Forbes’ report also mentions U.S. unemployment, which came out at 3.7% in July. The figure is still low, but it was an uptick from the previous month’s 3.6%. If the trend continues and unemployment climbs as high as 4.1%, it could further support the prospect of a recession.

    These are the obvious and most pressing indicators that a recession could hit the U.S. in the next 2 years.  There are also other subtle signs, such as in the RV industry. RV shipments to dealers have declined by 20% this year following a 4.2% decline last year. Multiple years of the declining shipment have preceded the last 3 recessions, making this yet another indicator that the country is approaching a recession or is already in one.

    How Bad Was the 2007 Great Recession?

    To understand as to whether the impending recession is going to be worse than the 2007 recession, let’s quickly review just how bad the Great Recession was.

    The recession that the country experienced at the end of 2007 until June of 2009 was primarily caused by a financial crisis due to the housing bubble bursting, along with the subprime mortgage crisis, and the correction of the housing market. This made the effects of the contraction worse and the recovery efforts harder and longer. The financial sector was restrained from properly spending because of the debts they accumulated, and the government’s stimulus program and bailouts limited their spending power to speed up the recovery.

    During this period, the country’s GDP decreased by 4.2%, which makes it one of the worst economic contractions that the country experienced. The Department of Labor also released data that showed the country lost 8.7 million jobs between February 2008 and February 2010. 

    The former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, said that the Great Recession was worse than the Great Depression. Though economists disagree with him, they noted that it was the second-worst recession in the U.S., second only to the Great Depression.

    Here are 5 Considerations that Experts Look At To Determine the Severity of the Recession

    It’s not uncommon for countries to experience a recession since it’s part of the natural ebb and flow of economies.  Economists call this cycle expansion and contraction and it is a natural occurrence in economies. Dating back to 1854 until 2009, the U.S. grows at an average of 38.7 months, while it contracts at an average of 17.5 months. There are exceptions to this, like when the U.S. achieved the longest expansion in history last July 2019, expanding for 121 straight months. Or when the country contracted for 65 months, the longest recession recorded in the U.S., from 1873 to 1879.

    What is alarming about recessions is how much of an impact they can have on a nation. As you can see from the previous point, the Great Recession had a devastating effect on the country (and the world for that matter) and the recovery period for it took longer than expected. The question now with the upcoming recession is whether it will be as severe or worse than the Great Recession, or will it be milder?

    Analysts are divided when it comes to how severe the upcoming recession will be. Some say it won’t be as bad as the one experienced in 2007, while some say it could be as bad as the Great Depression. Despite the divided view, there are certain scenarios that analysts are considering that can determine if this recession is going to be milder or worse.

    1. Global Debt – One of the primary considerations that analysts are looking at is global debt. In 2008, the worlds’ global debt stood at $177 trillion and is one of the factors that made the financial crisis worse. As mentioned earlier, debt payments were also one of the primary reasons it took the country several years before it recovered from the 2007 recession. Numerous analysts are predicting that the global debt could reach as high as $247 trillion by 2020. If the debt prediction comes true, then a recession in 2020, or even 2021 would have a harsher impact on the country and recovery would be harder as well.
      1. The world’s debt soared to $184 trillion early this year, which is also equivalent to every person in the world having a debt of $86,000. That figure is 225% of the world GDP or 2.5 times the annual income. Approximately $63 trillion of that comes from the governments of the world and the U.S. accounting for 31.8% of it. This tells us that the majority of the global debt is driven by the private sector, which brought the world to its knees. The current amount of world debt is a record high and it already has surpassed the debt the world had when the recession began in late 2007. This is not a good sign since debt is what made the recession worse in 2007. With the way things are going, it looks like no one has learned their lesson from the last recession.
    2. What Governments and Central Banks Can Do – Another consideration to look at are the solutions, policies, and financial tools that governments and central banks have at their disposal if a recession were to happen. In 2007, central banks were quick to lower interest rates and enter into quantitative easing to try and lessen the effects of the financial crisis. Governments also bailed out financial companies that were considered too big to fail. The move didn’t stop the world from entering into a recession, but it helped it recover slowly. The downside of the slow recovery is that governments and central banks now have limited financial tools available to them in case another financial crisis breaks out.
      1. With interest rates still low for a lot of countries, central banks have little room to operate when it comes to lowering interest rates to try and lessen the impact of a financial crisis. World leaders are also not united, which makes it harder to have stronger government spending fiscal response during a recession. (World Economic Forum)
      2. Central banks are also limited when it comes to stimulus spending. With government debts at an all-time high and deficits are larger, there’s not enough wiggle room to spend money to try and jumpstart the economy. Quantitative Easing (QE) is another tool that central banks won’t be able to use since their balance sheets are still full from the previous rounds of QE they did to recover from the 2007 crisis. Bailing out the financial sector will also be harder, not only because of limited funding but also because many people weren’t happy when it was first executed. A report said that research showed the government spent actually closer to $29 trillion to help the banks.  Not only was that a lot of money, but it didn’t prevent the loss of 9 million jobs, 4 million foreclosures, and a reduction in wealth among the poor and middle class. Simply put, the bailout didn’t help the majority of the American population but it did help the ultra-wealthy. Another bailout of big companies is likely going to be unpopular. 
    3. U.S. – China Trade War – A lot of analysts are closely watching how the trade war between the two countries with the largest economies is progressing. S&P Global Ratings believe that the direct effects of the trade war between the two countries are minimal. But if business and household confidence continue to plummet, the direct effects could be devastating.  The trade war’s indirect effects on the macroeconomic level (overall economic factors like national productivity, interest rates, and so on) are also numerous and severe. One indirect impact it could cause is further interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve due to the decrease of domestic demand because of higher prices. Should a recession occur, how the trade war progresses between the two countries will contribute greatly in determining how severe the contraction could be.
      1. The effects of the trade war could be felt on the world’s GDP, as media outlets stated that a Bloomberg Economic report showed a 0.6% decline by 2021 could happen to the world GDP due to the trade war. That is equivalent to a $585 billion loss from the IMF’s 2021 world GDP projection. The report added that even if central banks were to do something about the slowdown in demand, the world GDP will still experience a 0.3 % loss. (Business Today)
      2. Another impact of the trade war could be a currency war, according to Fair Observer. When the U.S. threatened another 10% Tariff on $300 billion of imports from China, the country responded by devaluing the yuan against the dollar. If China were to continue devaluing its currency, a repeat of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and could further accelerate the impending world recession. 
    4. The U.S. Bubble – The trigger for the financial crisis in 2007 was the housing and subprime mortgage bubble in the U.S. that burst. More than a decade later, several assets are again in a bubble and could plunge the country into another financial crisis should they burst. One of the asset bubbles that many analysts have identified is bonds, particularly the sovereign debt of governments. This puts bonds, which are supposed to be risk-free assets, at a price that won’t make investors any money. Reuters also adds that Deutsche Bank calculated that there are more than $15.9 trillion of negative-yielding bonds worldwide, due to trade tensions, slowing global growth, and continued monetary policy easing. As I mentioned earlier, the global debt is at an all-time high and a chunk of that is due to government debt. The U.S. alone reached a debt of $22 trillion early this year, a record high. 
      1. Bonds are not the only asset bubble that economists are looking at, as consumer spending is another bubble. An economist said that the increase in retail sales in July is not a good indicator of healthy consumer spending since it was financed mostly by credit. The economist also mentioned that weekly earnings have been flat or declining for the past 8 months, showing that people are not getting their spending power from the wages they get from jobs.
      2. Some analysts also consider the U.S. Stock Market as a bubble. According to a report from Forbes, the S&P 500 has already soared to 300% in the past decade, which is faster than the earnings that companies achieved in the same period. This makes the index overvalued and a correction could soon follow.
    5. The Budget Deficit – The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently came out with a report that shows the U.S. budget deficit will be close to $1 trillion in 2019 and this will make things worse for the country unless changes are made. This is another consideration that analysts are looking at in determining how severe a looming recession could be. It’s already bad enough that the nation’s debt continues to reach record levels, but it’s even worse that the budget deficit is also widening.
      1. The Financial Times said that the CBO director is calling for changes in tax and spending policies. The government should adopt laws and policies that would increase revenue and reduce spending below the projected amounts.
      2. According to a Time article report, the downside of a large budget deficit is that it further limits the government’s ability to provide stimulus in the event of a financial crisis or recession. This suggests that the federal government is further restraining itself from providing a solution or a cushion to an impending recession, which is problematic since the central bank’s swift action in the last crisis lessened the negative impact.

    Conclusion

    The probability of a recession happening in the U.S. in the next 2 years is high and no one knows how severe it could be. But there are considerations that analysts are looking at that suggest this upcoming recession might be more devastating than the Great Recession in 2007. You must be aware of these signs and considerations so you can prepare yourself and avoid the negative impact of a recession or financial crisis.

    This article is not meant to raise fear or concern, as my goal here is to provide information to help you become aware of what could possibly happen. As a prepper, we must keep ourselves well informed of what’s happening so we can be prepared for it and act before it is already too late.

    I’d like to know your thoughts and feedback on this matter in the comments section below. Are you concerned about a possible recession? Do you think this one will be worse than before and if our government is prepared to handle it?

    If you enjoyed this article, please share it on social media. And as always, be safe out there.

  • How To Prepare For Fire Season

    With the fire season ramping up again, this means that those of us that live in areas prone to annual fires need to be prepared to ensure our safety.  If you happen to live in the state of California, then it is even more essential that you, your family, and your house are prepared for the fire season.  However, this problem is not limited just to the state of California, but for many parts of North America as well.

    Statistics from the National Interagency Fire Center showed that the U.S. has already suffered from 32,887 large fires, which has already burned close to 4 million acres across 14 states, as of August 26.  This stat inches us closer to the 6.3 million acres that fire burned last year. Canada is also expecting bigger and stronger fires as well. In Alberta alone, 800 thousand hectares already burned this summer.

    Though wildfires can be extremely dangerous, through proper preparation and knowledge, you can be ready should an event occur.

    In this article, we’ll cover how to prepare your home, your family, and what to do in the event a wildfire approaches.

    What You Need To Do To Prepare Your House For the Fire Season

    One of the first things people consider when preparing for fire season is their home as it is often one of their most important belongings.  A well-prepared home can go a long way to increase the probability that it won’t get burned down in the event a wildfire impacts your area.

    1. Creating A Defensible Space – A defensible space is an area around your home that will act as a buffer between your house and the environment surrounding it.  The required defensible space for houses in wildfire-prone areas is 100 feet and it is divided into 2 zones. Zone 1 starts from your house and extends 30 feet out (San Diego requires 50 feet clearance for Zone 1, so you need to check with your local government or fire department to know the requirement for your particular zone).  Zone 2 is the remaining area, which will extend to 100 feet out from your house.
      1. What you need to do in Zone 1
        1. Clear the area of any dead vegetation like weeds, dry leaves, pine needles, and dead grass.
        2. Roof and rain gutters need to be cleared of dry or dead vegetation and branches as well.
        3. Branches need to be trimmed so trees are kept at a minimum of 10 feet from each other.
        4. Branches should also be kept at 10 feet away from chimneys.
        5. Flammable plants and shrubs, as well as any items that could catch fire, should also be removed from the windows and just anywhere in general near your house.
        6. If you have a woodpile, this needs to be placed in Zone 2 as well.
      2. What you need to do in Zone 2
        1. Grass should only have a maximum height of 4 inches
        2. Fallen leaves, needles, barks, twigs, and small branches should be removed in these areas.
        3. Prevent the growth of weedy grasses.
      3. Things to Remember
        1. Do not clear all vegetation down to the bare soil since this increases the chances of erosion and will lead to the growth of weeds. The goal is just to thin the vegetation.
        2. Also, removing any trees or fire resistance vegetation 100 feet beyond your home won’t help protect your house as it actually increases the risk of fire.  Having a wide clearance makes the house vulnerable to wind-blown embers since there won’t be any obstacle to catch the ember other than the house.
    2. Retrofitting Your Home with Non-Flammable Materials – Ensuring that the area around your house is safe from flammable materials is not enough, you also need to make sure that the exterior of your house is using non-flammable materials as well.
      1. Your roof is one of the most vulnerable areas of your home and using shingle roofs or wood puts its a greater risk of being burned by wildfire. Using non-flammable materials like tiles or metal for your roof ensures it won’t get destroyed easily nor cause the fire to spread faster. Covering any spaces between the roof decking also prevents it from catching wind-blown embers.
      2. Vents are another vulnerable area in your home since embers can enter through them. Covering the vents is important and you should only use metal mesh so they won’t easily burn.  Apply ¼” non-combustible screening to all vent or eave openings to prevent fire ambers from blowing into your attic.
      3. You also need to protect the eaves, soffits, subfloors, and fascias of your home using fire-resistant material. Treated wood is a good material to use.
      4. Your windows are also vulnerable to breaking because of the heat, even if the house is not yet on fire. Use a dual-paned glass with one pane being made in tempered glass to enforce your windows. If it’s possible, try lessening the number of windows that are facing a large area of vegetation.
      5. The decks of your house, or any surface within 10 feet of the house, should only use non-combustible or other approved materials.
      6. Use only ignition-resistant materials for your walls like fiber cement, treated wood, stucco, and other materials that are approved as non-combustible.
      7. Rain gutters should also be screened or enclosed so plant debris won’t accumulate there.
      8. Chimneys also need to be covered with screens that are not combustible. The openings of the screen should prevent embers from escaping.
      9. The garage should contain tools that you might need in case of fire emergencies like fire extinguishers, buckets, rakes, hoses, and shovels. All combustible liquid should be stored properly and the garage doors should have weather stripping to prevent embers from entering.
      10. Fences should also be made with fire-resistant materials so they won’t end up as fuel for fires to continue spreading.
      11. Use fire-resistant plants and materials in your defensive space to help prevent wildfires from coming close to your home.
      12. You can also install external sprinklers to wet your house and roof, which are considered an effective way of keeping your home from burning during a wildfire.
      13. You should also ensure that the driveways and access roads to your house are clear and follow your local area codes and requirements. This is to ensure that emergency vehicles and equipment can access your property.
      14. Ensure that your address is visible from the street.  This is especially important when emergency responders are trying to find your home.
    3. Have A Plan or Strategy – It is also important that you have a plan or strategy in case of wildfires. This means you need to be aware of the plans and measures that your community has. Follow the safety protocols that they provide, know where the evacuation centers are, have a list of numbers that you can call in case of emergencies, and know the best routes that you and your family should take in case the wildfires have reached your area. Having a plan or strategy will not only ensure that your home will be protected, but it also allows you to know what you need to do in case your house is already compromised. 

    Preparing Yourself and Your Family

    Your home is not the only thing that you need to prepare in case of a wildfire as you need to make sure that you and your family are also prepared for this emergency.

    1. Have A Family Action Plan  –  If you have a plan or strategy for your home, you’ll also need an action plan that every member of the family is familiar with. This ensures everyone will know what to do in case a wildfire emergency breaks out in your community.
      1. You should designate an emergency area that is outside the hazard area that you and your family members would meet up.  Though ideally you are all together when the wildfire emergency breaks out, you should have a planned meetup location in case you’re all in different locations when the emergency breaks out.
      2. Identify safe escape routes from your home and community that each family member should know and memorize.  Knowing ahead of time the path that you need to take will eliminate second-guessing on whether the route is correct or not.
      3. Have a communication plan on how to contact each other in case the disaster happens when everyone is separated. You can use a two-way radio that each member of the family will have with them at all times should normal communication options like your cell phone service be down. You should also have a close relative or friend who doesn’t live in the area to be the designated contact person. That person will be the one to contact everyone to get updates instead of you trying to contact everyone. Not only is this easier, but it also helps that you have another person who can help you locate the others while you’re also trying to survive during this emergency.
      4. You also need to have a plan to evacuate pets and large animals in case you have them. This is important since this ensures that you’ll know what to do and how to get them out of the wildfire safely.
    2. Prepare an emergency kit – It is always important to have an emergency kit for each member of the family. These kits will contain all the necessary supplies needed should you be displaced for several days. This includes water, food, first aid kit, a two-way radio, a portable radio, basic survival tools, and a set of clothes.
      1. Prepare an extra Emergency Kit that you’ll place in the car in case you can’t go back home during the emergency.
      2. The Emergency Kit also needs to contain the emergency numbers that family members can call.
    3. Walkthrough around the house – It’s also important that you walk your family through the house to let them know where certain emergency tools, like fire extinguishers, shovels, buckets, and other tools are located. Each family member should also know how to use these tools and when to use them.
      1. Each member should also know where the main shut-off controls for electricity, gas, and water are located and how to properly turn them off during emergencies.

    What You Need To Do When A Wildfire Approaches Your Area

    You’ve already made your preparations for your home.  You and your family members are also prepared and ready in case of a wildfire.  But what will you do should a wildfire break out and approach your area?

    The most important thing that you should do first is not to panic, regardless if the wildfire is still far from your home or already near it.  Panicking won’t help you or your family, so a clear head is what’s needed in this type of situation. If you’ve made your preparations as we’ve covered in the previous 2 points, there’s no need for you to panic since you’re ready for this emergency.

    Here are some other tips you can do when a wildfire approaches your area:

    1. Evacuate immediately when authorities tell you to.
      1. Remember, your priority should be you and your family’s safety and not your house, so evacuate when you’re told to do so.
      2. Make sure you have already planned the routes that you and your family will take and know which evacuation center or area you will go to.
      3. Have a portable radio and constantly listen for updates.
    2. If you’re trapped in your home, call 911 or any local emergency number to let the authorities know your location.
      1. Keep all the doors and windows on your house closed but don’t lock them.
      2. Fill the tubs and sinks with cold water.
      3. Stay away from windows and the outside walls, and stay indoors.
    3. If you’re driving when the fire breaks out and you realize you can no longer escape either due to your evacuation route being blocked or you simply can no longer see where you’re going, the first thing you need to do is to park it in an area that is clear from any form of vegetation.
      1. Call 911 or a local emergency number to let them know your location.
      2. Close all windows and vents of your car.
      3. Lie on the vehicle floor or stay as low as possible and cover yourself with a jacket or wool blankets.
    4. If you happen to be trapped while you’re on foot, don’t try to outrun the fire.
      1. Look for an area that is clear of vegetation or an area that has a body of water like a pond or river.
      2. Lie low to the ground and cover your whole body with wet clothing or a blanket. If you don’t have anything to cover yourself, you can use the soil.
      3. Breathe through a mask or a moist cloth and breathe the air that is as close as possible to the ground to avoid suffocation.

    What to do after a wildfire

    After the wildfire has already been contained, the preparation that you and your family did, will pay off.  But the preparation doesn’t end here. There are also things that you need to do to make sure that it is safe to return home.

    1. You first need to consult with fire authorities and ask them if it is safe to return to your home after a wildfire. If they give the go signal you can already go back home.  Also, be sure to ask if the water in your area is safe to drink or not.
    2. Wear a certified respirator dust mask so you won’t inhale any harmful dust particles.
    3. When traveling back home, you should avoid going near charred trees or live embers. The ground in these areas could still contain heat pockets that could cause another wildfire or burn you.
    4. Once back home, the first thing you need to do is to take caution when entering your property and house since there might still be some flare-ups that could occur.
    5. Inspect the ground in your property for smoldering stumps or hot spots. Douse them with water to eliminate them and prevent another fire from starting.
    6. You also need to inspect the roof and exterior of the house. Make sure there aren’t any sparks or embers present.
    7. Once inside, you also need to inspect the attic, basement, or any other hidden areas of your house to make sure there aren’t any embers.
    8. You also need to take photos of property damage and do an inventory of items or furniture damaged and contact your insurance company.  Just a little extra bonus I’ll include here from a posting on Reddit I found awhile back. It provides information from a previous insurance employee and he provided tips to ensure you get money for everything you legally are entitled to from your insurance company.  Click this link to view the information posted on Reddit.
    9. Keep on inspecting outside and inside your home for a few days to ensure there are no more signs of embers or sparks.
    10. Consider getting flood insurance as well since forest fires usually change the landscape of your community. Without vegetation, the risk of flash floods increases dramatically.
    11. Contact local authorities in case you see potential danger.

    Conclusion

    Wildfires are an issue that is becoming increasingly more common as fires have increased throughout many parts of the world, especially in North America.  Though local governments try their best to make sure that wildfires are prevented, mother nature cannot be contained which is why you’ve got to prepare your home and your family if you live in a fire-prone area.

    If you have any thoughts or additional tips that could be useful, please post those in the comment section as I learn so much from the community.  If you enjoyed the article, please share it on social media.  

    As always, be safe out there.

  • How to survive in an urban environment after SHTF

    With the majority of the world’s population living in urban city centers due to the many advantages that it affords such as job and education opportunities, better access to healthcare, facilities and infrastructures, civilization is becoming more and more dependent on a fragile, artificial environment that should even the smallest hiccup occur, the consequences could be dire.

    Though living in an urban environment does have its advantages, most if not all of these advantages will go out the door if an event such as a pandemic, EMP, or earthquake disrupts the systems that keep everything moving smoothly.  Getting out of these sprawling urban city centers before this happens is the ideal solution, but if you’re past the point of being able to evacuate, then you need to make sure that you and your family are prepared to survive in a suburban environment if a true SHTF event occurs.

    In this article, we’ll discuss the issues you can expect to face along with information and ideas to ensure you’ll have the best chance of survival.

    The Problem of Living in an Urban Environment when SHTF

    Suburban or urban living possesses a number of challenges that you’d need to address in the event your city experiences a collapse.  Addressing these challenges will be the key to ensuring that you and your family will survive during these scenarios.

    1. Water problems – One of the major issues that you will face is securing drinkable water. And it’s not just drinking water you’ll have to deal with, but also clean water you can use for washing and preparing food and for cleaning yourself and your family. The city’s pipes and water facilities will likely cease to function when a collapse happens, which means there won’t be access to clean water.
    2. Access to Food – Another major problem that you are likely to face is access to food. Urban and suburban locations don’t produce their own food and the food you purchase from the stores comes from rural locations that are shipped into your grocery stores from remote locations. During a collapse, transportation will likely be affected, thus affecting the food supply of an urban or suburban location. Another issue you might face with regards to food is storage space. If the home you are living in doesn’t have the proper storage space that is big enough to accommodate all the food and even water that you’re planning to store, then you’ll have a problem staying for an extended period of time.
    3. Loss of Power – If you live in the city, then you are aware of the importance of electricity in your everyday living. Appliances, gadgets, and even certain transportation rely on electricity for them to work. When a collapse occurs, a city’s power is likely to get cut off.  Refrigerators, lights, the ability to communicate, and other electronics you’ve become dependent on will stop working. For those with health issues such as diabetes that require refrigeration to keep their insulin cold or those that need CPAP machines for breathing at night, you are impacted the hardest.
    4. Security Issues – Another important issue you’ll face when SHTF happens is security.  When the infrastructure collapses that keeps people content (such as a source of food and water), people will become desperate.  You probably won’t be able to expect local government and police to be able to keep peace and order either as they’ll be in a similar situation as you: trying to take care of themselves and their families.  This will give rise to armed gangs or groups that will inevitably try and take over parts of the city.  Aside from armed groups, you also have to deal with other people who are desperate for supplies and won’t hesitate to do anything to get them.  Don’t think for a moment that the nice amicable soccer mom who you enjoy going to Starbucks with won’t do whatever it takes to keep her kids alive.

    These are some of the main issues that you will likely face when a severe disruption occurs in the urban or suburban location that you are living in.  But with proper preparation and knowledge, you can ensure that you and your family will have the best chance of survival. In this next part, we’ll look at practical steps you can take now.

    Have A Plan to Bug Out

    The first option is an evacuation. If it is still possible to leave the city and you already have a location where you and your family will stay, then you should bug out as soon as possible. If you live in a small apartment, this should be your primary goal. If you already see that trouble is starting to brew, don’t try to wait and see if things will get better since you might lose your window of opportunity to leave.

    When you bug out, it’s important that you have an evacuation plan prepared to ensure that you and your family will know what to do when the time to leave comes.

    1. Know Where You Are Going – The first thing that you need to have when it comes to evacuating is a place to go to.  You need to know where you and your family will stay when things become too chaotic in your urban community.  If you don’t have a safe place to go already planned out, then you’re really just a refugee. If you have a close friend or relative living outside the city, that could be a good location for you and your family to go and avoid the chaos in your city. You or your family might also consider purchasing a cabin or piece of land you can develop in a remote location as part of your evacuation plan.
      1. It’s important that you also have a map detailing where you’ll go with alternate routes highlighted in case the main one is unpassable.  While we rely heavily on GPS technology, keeping a map in your bug out bag would be a valuable resource.
      2. You also need to plan for the possibility that your initial location is already compromised.  What would you do in that scenario?
      3. Adding hidden caches along your escape route in advance could be useful in the event you can not carry enough food and water for your journey.  Having locations where you could resupply could make a huge difference.
    2. Prepare the Supplies You Will Need – Once you have the possible locations, the next step is to prepare the supplies you will need. You need to determine how long your travel time will be from your home to your evacuation location.  Also, consider the possibility of traveling by foot if traveling by a vehicle is unavailable. So this could lengthen your travel time and adjust your needed supplies. You also have to consider the length of your stay in your evacuation location, especially if it is a remote area and you are likely bringing in the supplies.
      1. While going into the details of a bug out bag is beyond the scope of this article, I have done several videos and will be doing more in the future that goes into detail on my bug out bag setup.  The content of bug out bags is often debated depending on your particular situation, but the core components needed are a shelter, water, food, first aid, and security. How much you add to your bag depends on weight considerations.  The more weight you add, the slower you go and the more difficult it becomes.
      2. Each member of the family would need to have their own supply bag.  Having times where you go out as a family to practice hiking with this gear would be a great way to get your kids used to carrying the gear.
      3. Remember to double-check and test out your gear often to see if it needs to be replaced or not.
    3. Where to Meet Up – You would also need to have a meet-up plan in case you and your family are not together when the need to evacuate comes up or if you become separated during the chaos. 
      1. The meet-up location should be known by everyone in the family.
      2. The location should be accessible, either by foot or by vehicle.
      3. Make sure that the meet-up location you choose is safe from the chaos, or at least won’t be affected too much by it.
    4. Communication Plan – The last thing you need to prepare when you are evacuating is a communications plan. During a disaster, communications infrastructures are usually shut down or will experience congestion, making it harder to communicate using the standard forms of communication. It’s important that you have a plan prepared so you and your family will know what to do when this happens.
      1. Establish an out-of-city contact person that you and your family members will contact in case of an emergency. This person is the designated contact hub that will call each member of the family so everyone can concentrate on surviving and not worry about contacting the others.
      2. Have a two-way radio available for each member of the family as a back-up communications device in case cellular services are also disrupted during the collapse.
      3. Make sure also that each member of the family has a list of important local emergency numbers that they can contact.

    It’s preferable to evacuate before an all-out collapse occurs.  But if in the event you missed that window, there will likely be another one.  Expect the first 2 to 4 weeks to be the most chaotic time. If you and your family can survive this period with your own supply of food and water and avoid being the victims of violence from marauders, the initial period of chaos will hopefully die down giving you another window to try and head out again.

    How you can prepare to survive in an urban environment after SHTF

    If evacuating the city is not possible anymore, then you need to get your home prepared.  Here are some of the things that you need to prepare to ensure you and your family’s survival.

    1. Preparing your Home – The first thing you would need to prepare is your home. You need to make sure that your home is capable of storing food and water for prolonged periods.  You’ll also need a plan for producing your own electricity and figure out how you’ll fortify your house and increase its security.
      1. Water Storage Plan – The first thing you need to prepare your house for is storing and being able to produce clean water.  Yes, you also need to think about producing clean water as a long-term solution since you won’t know how long until clean fresh water will be available again.
        1. For storing water, the minimum requirement that each person will need in a day is one gallon of water, both for drinking and cleaning. That requirement could increase if you live in a warm environment or if one of your family members has a medical condition.  Nursing mothers tend to consume more water as well.
        2. If you have a large space like a garage or basement, 55-gallon barrels are a good storing option for your water.  While not portable, they are great options if you’re forced to shelter in place. If space is an issue, you can consider reusing water bottles which are good for those living in apartments, 5-gallon water containers or products like water bricks which you can slide under couches or beds. 
        3. Make sure the water storage containers you are using are clean and that do have holes or leaks where contaminants can enter.  Remember, water never truly goes bad, but it can be contaminated requiring it to be filtered and purified to make useable.
        4. Also, ensure that the storage space where you keep your water is clean and doesn’t have any harmful chemicals or possible contaminants that can pollute your water.  Try picking a cool and dark area to place your barrels and storage containers.
        5. You also need to have multiple ways that you can filter your water in order to purify it.  I primarily use a Berkey water filter, but in the event it is damaged, I’ve got multiple backup solutions for water filtration like our Sawyer water filters in our bug out bags.  Definitely give strong consideration to having a few different ways to filter your water.
        6. Aside from storing water, you should also think about your long-term water solution in case the emergency situation lasts longer.  One way to get water is to harvest rainwater. I made a video on how you can build your own Rainwater Collection System awhile back. Having a way to harvest water is not only great for cleaning or gardening but possibly for drinking as well during emergency situations.
        7. While times are good, be sure to locate watering holes, creeks, streams, and other water sources that are near your community in case you need to get fresh water.  Using Google Maps satellite view will allow you to locate where water is in your area or see who has a pool in their backyard in the event they abandon their home. Be sure to have this information handy prior to a disaster.
      2. Food Plan – After making sure your house is already capable of storing water, the next thing you need to do is to prepare your house for storing and producing food.  Similar to water, you also need to think long-term about your food.
        1. Make sure you have at least 6 months worth of food stored in your home and repackage them if needed to conserve storage space. Also, ensure that the food you store doesn’t spoil easily.
        2. If you have a yard, you can also start a small garden where you can plant and grow fresh produce to supplement the food that you already stored.  If you don’t know how to start a small garden, you can check out the video on how to build a raised bed square foot vegetable garden so you can start planting your fresh vegetables. While the reality is that growing enough food to take care of your own family may be a challenge, learning the basics of gardening now will be a critical long-term survival skill.  I’ve recently taken up gardening and while I’ve had some successes, I also realize I’ve got a lot to still learn. Start now while times are good. Having to learn a skill when things are tough puts you in a bad position.
        3. Another way of producing your own food in your own backyard is with chickens. The great thing about chickens is that you can also get fresh eggs from them daily.  Again, I created a video about the things you need to consider when raising chickens in an urban environment. Click this link to the video I made about raising chickens in your yard.
      3. Power/Electricity Plan – As mentioned earlier, if the grid goes down, electricity will be a casualty.  You should consider having a plan or strategy to be able to restore some power in your home.
        1. Having a small backup generator is a great option to restore the power back in your home. The two primary options available are gas/propane generators, which is the most commonly used type of generator and renewable energy generators that can convert solar or wind into a storage device.
          1. Gas generators pack more power when compared to a solar generator. This allows you to power more electricity demanding items in your home. The upfront cost is also cheaper. The problem with gas generators is that they are harder to maintain and people can easily detect them due to the smell and noise.  This will alert your neighbors to the fact that you have power in your home. The source of power is also limited since you’ll need gasoline to power these and you might not be equipped to store huge amounts of gasoline which creates safety issues.
          2. Solar generators are easier to store and maintain, and you’ll have an unlimited source of power since its power comes from the sun or wind. They’re also quieter allowing you to be discreet when using them. The problem with solar generators is that your power usage is limited since the generator cannot power electrical devices requiring a large draw over an extended period of time. The upfront cost will also be an issue since these types of generators are a bit pricey.
          3.  You can click the link to a video I did detailing the difference between these 2 options.
      4. Security Plan – The last preparation that you need to do in your home is to make sure that it is safe and secure. Desperate people are capable of doing things that they normally wouldn’t and having a security plan can ensure you and your family’s survival when things become dangerous. Here are some tips that can be helpful now.
        1. Improve the fence around your house, make them sturdier and higher to make it harder for trespassers to enter your property.
        2. Get a Motion Detector Light to flash bright lights on trespassers on your property. Consider getting the battery-operated ones or the solar-powered so they will still work even during a power outage.
        3. A loud alarm is also a must to ensure your home’s security. Consider getting battery-operated motion sensors, window alarms, and door stop alarms. These alarms will last longer in case of a power outage and are great at alerting you if there’s an intruder.
        4. Reinforce your door so it won’t be easy to pick the lock or ram it open. Add additional deadbolts or doorstop to make force opening your door harder. If you have the budget for it, consider replacing it with metal frames or steel doors.
        5. If you’re going to reinforce your door, you should also reinforce your windows since they’re the other main point of entry to your home. Add dowel rods on the gap where your window slides so they can’t fully open it.  You can also consider adding security bars or replacing the window pane with plexiglass.
        6. Install security cameras in and out of your house. Security cameras are a great way to monitor the inside and outside of your home and see who is trespassing. There are battery-operated or solar-powered security cameras on the market out there so they’ll still work even during a power outage.
        7. If you’re a dog lover, you can also get a defensive canine to help protect your home. German Shepherds, Labradors, Rottweilers, and other breeds used in police duty are good dogs that can help protect your home.
        8. If you have the budget for it, consider building a safe room that you and your family can retreat to during a home invasion. It is important to understand that during a true SHTF situation, most people who enter your house are after your supplies and stuff not you, so having a safe and secure room where you and your family can retreat to in the event you get overpowered may make a difference in your survival.
        9. The last thing you need to do is to arm yourself.  Having firearms you have practiced with will be critical.  While using lethal force will bring its own set of challenges, not having the ability to defend yourself and your family and repel intruders leaves you in a vulnerable position.
    2. Preparing you and your family – Once your house is prepared and ready when SHTF, the next preparation will be you and your family. Yes, every member of the family should also be prepared during this scenario so everyone will know what to do, where to go, or how they will react.
      1. What you need to know when SHTF occurs – In a true prolonged grid-down scenario, it’s important that you are aware of certain things so you can be prepared and act accordingly.
        1. The first thing you need to know is that law and order are likely thrown out the window. Don’t expect the local government or authorities to protect or offer assistance during this situation. They are likely overstretched already and cannot accommodate everyone. You and your family need to be able to survive on your own during this situation.  It’s a harsh reality, but one you need to realize and accept.
        2. You and your family would need to be prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally. All of the preparation that we have been talking about will all be useless if you and your family are not prepared to act quickly when the time comes. This means you need to be fit and in decent shape since there’s a good chance you’ll be doing a lot of running and moving around, especially in the early stages of the collapse. In our current culture, the average person sits 10 hours per day.  Now imagine a scenario where you will suddenly be required to be mobile, move fast at times, and do lots of physical labor. Think you’ll be ready?  
        3. But your body is not the only thing that you need to prepare. Decisions and reactions will need to be made swiftly so there’s no room for second-guessing or doubting your decisions. If you’re not mentally prepared, you’ll likely panic, freeze up, and forget your preparations.  I witnessed this recently. Our home was at the epicenter of a large earthquake a few days ago. When it struck, I immediately got to the floor, but my 9-year-old son began to panic and run frantically. Despite yelling at him while making eye contact to get on the ground, he still ran around in circles.  Without prior practice, the flight or fight response takes over. Since then we’ve been working with our kids to educate them on how to react in an earthquake. Prepare yourself mentally in advance with how you’ll handle situations.  
        4. As for emotions, highly tense and stressful situations tend to make people more emotional. You need to be able to control your emotions so the decisions that you make are based on sound logic and reasoning.  Never reason out of fear.
      2. Skills to Learn – Aside from gaining knowledge and preparing yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally, you also need to develop certain skills that can help you survive. This is particularly true if the collapse lasts longer.
        1. One of the most important skills you need to learn is how to grow your own food.  As mentioned earlier, start simple with gardening and raising chickens.  Having these skills will not only ensure your own survival but can also make you valuable in your community as you can teach and train others.  Most people living in a suburban environment have never learned these skills. If you can help others, you become an invaluable resource.
        2. Another important skill you need to learn is how to make water safe to drink.  While boiling water will kill pathogens present in the water, you’ll need to be able to filter any contaminants out.  Having the proper equipment as we discussed earlier will be crucial.
        3. Learning how to barter or negotiate will also be a great skill to develop.  Having extra food and water will put you in an advantageous position to negotiate.  Money will likely be useless in this scenario so learning how to barter will be key to your survival.
        4. You should also learn how to become aware of your surroundings and situation. Train yourself to see signs of danger so you can do something about it before it happens. It’s important that you learn situational awareness so you and your family can avoid putting yourselves in a tough spot.
        5. You should also learn how to scavenge your environment in case you run out of supplies and you need to get more.  Before the grid goes down, learn where assets are in your community.  While I do not advocate stealing, depending on the severity of the situation, you may be forced to find supplies to continue surviving.
        6. You need to learn how to be a Gray Man or blend into the crowd. You should learn to never attract attention to yourself.  If people learn you have supplies, are not without food, word will get out. Learning how to blend in with the crowd.  If people are lining up for food supplies, be right there with them looking the part. Cutting back on calories to drop weight might give the ability to blend in.
    3. Preparing Your Community – The last thing you need to prepare is your community.  What this means is that you should be aware of the community that you are a part of.  Get to know your neighbors, learn what emergency plans your community has and see if there’s a way for everyone to work together. There’s always strength in numbers, but that only works if you can trust the people you are working with.
      1. Getting to Know your Neighbors – It’s important that you get to know your neighbors and try to find like-minded individuals who will also prep with you.  Building a group or community of preppers increases your chances of surviving when SHTF. These are often called MAG’s, or Mutual Assistance Groups. 
      2. Finding Ways to Work Together – Try to find ways in which you and your community can work together. You can designate roles to each household that they’ll need to do when disaster strikes. You can also help each other in prepping, making a particular household to focus on stocking up on certain items for the community. There are a lot of ways that you and your community can work together and the benefits of working together should be a reason enough for everyone to pitch in. After all, everyone’s survival chances will increase if you all work together and help each other out.  Having recently experienced wildfires in our neighborhood, many in our community are beginning to recommend people take CERT training. In addition, we’re beginning to discuss who has what skills so we can all help each other out in the event we have a major disaster.
      3. Blend In – As I already mentioned before, blending in is important. This means that if your community has a relief effort, don’t hesitate to line up and join in getting relief supplies. Just because you are a prepper doesn’t mean you’ll refuse the help. This will make people suspicious of you and think that you probably have ample supply at home so you don’t need any help. The last thing you will need is people taking notice of you, so just blend in with the crowd and do what everyone else is doing.

    Conclusion

    The urban or suburban environment is not really the best place to be stuck in when SHTF, considering the challenges that it possesses.  But this doesn’t mean you should just give up. The right preparation and knowledge can ensure that you and your family will still survive in an urban setting during a collapse. It can at least help you survive long enough until you can evacuate to a better location.

    If you have some additional tips or suggestions, please post them in the comment section below as it’s always a pleasure to learn from the community.  Please share this article on social media if you enjoyed it. As always, be safe out there.

  • 5 Signs Martial Law Is Coming

    When a state of National Emergency was declared on February 15, 2019, not many realized that we were closer to martial law than we had been in recent years.  The declaration of a National Emergency gives the office of the president additional power to institute Martial Law should he or she sees fit to do so.  Numerous other countries around the world have already experienced martial law and have seen first hand the harmful effects that follow.

    In this article, we’ll discuss 5 signs that should be a warning that martial law may be coming and we’ll discuss how you can prepare.

    What is Martial Law and   

    Before we begin discussing the signs that lead to Martial Law, let’s first discuss what it is and how is it different from a National Emergency or the State of Emergency.

    Martial Law at its most basic level is defined as a law that allows the military to take control of civilian functions in a state or country.  When implemented, the military becomes the state or the country’s governing body, resulting in civil laws, rights, and the habeas corpus being suspended.

    It’s important to note that during a National Emergency your constitutional freedoms are suspended.  However, the main difference between a state of National Emergency and Martial Law is that during a National Emergency, the military doesn’t need to take control of civilian functions.  But you should keep in mind that Martial Law could quickly follow a declaration of National Emergency. During both of these scenarios, your civilian rights can be suspended allowing the government to impose its will, rules, and regulations on citizens.

    When Has Martial Law been Implemented in the U.S.?

    The U.S. President and the Congress can declare Martial Law on a federal level, while the Governors in each state can declare Martial Law within the borders of their respective states.  In 2006, H.R. 5122 or the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act was signed into law and it gave the president the power to declare martial law and take control of each state’s National Guard without consent from state governors.

    The United States of America has also seen its fair share of martial law as a result of:

    • Foreign attacks
    • Civil violence and protests
    • And after major disasters

    Has martial law been declared on a national level?  Yes, it was declared once during the Civil War when President Abraham Lincoln declared that the country was under military rule. 

    On a regional level, Martial Law has been declared on several occasions.  Here are a few examples:

    • On December 7, 1941, the Hawaii Governor declared martial law on the Territory of Hawaii following the attacks of the Japanese on Pearl Harbor.
      • Subsequently, the Department of War expanded the martial declaration to Washington, Oregon, and California in February 1942.
        • In March 1942, the entire U.S. Pacific Coast was put under military rule.
    • On May 21, 1961, the Alabama State Governor declared martial law to prevent civil rights activists from demonstrating in the state.

    There are many more cases where Martial Law was declared within different states resulting in some instances of reports of abuse of power and leaders not wanting to relinquish that power. 

    Signs That Martial Law is Coming

    As pointed out, Martial Law is usually declared following a crisis or emergency that is plaguing the country or state.  Usually, this is in the form of war, natural disaster, or civil unrest. But in this modern era in which we now live, there are other more looming threats, some that have only recently developed due largely to technical innovation, that could trigger Martial Law.  And unfortunately, some of these threats could be catastrophic, which shows that Martial Law would indeed be implemented if any one of these were to come to pass.

    1. Economic Crisis – Probably the most dangerous emergency that could cause a declaration of Martial Law is a severe economic crisis.  This is a major concern since so many of the world’s economies, including the U.S., are increasingly in a delicate balance of interconnectivity.  One major financial incident could potentially trigger an economic collapse in another country much like dominos. And with industrialized nations being more interconnected today than ever before, the incident doesn’t have to happen on U.S. soil for the country to feel the negative impact of that financial incident.  Like in 2007, when the U.S. experienced the subprime mortgage market crisis which developed into a full-blown international banking crisis affecting many countries around the world. A repeat of this incident in 2019 could be even more catastrophic and far-reaching as the impact would reverberate around the world. If the even spun out of control resulting in a collapse of the financial sector, Martial Law could be implemented to try and restore order to avoid panic and an all-out collapse.
      1. Fears that the U.S. economy could contract has intensified after several media outlets put forth damning reports just last week.  On August 14, 2019, a reliable indicator showing the possibility of a recession has appeared. That indicator is called inverted yield curve, which shows that the interest rates of short-term bonds, which are bonds that have a maturity of less than 5-years, are higher than the interest rates of long-term bonds, those with a maturity of 5-years and above.  An economy that is healthy would usually have high-interest rates for long-term bonds compared to short-term ones. This doesn’t bode well for the U.S. economy. CBN News reports that history has shown that recession follows within several months to two years after an inverted yield curve is spotted. This could lead the Federal Reserve to cut short-term interest rates to try and prevent the economy from plunging into a recession.
      2. The Washington Post also mentioned that the inverted yield curve is suggesting investors are losing faith in the economy in the short-term.  High-interest rates are normally given to long-term bonds so the government can attract more investors to them. But since the interest rates of short-term bonds are higher, this means that more people are investing in the bond market for the long-term, as they’re losing confidence in the economy’s short-term prospects.  The report also mentioned that a contraction of two large economies, the United Kingdom and Germany, and a slowdown of China’s growth is not making things any better for the U.S. It is also worth mentioning that global leaders are currently not collaborating to try and do something about the economic slowdown and contraction that are impacting numerous countries at the moment.
    2. Cyber Threat – The second dangerous emergency that could cause martial law is a cyberattack. Governments and corporations have obviously taken advantage of the advancement in technology and the rise of the internet.  The downside is that this makes them dependent on cyberspace and the internet leaving them vulnerable to a cyberattack. Forbes reported that last August 16, the State of Texas experienced a cyberattack that caused 23 government agencies to go offline.  The attack was identified as ransomware and it came from a single threat actor. This is the reality that a lot of agencies and companies face on a daily basis, especially if they’re dependent on the internet. If a coordinated attack coming from a single threat actor can take out 23 government agencies of a state, imagine what several threats can do to a country and how it can paralyze agencies and industries.  A large scale cyber threat resulting in a shutdown of the nation’s infrastructure and banking system (just to name a few) could be used as an emergency to declare martial law on a national level.
      1. The threat of a cyberattack is very real and it can happen anytime and sometimes without warning.  Working in the IT sector, in my opinion, this is one of the greatest threats our country currently faces but so few people are aware of.  This is why the director of Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley said in a cyber conference in Aspen last July that the immediate danger of a cyberattack is what keeps him awake at night.  The U.S. is already involved in cyber warfare with the Middle East, in particular, Iran. Then there’s also Russia and China, who are both large threats in cyberspace. The two countries are considered as the world’s leader in cyber warfare and we got a taste of them meddling in our last presidential election.  Though the U.S. military and government are well protected, the private sector doesn’t have this level of protection. They are vulnerable to these cyber threats and an attack on a major company will likely have a devastating effect on the country. – source Forbes
      2. If a cyber threat were to happen in the U.S., expect the government to do everything in its power to ensure that order will be maintained.  So much of our nation’s infrastructure depends on a delicate balance of everything working smoothly. A great example is the grocery store’s just-in-time delivery system.  If the systems that ensure our food inventories are shipped just-in-time is compromised, expect food shortages at your local grocery stores. As the saying goes, we’re just 3 meals away from anarchy.  Again, this is just one small example that could be the tipping point forcing Martial Law on the nation.
    3. EMP Attack – An EMP is another form of attack that could trigger the declaration of Martial Law. An EMP, or Electromagnetic Pulse, can decimate electrical devices within the vicinity of its burst, making it extremely dangerous given how dependent we are on our electrical devices as pointed out in the previous point.  Terror groups or any other hostile groups could use an EMP attack to return a city or region back to the dark ages, which is likely to cause panic, chaos, and riots as people would scramble for whatever supplies they can get their hands on. A declaration of martial law would surely follow if ever this kind of attack happens in the country.
      1. Though an EMP attack is possible, the probability of it happening is low. There are a lot of factors that terrorists or rogue nations need to accomplish to successfully launch an EMP attack on the U.S.  Many experts believe that the threat of an EMP attack is low on the list of credible threats. Possible, but not necessarily probable. Nevertheless, President Trump signed an Executive Order on March 23, 2019, with the intent to protect the country from an EMP attack.  The order established a policy with a stated goal of increasing the country’s resistance to such an attack in the event it should occur. – source Business Insider.
      2. Should a large enough EMP attack impact the entire country, the nation would effectively be returned to the stone age.  The outlook for survival for the general population would be low. The federal government would have no choice but to enact martial law to ensure the survival of its citizens.
    4. Civil Unrest – This is another emergency that could force the U.S. government to declare Martial Law.  Looking at the country’s history, you can see a lot of the reasons state governors have declared Martial Law in their respective states due primarily to riots and strikes, with some becoming violent.  Strikes are still prevalent in the U.S. even now and a large-scale strike or demonstration could still give the federal government reason to declare Martial Law in the country. Last August 17, 2019, Portland, Oregon almost became a battleground for civil unrest when the far-right white supremacist Proud Boys demonstrated on the city and they were met with a counter-demonstration from the anti-fascist group Rose City Antifa.  If it weren’t for the city’s police force keeping things under control, the demonstration could have become more violent.
      1. This demonstration in Portland, Oregon is just one of the many examples that show how divided the U.S. is right now.  Inflammatory rhetoric coming from both sides is dividing people even more based on party, mindset, and race.
      2. The media is not helping with this issue either.  Many of the news sites and outlets are shown to cater more or be biased towards certain ideas and groups, something that has been happening for years, but escalating more in the last several years.  News outlets on both ends of the spectrum are increasingly spinning their stories toward a specific political view that is more of a biased narrative than sticking to the facts. This is only deepening people’s biases and beliefs even more, forcing them to see the “other side” as their enemy.  This has resulted in keeping people divided, paving the way for more possible clashes similar to what transpired in Portland, Oregon last August 17. 
    5. Natural Disasters – The last emergency that could cause a martial law declaration are natural disasters. The U.S. has experienced a lot of natural disasters throughout its history.  In the last 3 years alone, the country experienced 9 natural disasters that claimed thousands of lives and trillions of dollars in damages.  History has also shown that the government is more than willing to declare Martial Law to ensure the safety and orderliness of the country, state, or city, in the aftermath of a disaster.  This is probably one of the emergencies that cannot really be prevented, but only be prepared for it. For example, here in Southern California, we’re constantly being warned about the “big one” and how we’re overdue for a large earthquake that normally happens every 150 years along the San Andreas fault.  While no one knows when it will exactly happen, experts warn that it will result in a large death toll.
      1. The fear of the Big One happening has been amplified lately, especially after the Earthquake Track recorded more than 3,000 small earthquakes happening in California just in the past 30 days.  The frequency of these small quakes has some asking if this is a sign the Big One is about to come.  Unfortunately, no one really knows when it is likely to occur other than it is far overdue. 
      2. While there are many other natural disasters our nation faces, such as hurricanes on a seasonal basis, it is not an unlikely scenario for the government to declare Martial Law in the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster.

    How To Prepare for Martial Law

    After seeing the signs that could end in Martial Law being declared in the U.S., it’s important to know how you can prepare yourself and your family to ensure that you are well-equipped in case it is declared.

    1. Monitor the news and keep up-to-date on what’s happening in your area.  This can be challenging prior to Martial Law being declared, especially if the flow of information is cut off or an emergency damages the communications infrastructure in your area.  With the recent events unfolding in Hong Kong, information to the citizens is getting throttled by the government. Being able to communicate outside of your area or region using conventional methods like the internet could be challenging, but even having a decent HAM radio would give you the ability to stretch far beyond your local area to get news from the outside.
    2. Next, be sure to keep supplies handy.  Food, water, and medical supplies are critical to have stored in advance.  In addition, be ready to be mobile if events beyond your control force you out of your home.  Depending on the severity of the event and your level of comfort with the military controlling your area, you should have options in the event staying in place is no longer an option.  Also, keep cash on hand since credit cards or atm machines might not work during this period. Be sure the cash that you have is not in large denominations so you can always give an exact amount of money when you purchase something.  When there’s an emergency and the power may be down, this is probably not the best time to ask someone if they can break a $100 dollar bill.
    3. In addition, be sure to have an evacuation plan ready on a physical map in case you need to move out of your house quickly.  This means that you already planned whatever route you’ll need to take and have alternatives in case the main roads are compromised.  Make sure your mode of transportation (whether it be a bike, car, motorcycle, or whatever) is available and ready anytime you need to leave.  In the event that everyone is not at home when a catastrophe happens, be sure to have a plan already defined with your family as to where you’ll meet and how you’ll communicate with each other.
    4. And last but not least, observe the Gray Man principle.  It is also important that you try not to stand out during these times to avoid becoming a target for the military or other groups who are trying to take control.  Keep your head down and blend in with the crowds as much as you can. And just as important, observe OPSEC. The less people know about your supplies and the fact that you are prepared, the less likely your home will be raided for supplies.  Loose lips sink ships.  

    Should You Be Concerned?

    While on the surface Martial law can be used for good to bring back order following an emergency, there is a strong potential for abuse of powers as a result of leaders not wanting to relinquish their newly expanded power, even after the crisis has abated.  As such, it’s important that you are aware of the signs and the events that could trigger them.

    So should you be concerned?  I suppose I wouldn’t use the word concern as much as I’d recommend you stay informed, educated, and alert.  Most people go through life oblivious of their surroundings and by the time they decide to act, it’s too late.  As a prepper, well, we stay prepared. I choose not to be scared, but to be informed and ready at a moment’s notice to act in the best interest of myself, my family, and my community.

    I’d love to get your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.  Are you concerned about martial law? Do you think there’s a possibility in the near future for events to unfold allowing the government to overreach and take rights away from the citizens?

    If you enjoyed this article, please share it on social media, and as always, be safe out there.

  • How to prepare for a pandemic

    In recent years, the scientific community has voiced concern over the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  Diseases that could once be treated are becoming increasingly difficult to stop as they mutate and evolve into more lethal strains.  To make matters worse, as the world’s population has steadily grown and travel from one continent to another is becoming more common, the possibility of spreading a human infectious disease outside the borders of a country from which it originated is adding to the problem.  When this happens, governments and authorities are no longer capable of controlling the disease within their borders resulting in a pandemic.

    Over the years, humanity has suffered from various pandemic diseases causing millions of deaths worldwide.  Just between 1918 and 1920 alone, 50 million people worldwide died from the Spanish flu. More than 100 years later, the Influenza strain continues to plague us, as the virus mutates and develops at a rapid pace, making it difficult to stop.  

    While no one knows exactly when the next pandemic will happen, with proper preparation and knowledge, you can ready yourself and family to increase your chances of survival. 

    In this article, we’ll discuss the steps you can take now to prepare for a pandemic.

    Is the United States ready for the next major pandemic?

    As the scientific community has pointed out, the next pandemic is not a matter of if, but when, many experts are voicing their concern that the country is not yet prepared for the next pandemic. They’re saying that a lot needs to be done in order to be ready when the next pandemic occurs.  What are some of the things that concern them?

    1. Overuse of Antibiotics – One of the main reasons for the country being ill-prepared for the next pandemic is the overuse of antibiotics.  The report stated that antibiotics are commonly misused in the health sector as well as in the agricultural sector when most of them are not medically needed.  This creates a problem since viruses and bacteria are known to evolve and develop resistance to antibiotics.  If this continues, antibiotics will soon be useless in fighting bacteria and viruses.
    2. Disruption in the Supply Chain – Another cause for concern is the disruption in the supply chain.  The country’s medical supply is limited based on a made-to-order basis only.  A disruption in the supply chain could cause major medical supply shortage in the country.  This already happened in 2017 when the U.S. had a shortage of intravenous bags when the country that made them, Puerto Rico, was devastated by Hurricane Maria.  And with the country dependent on certain drugs coming from India or China, it’s not hard to see that a similar problem could happen again if a disease was impacting other nations as well.
    3. Cooperation with Governments around the World – Diseases don’t respect borders, so this problem is a worldwide problem.  This shows just how important it is for governments of the world, as well as institutions like the World Health Organization and UNICEF, to work together to address this problem.  Having strong relations with the international community is key to help prevent a disease from becoming a pandemic.

    Unless something is done to address these issues, the next pandemic could be even more devastating to the country.  This makes being prepared even more crucial.

    How to Prepare For A Pandemic

    Having knowledge along with being prepared will go a long way in making sure you and your family will survive a pandemic outbreak.  Here are some simple approaches to get you started on being prepared:

    1. Prepare your Home – When a pandemic hits, governments and medical experts usually advise people to stay in their homes and avoid contact with people.  If you’re an introvert, well, you’ve just won the lottery. If the outbreak is severe, governments may be inclined to make it a widespread order to try and contain the disease and prevent it from spreading.  If you’re going to be required to stay in your house for a prolonged period of time, you need to make sure that is well prepared.
      1. Your home would need to have a dedicated sick room that will only be used by people who are sick and no one else.
        1. The Urban Prepper recently did a video detailing this setup.  I won’t go into great length in this article, but I highly recommend you check out his video. Just click the link and it will take you to the video.
        2. Make sure to have a dedicated room which has a door or at least a plastic shower curtain to ensure that it is separated from the rest of the house and be sure to clean the room daily using bleach.
      2. Your home will also need to have an area where you can store a 3 to 6 month worth supply of food and water.
      3. You should also have these supplies and items:
        1. First Aid Kit
        2. Battery-operated radio
        3. Simple backup power systems like a small gas or solar generator
        4. Flashlights
        5. Medical book and other medical information you might need
        6. Household items and cleaning supplies
        7. Toilet paper
    1. Have ample supplies – After preparing your home, the next thing you need to prepare are the supplies you and your family will need.  You need to make sure that you will have enough so you won’t have to go to the store when the outbreak happens. You never know how long you’ll be required to stay in your home, so it is advisable that you have enough supplies that can last for a month or more.
      1. Medicine is one of the most important supplies that you need to have on hand, especially if someone in your household gets sick.  Having these basic supplies can provide relief for certain illnesses:
        1. Cough medicine
        2. Cold medicine
        3. Fever medicine
        4. Stomach ache medicine
        5. Anti-diarrhea medicine
        6. Pain relievers
        7. Vitamins
        8. Prescription medicines (for people who are sick and taking medication)
      2. Food and water are also critical supplies that you need in your home.  It is important to plan to stay in your home for the duration of the pandemic, so you need to have enough food and water for everyone, including your pets. 
        1. You’ll need shelf-stable foods that you and your family usually eat since these won’t spoil easily. These includes:
          1. Canned soups, vegetables, meat, and fruits
          2. Rice
          3. Pasta
          4. Protein, granola, or fruit bars
          5. Dried beans, lentils, or peas
          6. Pickled vegetables
          7. Dried fruits and nuts
          8. Instant soup mixes
          9. Flour
          10. Crackers
          11. Oats
          12. Cereal
          13. Chicken, beef, and vegetable bouillon cubes
          14. Liquid seasoning
        2. For water, prepare to have one gallon of water per person per day.
        3. Fluids that have electrolytes (such as Gatorade or Pedialyte) in the event any of the inhabitants experience diarrhea due to the illness.
        4. Dry or canned pet food for your pets (if you have any)
      3. You’ll also need household items and cleaning aids in your home to help you clean and disinfect your house to keep germs and bacteria from spreading.  This includes the following:
        1. Toilet paper
        2. Kleenex
        3. Hand sanitizer and soap
        4. Garbage bags (one for disposing of regular waste and another for medical waste)
        5. Disposable plastic gloves
        6. Bleach or any surface cleaner
        7. Alcohol
        8. Diapers (if you have babies or small children)
    1. Create An Emergency Plan – It is also important that you have an emergency plan prepared in case things get worse or complicated. 
      1. One important emergency plan that you need to have is caring for your kids (if you have them).  When a pandemic strikes, schools and daycares will be closed for a prolonged period. This could be a problem if you are still required to come to work during this scenario.  Here are some tips on how you can prepare:
        1. You should have an emergency fund that can sustain you and your family for a certain period in case you need to stop working during the pandemic.
        2. Gather information on how your company handles pandemic situations so you will know what you can and cannot do during the emergency.
        3. You can talk to close family members, friends, neighbors, or even the community to help you care for your children in case a pandemic happens and you’re still required to work.
        4. Talk to your spouse (if you’re both working) and see if the family can survive with one source of income for a while so the other can stay home and care for the kids.
        5. Try to find information on how the local government or community can provide assistance during the pandemic, so you can factor that into your decision.
      2. Another emergency plan that you need to consider is an evacuation plan in case you need to leave your home to go somewhere safer. Though staying home and trying to avoid contact with people is the primary goal, you cannot rule out the possibility that you and your family may need to go somewhere that is safer and disease-free should the situation in your area worsen.
        1. You should know when is the right time to evacuate or leave your city or town.  Is it when the neighboring town or city is already experiencing the pandemic? Or when someone in your town is already affected by the disease?  This is a decision you’ll need to make in advance as time will not be in your favor.
        2. Identify places that you and your family can go to that are not already impacted by the pandemic should you be able to leave your area.  Do you have relatives or friends in that city or town that can help you? Do you have a remote location or cabin you can get to before your area is quarantined?
        3. Decide on what form of transportation you and your family will use and have alternative routes in the event the main roads are closed off.
        4. You should also plan what you need to bring and how long should you stay there in your secondary location.
      3. Be sure to have a plan in place in case you or someone from your family becomes infected.
        1. Will you take them to the hospital or treat them at home?
        2. How will you quarantine the sick from everyone else?
        3. What assistance can your local government or medical experts provide?
        4. Who and how will the sick be cared for?

    Conclusion

    Infectious diseases becoming a pandemic is an issue that has plagued human beings for thousands of years.  Diseases respect no boundary or nation and will easily move from host to host in ways scientists may not be able to anticipate until it is too late.  Though we have already experienced many advancements in the field of medicine, the rapid evolution of virus strains and bacteria is making it hard for scientists and medical experts to be one step ahead.  This has resulted in some drugs and antibiotics becoming useless against certain pathogens.

    And this is also why you need to be prepared in case another pandemic strikes. If you have thoughts about this article or additional tips, please post them in the comment section below.  If you enjoyed the article, please share it on social media. As always, be safe out there.

  • How to prepare for an earthquake

    Last July 5, 2019, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near Ridgecrest, California, taking out power, causing gas leaks, fire, and injuries to people. It was the strongest quake in Southern California since 1999.  But what’s unsettling about this is the fact that a 6.4 magnitude earthquake already struck almost the same area just a day prior.

    While these 2 earthquakes did not impact the San Andreas fault in any way, it also doesn’t decrease the chances of the massive earthquake happening nonetheless.  Despite this fact, it still is raising fear about the “Big One” among the Southern California community acting as a reminder and a warning that being prepared for this inevitable event is just as important as ever.  

    In this article, we’ll cover the basics of how you can prepare to ensure you and your family will be safe.  Since earthquakes are unpredictable and give no advance warning, having supplies and armed with knowledge, you increase your chance of survival by getting ready now. 

    Before we jump into the specifics of how to get ready, let’s understand why it is so important to be prepared for the big one.

    And by the way, What is the “Big One”? 

    For those living outside of California, you may not be familiar with this term.  The Big One is the term used for the hypothetical magnitude 7 or greater earthquake that scientists are expecting, based on past geological studies, to hit the San Andreas Fault which extends about 750 miles through California. 

    Why is the San Andreas Fault primed for a massive earthquake?

    There’s really no way to accurately predict when an earthquake will happen, where it will strike, and how strong it will be.  The best that seismologists can do with their existing tools is to determine if a fault line is overdue for an earthquake or not.

    In 2006, a study came out that the San Andreas Fault, in particular, the fault line located in Southern California, is already long overdue for an earthquake. The study states that the southern part of the fault line is already “building up a considerable amount of strain”.  This is because certain areas of the fault line in the southern part have not experienced an earthquake for 162 years.  

    To help you understand why long inactivity of the fault line can cause a big earthquake, here’s how the U.S. Geological Survey explained how earthquakes work.  According to their website, they state that the San Andreas Fault Zone is the main fault between the Pacific tectonic plate on the west and the North American plate on the east. It started moving roughly 28-30 million years ago and the motion between the tectonic plates moves about 50 mm (or 2 inches) per year and is distributed across the faults part of the zone. The faults are boundaries between blocks and they are constantly moving.  The edge of the blocks are stuck and will only move when there’s a large earthquake.

    The fault line along Southern California, in particular, the one below Los Angeles, has not yet moved since 1857.  This means that the fault on that area has already built up a massive amount of stress that can cause it to slip anytime. This is why experts are saying that the San Andreas Fault is already primed for an earthquake and the southern part of California seems to be the likely location.

    How devastating will the “Big One” be?

    Obviously Hollywood has capitalized on the fear of this event through movies like the 2015 blockbuster, “San Andreas” which portrays the event as an over the top, apocalyptic event.  While the movie was entertaining the watch, it obviously was well, entertainment.

    To help you fully realize why you need to prepare for the “Big One”, let’s talk about how devastating this earthquake could be.  In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a ShakeOut scenario to see the effects of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Southern California.  Click this link if you’d like to read this document. It’s a very sobering report.

    The hypothetical scenario, which had the quake beginning at Coachella Valley and traveling across California, showed that the initial shock would destroy old buildings, damage the roads, and cut power, water, and communications lines.  Many important roads and areas in Southern California are actually located in what we call an earthquake liquefaction zone. Liquefaction is basically the process where sand or soil losses its stiffness and strength due to an earthquake.  It basically makes the soil act like a liquid and is one of the primary reasons for extreme damage to buildings and other structures built on top of it as the foundation simply gives way.

    The power, water, and gas lines that supply the Los Angeles area run through the San Andreas Fault as well.  The quake will damage or even break them and restoring them will likely take months. But the majority of the damage will come from the hundreds, if not thousands of fires that will inevitably break out as a result of ruptured gas lines.  Containing them will be a challenge since a water supply will be limited and a lot of the roads inaccessible to fire departments. This has the strong potential to cause small fires to merge into big ones and can wipe out large sections of Los Angeles.

    The report also said that the fire could still get worse if the Santa Ana winds, which tend to peak during the fire season which plagues California annually, are blowing when the earthquake strikes. The Santa Ana winds blow dry air from the inland deserts towards the coast, increasing the risk of wildfires.  This was one of the main reasons the fire destroyed Paradise California.  If the Big One occurs during our annual fire season, the likelihood of an out of control fire situation in Southern California multiplies.  Not only are fires a concern, but there are also the aftershocks that will follow the initial quake and these shocks could worsen the destruction that the region is already reeling from.

    The damaged and broken infrastructure, including the lines that bring power, water, and gas to Los Angeles will likely take a year to repair and could cause the region’s economy to collapse. Though this scenario was mapped out in 2008, what they showed in the report is still relevant to this day and is likely the scenario you can expect to unfold should the San Andreas Faultline finally slip.

    How to Prepare For An Earthquake

    The “Big One” happening is not a matter of if, but just a matter of when.  This leads us to discuss how to prepare for this looming event.  

    1. Preparing Your Home – One of the first things you need to do before an earthquake is to prepare your home. Though you can’t really prevent your home from getting destroyed in the face of a powerful natural disaster, you can at least ensure that your home won’t cause additional danger to you and your family.
      1. Make sure to fasten or secure heavy items like the refrigerator, TV sets, and shelves and fasten them to the wall.
      2. Heavy objects should be placed on lower shelves and strapped down so they don’t become a hazard in case they fall down or are thrown.
      3. Breakable items should be stored in low and closed cabinets.
      4. Picture frames and mirrors should also be secured and placed away from beds or areas where you and your family sleep.
      5. Hanging light fixtures should also be braced and secured.
      6. Make sure to have defective wiring and faulty gas connections repaired.  If you know they’re issues now, take care of them.
      7. Poisonous and flammable items should be placed on bottom shelves of latched cabinets.
      8. Know how to turn off your gas line into your house.
      9. Repair large cracks in walls and foundations or retrofit weak areas in your house so they won’t collapse.  If you’re not sure if this is an issue, ordering an inspection would pay for itself.
      10. Identify safe areas in your house so you and your family can go there when an earthquake does strike such as under a table.  Make sure everyone knows the Drop, Cover, and Hold sequence so they know what to do if an earthquake strikes. 
      11. Maintain your vehicle as well if you have one and make sure it’s in good working condition in case you need it.  Also get in the habit of not letting your gas tank go below ½ full as in the event of an earthquake, getting gas may be very difficult.  Make sure there’s also an emergency supply bag in the car in case you are on the road when the earthquake strikes.
      12. Also, be sure to review your home insurance policy as most of them do not cover earthquake damage.  A separate policy is worth looking into as it may be a wise investment in the event your home is severely damaged.
    2. Preparing the supplies you will need
      1. There are 2 things to consider when it comes to supplies: having to leave your home in the event it is severely damaged, in which case having bags for each family member and the other option is if your home is not damaged, being able to stay in place.
        1. If you have to evacuate, here are some basic things you should have ready for each member of the family that you can easily grab and go:
          1. Food
          2. Water
          3. Medicine (if you’re on any medications)
          4. A first aid kit with a manual along with a tourniquet
          5. A flashlight along with extra batteries
          6. A hand-crank radio
          7. A 2-way radio
          8. A pair of gloves
          9. Water filter or iodine tablets to treat your water
          10. A change of clothes, which would be especially useful if the event an earthquake occurred while you’re sleeping and you don’t have time to grab clothes to put on.
          11. Have some cash ready and make sure you have small bills to pay for items. Don’t expect stores or gas stations to provide change.
          12. If you have pets, make sure the supplies they need are also packed and ready. 
        2. If you can stay in place, having these items will be incredibly useful to have:
          1. Fire extinguishers
            1. Having multiple fire extinguishers will be so important, as a fire that is not contained will easily get out of control as the fire departments will most likely not be coming to save your home.
          2. Water storage
            1. I personally store water in 5-gallon containers that I can take if I have to, 55-gallon drums in my garage that I can siphon water from, and a 2500 gallon water storage container at the top of my property.
          3. Water filtration
            1. Being able to filter the water you’ve got stored will be important.
          4. Fuel sources to cook with
            1. Personally I store propane tanks
            2. A wood rack that is stocked can also be useful
          5. Backup food storage
            1. Store as much as you can.  There’s a lot of information online regarding creating backup food storage.  In the event help may not arrive for a long period of time, not only will you be able to help your own family, but your neighbors as well.
    3. Have an Evacuation and Communications Plan – As mentioned, staying in your house may not be an option.  Having an evacuation plan and a designated meeting location will be important along with the ability to communicate with one another.
      1. Make sure that you and your family know the different evacuation centers or safe zones in your area should an earthquake strike.  It would be better if each one of you has a map that marks these locations. While some may not be comfortable with the notion of having to go to an area with a lot of other people, you may not have a choice if your home is no longer safe and the roads to leave your general area are blocked.  Staying in an evacuation area at least puts you in a location where supplies can be provided, medical attention is given, and a level of security knowing first responders will provide assistance to this location, something you probably won’t get if you go it alone.
      2. You should also know the possible routes that you and your family can take to get to these evacuation centers and alternate routes in case the original ones are unpassable.  
      3. Be aware of the plans and strategies that your community will have.
      4. You should also clearly communicate with one another about where you’ll meet should members of your family be away from your home and communication for whatever reason is not possible. 
      5. Don’t forget to have an evacuation plan for your pets as well to ensure they have food, water, medicine if they need it and a first aid kit in the event they get injured.
      6. For communication, a two-way radio is handy since phone and regular communication lines will likely be damaged.
      7. You can also designate an out-of-state person that you and your family can contact in case you’re separated.  This will help save time and have someone contact everyone directly to get updates from that person instead of you trying to contact one another.

    How many days should you expect before help arrives?

    One of the main reasons why it is so critically important that you are prepared for an earthquake is that you cannot expect the government or emergency authorities to provide help immediately after the disaster.  First responders will simply be overloaded.

    There are a lot of factors that will determine how fast or slow the response and recovery will be.  How impassable are the roads, how much damage emergency centers sustained, and how many emergency responders are available, just to name a few.

    The fastest timeline you can likely expect for outside help to arrive is usually within 24-hours.  But as many Americans saw first-hand after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, help may not be on the way for longer periods of time and it may be up to you and your community to take care of themselves.  One of the general rules of thumb when it comes to preparing for emergencies is to have enough supplies that can last you and your family for at least 72 hours if you have to evacuate.  But if you can stay in place, having enough food and water for 2 weeks is a bare minimum. I personally keep enough food and water on hand for 6 months. While I know this may be a bit on the extreme side, your safety and long-term survivability is solely up to you.

    What other possible dangers can occur?

    Aside from the dangers that were already mentioned above, another possible danger that you need to account for after an earthquake is civil unrest. 

    Yes, civil unrest can occur, especially when people become desperate and aid and supplies run out.  While most simply think they’ll go to the grocery store for food and water, just realize that these locations have a just-in-time delivery system in which they can keep their shelves full without storing any inventory on their premises.  When people rush these stores, between the fact that the shelves will be quickly picked clean and the fact that there’s a strong potential for chaos to break out when the shelves are picked bare, being in this environment would simply not be safe.  There’s an old saying that society is 9 meals away from anarchy. When people can no longer get access to food and water, they’ll become desperate.

    Desperate times will usually lead to desperate measures.  And if the government mismanages the aid to the affected area or is slow to deliver them to those in need, people will simply take matters into their own hands in order to survive.  

    Having a plan to defend you and your family should it come down to it will be equally important.  I’ll leave this part up to you, but it’s something you need to factor into your preparedness.

    Conclusion

    Earthquakes are a natural phenomenon on our planet and there’s really no way to prevent it from happening.  This is why a lot of experts are always reminding people in California to prepare for the “Big One”. They just don’t know when and how strong it will be since experts still don’t have the necessary tools to provide this exact prediction.  It could be tomorrow or it could be 5 to 10 years down the line, no one really knows. 

    But data suggests it is primed to happen and that we’re overdue, so it’s best that you are prepared for it. 

    If you enjoyed this article, please share it on social media.  I always learn a lot from the community, so please post any feedback in the comment section below.  As always, stay safe out there.

  • Facial recognition: the 3 dangers it presents

    Facial Recognition technology is starting to gain a lot of attention in the media today as the debate is beginning to grow on whether it is a benefit or a detriment to society.  The technology has an opportunity to provide so many useful benefits in the healthcare sector and the ability to help law enforcement track down dangerous individuals. But it can also be used as a powerful tool by governments to control their citizens in almost Orwellian fashion.  Do the positive potential uses for this technology outweigh the potential harm it could bring if in the wrong hands?

    In this article, we’ll take a look at this technology, explaining what it is, how it’s currently being used, and the new potential threats it introduces.

    What is facial recognition?

    Facial recognition is a biometric software technology that can verify or identify a person based on their facial features and contours. The application uses artificial intelligence to analyze the patterns of a person’s features and compares to photos stored in databases to verify a match.  While there are many beneficial uses for this technology, there are also potential threats and dangers that this technology introduces. As some people are beginning to learn around the world, this technology is already being used in their city, even without them knowing it.  Hong Kong is one example that has recently gained significant attention in the news where this technology is being used against its citizens. Recently, a video on Twitter showed how protesters in Hong Kong took down a “smart lamppost” said to have a facial recognition technology being used by China.

    In private conversations held through instant messaging between citizens in Hong Kong and one of the companies we work with on this channel, MiraSafety, several citizens from Hong Kong inquired about purchasing mask that could both help them protect their identity and protect their eyes from the non-lethal rubber bullets being fired on protestors which recently resulted in one protestor losing her eye after one of these rounds pierced the eye protection she was wearing.  Hong Kong citizens were not only concerned about the gas and rubber bullets being used by the Chinese military and police, but they’re just as concerned, if not more, about the government using facial recognition technology to identify their faces. They know that if the police do not arrest them during the demonstrations should they be caught, the military will be coming for them in the future when the protests end.

    This is one example that is gaining worldwide attention of what we’re seeing happening right now with this technology.  Question: Do you know if it’s being used in your area?

    Where facial recognition is used in the U.S.

    Before we get to the dangers that facial recognition poses, let’s first discuss where this technology is being used in the U.S., just in case you wanted to know.

    1. Government Agencies – One of the main users of this technology is the U.S. government itself.  Several of the federal government’s agencies are already using this technology for security purposes when issuing identity documents.
      1. The FBI is authorized in 18 states to use this technology to scan the Department of Motor Vehicles’ database of driver’s license to help in identifying possible terrorists.
      2. The Customs and Border Protection also uses the technology in numerous U.S. airports to scan international flight passengers. The Department of Homeland Security said that the technology can help quickly process immigration and screen travelers.
      3. Local Police Departments in 26 states or more are also using this technology to help identify and arrest criminals. They even use this to identify and arrest individuals in protests.  Sound familiar?
    2. Health Industry – The health industry is also taking advantage of facial recognition technology. One of its primary uses is increasing hospital security, as this technology allows hospitals to prevent patient fraud and properly identify flagged individuals. The advancement in deep learning and facial analysis is also making it possible for health professionals to do the following:
      1. Detect genetic diseases with high accuracy.
      2. Track and monitor if patients are taking medication properly and accurately.
      3. Support and improve procedures in pain management.
    3. Marketing and Retail – Facial recognition technology is also changing the way brands and retail stores do their marketing and engage with customers. With so many applications and features focusing on ad blocking, this new technology could prove to be the innovative feature that brands are looking for to help with their marketing efforts to more effectively target you.
      1. This technology can help brands recommend products or services based on the viewer’s mood derived from the features of their faces.
      2. The Hawaiin Tourism Authority has partnered with Expedia to help them identify which marketing footage is generating a positive response from the audience based on their facial reaction then providing appropriate deals or discounts related to the footage.
      3. Retail stores can also use facial recognition to monitor customer’s shopping behavior and improve certain processes to enhance the customer experience.  

    As you can see, facial recognition is already being used by both the private and public sectors. However, not everyone is ecstatic with the possibilities that this technology provides as there’s potential for abuse.

    In May 2019, the City of San Francisco became the first major city to ban local government agencies from using facial recognition. The ordinance was called Stop Secret Surveillance and the city said that the threat of endangering civil liberty and civil rights outweighs the benefits that facial recognition provides. The city of Sommerville, Massachusetts followed San Francisco shortly thereafter and also issued a similar ban on the use of the technology.  Shortly thereafter in July of 2019, Oakland, California became the third city to also ban facial recognition and it seems other cities are following suit.

    But the hurdles that this technology is facing will not end there, as two lawmakers are looking to introduce a new bipartisan bill regarding facial recognition.  Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (Republican) and Maryland’s 7th Congressional District Rep. Elijah Cummings (Democrat) are the 2 lawmakers that are spearheading this new bill.

    Details of what the bill will contain are still being hashed out, but a representative from Jordan’s office said that the bill could include stopping the federal government from making new facial recognition technology purchases.

    What are the threats that facial recognition introduces?

    With so many people, advocacy groups, and even politicians opposed to the use of facial recognition, let’s now discuss the actual threats that this technology creates. This will shed a little more light on the potential abuse when it comes to your rights and how they could be impacted.

    1. Unregulated Surveillance – One of the main threats that facial recognition possesses is that it doesn’t have any regulation yet, which means the use of this technology for surveillance purposes doesn’t have any boundaries, limits, or guidelines.  As previously mentioned, two bipartisan lawmakers are collaborating to introduce a new bill regarding this technology and still ironing out the details.  Without any regulation, government agencies and private companies can do just about whatever they want with this technology. This is why the FBI can access the DMV’s data and use facial recognition technology to retrieve photos from driver’s license, even without your consent.
      1. One major issue with facial recognition being unregulated is that it is ripe for abuse.  Authorities won’t need to follow any procedure with regards to how they should proceed after using the technology and identifying their target.  Microsoft President Brad Smith said in 2018 that authorities might rely on a flawed or biased technological approach when it comes to who they can track, investigate, and even arrest.
      2. The lack of regulation also means that there aren’t any consequences in the event that the implementation of the facial recognition technology is wrong.  The American Civil Liberties Union, came out with a study that showed face recognition technology can fail.  They tested Amazon’s face surveillance technology, named “Rekognition”, and it falsely matched the faces of 28 members of the U.S. Congress to people who have committed crimes from a mugshot database.  There was also a report that shows the software tends to make mistakes when the photo it is studying is that of an individual with darker skin, especially women.  This shows that technology can also fail, which can lead to authorities making mistakes in investigating or arresting individuals of the wrong person.
    2. It can be used to target certain groups or individuals – Since this technology is not yet regulated, it is easy for governments to use the technology to monitor or target certain groups or individuals they deem as a threat.  The most well-known case of this happening is in China, where the government is using facial recognition to detect Uyghur Muslims and track their every movement. The group is ethnically Turkic Muslims that live in western China (Xinjiang). There have been verified reports that the region has essentially been turned into an internment camp, where more than a million people were detained and are being forced to learn Mandarin Chinese, pledge allegiance to the president, renounce their faith, and have experienced other human rights abuses.
      1. The plight that this group is experiencing in China shows that facial recognition, combined with other surveillance technology, can be used by the government to track and monitor your every movement. This is an issue because this is clearly a loss of civil liberties and civil rights. Once the government knows your every movement and location, you have effectively lost your rights as the government now has you under its surveillance.
      2. But more than the loss of privacy and liberty, this technology can also be used to track and monitor groups and individuals who don’t align with the government’s views and are seen as “problems” to the state.  This is problematic because governments can easily arrest or detain these groups and individuals once they do anything that doesn’t align with the government’s views. This will hinder free speech in nations where certain liberties are kept in check by the state since people won’t be able to speak against the government out for fear of being arrested and detained.  Your ability to confront the government will now result in you potentially being apprehended or reprimanded by the state. China is already taking advantage of this technology to identify people who commit crimes, including what they deem as political crime.  The country is also trying to do the same in Hong Kong, which has led to massive protests for more than 2 months.  At the time of the writing of this article, the protests are still being held as the people in Hong Kong are literally fighting for their future.  It’s safe to assume that other governments will be willing to use this same technology to try and repress their political opposition once they see the full capabilities to target them.  Currently, we’re seeing this first hand in the U.S. with charged language, assailing political opposition, claiming those who are out of lockstep with the current reigning political party as disloyal and unpatriotic and therefore worthy of additional scrutiny.  This vitriolic rhetoric and barrage have already resulted in political dissidents being targeted thus setting the groundwork for technology like this to be used en masse to focus on those that oppose the government. This will undoubtedly end poorly for those of us that value personal freedom of speech and thought.
    3. It can be used without people’s consent or knowledge – Facial recognition is a technology that authorities and companies have already begun to use without your consent or knowledge.  I’m sure a lot of you didn’t know that the FBI was using the technology to scan the photos of your driver’s license or about U.S. airports using the tech to screen passengers.  
      1. Last April 2019, writer MacKenzie Fegan took to Twitter to detail her encounter with JetBlue’s facial recognition technology. She said that instead of looking at the boarding pass, she was asked to look into a camera before being allowed to board.  One of her issues with this setup is that she didn’t even give any consent as to whether she wanted her face to be subjected to the use of the technology. But it gets worse. When the airline company replied to her tweet to apologize and tell her to opt-out anytime, she took the opportunity to ask how the airline knew beforehand what she looked like.  They said that the information was given to them by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Though others commented that her passport details are probably already in the database, the fact that all of this is done without her consent and knowledge is what’s troubling.
      2. This is just one of the many examples of how both the private and public sectors utilize the technology without your consent. This is why many people are calling this technology a threat to civil liberties and civil rights.

    Conclusion

    Facial recognition technology provides an opportunity to further increase national security and also improve how businesses can interact with their customers. But, these perceived benefits come with a price and that price is a threat to your freedom with the potential for abuse.  If no laws clearly dictate how this technology is to be regulated, then the possibilities for abuse are open-ended. Authorities and other groups can use the technology for their benefit or bias instead of using it for its real purpose.

    I hope this article provided you with the information you need to know about facial recognition, what this technology does, where it’s usually used, and what threat does it pose. The article isn’t designed to scare you or anything, but my goal is to make you aware that this kind of technology exists and is already being used, mostly without our consent or knowledge.

    If you enjoyed this article, please share it on social media. As always, keep safe out there.

  • How to prepare for a recession

    With the talk of an impending recession on the horizon, many are beginning to ask the question “what can I do now to prepare?”  Various indicators in the economy are pointing to the signs that an inevitable recession is coming which has been at the center of financial news for over the last few months.  As a result of this, there’s been a spike in recession fears throughout the nation and the question is being asked, “Is there anything you can begin to practically do now to prepare?”

    In this article, we’re going to cover 2 aspects of finances that are equally important for preparing for a recession.  I like to approach this subject from a position of defense and offense, from protecting to being aggressive, which I’ll detail a little more.  Let’s start with what I would consider approaching finances from a position of defense…getting your finances in order allowing you to more effectively protect them from the coming storm.

    Going on the defense with finances

    One of the best ways to prepare for a looming recession is to make sure that your finances are healthy and in order.  This means that you should not be living paycheck to paycheck or burying yourself in debt, which could result in a financial disaster should the country enter into a recession and your job becomes a casualty.  Here’s what you can do now to help improve your finances and avoid a financial disaster: 

    1. Build an emergency fund – The first and most important thing you need to do is to build an emergency fund as it ensures that you’ll have access to money in case you lose your job during a recession.  Most financial advisors recommend that you have at least a minimum 3 months saved up to cover basic expenses, but realistically a 6 months savings is preferred.  While this may sound difficult, remember, this would be a bare bones budget, cutting everything out that’s possible and keeping the main things you’d need to survive: food, rent, healthcare, etc.  While you’d have to trim your budget back, it would be possible. Here are some reminders for building your emergency fund:
      1. Your emergency fund is different from your savings or investment funds. This fund is only intended to be used for emergency purposes, so make sure they are placed in an account separate from your investments.  This will be an account you can access easily. You don’t want to put this money in an account that is tied up with penalty fees to remove money like a CD, but rather just a plain old boring savings account like the kind you can get at your local bank.
      2. Be sure to accurately measure what your expenses will be in case you lose your job. You will likely remove certain expenses from your budget when you’re laid off, so it’s important that you take this into account to have a realistic and accurate figure for your emergency fund.
    2. Get out of debt – The next thing you need to do to prepare for a recession is to get out of debt.  Debt, especially the ones with high-interest rates like credit cards, eat up a huge chunk of your budget.  Without debt, your monthly expenses will be reduced and you’ll have more money to use in saving for your emergency fund to prepare for unexpected events that may come up.  Here are some tips to help you:
      1. If paying off all your debts is not possible, start with the smallest debt first.  This is an old trick I learned years ago from reading Dave Ramsey’s book, Financial Peace.  Once you pay off your smallest debt, it serves 2 purposes: you’ll get an emotional and psychological boost that you have paid off a debt which will translate into momentum and excitement for paying off your other debts.  The monthly fee you were paying for that smallest debt can then be rolled into your 2nd smallest debt. Use this same approach to pay off this debt and continue rolling the monthly money you’ve saved into the other debts.  In the book, this approach is called the debt snowball. I used this approach years ago when newly married and it made a huge difference setting my family on a path to financial freedom.
      2. Once you go down this path, do all you can to avoid any new debts.  Get creative and get aggressive. You’ll find there’s a certain energy and excitement that comes from getting out of debt which makes staying out of debt all the easier.  Remember your goals and keep those at the forefront of your mind. If something can put you back or deeper in debt, kick it to the curve. 
    3. Avoid using credit cards – Credit cards are a double-edged sword.  On one hand, they provide you with the ability to purchase something that you can pay for in installments or at a later date which also allows you to keep your cash.  But on the other hand, they have high-interest rates and this can tie up a big portion of your budget, especially if you plan on paying only the minimum amount each month.  Remember, the borrower is the slave to the lender. While I use credit cards quite frequently, I pay them off on a weekly basis and do not carry a balance.

    Increasing your value and income

    Earlier we covered steps that serve to act as a defense to ensure you’ve got an emergency fund and you’re getting rid of debt.  But one thing many overlook is not only to conserve your money but the other approach, and equally as important, is get aggressive to build wealth and income.  If I had any complaint about the Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey financial advisors of the world is that they focus heavily on not spending money. This is a valuable lesson for sure if finances are tight, but one thing many people do not consider is going on the offense and building wealth.  I believe that preparing for a recession should not only be focused on cutting down debt and saving money but you should also try to find ways to maximize your potential and increase your income, which can help you survive in a recession even more. 

    1. Maximize Your Professional Value – The best way to improve your income and also to make yourself recession-proof is to maximize your professional value. When companies were downsizing during the Great Recession, the first to go were the non-essential employees.  Essential employees add value to a company while non-essential employees typically ride the clock, do not work on improving their skills, and bring no value to the company.  So by adding skills to your resume, this is one proactive step you can take now to help make yourself indispensable to your company. It shows that you are proactive in your development and are not afraid to learn new things or take on new challenges.  Even if your current company doesn’t value the professional developments you are gaining, rest assured that someone within your industry is noticing it. Here are some tips to help:
      1. Learn a new skill or technology that is relevant to your profession or field. Make sure that you are able to properly utilize this new skill or technology for the benefit of your company.
      2. You can also attend training or seminars that offer certification.  Not only will this allow you to learn new skills and knowledge, but you can also use it to network with the right people within your industry.
      3. Don’t shy away from new responsibilities, tasks, or projects given to you. Companies give more value to employees who are not afraid to take on new responsibilities and challenges.
      4. Don’t hesitate to change jobs if there’s a good opportunity waiting for you. Remember it’s easier to change companies or industries when the economy is doing well.  Once the country enters into a recession, jobs will be hard to come by.
      5. I can not stress these points enough.  I own a business employing several people and I’ve had my fair share of team members who did the bare minimum, never wanted to be challenged, and were difficult to work with.  But on the other hand, I’ve had plenty of great team members which have been proactive in developing their skills, will rise to the occasion to learn something new, and just had a great work ethic.  These are the ones I reward and if times get hard, I’ll find a way to keep them on because I know they’re valuable and wouldn’t want to lose them. While I’ve never had to scale back my company, I do think about the implications of a potential recession and the impact it may have on my company.  As you can imagine, when I consider who I may have to let go, I can assure you that it is not the team members who are proactive in developing their skills. These are normally your best and most valuable employees.
    2. Have A Side Gig – Losing a job is painful, regardless if you are prepared for it or not.  Just the experience of being told that you’re going to be laid off can be disheartening and this is a common occurrence during a recession because companies are looking for ways to cut down their costs.  Though having an emergency fund can help you stay afloat while you look for the next job, another way to ensure that you’ll have income is by having a side gig. The beauty of our world today is that the side gig economy is growing. There are now numerous opportunities available for you to earn extra income without letting go of your regular job.  Developing these side jobs really comes down to being creative and thinking outside of the box. Here are some opportunities that you can look into:
      1. One of the more common and popular side gigs you can do is to become a Lyft or Uber driver. You can do this after your or during the weekends when you are not working.  If you have to commute long distances for work, consider offering this service by driving people from the city you’re leaving to your own city.
      2. If you are planning to travel for the weekend, you can rent out your apartment and earn extra cash.  Airbnb is a great site to advertise the property that you are planning to rent out.
      3. You can also start an ecommerce business selling stuff online through Amazon or eBay.
      4. If you possess certain skills like graphic designing, writing, video editing, copywriting, etc, you can also do freelancing work to make extra money. Craigslist is a good site to advertise your skills under the gig section.  You can also post what you can do on Fiverr, where you get to earn $5 when someone hires you to complete a task. I actually started my web development agency using Craigslist back in 2005. I would do simple websites for much lower than market prices.  I learned a skill and was paid at the same time. As my skills increased, so would my rate. Over time I was able to develop it into a full-time business.
      5. Network marketing is another side gig that has the potential to provide a good income. You just need to be good at selling and motivating people to sell as well.
      6. Starting a blog or YouTube channel is also a good side business.  Content is king and if you can speak to an audience with an authentic and authoritative voice, people will listen.  Find your passion and find ways to express it. Honestly, that’s how I built this channel. I got excited about prepping and I started uploading videos, and as they say, the rest is history.
    3. Adjust Your Investment Portfolio – Another thing that you need to prepare before the U.S. enters into a recession is your investment portfolio.  Many people who lost money during the recession was due to their investments suffering huge losses. So adjusting your portfolio to withstand the recession will help protect your wealth and ensure that your money is safe.
      1. 401k accounts were one of the biggest casualties during the Great Recession as it lost a total of $2.7 trillion in value by the first quarter of 2009 from its peak in the third quarter of 2007. The main reason for the loss of value was due to the stock market’s drop and signs are currently pointing that it will be again a casualty should the U.S. enter into a recession. Before that happens, you could adjust your 401k to focus more on safer assets like bonds to lessen the impact of the recession. This is also important if you’re already near retirement since a loss will be devastating for your retirement plans. If you’re still decades away from retiring, you can place them in safer assets during the recession and just bring it back to stocks when the economy is starting to recover.
      2. This financial advice goes the same if you are invested in mutual funds. You can adjust your investment to focus more on safer assets so it won’t get affected severely when a recession hits.
      3. Switching to precious metals is also a good strategy since these commodities tend to go up in prices during a recession.  Buying them when the economy is still good and the prices lower could set you up for a big payday once the recession hits.
      4. If you’re invested in real estate, you might want to sell them when the prices are still high, unless you are renting them out.  In the last recession, values of homes dropped and several owners were selling at a loss. On the other hand, during the recession is a great opportunity to buy real estate since prices are low.
      5. Be sure to review your assets and make sure you’re preparing them for what lies ahead.  If you have a financial manager, now is a good time to consult with them.

    Conclusion

    Signs are already pointing to the U.S. entering into a recession soon and experts are warning that it could be more severe than the Great Recession of 2007.  This is why it is important that you are prepared now to make sure that your wealth and income are protected when it does happen.

    If you enjoy this article, please share on social media.  Please also share your feedback and other tips in the comment section below, as I learn a lot from the community. 

    As always, stay safe out there.

  • How to bug out when SHTF (and what to grab)

    How to bug out when SHTF (and what to grab)

    Disasters can happen at any time.  If an event forced you to evacuate your home with only a few minutes to get out the door, would you know what to grab to put into your vehicle?

    At the time this article was written, we’ve just faced multiple fires here in Southern California like Los Angeles, San Diego, and Ventura which are getting hit hard with fires forcing many individuals to evacuate.  Even recently we had a fire spring up just 5 miles from our home which has fortunately been contained.  While my plan A is to shelter in place during a catastrophe, you may not have that choice and be required to bug out.  Could you evacuate your home within 10 minutes with everything you would need to survive?

    In this article we’ll discuss the following:

    • Creating a checklist
      • Important documents and items to have organized and ready to go
    • Water
    • Food
    • Miscellaneous items
    • Mobility
      • Aka bug out bag
    • Security
    • Power source
    • On the ready
    • Pets
    • What to do when leaving your home

    Before we get into the details of this article, let me stress that ultimately the key in a situation like this is to keep as calm as possible and to think clearly.  By following the steps I detail in this article, you’ll be in an excellent position.  Also remember, you can replace “stuff” at any time, but keeping you and your family alive is your top priority.

    So let’s start with discussing what you’ll want in your checklist.  You can obviously change the checklist to match your specific requirements, but think of this as a framework:

    • Checklist
      • Documents
        • Now the items I’ll list here are things you can put in a folder or scan and put onto a USB thumb drive or even upload to cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox.  Just be to sure to encrypt the files before storing them in the cloud in the event they fall into the wrong hands.
        • Here are the items you’ll want to have prepared:
          • The deed to your house
          • Insurance documents like home, vehicle, and life insurance.
          • Vehicle titles
          • Marriage certificate
          • A list of personal contacts printed on paper both locally and out of state
          • Family ID information:
            • Current photos of each family member.  And while discussing photos, make sure any sentimental photos are scanned and backed up as well.
            • Fingerprints from each family member
            • Birth certificates
            • Passports
            • Medical records
            • Social security cards
            • Veterinary records for your animals you take with you
        • Kids
          • For your kids make sure they have a printed list of phone numbers to call with the names of individuals and family members both in and out of state they can call in the event you get split up.  It’s a good idea to put critical information on a piece of paper you laminate or put in a ziplock bag for them.
          • Notebook/IPad
          • Books
          • Games
          • Small toys
          • Coloring books/paper pens
          • Snacks, sweets
      • Here are additional items you’ll want to have ready and also on a checklist of things to grab and probably a good idea as well to document where you typically keep these items:
        • Your driver’s license along with your wallet
        • Firearms
        • Food
        • Water
        • Bug out Bags
        • Backup power source
        • Phone chargers
        • Medications
          • Medicine ______________
          • Medicine ______________
          • Medicine ______________
        • And a medical handbook.  Personally, I keep a copy of the Survival Medicine handbook which I’ll provide a link to in the description below.
    • Water
      • For water, you’ll want to take 1 gallon per person per day.  Ideally, you have at least 3 days worth of water at a minimum.  Obviously, this can add up quickly for a family of 4, but if you get stranded, it will be good to have this at the ready to go.  I personally store water in 5-gallon containers in my hallway closet next to our garage so I can grab them in the event we have to head out.
    • Food
      • For food, I like having freeze-dried food on hand.  It’s easy to store and only needs hot water to prepare it.  Some people prefer MRE’s to have ready for emergencies.  Honestly, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy but instead just something that is easy to prepare, store and transport.  It’s also nice to add comfort foods especially if you have children.
    • Miscellaneous items
      • Box with camping gear on the ready
        • Stove
        • Small propane tanks
        • Utensils / plates / cups
        • Small tent
      • You might want to consider other pieces of gear to bring as long as you have the room in your vehicle.  Having storage bins in your garage that you can quickly grab with items important for you will be very important to already have set up and organized.
    • Be sure to have a go bag, aka bug out bag for each family member.
      • My primary plan of bugging out involves traveling in my vehicle, but in the event we’re forced to walk, having these bags ready will be critical.  Bug out bags contain essential supplies for survival.  I’ll walk you through very quickly some of the highlights of what you’ll want in your bag at a minimum.  There are so many ways you can set these up and I’ll provide a few links if you’d like to check out my particular setup for me and my family.  Again, the goal of these bags is to have a simple way to have items for survival on the ready to grab and walk out your door.
        • Water storage
          • I have a couple of bladders in my bag
        • Food
        • First-aid kit
        • Matches or lighter
        • Garbage bags, plastic ties
        • Small stove
        • Eating and cooking utensils
        • Rain gear
        • Work gloves
        • Dust mask
        • Duct tape
        • Paracord
        • Whistle
        • Hand crank radio
        • Water filter
        • Soap
        • Toiletries (toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste, feminine hygiene products)
        • Cash & Credit Cards
        • Change of clothes and socks
        • Multi-tool
        • Tarp
        • Map
          • Identify several places you could go in an emergency such as a friend’s home in another town or a motel. Choose destinations in different directions so that you have options during an emergency.
        • Walkie-talkies
        • Firearm (show with few extra mags)
      • Next to the bag:
        • Clothes
        • Boots
          • Be sure to wear sturdy shoes and clothing that provides some protection such as long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and a hat.
        • Sleeping bags/blankets
    • Security
      • It’s up to you as to what you want to grab.  Having your firearms along with ammunition at the ready to toss into a case and then into your vehicle will be a smart idea.  Depending on the level of the disaster, security for you and your family during a time of chaos may be a reality you’ll have to face.  Remember that your state laws are still in effect in regards to how you travel with your firearm.
    • Power source
      • Having a way to power your electronics like phones or other electrical devices will be important.  There’s a lot of small-scale solar and hand-crank generators currently on the market which is great for on-demand power.  I personally took things a big step forward and picked up a Kodiak solar generator which is lightweight and portable providing me with power as long as I have the sun.  I’ll post a link in the description section if you’d like to learn more about my setup and you can also click on the link in the cards that will show here.
    • On the ready
      • Car
        • Never let your car’s gas tanks go below ½ full.
          • If an evacuation seems likely, be sure to fill up your tanks ASAP.  As a general rule, I always keep my vehicles with no less than a half tank of gas in it at all times in case of an unexpected need to evacuate. Gas stations may be closed during emergencies and unable to pump gas during power outages.
        • Make sure you have a portable emergency kit in the car.
      • Many of the items that we discussed in this articles should be in a place where you can quickly grab them and go.  If after reach this article you realize you’ve got stuff spaced all over your home, now might be a good time to organize these items near or in your garage so you can quickly grab them and go.  I have a hall closet next to my garage where I store a lot of items and other items are kept in the atrage on the ready.
    • Pets   
      • Animals sense tension and can be easily affected by the disaster in a number of ways. Keep in mind when pets are properly evacuated the stress level is decreased.
      • You’ll want to make sure they’re micro-chipped and have I.D. collars.
      • It’s a good idea to create 72 hour pet grab-and-go kits that include leashes, medications, meal bowls, and three days worth of food.
      • Having a properly sized kennel will be helpful to have.
      • It’s not a bad idea to keep a list of phone numbers to animal hospitals in your area.  Also having proof of animal ownership is critical if your animal is not chipped or has no identification.
    • What to do when leaving your home
      • Call or email the out-of-state contact family member your communications plan. Tell them where you are going.  Secure your home by closing and locking doors and windows.
      • Unplug electrical equipment such as radios, televisions and small appliances. Leave freezers and refrigerators plugged in unless there is a risk of flooding.
        • Be sure to know your utility shutoffs. Learn now how to safely shut off your electricity, water, and gas.
      • Leave a note telling others when you left and where you are going.
      • Be sure to check with neighbors who may need a ride, especially the elderly.
      • Before returning home, be sure to remain evacuated until further notice by authorities.  Return safely after your property has been deemed stable to enter by officials.

    While there’s a lot that was covered in this article, having a plan in place and knowing what to do if you’re forced out of your home during a time of crisis, you’ll be in a much better position to be able to protect you, your family and valuable assets.  Remember: “If you fail to prepare, you’re preparing to fail”.  Leave no room for complacency as your best form of action is to stay prepared and ready.

    As always, be safe out there.

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