image by Paolo Camera

With gas prices rising AGAIN, I wanted to re-post this article from 2011. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Wheelbarrows full of German marks and stacks of Zimbabwean dollars paint a surreal and absurd picture of economies gone bad.  It could never happen here in America.  Right?  Well, I think we got a taste of hyperinflation recently when gasoline prices increased on a near-daily basis.  What did it feel like to see the price per gallon increase from the time you drove to work in the morning until you passed that same gas station on the way home from work at five o’clock?  If you were smart, you filled up your tank every time you saw the price dip and maybe even filled an extra gas can at $3.69 a gallon, knowing that tomorrow it would probably cost even more.

Daily price increases of gasoline are bad enough, but imagine trying to survive in a world where prices of virtually every good increases on a daily basis.  During times of hyperinflation, wages do not increase at the same rate as everything else, so a family that is used to spending 10% of its income on food, for example, would find that percentage increasing to 40%, 50% and more.  There would be very little left for paying utility bills, medical expenses, or even tiny luxuries.

History Learning Site describes the effects of hyperinflation on Germans in 1923.

“People were paid by the hour and rushed to pass money to loved ones so that it could be spent before its value meant it was worthless.
People had to shop with wheel barrows full of money
Bartering became common – exchanging something for something else but not accepting money for it. Bartering had been common in Medieval times!
Pensioners on fixed incomes suffered as pensions became worthless.
Restaurants did not print menus as by the time food arrived…the price had gone up!
The poor became even poorer and the winter of 1923 meant that many lived in freezing conditions burning furniture to get some heat.
The very rich suffered least because they had sufficient contacts to get food etc. Most of the very rich were land owners and could produce food on their own estates.
The group that suffered a great deal – proportional to their income – was the middle class. Their hard earned savings disappeared overnight. They did not have the wealth or land to fall back on as the rich had. Many middle class families had to sell family heirlooms to survive.”

It’s easy to see these same effects happening here in our country, or in any other whose government follows the disastrous financial recipe of over-spending and printing money (“Quantitative Easing”), resulting in the loss of confidence in the dollar, our fiat currency.

Surviving hyperinflation isn’t easy.  It seems that skyrocketing prices of food and energy have the biggest negative effect on everyday citizens.  It makes sense, therefore, to grow, raise, and preserve your own food as much as possible and to look for ways you and your family could live off the grid as much as possible.  Owning physical gold and silver is wise, as is establishing contacts with a network of like-minded people.  After all, who is more likely to have what you need in a bartering transaction than another prepper?

Most of us don’t own “estates”, but we do have the advantage of learning from history and being smart enough to take proactive steps to protect our families against the devastation of hyperinflation now.  If you didn’t like the taste of hyperinflation we’ve had with our rapidly rising gas prices, the time to take action is now.

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© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

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I was once a young wife and mother to a toddler. Hard at work learning to be a good wife and mommy. I got to stay at home which meant I made meals 3x a day for my family. I was a house wife. I had a food budget and yet I found myself calling my husband once or twice a week to pick up meals.

When I went to my Mommy & Baby group I found that several families with double the amount of kids had grocery bills less than mine! How could this be?

Frankly I was confused. I didn’t know where I was going wrong. I had been raised in a variety of settings due to my parent’s divorce and remarriages. We always seemed to be learning to live somewhere new. I was never taught how to actually run a home.

It took time to admit it to myself but I was a food waster. I realized that I was making critical mistakes with our food starting with: what to feed my family: what to buy at the grocery store: how to cook at home: and very importantly how to put away our food.

1-      I was wasting our food money. I am a cookbook hound. I love looking at the yummy recipes in those glossy books and trying to recreate them. That is nice but most call for food that is WAY outside the budget of a college student’s family. Instead of using that money more wisely and stretching it over the full month I was buying high priced items that cut days off how far our food budget would go.

2-      I bought ONLY name brand items. This was a hang over from my upbringing when we could not afford name brand. Deep inside I saw being able to buy name brand as showing the world (or myself) that we had stepped up in the world. Again I was wasting our food money.

3-      Cooking low quality food. I had these lovely highlights of dinners that were great. But in order to get those highlights I had to skimp in other areas. That meant that Monday through Thursday meals were just scrapped together or Hamburger Helper type meals. Not healthy and not yummy. Made it that much easier to call for take-out when faced with day 2 of not so good food.

4-      Cooking too much food for our size family. At the time I had no extra freezer and we really were 2 adults eating with a toddler just nibbling. I tended to cook for a much larger crowd. That meant we tended to overeat, not healthy. Also there was a lot of food leftover. That food would generally go into the fridge and a meal of left overs might come from it but in general it was shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten until it crawled out and pleaded to be put out of its misery.

5-      Chaos is not a good form of organization. As you can tell from the food lost in the fridge my kitchen was in a state of chaos. There was no organization. I had no idea if cans were old or spices were out of date. You just pawed through the shelf in question until you found what you were looking for, or gave up and went out and bought it again. Yeap, back to that wasting the food budget.

6-      Using food to its greatest extent! I never thought to use the turkey bones and pieces leftover from Thanksgiving to make a broth. I didn’t use the ham bone to flavor a pot full of beans. When I was done with the meal immediately in front of me I threw out the rest and cleaned up for the night.

7-      The worst food wasting sin I committed was sheer laziness. There were times when I woke up the next morning and found that I had set last night’s leftovers aside but never put them away.

Acknowledging that I had these blind spots was the first step in correcting them. There is no shame in not having been told how to cook, maintain a home, raise a family, or homestead. Many of us have holes in our skills base. Consider how to run your kitchen, food budget, and food storage as another skill that needs to be worked on. Find a mentor. Search out a great blog or book. You can change from a food waster to a thrifty foodie mom!

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post 7 Food Wasting Sins! Confessions from a former food waster by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

Obviously, this plan hit a nerve with a large number of people who know they need to save, want to save, but are dealing with the reality of tight budgets.

On many calendars, each week is numbered, beginning with Week #1: January 1-7.  On this 52-week plan, you save the amount of dollars that corresponds to that week’s number. If one week you find yourself with extra cash, add it to the pot. You’ll end up with more than the $1378 total by the end of December or you’ll have created a bit of a padding for weeks that don’t have any extra cash left over.

Print out this chart or make your own and check off each week as you save. If there are other members in the family with an income, encourage them to do the same. A family with 2 breadwinners could end up with a grand total of $2756, and that’s no small-potatoes!

*I have no idea who originally created this chart, but I thank them!

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Give this super-easy 52-Week savings plan a try, and have an extra $1378 by the end of the year! by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

image by Mike Licht

If money is the root of all evil, then the lack of money is the root of most dilemmas. Should I get this tooth filled or buy new tires for the car? Can the air conditioner last another season or should we cancel our health insurance and buy a new one? With money, you can do it all. Without it, you have to make some hard choices, and this is where my husband and I found ourselves in early 2009.

The stumbling economy had finally hit our family business. My husband’s electrical contracting business had come to a halt. His income depended on the health of the construction industry, and you may have heard that Phoenix, our home town, was hit especially hard during the 2008-2010 recession. The phone didn’t ring for weeks at a time.

Fortunately, I had seen the writing on the wall months earlier and had spent the previous year boning up on topics related to survival and preparedness. By the time our business phone line fell silent, we had about three months worth of food and supplies stored and a small amount of savings in the bank. More importantly though, a crazy idea for writing a blog had popped into my head one night, had blossomed and began producing some income.

I’m going to share with you what I did to earn this extra money and show how you can do the same thing.

It started close to home, with what I knew

Food and water storage. Bug out bags. Evacuation plans. Firearms. This was new territory for me, a somewhat spoiled suburban mom whose favorite hobby was trying out new restaurants.

I spent hours researching on the computer, and then turned around and applied what I learned to our home and family. Our first venture into food storage started with loading up two grocery store carts. I put together a 72 Hour Kit, finding most everything I needed tucked away in drawers and garage cupboards. I compiled a list of important documents that would soon come to be known as my Grab-n-Go Binder. It was exciting to realize that I was doing something proactive to help my family.

There were questions, though, that remained unanswered. How could I teach my kids about preparedness without scaring them? What were other moms doing to prepare? How could I hold my fears at bay while focusing on preparing for an uncertain future? The masculine survival sites I had been studying didn’t have answers to my heart-felt questions.

Then the brainstorm…

I remember the exact moment I had the idea to start a blog called The Survival Mom, and within 24 hours I had claimed TheSurvivalMom.com as my very own and was researching how to start a blog.

I had no idea where to start or what to do first. I was a complete novice. A dinosaur, really.

image by Mike Licht

I knew what I wanted to write about:  survival and preparedness from a mom’s point of view.  I knew I would be reporting on what I had been doing myself as the original Survival Mom and writing in a way that would be encouraging and supportive, not fear-filled or hysterical. My purpose and goal were defined.

WordPress was the best blogging platform for what I had planned, and I spent a good 48 hours figuring out how to download and then install it on my computer. (I’m not exactly a quick study.) That was the easy part.

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy!

Blogging is a world unto itself with its own language: SEO, backlinks, split testing, affiliates, Google analytics, page rank and HTML. I thought I was computer savvy, but this was way out of my league. Fortunately, professional bloggers such as Darren Rowse, Pat Flynn, and Brian Clark freely share training and tips for successful blogging. To this day, I return to their websites to learn more.

Admittedly, I felt like one of those 80 year-old grandmas who go back to college. For the most part, blogging is filled with 20- and 30-somethings. Heck, I was even learning from teenagers! It was a humbling but necessary part of my education.

Blogging on the fast track

What helped my blog get off to a fast start was not its appearance or any advertising, it was the fact that I was writing. A lot. TheSurvivalMom blog became my new part-time job, and I was fully committed to making it a success.

Quickly, I produced a large number of articles, and as it happened, the timing was perfect. Preparedness was becoming a hot topic and “preppers” was a word Americans would soon hear on the nightly news and on reality TV. I was a prepper, whether I realized it or not!

Nothing beats having the right idea at the right time except for the right person having the right idea at the right time. I guess I was the right person in this particular niche. No other blog or website was solely focused on moms and their concerns for the future and their desires to become self-reliant. Most moms are quite naturally preparedness minded, so I had a ready-made audience.

It didn’t take long for my blog to begin gaining attention. American Preppers Network began posting some of my articles on their site and I was invited to write exclusive articles for them as well.  Other big blogs began doing the same. As a novice, I didn’t realize that guest posting for popular blogs and websites is a great way to get your name noticed and to generate traffic to your own blog, but that’s what began to happen. I was even interviewed by Newsweek magazine, which generated even more traffic and attention.

“YOU can make money by blogging!”

Money was tight and getting tighter, so when I spotted the headline, “YOU can make money by blogging!” it caught my attention. If there was money to be made with my primitive blog, then I wanted to learn how. This was easier said than done, and I was faced with yet another steep learning curve.

An easy first step to begin earning money is to sign up as an affiliate with Amazon, and that’s what I did. By featuring Amazon products on my blog and inserting my affiliate link, I would earn a whopping 4% of the purchase price! Hardly time to start making retirement plans, but it was a start, and was a good fit for my blog. I often talk about helpful products and books, and Amazon carries nearly every product imaginable.  It took a few weeks, but one day I checked my affiliate stats and discovered that some precious, blessed soul had purchased two books! I had made my first dollar!

Amazon is an excellent place to begin because of the wide range of products and the “stickiness” of their website. Admit it: once you arrive at the Amazon website, you continue clicking on other products!

image by foxtongue

Over time, I signed up as an affiliate with other companies and with other bloggers who had written and published e-books. The affiliate business model is an excellent one. When I find a product I love, I mention it to my readers, and when they buy it, I earn a small percentage of the sale.

My first advertiser, Survival-Goods.com, came aboard a short time later. I had learned how to base my advertising rates on blog traffic and page views, and set my price at $75 per month. This advertiser wanted to pay a year in advance; I thought I’d died and gone to money heaven!

Other advertisers were added in the coming months, always companies I had either personally done business with or had a stellar reputation in the survival/preparedness community. I made a point to speak with the company owners by phone as a means of establishing a relationship. Some of these have become friendships.

Beyond the blog

In the back of my mind, writing a book had been a long-term goal. Writing several blog posts a week, as well as occasional magazine articles, honed my writing skills, but still, I was flabbergasted with a real live New York City literary agent contacted me in April, 2010, and asked, “Have you ever thought of writing a book?”

That email changed my life. I followed his instructions and wrote three chapters and a proposal. He shopped it around to various publishers and sold it in December, 2010. I was on a beach in sunny Southern California when I got the news. The day could not have been more perfect.

Two years later, my book was published by HarperOne. It feels great to be a published author, but I can’t forget that it was the blog that opened the door. My agent noticed my blog and saw that I was a committed writer and could produce well-written material on a regular basis. Agents stay on top of trends and he knew that survival and preparedness were becoming more popular by the day. He also liked the tone of my writing. Without a doubt, my humble blog was responsible for my book becoming a reality.

Going forward, my goal is to stay committed to the blog, write a second book, and enjoy the journey! It’s less about the money and more about finding a path that is personally fulfilling and compatible with family life and commitments.

Could blogging for income work for you?

If you are a homesteader or have self-reliant skills and knowledge, you, too, are a hot property! Canning, gardening, off-grid living, and wilderness survival are some of the hottest trends around. Self-reliance is also the latest reality TV mania, with new shows being developed constantly. Why not jump in and see if my story can become your story?

What skills do you have that might transfer to a blog? Can you write about what you do or share what you know? It may sound strange, but once you begin writing about a topic, you’re perceived as an expert, an authority.

Once you’ve decided on the name for your new blog, capture the domain url from a company such as GoDaddy or Host Gator. Two popular blog platforms are Blogspot and WordPress. Choose one, follow the directions on the site, and start writing.

Sites such as Copyblogger and Problogger can teach you the ins and outs of blogging, such as how to attract readers and write headlines that command attention. There’s a lot to learn, and you’ll be spending hours on your new venture. If you’re an entrepreneur like me, however, it will be a labor of love, especially as you begin seeing a stream of new readers visiting your site.

There are so many other ways that an established blogger can earn money:

• Speaking
• Consulting
• Freelance writing
• YouTube videos
• eBooks
• Teaching online classes (webinars)
• Teaching live classes
• Creating physical products
• And much more

Success in a nutshell

Looking back, there were four elements crucial to the success of my blog:

Passion

I loved what I was writing about. I loved the fact that I was helping people, and I loved creating something completely new that was all mine. Passion is the fuel that pushes everything else forward and finding the One Thing that inspires and motivates you, month after month, is critical. For me it was family preparedness and survival.

Time

It took dozens of hours just to get the blog set up, to learn about the WordPress platform, and to write my initial posts. It took hours to learn how to join affiliate programs and manage advertising. It’s best to start a blog when you have a block of time on your hands, and a good internet connection!

Commitment

There are well over 150 million blogs in existence, with new ones being added each day. I’m sure there are thousands that are either deleted or abandoned each day. It’s tough to produce high quality material week after week.

Continued learning

The world of blogging and the opportunities offered by the internet continue to evolve. There is always something new to learn, and, just as importantly, new things to learn in your area of expertise. Once you write about canning, for example, month after month, you may begin to think you’ve said everything that needs to be said! That’s the moment to challenge yourself to try new recipes and advance your learning. If you push yourself to stay fresh, you’ll continue to attract people to what you have to offer.

One final element to success as a blogger is old-fashioned hard work. It wasn’t easy to learn the basics of blogging or to churn out dozens of articles in the first several months. The final product was worth it, though, and then some. I have a fun new career that challenges me daily, my family has an extra bit of income that covers necessities and occasional luxuries, and it all started with a simple blog.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post The backstory of The Survival Mom blog by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

“Why,” they ask, “should I pay off debt when I’ll be able to pay it off for pennies on the dollar when hyperinflation comes along.”

In an odd way, it’s like they’re looking forward to it. Almost giddy, in fact.

I’d like to establish a handful of truths about hyperinflation.

First, no country that has ever experienced hyperinflation is suddenly filled with well-off, debt-free homeowners.

“Woo-hoo! Come to Zimbabwe!  We’ve got hyperinflation!”

No, hyperinflation is absolutely devastating and if you pay off a mortgage or other large amounts of debt with your cash, it just means that you’ll be using up the limited amount of money you have at a time when prices are skyrocketing at 100% or more per month.

To put that in perspective, a gallon of milk costs around $2.79.  At 200% inflation, that price becomes $8.37 a month later and a whopping $25.11 by the second month!

Another truth to keep in mind is that your income will not increase!  In fact, with the devastation wrought by runaway inflation, you may very well lose your job or business.  If you’ve spent a large amount of your nest egg paying off debt, you will have to rely on whatever is left in order to survive.

Well-educated professionals in Argentina found themselves digging through dumpsters and trash cans for food.  A college education and a good career will not protect you.

A third truth is that it will be far, far better to face hyperinflation debt-free and with money in the bank.  Yes, the money will not have the same value, but 100K in the bank is way better than $500, or nothing.  It is still worthwhile to pay off debt and save money now.

It’s even more worthwhile to purchase hard goods such as food, water filtering systems, firearms and ammo, and other survival goods and gear now while prices are reasonable.

In this video, I go into more detail, with the help of my whiteboards!, about what hyperinflation will mean to the average family.

Is it possible to prepare for this worst case scenario?  In my book, Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst Case Scenarios, I detail 13 ways to prepare.  Here are a couple of those tips:

1. Pay off any debt that has an adjustable
interest rate as quickly and as soon as possible.
Unsecured credit card debt, in particular,
is vulnerable to increased interest
rates that would demand more and more
income from a family already strapped to
cover the most basic necessities.
2. While interest rates are low, investigate the
possibility of refinancing your mortgage. If
your mortgage rate is already low, and
fixed, focus debt repayment on anything
that has an adjustable rate.
3. Consider ways to decrease your transportation
expenses. Should gasoline prices
soar out of control, you may be very happy
for a job that is within walking or biking
distance. Can you sell that second or third
vehicle and pocket the savings in gas,
upkeep, and insurance? Be strategic and
purposeful in deciding which vehicles to keep, sell, and/or purchase.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Don’t Get Hyped Up Over Hyperinflation (video) by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

With warmer months approaching, many of you will be delighted to see the power bill in the mail because this season brings the lowest charges.  There’s (usually) no reason to turn on the heat, and often, just opening the windows and turning on a couple of fans is enough to stay cool.

If you live in a hot climate, the opposite is true.  Soon, you’ll be facing the largest energy bills of the year because at some point, the air conditioner will be running.  We have at least one $500 electric bill every summer.  It can be a real killer when times are tight.

Whenever you’re expecting the smallest power bills of the year is the time to pay it forward.  Add an extra $20 or $50 or whatever you can afford to that bill.  You’ll be accumulating a credit balance that will help cover the more expensive bills down the road or cover the expense for a month or two should your income take a dive.

Another method is to figure the average bill, using your annual total, and start paying that amount every month, beginning at the time of year when you’re using the least amount of power.

You can do the same thing with other utility bills.  It’s a good idea to stay at least a month ahead with this expense, if possible.  It’s money in the bank when you need it.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post ACTION STEP: Pay it forward by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

image by RobW_

Other nations are hesitant to provide assistance to a nation nearing economic collapse , and for most, it won’t even be possible.  In the case of America, how many nations will be able to bail us out?  China’s economy is in more trouble than most people realize and most every other developed nation has similar struggles.

I read recently that, “It’s always the case that the world changes before the human mind grasps the change that is upon it.”   The Greek people and their politicians are struggling to come to terms with the results of decades of irresponsible spending.  One Greek described it as, “living a lie,” much like an estranged married couple pretending to be happily married when in public.  America’s politicians are making similar mistakes to those that have brought Greece to the brink.  Hang on, we’re in for a wild ride, and if we’re smart, we’ll learn lessons from the decline of Greece.

Resources:

“Greece in Chaos” by Noelle Burgi

“Ten Years to Greece” by John Stossel

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post 14 Depressing lessons for America from the slow collapse of Greece by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

Our nation, led by both major political parties, hasn’t heeded that wisdom and is now deeply, deeply in debt, the size of which is almost unimaginable.  Not only is that debt in the trillions of dollars, but the interest rises each day. For decades some of our leaders have bemoaned the size of the national debt and warned us about the dangers, but those warnings have had all the impact of the boy who cried wolf.

After all, until recently, prosperity has been the rule, not the exception.  There isn’t a connection between our everyday lives and this debt, in spite of all the scary rhetoric.  Or is there?  What gives?

Our national debt now tops $12 trillion. Image by Kevin Krejci

The best way to understand how the national debt will ultimately affect all of us is to first narrow the focus and examine the impact of debt on a single family. I’ll call them Family X, and their debt is overwhelming.  When paychecks arrive every Friday, that money does not belong to Family X.  Instead, most of it goes to pay the mortgage or rent, medical bills, student loans, car loans, credit card debt, and other obligations.  The family is in dire need of a new washing machine and dental exams, but those must wait.  Dreams of going to college and developing the children’s talents through piano lessons, sports teams, and the like, are left unfulfilled.  In fact, you could say their debt has crushed every dream.  Mom and Dad no longer make promises to their children they know they can’t keep.

Over time, other household appliances break down, and there is no money to fix or replace them.  Daughter A needs braces, but those are out of the question.  After many months and years, the house begins to look run down, and vehicles are in need of maintenance and repair.  If this family owns their home, foreclosure might be just months away, forcing them to move to a less safe neighborhood.  Medical and dental issues are ignored, treatments are postponed, and the overall health of the family declines.  Unless an employer covers the entire cost of their health insurance premiums, Family X must go without that safety net.

When an emergency occurs, the only choice is to pull out a credit card, thus digging the hole of debt a little deeper.  Out of necessity, the family purchases the cheapest products, often of poor quality, and it isn’t long until this former middle class family resembles one from the Great Depression. A comfortable retirement is out of the question, and if hopelessness were a disease, each member would be infected.  At some point, a tipping point is reached beyond which they will likely never recover.  Bankruptcy and a “fresh start”, begin to look more and more appealing, and in fact, inevitable.

Debt devastates and enslaves.  Can our federal government possibly fare any better?

The first obvious parallel between Family X and America is that no matter how much income is collected, it will never be enough.  Taxes, no matter how burdensome, will never be enough for debt repayment and the up-keep of our national infrastructure, military, and the multitude of government programs and obligations, much less provide for the ever-increasing, future needs.  Plans for new roads, bridges, and improvements to National Parks have already been put on hold.

Eventually, the debt load will begin to affect our national security.  The wages of military personnel is likely to decline relative to the cost of living, benefits are already being reduced,and when weapons and vehicles break down or malfunction, there won’t be enough money in the budget for repairs or replacements.  America’s leadership in military innovation will be in jeopardy.

Promises that our government leaders have made to senior citizens, college students, struggling families and others will go unfulfilled.  Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare are anything but secure.  Eventually, millions of Americans will be left to struggle with fewer and fewer benefits. Funding for law enforcement and education will necessarily be decreased, and money promised to towns and cities will begin to dry up, affecting us on the local level as well.  Initially, those cuts will be in marginal areas, affecting few people, but over time, the cuts will become deeper and more noticeable.

When Family X is unable to make their monthly house payment, the day will come when the bank demands the keys to the house.  Our country is in debt to other nations, and when those foreign nations decide to hold out their hands for repayment, what will America do?  Might our leaders hand over mineral rights or federal lands as payment?  Individuals and families must repay their debt at some point, and our nation’s due date is approaching.

As individuals, we have no control and little influence on the decisions made in Washington.  “New” money is being printed at this very moment, as though it will somehow make the pit of debt less deep .  (If only generating money on the family printer were the answer to Family X’s hopeless dilemma!)  Our elected leaders are rushing heedlessly down this slope, with no apparent concern or awareness that their decisions may result in tragedy for our nation.

We are currently in a small window of time in which we can prepare our families for the day our nation’s debt reaches the tipping point.  One important step is reducing your reliance on government support as much as possible.  Setting aside a few months worth of food, learning how to produce some of our own food, and seeking out alternative sources of water and energy are all simple ways we can position ourselves and our families to be somewhat buffered as our nation’s economy continues to decline.  Paying off our own debt, saving money, investing in hard goods and precious metals, staying up to date with dental and medical issues are other ways we can provide a layer of personal security in the face of an increasingly insecure future.  Preparedness has never been a smarter choice than it is now and debt has never been more foolish.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post A Thousand Here, A Trillion There: The Devastating Effects of Debt by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

image by RambergMediaImages

We are taught to think in a monthly budget or a paycheck-to-paycheck budgeting manner. What would you say if I said it’s time to throw that idea out the window for your food and supplies?

image by GranniesKitchen

This information is great. Realize that I won’t cook this much ground beef every week. Some weeks I might be veggie heavy or chicken is on the menu. If I get this amount of ground beef, though, I know that I have five meals a week fully covered.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The post Preparedness mindset 1: Think annual, not monthly by thesurvivalmom appeared first on The Survival Mom™. Be sure to check it out!

image by motoyen

What do you think of when you think of buying gold?  Are you intimidated at the thought?  Is it confusing to know if you should sell all your gold jewelry or start buying gold coins?  We’re living in a very strange time, indeed, with the price of gold escalating to new heights weekly.  You can keep track of the current price of gold, and silver, at Kitco.com.

How high will the price of gold go?  Expert Chris Slife, President of Howling Coyote Silver Company, had this to say:

I hear more and more people saying that “Gold is getting high and can’t go much higher” or “Gold is in a bubble”.  In my opinion, ‘rubbish’!!!

 

To begin with, we are seeing tons of people coming into the store selling all their gold and silver jewelry.  Question:  “If gold and silver were a bubble, why aren’t people lined up to BUY gold?”  Answer:  “Gold is not a bubble but is STILL climbing a steep ‘wall of worry’.  When Joe and Jane Sixpack come in and start buying gold because their neighbor told them it was the thing to do, THEN I will start looking at gold as a ‘bubble’.

 

How high can gold go?  Answer:  Hypothetically speaking, “To infinity and beyond”, to quote Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear.  Who knows where gold will end up in real terms, but in nominal terms, theoretically, gold could go to numbers that feel like infinity.

Take a look at this chart that Chris shared with his customers.

Chris explains,

In January of 1919, 170 German Marks were required to purchase one ounce of gold; however, by the time the hyperinflationary episode subsided, it took 87 trillion marks to purchase that same amount of gold.  Did gold all of the sudden become more valuable.  Of course not.  In real terms, gold’s VALUE remained steady; yet, in nominal terms, the price of gold approached the theoretical level of infinity before the German government finally pulled the plug on the defunct currency.

None of America’s financial problems have been solved or realistically addressed.   The price of gold can certainly continue to climb as our nation’s leaders dither over political positioning and, incredibly, the Federal Reserve begins to make plans to print even more dollars in a QE3 (Quantitative Easing).  As the value of the dollar declines, gold prices rise.

If you’ve thought about buying gold and haven’t known where to start, start small.  Literally!  You can purchase gold coins in the amount of one-tenth of an ounce.  Not only do these smaller purchases make it easier on the budget, but if you ever need to sell them or use them as currency, they’re more practical than one-ounce gold coins.

Visit one or two coin stores in your area and start asking questions.  Be aware that the dealer will add a premium (his/her profit) to the spot price of the coin.  For more information on buying gold and silver, read my interviews with Chris Slife listed below and download an instructional article written by Chris here.  If you want a steady stream of information, be sure to sign up for his emails, and NO, I don’t get a commission for promoting him!  I just like his honesty and common sense approach to something that used to intimidate me.

The Basics of Precious Metals, Part 1

The Basics of Precious Metals, Part 2

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