by Bobby Akart
Achieve True Freedom
To us, true freedom comes when you don't have to answer to anyone—whether it be your boss, a customer, a neighbor, or a lender. Consider the stories you read daily about a well-known figure who loses his job because he said something that was politically incorrect. The list is endless. By the same token, if you are heavily in debt, you aren't working for yourself and your family, you are working to stay afloat. How about the relationship with your employer? Do you find yourself being careful about your social media posts because you might be reprimanded for incorrect speech or political points of view?
This is not freedom. This is servitude. Not everyone is willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve true freedom. We are believers in down-sizing. Lower your standard living. Move to a rural area where the cost of living is much less. Although this requires a significant lifestyle change, a move provides more benefits to you than just financial. Look at it as moving to your bug-out location. It is a sage decision.
Focus on paying off your secured debt—mortgage loans, car loans, etc. If times get tough, and you have to pick who to pay, make sure you have the resources to pay the loans secured by collateral, not unsecured credit card debt, student loans, or other consumer debt. The key to retirement does not just have a big 401k. It's about being debt free. Imagine what your life would be like with no mortgage or car payments. That's what true freedom looks like. If your boss doesn't like your political posts on social media and demands you tone down the rhetoric, you can quote musician Johnny Paycheck—Take this job and shove it.
Practice Economic Situational Awareness
You've heard the saying—Money can't buy happiness. Well, we call bull shit on that one. We like to say that there isn't much that time and money can't solve. This is very true for most households. If the number one cause of family discord and divorce is financial disagreements, then clearly, money can buy happiness, to an extent.
The head of the household has an obligation to provide for their spouses, children, and anyone else living under their care. This requires planning, organization, and financial resources. You simply must study current affairs as it relates to the economy, and the politics impacting it. Read from several sources. Rest assured, you will not get the full picture from the mainstream media.
Maintain an Emergency Fund (cash and daily living requirements)
If you are not a prepper, you should be. One of the reasons we prep is the potential for a downturn in the economy that could result in a loss of income. If that happens, we not only have sufficient food, supplies, and medications on hand for a prolonged revenue loss, we also have cash on hand to pay our utilities. In the past, it was suggested that every household maintains three months of living expenses on hand as an emergency fund. The times have changed in the last eight years. The unemployed have experienced nine to twelve month periods of inactivity. Maintain nine months of utility payments, at a minimum. Keep sufficient funds on hand to make your car payments. Transportation is essential to finding a job. If you have to allow your mortgage payments to slide, contact the mortgage holder up front, before you're late. Mortgage holders have been more understanding in recent years than they were before 2008. Your mortgage company does not want to foreclose on your home. They've got enough of those in inventory already.
Adopt a Hunker Down Mindset
You're a prepper now. After TEOTWAWKI, in whatever form that takes, you must become a survivor. The days of McDonald's for breakfast, Applebee's for lunch and a Starbucks in between are over. Cut out all luxuries. Focus on nutrition, at the lowest cost. Eliminate high cable bills and find other ways to entertain yourself. Think about your everyday activities. How much money do you waste? Try to practice a hunker down, survival state of mind. Not only will this help you prepare for an economic collapse, but it will also help you realize how nice life can be without all of the excess clutter we heap upon our shoulders.
Remain calm and maintain a positive state of mind. A loss of a job is dreadful for anyone to suffer through. Imagine what economic collapse will look like. By being prepared in advance mentally and organizationally, you can avoid panic, which will in turn calm the nerves of everyone within your care. This will assist your chances of survival and recovery after the economic collapse passes.
Add an Additional Source of Income
Start a home business or adopt a new career as a second source of income. If you lose your job because of an economic collapse, it might be difficult or even impossible to find another job. Having an alternative source of income can help you. Choose your business idea based on skills that you have and things that you enjoy doing.
An economic collapse, or a deep recession, like the one in 2008, can have a devastating ripple effect across the world's economy. When the economy starts to cool down, businesses tighten their purse strings. And when that happens, they begin to struggle and start laying off employees. That results in even tighter purse strings, leading to a downward spiral. During the Great Recession of 2008-09, some people fared better than others, mainly because of their skillsets, and the positions they held.
There are a handful of jobs that have proven to be recession proof. This means that even when things are tight and money isn't flowing as abundantly, certain goods and services are still going to be in demand. If you have one of those jobs, you should still be able to bring home a paycheck and keep your family protected.
Here are some suggestions of skills you can learn now that will also be useful after TEOTWAWKI.
(1) Paramedic. There will always be a need for emergency medical services, and we can't think of any greater post-SHTF skill to have than medical expertise. A collapsed economy does not mean that people will stop needing medical attention.
(2) Local Law Enforcement. Police officers will be in high demand during the societal unrest that necessarily follows an economic collapse. In addition, the contacts you make, and the training you receive, will be invaluable in dealing with a post-collapse world. Security guards will see an increase in work, and is an excellent skill to trade for shelter, water, and food.
(3) Farming. After shelter and water, food is the most important resource for preppers. You can't live more than three weeks without it. An economic collapse generally results in higher food prices. Local farmers will be able to compete with large food chains because they will not have the additional transportation expenses associated with stocking the shelves. After TEOTWAWKI, food becomes an excellent source of barter.
(4) Small engine repair. Once again, this is an opportunity to use your skills to assist the public. Learn how to repair power tools, chainsaws, ATV engines, etc. After TEOTWAWKI, having the tools, parts, and know-how to fix things will be very valuable.
(5) Gunsmithing and Ammunition Production. Many people believe that after a collapse event, the government will take more control over their people, greatly limiting our access to guns and ammunition. Even if this weren't to occur, a lack of access to industrialized processes will bring the gun manufacturing industry to a halt. This will lead to a huge demand for gun repairs and homemade ammunition. Learning to be a gunsmith will keep you in demand and your arsenal stocked no matter what happens. We may not know the future, but we know that folks will always want guns!
(6) Leathercraft and Garment Making. We'll all lose a lot of weight after the SHTF. Also, the needs for holsters, belts, and shoe repair will need to be fulfilled.
(7) Blacksmith. Every town will have the need for a skilled blacksmith—someone who can work with wrought iron and steel, forging the metal into tools, weapons, farming equipment and much more. The blacksmith can also produce horse shoes which are sure to be a necessity post collapse.
(8) Butcher. With the absence of retail supermarkets and just in time delivery systems, the skills to slaughter and dress animals while minimizing waste and turning out cuts of meat for consumption will be in high demand in local communities.
Store Precious Metals for Investment and Barter
The topic of barter will be discussed extensively in the next chapter. But before collapse, precious metals are an excellent way to preserve your wealth from a market collapse. During a period of economic instability, investors often rush into precious metals. As panic sets in, the price of silver and gold can rise rapidly. There are a number of investment advisors who can argue for investing in gold over silver, and vice versa. Our opinion is that silver is preferable under current conditions, and post-SHTF. Either way, we recommend that you buy physical gold and silver in a form that is widely recognized.
We will not attempt to extol the virtues of one over the other as an investment tool. We will recommend that precious metals be a part of your investment portfolio as a hedge against inflation and market collapse. Owning physical gold and silver is the key; otherwise, you might just end up owning a piece of paper when the grid goes down.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Barter
Bartering is the act of exchanging one commodity, goods or services for another, without the use of money. Bartering benefits individuals, companies, and countries that see a mutual benefit in exchanging goods and services rather than cash, and it enables those who are lacking hard currency to obtain goods and services.
When thinking about what you can barter to obtain a good or service you want, consider not only any possessions you might be willing to part with, but also any skills you have to offer. These skills might include what you do professionally, but they can also include any activity you're proficient at, from cleaning to babysitting to yard work to baking. Bartering exchanges can happen on a very small or large scale. Children exchanging items from their lunchboxes, for example, is a common form of barter exchange, but businesses may also barter for goods, advertising space or other commodities.
Before money became widespread, bartering was the way most people exchanged the things they had for the things they needed. Today bartering is not the most common means of exchange in any society, but it can still be a useful way of trading goods, particular when the economy is poor, there is a limited amount of money, or there is rapid inflation.
Bartering is a useful way for people with surplus or unwanted items to exchange them for items that would be more useful to them. Bartering may be less convenient than using money. Cash, or cash equivalents, are liquid, whereas bartering relies on the coincidence that two individuals will have exactly what the other wants, at the same time and in the right quantity. However, a growing number of websites are dedicated to connecting barterers and today there's a vast range of items to trade.
After an economic collapse or any significant collapse event, barter will become the new way to exchange goods and services. Barter is a favorite topic of preppers, and the views and opinions vary. Our opinion on barter can be reflected in a conversation I had with my wife regarding the purchase of pre-1964 silver for barter purposes.
Bobby: I think we need to purchase some pre-1964 silver coins to use as barter after TEOTWAWKI.
Danni: Barter for what?
Bobby: Well, for something that we don't have.
Danni: Like what?
Bobby: I don't know. I guess we'll find out when the time comes.
Danni: Maybe it would be better to figure out what you might need, and get it now before the prices and availability become ridiculous. Instead of buying silver, go buy the stuff you'll need instead.
The result of that conversation was an extensive prepper checklist, a link to which has been appended to this book as Exhibit C and is available as a free download at FreedomPreppers.com.
Of course, being a male, I purchased the silver coins anyway. Because you never know what you might have forgotten. Or perhaps there is a skill someone has that you don't. But my wife made an excellent point. If your resources are limited, focus on the prepper items on a well thought out checklist, and get them before TEOTWAWKI. Gold and silver will always have an intrinsic value, but when the economy collapses, or the grid goes down, covering the necessities of food, water, shelter, and security will be more important than your pile of silver quarters.
After the SHTF, marketplaces will begin to appear based upon barter exchange. These may be dangerous at first. Traveling to and from your secured location will certainly require planning. Also, it will take some period of time for prices to be established. Availability of goods will dictate the prices, but emotions may impact them as well. Until the economy returns to normal, the barter system will experience wide swings in pricing.
There are hundreds of articles and just as many opinions on the best items to have available for a barter exchange. We have only three suggestions:
(1) NEVER barter ammo or weapons. Why in the world would you want to trade away your security to a person who might come back and use it to kill you someday?
(2) NEVER create a barter exchange near your bug-out location. I don't care how many security personnel you have, there is always a greater force that can overcome you.
(3) Best form of barter exchange is something that you can replenish, such as heirloom seeds. If you've properly prepared, you'll have many years of heirloom seeds in storage. After each harvest, you can increase your supply of seeds. Most people have not stored seeds for long-term survival. You can help feed your community which in turn keeps them from looking at you and your food stores for survival.
(4) If you must, buy pre-1964 silver coins. It is recognizable to everyone. The last thing that you want to do is enter the newly formed barter marketplace and pull out a pocket of one ounce gold Krugerrands. What are you gonna do, ask for change?
One last suggestion. Don't enter the barter exchange looking like the President of the bank. Think poor and downtrodden. You don't want to be flashy. It'll get you killed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
We Are All Preppers Now
The threats we face are many. At FreedomPreppers.com, Americans are urged to prepare for a worst-case scenario. If nothing happens, you've lost nothing. For the United States, short of nuclear annihilation, many consider the worst case scenario to be an extended grid down scenario.
The way you protect yourself isn't very high-tech. In fact, you're going to be better off going low-tech.
Where do you begin in formulating a Preparedness Plan? An entire preparedness guide, hundreds of pages long, may still not adequately cover the elements of a comprehensive preparedness plan. The numerous disaster preparedness guides, blogs, and professional videos are all excellent resources. But where does one start?
Essentially, it all boils down to:
Beans, Band-Aids & Bullets
Well, of course there is much more to developing a preparedness plan than the big three, but all preparedness experts know these are the basics. Many preppers are well organized and rely heavily upon checklists. We urge you to review Appendix B which provides a summary as well as a link to a free pdf download of an extensive preparedness checklist. Preppers constantly update their checklists to ensure they didn't overlook anything. You will as well.
As you review the following, keep in mind certain basic principles when preparing your plan.
The survival rule of threes: You can only live three minutes without air; three hours without shelter in extreme conditions; three days without water; and three weeks without food. This helps you prioritize your preps for a post-collapse survival situation.
The prepper rule of redundancy: Three is two, two is one, and one is none. When your prepper supplies run out, you can't drive down to Wal-Mart and restock.
Building your prepper supplies to an acceptable level for long term survival requires baby steps. Thus, survival planning starts with the perfect trinity of prepping—beans, band-aids, and bullets. Clearly, an oversimplification of what a preparedness plan entails, but it is a pretty good reflection of what you better have covered. This is a well-known expression within the prepper community as it outlines the essentials that you will need in the event of TEOTWAWKI—the end of the world as we know it.
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bsp; In summary, beans will include your prepper supplies, the items in your prepper pantry and water. Band-aids will refer to all things medical. Bullets represent the weapons and ammunition necessary to protect yourself, your family and your preps.
Beans – Your Prepper Pantry
What's in your prepper pantry? Right now, honest assessment. How many days could your family survive on what's in your house right now? Most American households have less than seven days of food on hand.
Building a prepper pantry is one of those lifelines that take both time and planning to make it fully functional. Ideally, you want to store shelf stable foods that your family normally consumes, as well as find foods that serve multiple purposes. Stocking your prepper pantry should involve a combination of ready to eat food and beverages to last your family many months plus long term food storage for a year or more.
Overall, your prepper pantry should reflect an abundance of the foods that you eat on a regular basis. Utilize a first in, first out rotation. This is a mistake many new preppers make. They buy food they don't eat on a regular basis. Store foods that have a long shelf life that don't require refrigeration after opening, and that are easy to cook off the grid.
Our suggested preparedness plan includes non-perishable foods on our shelves to last us one year. Then we have canned vegetables, fruit, and meats created throughout the year. Finally, dried goods such as beans, rice, pasta, and oatmeal are stored utilizing Mylar Bags and desiccant packs (this technique is discussed in depth on the Freedom Preppers website) which can last for up to twenty years.
The following foods are all popular food staples that should be considered as essentials for your Prepper Pantry. The advantages to storing these items are they encompass all of the key consideration points listed above. Best of all, these items are very affordable and versatile, thus making them worthy of being on your storage shelves for extended emergencies. You'll find most of these items in your pantry already. Try to increase the quantity each week and place them into rotation. Use this list as a starting point on beginning or extending your Prepper Pantry. Always keep your family's food preferences and dietary needs in mind when investing in your food supply. This list is very basic, but a good start. The checklist in Appendix C is helpful as well.