Preparing for Uncertainty and Self Reliance

[C-Mag]

Paying off debt in anticipation of a societal collapse is about the dumbest piece of advice routinely given.

Which basket would you rather have 1 second before the EMP/nukes/zombies/plague destroys society:

Basket A
$50,000 in maxed out credit cards / consumer debt
$50,000 in silver coins, guns, off road vehicles, tools, laser eye surgery, dental work (get those teeth perfect before your cannibal days), etc.

Basket B
No consumer debt.
No metals, guns, tools, shitty eyesight, rotten teeth, etc.

Yeah, given that scenario, I take B every time.
I built homes for Y2Kers complete with safe rooms, generators, larders and root cellars. I watched as some of these people basically bankrupted themselves to watch the magic hour come and go.

History tells us that crisis events and periods happen. Being ready to survive that well is not crazy. Making a particular potential event your entire life is crazy. Flexibility and diversification of assets and skills makes far more sense.

I agree with you.

I guess where I come from is I'll visit these sites where these people's entire philosophy is that the collapse is imminent. But then they tell you, "Payoff all your credit cards".

Why?

In fact, even if the world doesn't collapse, don't pay your fucking credit cards unless you really want good credit. Stop paying your cards, and in 6 months they will call you up and offer you a settlement at 35 cents on the dollar, payable over 3 months. Or offer to close the account and let you payoff at 0 percent over 5 years. All you have to do is claim a "hardship" (which can be anything, really--they just need to fill in the blank on their computer to make the deal happen). Yes, your credit will be shit. But if you're in debt, you don't want good credit anyways---you are clearly not responsible with it.

If you want to go to an all-cash lifestyle, there's no reason to payoff unsecured debt in full. Stop making payments and settle with them at dimes on the dollar later on.

I get your point Boe.

But with economic stuff the way I imagining stuff going is that gov just shuts down Wall Street and banks on a Friday afternoon on a 3 day weekend and says they will open up Tuesday or Wednesday or whatever, but they either don't open or open with severe restrictions to economic activity.

[C-Mag]

I have about a quarter-acre of clay soil that I've worked into a large family garden. We've gotten quite good at preserving, making sauces, and pickling.

Next step up for me is to get enough land to house some small animals - chickens/goats/etc. A friend of mine has rabbits in a giant hanging 'hutch' in the garage. He says he gets about 25% of the family meat supply from them.

I raised chickens for years, it's a great chore for this kids. Once the kids left, the wife and I didn't care for the extra work, and we ate a lot less eggs, so we got out of the chicken business.

Havesting and Canning is a lot of work, but I find it rewarding.

What all are you growing on that 1/4 acre ?

[SuburbanFarmer]

Let me ask this question. Who right now is growing some kind of food ? I'm not doing a lot right now, but I do have some lettuce and herbs growing in a small bay window. If you aren't, why in the hell not ? If you have decorative plants in your house, why not have edible ones ?

I have about a quarter-acre of clay soil that I've worked into a large family garden. We've gotten quite good at preserving, making sauces, and pickling.

Next step up for me is to get enough land to house some small animals - chickens/goats/etc. A friend of mine has rabbits in a giant hanging 'hutch' in the garage. He says he gets about 25% of the family meat supply from them.

Good On you and your family.

I bet you learned some do's and don'ts with that clay soil.

I would add that there are some vertical growing techniques for a small footprint. I grow all my spuds in tires, best method I've found and harvesting is a cinch.

Clay soil is a fucking nightmare. Takes a hell of a lot of compost to fix it.

Yeah we were looking at some tricks for potatoes, and ended up using a couple of big plastic totes, starting with a few inches of soil. We just kept adding soil throughout the summer and ended up with a huge harvest. Still eating them now.

[C-Mag]

Clay soil is a fucking nightmare. Takes a hell of a lot of compost to fix it.

Yeah we were looking at some tricks for potatoes, and ended up using a couple of big plastic totes, starting with a few inches of soil. We just kept adding soil throughout the summer and ended up with a huge harvest. Still eating them now.

Clay and all Silty-Sand are equally bad for opposite reasons.

I've never been able to get the 100 lbs of spuds out of the on column planting. What works for me is, I only go 2 tires high and I seed 3 plants per tire. I get a very good yield. I tired going 4-5 tires high, but it seems the plant is just putting all it's energy into vertical growth and not fruit production. I imagined I was going to have a lot of spuds that grew together from multiple plants in one tire, but it hasn't been a problem. I'm on a small old farm plot that was established in the late 1880s, house built in 1890. I have a couple acres. The original well is still there, but I need to rebuilt the old hand pump. The soil is well developed and has only grown grass on most of it for the last 30 or so years.

I'm lucky. I have a few mature fruit trees, I have 5 varieties of hops. Got a lot going for me. It took time to find an old farmstead. The thing about them, most were built in locations by people who lived with low tech by todays standards and out of necessity they had to be self sufficient in growing their own food.

[Okeefenokee]

Do we need a prepper thread ?
Yep I think we do. But you need to start it.
No, you.
Why me DSL? AKA StA
__________

One thing I need to get into is reloading. I have a couple of money eating projects to get done this year so.....maybe Mrs. Clause will buy me some equipment for Christmas? One can dream.

I haven't reloaded in years. I had it all stored in a shop that burned down and I never replaced my gear. I know so many people that reload, I may not take this on. Rather just stock up on raw materials needed for common calibers. I think that's best for me. At worse, I am investing in stuff that always seems to maintain it's value and actually appreciates. For instance Lead shot and bullets have gone up 300% in the last 20 years.

Those lead weights that are used to balance wheels, can you melt those down for shot? We used to pick them up on the road to use as fishing weights. They are everywhere.

[C-Mag]

Those lead weights that are used to balance wheels, can you melt those down for shot? We used to pick them up on the road to use as fishing weights. They are everywhere.

Yeah, I not sure I could scare up more than a couple of them right now. I should go to my tire shop and get as many as I can carry in a 5 gal bucket. Got a buddy that will hook me up I think.

I have a forge that I built years ago when I was making my living as a Farrier. But I'd really like to build a small steel bucket foundry and get a good crucible for melting down metals. A couple buddies saved beer cans, melted them down and milled a can. It works, but they made the fins too thin and it didn't stand up to too much heat. They are back at it again.

Beer to Guns, can't beat that!

[Okeefenokee]

Those lead weights that are used to balance wheels, can you melt those down for shot? We used to pick them up on the road to use as fishing weights. They are everywhere.

Yeah, I not sure I could scare up more than a couple of them right now. I should go to my tire shop and get as many as I can carry in a 5 gal bucket. Got a buddy that will hook me up I think.

I have a forge that I built years ago when I was making my living as a Farrier. But I'd really like to build a small steel bucket foundry and get a good crucible for melting down metals. A couple buddies saved beer cans, melted them down and milled a can. It works, but they made the fins too thin and it didn't stand up to too much heat. They are back at it again.

Beer to Guns, can't beat that!

If we're talking uncertain times, I imagine something more like this,

[SuburbanFarmer]

Clay and all Silty-Sand are equally bad for opposite reasons.

I've never been able to get the 100 lbs of spuds out of the on column planting. What works for me is, I only go 2 tires high and I seed 3 plants per tire. I get a very good yield. I tired going 4-5 tires high, but it seems the plant is just putting all it's energy into vertical growth and not fruit production. I imagined I was going to have a lot of spuds that grew together from multiple plants in one tire, but it hasn't been a problem. I'm on a small old farm plot that was established in the late 1880s, house built in 1890. I have a couple acres. The original well is still there, but I need to rebuilt the old hand pump. The soil is well developed and has only grown grass on most of it for the last 30 or so years.

I'm lucky. I have a few mature fruit trees, I have 5 varieties of hops. Got a lot going for me. It took time to find an old farmstead. The thing about them, most were built in locations by people who lived with low tech by todays standards and out of necessity they had to be self sufficient in growing their own food.

Wow, that sounds freaking ideal. Nice find.

My next home should be very similar. I don't have any patience for structural issues or mold though, and a WHOLE lot of old farmhouses seem to have them. I'd like to find something newer, or get a decent price on building my own.

[C-Mag]

If we're talking uncertain times, I imagine something more like this,

Works for me!

[Dand]

I'm lucky. I have a few mature fruit trees, I have 5 varieties of hops. Got a lot going for me. It took time to find an old farmstead. The thing about them, most were built in locations by people who lived with low tech by todays standards and out of necessity they had to be self sufficient in growing their own food.

Sounds fantastic. What are you brewing with all the hops?