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Economic Crisis: How You Can Prepare Over The Next Six Months

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Submitted by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,

I wouldn’t say that it is “never too late” to prepare for potential disaster because, obviously, the numerous economic and social catastrophes of the past have proven otherwise. There simply comes a point in time in which the ignorant and presumptive are indeed officially screwed. I will say that we have not quite come to that point yet here in the U.S., but the window of opportunity for preparation is growing very narrow.

As expected, U.S. stocks are now revealing the underlying instability of our economy, which has been festering for several years.  Extreme volatility not seen since 2008/2009 has returned, sometimes with 1000 point fluctuations positive and negative in the span of only a couple days.  Current market tremors are beginning to resemble the EKG of a patient suffering a heart attack.

Stocks are a trailing indicator, meaning that when an equities crash finally becomes visible to the mainstream public, it indicates that the economic fundamentals have been broken beyond repair for quite a while. What does this mean for those people who prefer to protect themselves and their families rather than wait to be drowned like lemmings in a deluge? It means they are lucky if they have more than a few months to put their house in order.

The process of crisis preparedness is not as simple as going on a gear-buying bonanza or making a few extra trips to Costco. That is better than nothing; but really, it’s a form of half-assed prepping that creates more of an illusion of survivabilty rather than providing ample security in the event that financial systems malfunction.

Much of what’s listed in this article will include training and infrastructure goals far beyond the usual standards of beans, bullets and Band-Aids.

Market turmoil has only just begun to take shape around the globe; and as I explained in my last article, the situation is only going to become exponentially worse as 2015 bleeds into 2016. I certainly cannot say for certain how long our system will remain “stable,” primarily because our current collapse could easily move faster or slower through the influence of outside or engineered events (a slower progression without any black swan-style triggers would likely end in total breakdown within the span of a couple years, rather than a fast progression ending in the span of a few months). What I can do is give you a conservative timeline for preparedness and offer examples of actions anyone can accomplish within that period. For now, my timeline is limited to six months or less, meaning these preparations should be undertaken with the intent to complete them in half a year. If you get more time than that, thank your lucky stars for the extension.

Find Two Family Members, Two Friends and One Neighbor Of Like Mind

Here is the bottom line: If you are going the route of the lone wolf or secret squirrel isolated from any community, then you are already dead. You might as well hand your food and supplies over to someone else with a better fighting chance. The lone wolf methodology is the worst possible strategy for survival. And if you look at almost every collapse scenario in history from Argentina to Bosnia to the Great Depression, it is always the people with strong community who end up surviving.

Going lone wolf is partially useful only if you have zero moral fortitude and you plan to rob or murder every other person you come across and then run. This is not the smartest idea either because it requires a person to constantly seek out violent contact in order to live day to day. Eventually, the lone wolf’s luck will run out no matter how vicious he is.

I’ve noticed that those people who promote lone wolf survivalism tend to lean toward moral relativism, though they rarely come right out and admit what their real plans are. I’ve also noticed that it is the lone wolves who also often attempt to shame average preppers into isolationism with claims of “OPSEC” (operations security) and warnings of neighbors ready to loot their homes at the first sign of unrest. “Don’t talk to anyone,” they say. “Your only chance is to hide.” One should consider the possibility that the lone wolves prefer that preppers never form groups or communities because that would make their predatory strategy more successful.

Without community, you have no security beyond the hope that people will not find you by chance. You also have limited skill sets to draw from (no one has the knowledge and ability to provide all services and necessities for themselves). And you will have no ability to rebuild or extend your lines of safety, food production, health services, etc. once the opportunity arises. If you cannot find two family members, two friends and one neighbor to work with you in the next six months, then you aren’t trying hard enough; and thus, frankly, you don’t deserve to survive. I’ve heard all the excuses before: “Everyone around me is blissfully ignorant,” “My family is addicted to their cellphones,” “All my friends are Keynesians” and so on. It doesn’t matter. No more excuses. Get it done. If I can do it, you can.

Approach Your Church, Veterans’ Hall Or Other Organization

What do you have to lose? Find an existing organization you belong to and see if you can convince them to pre-stage supplies or hold classes on vital skills. Keep your approach nonpolitical. Make it strictly about preparedness and training. If you can motivate a church or a veterans’ hall or a homeschoolers’ club to actually go beyond their normal parameters and think critically about crisis preparedness, then you may have just saved the lives of dozens if not hundreds or people who would have been oblivious otherwise. Making the effort to approach such groups could be accomplished in weeks, let alone six months.

Learn A Trade Skill

Take the next six months and learn one valuable trade skill, meaning any skill that would allow you to produce a necessity, repair a necessity or teach a necessary knowledge set. If you cannot do this, then you will have no capability to barter in a sustainable way. Remember this: The future belongs to the producers, and only producers will thrive post-collapse.

Commit To Rifle Training At Least Once A Week

Set aside the money and the ammo to practice with your primary rifle every week for the next six months. Yes, training uses up your ammo supply; but you are far better off sending a couple thousand rounds down range to perfect your shooting ability rather than letting that ammo sit in a box doing nothing while your speed and accuracy go nowhere.

Also, think in terms of real training methods, including speed drills, movement drills, reloading and malfunction clearing, and, most importantly, team movement and communications drills. Shooting a thousand rounds from a bench at the range is truly a waste of time and money. Train in an environment that matches your expected operational conditions. Make sure you are learning something new all the time and make sure you are actually challenged by the level of difficulty. If you are not getting frustrated, then you are not training correctly.

Create A Local Ham Network - Expand To Long Distance

A 5-watt ham radio can be had for about $40. With the flood of low-cost, Chinese-made radios on the market today, there is simply no excuse not to have one. If you want to get your ham license, then by all means do so and expand the number of available frequencies you can legally use. If you don’t have a license, practice on non-licensed channels such as MURS channels (yes, MURS is only supposed to be operated at 1 watt or less; I won’t tattle on you to the Federal Communications Commission if you use 5 watts).

A 5-watt handheld ham radio can easily achieve 30 miles or more depending on the type of antenna used. With repeaters, hundreds of miles can be covered. With a high frequency (HF) rig, hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles can be covered without the use of repeaters (though HF radios are far more expensive).

During a national disaster, there is no guarantee that normal communications will continue. Phone and Internet connections can be lost through neglect, or they can be deliberately eliminated by government entities. A nation or community without communications is lost. Find friends and family and set up your communications network now. Over time, your network may grow to cover a vast area; but it has to start with a core, and that core is you.

Learn Basic Emergency And Combat Medical Response

We are lucky in my area to have a few people with extensive medical knowledge in our Community Preparedness Team. I have received training in multiple areas of emergency and combat medical response, and I am grateful for access to such people because there is always more to learn in this field. If you do not have people on your team with medical experience, then you will have to seek out such classes where you can.

Local EMT classes are a good start, but these courses are very limited in scope and do not cover treatment as much as they cover the identification of particular problems. Almost no community courses I can think of delve into combat medical response. If you can’t find a private trainer in your area, then you will have to settle for Web videos. Purchase extra supplies such as Israeli or OLAES bandages and practice using them. Learn your CAT tourniquet until you can use it in the dark. My team even shot a Christmas ham and then pumped fake blood through it to simulate a wound for our blood-stopping class.

If you already have solid people with medical training, try focusing in a niche area like dental work. At the very least, learn your trauma-response basics and store your own medical supplies. Do not assume that you will have access to a hospital when you need it.

Store At Least One Year Of Food – Then Store Extra

With your current food stores can you make it at least one year without a grocery supply source? Can you make it through at least one planting and harvest season with 2000 – 3000 available calories per person? Do you have extra food for people you might wish to help?

Imagine you or your community come across an ER surgeon during a crisis situation, but he did not prepare. Are you going to “stick it to him” and let him starve because he didn't see the danger coming, or are you going to want to keep that guy and his skill sets around? Food preparedness is not as straightforward as it seems. You have to think in terms of your own survival, yes, but also in terms of individual aid. During a full spectrum collapse food is the key to everything. This is why governments like ours set up provisions for food confiscation. They know well that food is power. Without extra supply, communities struggle to form because people become hyper-focused on themselves and lose track of the bigger survival picture. Governments understand that if they can offer limited food to the desperate, they can control the desperate. Do what you can to make sure there are no desperate people within your sphere of influence and you remove the establishment's best mode of control.

Plan Your Food Independence In Advance

To survive you must become your own farmer. Period. Do you know how to do this in your particular climate? Have you accounted for pest control and bad weather conditions? Have you extended your growing season with the use of greenhouses? Are you planning your crops realistically? What provides more sustenance, a field of tomatoes or a field of potatoes? A planting box full of lettuce or of carrots? What crops can be stored the longest and are the hardiest against poor conditions? What gives you the best bang for your buck and for your labor?

I realize that the current growing season is almost at an end, but that does not mean you can't spend the next six months planning for the next season. Condition your soil for planting now. Store extra fertilizer and compost. Be ready for pests. Learn the square foot method as well as barrel planting. Take note of the space you have and how you can best use it. Stockpile seeds for several years of planting.

Train Your Mind To Handle Crisis

Panic betrays and fear kills. The preparedness culture is built upon the ideal that one must defeat fear in order to live. How a person goes about removing uncertainty from the mind is really up to the individual. For me, combat training and mixed martial arts is a great tool. If you get used to people trying to hurt you in a ring, it's not quite as surprising or terrifying when it happens in the real world. If you can handle physical and mental trauma in a slightly more controlled environment, then fear is less likely to take hold of you during a surprise disaster.

Six months may be enough time to enter a state of mental preparedness, it may not be, but more than anything else, this is what you should be focusing on. All other survival actions depend on it. Your ability to function personally, your ability to work with others, your ability to act when necessary, all rely on your removal of fear. Take the precious time you have now and ensure you are ready to handle whatever the future throws at you.

 

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Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:24 | 6530043 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

I am 'husky' if 5' 11" @ 195 lbs is considered 'husky'? I'm built for CANADA and am seventh gen CANADIAN. I can hunt & fish enough to survive on my own. The only thing that scares me are the bears, wild cats, moose, wild turkeys, porkupines, wolves, and the dark.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:25 | 6530237 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

Can you get a dog? I do most of my camping alone and my dog gives me quite a bit of extra comfort. If you learn training they can be excellent hunting and protection dogs, and their body language will tell you if anything is nearby to worry about. Bears aren't generally a concern unless you're near to camping grounds and trails (where they get accustomed to food), but wild cats are very rare here so I have no experience. Coywolves the same, not really a concern. Feral dogs in the cities will be much more dangerous.

All your other points seem important to consider as well. Mosquito-protection is a must and learning how to deal with the cold. It wouldn't be easy but the north of Ontario does at least have lots of open wilderness. And you can always eat pine bark if you get desperate.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:55 | 6530266 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

Getting a dog would be great as I've always wanted a dog, but if I got a dog that would be one more mouth to feed every day unless the dog was trained to eat gophers. The right dog for CANADA is a Husky or domesticated wolf. And bug protection is not that important when one lives in the bush for more than a couple of weeks. Once the city smell

washes off in the breeze the bugs become tolerable. Blackfly season is bad I must admit.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:29 | 6530308 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

That is a concern, definitely. Other dogs are possible, and huskies don't make for great hunters. Depending on your location even shorthair dogs would be fine, below -20 would just be helpful to have an old wool blanket or something similar for them as extra protection. Huskies are mainly sled dogs, so not really that helpful in surviving. Pyrenees, retrievers, shepherds, and dogos are some of the best. I would say a dogo or dutch shepherd mix would be the best all around. Even a small dog is an alert presence and requires less food.

The bugs can be extreme in certain locations, and hygiene is important in the wilderness to take care of your skin. But even going full dirt I don't think would limit the mosquitoes. I don't really notice much difference anyway when I camp, and I don't use scented anything when by myself. Something to consider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6ygxPhK9Qk

It's pretty much the same here at times, and from what I've heard Ontario can be just as bad. Les Stroud says that he built up an immunity to bites, but only after four years.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:36 | 6530313 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

That is a concern, definitely. Other dogs are possible, and huskies don't make for great hunters. Depending on your location even shorthair dogs would be fine, below -20 would just be helpful to have an old wool blanket or something similar for them as extra protection. Huskies are mainly sled dogs, so not really that helpful in surviving. Pyrenees, retrievers, shepherds, and dogos are some of the best. I would say a dogo or dutch shepherd mix would be the best all around. Even a small dog is an alert presence and requires less food.

The bugs can be extreme in certain locations, and hygiene is important in the wilderness to take care of your skin. But even going full dirt I don't think would limit the mosquitoes. I don't really notice much difference anyway when I camp, and I don't use scented anything when by myself. Something to consider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6ygxPhK9Qk

It's pretty much the same here at times, and from what I've heard Ontario can be just as bad. Les Stroud says that he built up an immunity to bites, but only after four years.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 06:51 | 6530414 Adahy
Adahy's picture

Constant fire is the cure-all for your fears.  Can you make and operate a bow-drill set, just in case?

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:52 | 6530204 Clowns on Acid
Clowns on Acid's picture

MoU - Who knows what form the Collapse will take on. The point is that one is prepared for  the different forms.

Western people will survive and indeed thrive once the banker apocalypse occurs.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:04 | 6530000 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Dear Master,
So trying to survive is futile. OK. Can I have your Ham radio ?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:28 | 6530052 MASTER OF UNIVERSE
MASTER OF UNIVERSE's picture

I'll need my Ham radio to listen to all the other wimps on Ham radios whining about how we can't survive, Sweet Cheeks. What am I going to do when Z/H goes down and all I have left is the Ham radio to whine into until I'm consumed by fear? You will have to buy your own Ham radio to join the network of whiners just like me.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:31 | 6530240 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

Jiffy pop and Ham radioes by the campfire bringing in news of the cannibalism elsewhere. The future is looking up.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:51 | 6530322 dreadnaught
dreadnaught's picture

I see Survivalists fighting Survivalists after a month....and then the Apache choppers/tanks move in....

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 04:22 | 6530345 wizteknet
wizteknet's picture

The Apache choppers have been training for years near our Walmart distribution center, wonders why hmm. NOT

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:24 | 6529899 Budnacho
Budnacho's picture

3rd-Floor Democracy Bunker is Complete. Training my Cats to run under cars with IED's for treats like Russian Tank-Dogs from WW2...45 Days of Food and Water for all of us and enough Ammo and Guns to make an impact on whomever wants to come for me and the kitties.

 

Look on the news for the Fat-Older guy holding his RPK above his head and yelling "Wolverines!"

 

Because if I have to go down....it will be to a horribly-cheesy 80's film dialog....it's just how I roll.....

 

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:28 | 6529916 homiegot
homiegot's picture

Buy the bottom you assholes. Buy the bottom.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:48 | 6529956 MATA HAIRY
MATA HAIRY's picture

that reminds me--janet yellen promised me a fat tail distribution, but so far nothing...

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:45 | 6529938 falconflight
falconflight's picture

As the urban planner has herded 90% of the population into the 'beehive' (Urbanization), individual abilities to self sustain even for a few weeks drop to very low levels indeed.  Just think of how scarce water becomes and how quickly life affirming sanitation (public sewage systems) leads to wholesale die off in just a few weeks.  In the city, you might get some minimal gov't assistance, but that help very quickly disappears, and so does much chance of survival.  

Most live in or adjacent to the Beehive due to employment, but many could opt for long commutes to live outside of these urban mass cemeteries upping your chances should the worst present.

Wed, 09/09/2015 - 23:58 | 6529975 PersonalRespons...
PersonalResponsibility's picture

I'm starting a business! WOOT!! Wait, not a good time? Awe fuck it. Starting it anyway. Good thing about being debt free.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:03 | 6529984 Md4
Md4's picture

I believe in preparedness, but this is crazy...

If it ever got this bad, I assure you it'll be marshal law...for a while. If you want to think in terms of preparedness, a once free society, now sharply curtailed is the way you want to think.

Next to outright chaos, I think you'll find military control an acceptable alternative.

What you want to focus on is group-sufficiency for the short-term. It is well that folks gather tools and skilled contacts to establish minimum essentials are produced and made available to each other. Indeed, this will look and feel much like a natural disaster relief effort, secured by the military.

I promise you, if you come out, guns ablaze, you'll be the first taken out. It simply won't be tolerated during a national socioeconomic/ national security emergency.

What we'll need is each other, God, and a helluva lot of humility...

...no Rambo's are going to be tolerated.

m

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:20 | 6530033 falconflight
falconflight's picture

MRAPs are disabled and operators subsequently neutralized with a paint balloon on the windshield.  The Afghans did it to the Soviet Army.  

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:56 | 6530112 Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Cheeks's picture

Sounds like you think your government that got you into this mess is going to fix it.

Not in a timely fashion.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 04:19 | 6530332 Md4
Md4's picture

Respectfully, while I see your point, I assume the government in power today would likely be replaced rather quickly. I would expect more than a few of the Pelosi types would disappear from sight practically overnight.

You might have the president with a DOD team (SECDEF, Joint Chiefs, and national security apparatus), but little from either the legislative or judicial branches. Local law enforcement would be the domestic force, and that would be nationalized by the president, and placed under military control.

It is possible that some citizens who met certain criteria could be deputized to extend reach and force strength, and well as serve to guard detention facilities that would spring up by the square mile...

Under martial law, civilian courts would be suspended (by presidential emergency declaration and by instituting martial law), and therefore, a military justice system (in consort with a nationalized civilian judicial system under military justice system supervision) would be instituted within a few months.

Recent military retirees (especially field officers with combat command experience) would be re-activated and deployed (following basic civilian control/ peacekeeping training) quickly.

And there would be scads of conscripts who couldn't wait to get a uniform and pack an M4A3 too.

It is possible we'd have Mad Max for a week or two, but I seriously doubt it would run amok long. We're still a military superpower--not Syria.

m

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 04:41 | 6530350 Md4
Md4's picture

One more thing...

The next Commander-in-Chief we select WILL be the most important choice our country has made since it persuaded and elected George Washington to serve.

m

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 12:45 | 6531647 PTR
PTR's picture

LOL.  You still think elections make a difference.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:04 | 6529988 22winmag
22winmag's picture

Brandon, I'm still troubled by your being in bed with the Oath Fakers.

 

I mean seriously, who can put on any gov't uniform today and actually claim with a straight face to be doing much of anything that is really in line with the Constiutution? What do these uniformed traitors really do except enforce the globalist agenda, war on drugs, war on brown people, police state/homeland, prison/industrial complex, and so on?

 

I mean it's great that a bunch of cops and soldiers swear not to take our guns during the next big SHTF event, but like what the fuck? They make their living tasering grandmas and bombing brown people 365/24/7 and I should feel secure knowing they won't come for my neighbors guns or mine after the grid goes down? From what I can tell, the Oath Keepers are little more than a PR front and a feel-good circle jerk for Constitution trashing .gov thugs and their deluded supporters.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:03 | 6529995 803Mastiff
803Mastiff's picture

Drudge just reported al Qaedas call for attacks on Warren BUffett, Koch Brothers and other Billionaires.... This sounds like a good cover story for them heading to their bunker/fortresses ahead of a catastrophic event...

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:09 | 6530007 Xatos
Xatos's picture

Dang, interesting call.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:30 | 6530055 Linoleum Blownapart
Linoleum Blownapart's picture

According to the article, these billionaires can "get off the hit list" if they take their money out of U.S. banks. That makes two good covers.

Coincidentally, this particular Al Qaeda magazine has been the subject of speculation as possibly a fabrication of western intelligence. Its English is unusually colloquial, and the PDF of the first issue contained a computer virus.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:41 | 6530089 falconflight
falconflight's picture

Western Socialist gov'ts shakedown billionaires (Like Gates/MSFT by the Clinton Presidency), why shouldn't AQ...it's a proven model.  ;0

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:42 | 6530252 803Mastiff
803Mastiff's picture

August 25, 2015 the stockmarket closed at 15,666. I said it was a sign something had been green lighted. The next day the Virginia shooting (real or not). More interesting the Longitude of the shooting is aprox 79.666 west.... Coincidence? Or is truth stranger than fiction?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:21 | 6530003 astitchintime
astitchintime's picture

Well, me and Hubbs don't own any weapons and really at this point we are on the fence about getting any.

On the one hand, you are a mark if you purchase any at this point and on the other hand neither one of us are going to kill another living soul anyway.  This coming from both of us ex military (me Army and he Navy).  We have both been trained in weapons use and such but neither of us has taken another's life and we both agree we could never ... it's a difficult thing we have not been able to come to grips with.

Hell at this point we are trying to find folks that can kill and dress wildlife, because neither of us can.

We both have tradeable skills, so we're hoping we can find like-minded folks we can barter with.

Yeah, sorry we're not Rambo Mad Max kinda folks ;)

Edited to add:  It hurts me to have to accept we've come to this as a nation and society.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:30 | 6530059 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

You are worm food within the week if shit ever hits the fan.  Pacifists only survive so long as non-pacifists are there to protect them.  You're sheep and the wolves will feast upon your carcasses.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:59 | 6530269 l8apex
l8apex's picture

What makes you think so?  Your post sounds like beginner-level trolling to me.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 11:46 | 6531399 Calmyourself
Calmyourself's picture

"Hell at this point we are trying to find folks that can kill and dress wildlife, because neither of us can."

Seriously, find peope to kill and dress game??  And you question their abiity to survive as pointed out?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:14 | 6530140 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

If the author's scenario happens, and you are not smart enough to find a safe haven someplace else, the people who come a-calling at night and bust down your door will be un-recognizable as 'living souls'. You do not really need a gun, but if you don't then you will need a solid and early evac plan - otherwise you will be 'late'.

I intend to 'run early' rather than 'stay and fight' in post apocalypse United States.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 06:18 | 6530394 Wahooo
Wahooo's picture

I applaud your convictions. I do encourage everyone to acquire basic hunting skills - location, stillness, quiet - and then practice them enough to ensure you can get enough protein for your family. Learning to field dress and clean a deer is very easy, just go to YouTube or Google. Then, and most importantly, develop a good guest hunter relationship with a couple farmers who have sizable acreage. At first it may not be easy, as deer hunters can be slobs and the worst people to let on your property. I've developed good relationships by also clearing their land of groundhogs and coyotes, and they give me free run of the property. You can do the same. If they like venison share your harvest, come back and clear out their groundhogs, etc.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:06 | 6530004 Xatos
Xatos's picture

Spend 40 bucks on decorative solar path lighting for yard. Right now it makes you're house look better, but later could be a daily lantern (x however many you buy)

Buy a water filtration system and or learn how to filter water with sand, etc.

Own propane with propane stove. Easy.

Learn how to cure meats. Learn how to make jerky for what you can't save if you kill a deer or something.

Small solar chargers are cheap, and you can even buy them with am/fm radio inside with ports to charge other devices or batteries.

Buy gatorade powder. Seems to always get missed. You should never just drink water in those times.

I could go on. Maybe the most important? Make sure your wife is on board, else she'll freak out so much your prepping will be useless after she slows you down.

Avoid generators or excessive lights at night that aren't concealed. Don't draw attention to yourself.

Stock gasoline. 

Etc. Etc.

 

Funny how they tell you to "be a farmer" when this would likely occur over winter anyway. This is actually an impossible article opposed to a manageable one.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:02 | 6530272 l8apex
l8apex's picture

All good stuff.  I'll just add - buy a big bag of rice and dry beans, flour, sugar, etc.  Cheap and will keep you going.  Besides, you'll just eat it over the course of a year or two anyways.  That's what I do.  

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:15 | 6530020 falconflight
falconflight's picture

We traveled to the far North Atlanta suburbs today and kinda marveled at the abundant conveniences, a virtual cornucopia.  

The pace is akin to a beehive, but just imagine that instead of a collapse...hyper inflation, WWIII, etc. that the interconnected world, such as trade greatly diminished, wouldn't that be a life threatening calamity for especially Western nations, most especially the US where manufacturing is approximately 10% of the jobs, and processed chicken is actually being imported from China?  Where electricity is more and more generated from solar and wind, a very tech dependent process, that in itself is dependent on equipment from again China?  I don't think an end of the world shock needs to occur to place huge swaths of the population in dire circumstances.

We were relieved to travel back to our Smoky Mountain home and lifestyle.  We ain't missing nothin from our former life in Fort Worth/Dallas 100 mile wide megalopolis. jmo

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:21 | 6530036 Zgangsta
Zgangsta's picture

Invest in thousands of high quality condoms. Great long-lasting barter item!

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:28 | 6530050 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

What makes you think the rampaging dindus, Syrians, etc. will use condoms?  They don't use condoms on their rape victims today, why would they start after a societal collapse?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:57 | 6531102 Jethro
Jethro's picture

Rampaging dindus you say? Not in my AO. They'll just feed the coyotes around here.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:50 | 6530102 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

If you assume your days are numbered in a post apocalypse world, then why not trade a thousand cans of beans and use the thousand condoms yourself!

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:26 | 6530046 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

There is no collapse coming beyond the collapse of what whites consider "civilization."  95% of the world already lives in a state of perpetual societal collapse by comparison to white nations.  That is where the West is headed and for the simple reason that Western nations are becoming majority non-white.

This is no reason to panic or give up hope and stop reproducing.  This doomer propaganda is just more anti-reproductive brainwashing to stop whites from having children.  Because "omg the world is collapsing."  No, it isn't.  Don't spend all your money on supplies so your wife leaves you.  Don't go move out into the middle of nowhere and live by yourself so you have no friends and no wife/kids.  Don't do these things.

What can you do?  Go to work, earn money, maintain friendships, find a mate, reproduce.  The only crisis is the shortage of white children.  The only crisis is the flood of non-whites into white nations.  The only crisis is the genocide of white people.  You do need guns and the will to fight to protect yourself, your family, and your people from genocide.  Bunkering down for some zombie movie fantasy is not reality.  You are far more likely to be murdered by a random dindu than in some zombie apocalypse fantasy.  That's why you need guns, to protect yourself and your family EVERYDAY from non-white savages, not to protect your stash of canned beans "after the collapse."  The collapse of white civilization is already underway but it won't be what you think.  It'll just be like living in Mexico, or Argentina, or Brazil, or Africa, or any non-white country.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:38 | 6530084 Seek_Truth
Seek_Truth's picture

http://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/24.htm

The apocalypse is not a fantasy.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:33 | 6530066 jcdenton
jcdenton's picture
How You Can Prepare Over The Next Six Months

 

Someone got the memo late here. If one was paying attention back on 3/24/2015, you would not be saying here the next six months. He would be saying, If you are not prepared in the next 21 days, forget it! It's too late. You should have been preparing over the LAST six months. That is, since April 1, 2015. ~180 days ago ..

But, no one knows this because your trusted media outlets failed to do their job. Not just the MSM. But the other so-called alternative media outlets. Do we have to name them?

https://app.box.com/s/hfgvcqg7gqh7i27at6sv53ywu87lwarp (Read Me First is provided to get you started.)

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:42 | 6530092 NoWayJose
NoWayJose's picture

The gubmint says you should have 3 days of food and water stored - which assumes the crisis is local and help will arrive. Add in some flashlights, candles, and a 'honey pot' and you are good for any short term local crisis.

But what you should try for is a 30 to 60 day supply of food and household supplies like toilet paper, along with off grid cooking and heating, and a good water filter. Why? Because you could very easily see shortages or outages of any of these things. Even if available, prices could spike higher on any number of reasons. And maybe you will have a pandemic and not want to go out of your house. Your hope here is that everything is restored to normal after that time and you can avoid going to a FEMA camp. Supplies like this can also help you to clean up and rebuild.

The author's scenario is for a lawless post collapse world in America. I don't see me surviving in that world, so rather than prep for that, I would just as soon stash passports, cash and gold, and some foreign language dictionaries - and hope to get out of Dodge to some place safe before roads and airports are shut down.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 00:46 | 6530093 Runs-With_Toast
Runs-With_Toast's picture

3/4 s will die over a shortish time frame due to a gigantic catastrophe, both natural and man made, that will overwhelm mankind - Prophecy of Meher Baba

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:04 | 6530124 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

I think this stormcloudsgathering video has interesting suggestions on the political preparations we should take. Don't necessarily agree with it all but it's an interesting discussion:

After America Collapses, What Comes Next?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQdwZk2gpWo

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:08 | 6530132 BeerMe
BeerMe's picture

I just don't see a complete societal breakdown in most collapse scenerios.  You are better off preparing for a job loss and/or natural disaster. 

How to prepare in the next six months?  I'd focus on little things.  Purchasing extra for the pantry when on sale.  Then get a few items dependent on your skills and location.  A few examples would be a hunting knife, hatchet, can opener, cooking pot, cloth bag, fishing equipment, grill lighters, etc.

One aspect of prepping should be speaking.  During a town meeting are you able to sell your ideas?  Are you able to make them understandable/teachable?  Can you be a leader?

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:17 | 6530143 Rhal
Rhal's picture

I agree there will be such a collapse, but the degree will vary from place to place and at different times. 

I'm just glad I'm not in a big urban jungle. It will be near impossible to re-establish a community there. Small towns are best now.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:24 | 6530156 directaction
directaction's picture

Short everything and become very wealthy. That's how to properly prepare for the collapse of western civilization.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 12:51 | 6531672 PTR
PTR's picture

That's assuming that markets will be open to transfer the ledger accounts to your name.  And that the banks will be open for you to cash the check or withdraw the funds.

At some point though, standing in front of a moving train becomes just too risky.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:41 | 6530186 reptillian overlord
reptillian overlord's picture

Or you could throw yourself at the feet of Gor Gor as he devours everyone and everything.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 01:55 | 6530211 Crusader75
Crusader75's picture

Better to just kill yourselves now, much easier than all this pointless "prepping", and then the country won't have quite so many paranoid loons.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 02:09 | 6530225 Nobody For President
Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:15 | 6530284 Panic Mode
Panic Mode's picture

I don't think Mad Max or Walking Dead event will come but I won't stay in a city. A year of food supply is a bit OTT. More people will commit crime and suicide. 

I would say keep a buffer of fiat cash (like $5000) only for the initial stage of collapse (before new fiat money is issued). That's the window of time frame when everyone is queueing for the bank and only limited cash is allowed for each person, while there are still food and supplies. You can still buy food ahead of other lemmings.

Store petrol, everyone will be queuing for it.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:17 | 6530289 Ungaro
Ungaro's picture

If you are retired, get out of Dodge. You can live better in many places, e.g.: SE Asia or Eastern Europe. Yes, you will have to make compromises but overall the quality of your life can be better. It may not insulate you completely from an economic collapse but you will be far from the epicenter. I prefer to be close to where food can be grown and fresh water is abundant.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:53 | 6530314 wizteknet
wizteknet's picture

Get a torrent client, search for keywords survival, bushcraft & prepper you will find all the info you need. Recommend giving copies to your family & friends to be on the safe side.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 03:43 | 6530321 Automatic Choke
Automatic Choke's picture

I grew up in earthquake country -- I always keep a month or so of food handy.  Nothing fancy, just extra canned and dried food, rotating through the regular cooking.  Water can be bucketed from neighbor's swimming pools for flushing toilets & for drinking (filter if necessary).  All this talk of a years worth plus stockpiling arms just doesn't make sense though.  In a real civilization breakdown (e.g. Mad Max), you're dead.  You aren't going to outshoot roving gangs.  Your only chance is to be way out in the wilds right now on a self-sustaining farm, off grid before the collapse and hope that the roving gangs don't find you.  I'm sure a few folks fit that description, but probably not 99.9% of the ZH talkers.  All of you with your huge stockpiles:   do you really have a huge house with one or two spare bedrooms stockpiled full of food (2-3 people x a year or more is a very large volume)?  do you really have bottled water for same?  ammo?  gasoline?  I don't know about you, but I'm really not happy with the idea of parking a couple of 55 gal drums of gasoline in my garage, and even that would have very limited utility in a full breakdown.

Get real.  Either you really believe this end-of-world stuff and are busy sacrificing all your first-world comforts to move to middle of nowhere (think movie "Mosquito Coast"), or you are blowing hot air.  The '30s depression was really bad, but it wasn't mad max....it was a lot of hardship, a lot more bums asking for handouts, and a lot of cases of neighbors pulling together for each other. 

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 13:08 | 6531746 PTR
PTR's picture

Speaking of water for drinking- $20 for a Lifestraw isn't a bad idea.  One for the home, one for the emergency bag in the car.  

 

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 05:24 | 6530367 free
free's picture

Honestly, this is old news.

How many more of these useless prepper articles do we need?

Save a years worth of food, TP, water, ammo, blah, blah, blah... then what?

What do you do when you run out?

You're fucked, that's what.

 

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 05:34 | 6530373 Magooo
Magooo's picture

Try turning off the electricity for a week and don't use any gasoline

 

That will give you some idea of what you will be facing

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:52 | 6530836 Jethro
Jethro's picture

....The 1880's with less durable implements.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 06:14 | 6530391 Sambo
Sambo's picture

We are on a USD 60 trillion hot air balloon that is very quickly running out of...

.....hot air!

http://pro.bonnerandpartners.com/BBLFALLINGDOWN39/PBBLR914?h=true

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 06:18 | 6530396 idontcare
idontcare's picture

I've been preparing since 2005 and am rather tired of rotating my #10 cans so can we just get on with the apocalypse already!??!!

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 06:49 | 6530412 taketheredpill
taketheredpill's picture

Mentioned many times in comments is that this only applies if you live in MFN.

 

Otherwise store extra food for your mother in law, your wifes aunt and uncle her sister' family (her boys eat like horses) your sisters and their kids erc etc.

 

No mention about getting fit so you are more capable and less dependent on state medical care.

 

Example Tae Kwon Do

 

Get fit

Meet contacts 

Learn a skill you can teach

 

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:00 | 6530862 tumblemore
tumblemore's picture

As mentioned most of the 3rd world live in post-collapse conditions.

 

However the critical thing to consider is what happens when a country suddenly moves from a higher state to a lower state?

The supply chain is very likely to break down for a time because it's so inter connected. That to my mind is the main thing to be prepared for.

 

If it's Mad Max well that's a whole other thing but a temporary period where the supply chain breaks down seems *extremely* likely to me.

 

Also if you have family and you're not inclined to let them starve but they're currently completely blind to the possibility of this happening then perhaps consider how you could feed all of them for a month at your house.

 

 

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 10:55 | 6531092 Jethro
Jethro's picture

The closest thing we'll probably have to Mad Max is if the EBT cards no longer work. However, those idiots will burn down their own neighborhoods anyways. Meh.

There are plenty of veterans that can secure the perimeter of their respective suburban neighborhoods---provided they live in an area that allows firearms (because they will invariably respect the law, but the dindus won't). If you live in a shit hole that has restrictive gun laws---stay and reap the wind asshole---you voted for it.

I anticipate general crime and thievery to go WAY up though. We've had 3 or 4 generations since the last hardship, and an increasingly entitled mentality with each following generation.

Thu, 09/10/2015 - 11:02 | 6531135 felix2
felix2's picture

El Vaquero good info on hominy. Pellegra used to be bad in the south in the depression when people were living on corn meal.

The9thDoctor said Detroit collapsed back in the 1980s, and life goes on. Yeah, because welfare flows into Detroit. Dearborn outside Detroit is a starter caliphate. You can see their trainees at the gun range

I had seniors say they're glad they're dying soon. I tell them if they don't care about their own life they must stay alive - they can throw themselves in front of the bus to save a kid. Put that way, their attitude changes

I'm buying quality tools that wont disintegrate like Chinese junk. Love my S&W 617 - stainless steel

amishlandseeds.com Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato is a wild tomato from Mexico. They self seeded from fruit on the ground after a -10F Michigan winter. Amish Canner also survived sub zero. They crossbred great. If I only 1 tomato it would be the wild cherry. Godzilla vine

I survived in an uninsulated semi shack in Taylor, MI by Mortite, clay on a roll. Original such putty was made from linseed oil and chalk; now main mortite ingredient is titanium dioxide. MSDS non hazardous: hazard.com/msds/f2/bmq/bmqdv.html

Press into every crack. If put up when temp >32F it holds all winter, can be pulled off in spring. Store in tightly closed plastic bags or it dries. Be sure it is still slightly sticky before buying. Had some kind of drug lab under an apt I lived in. You'd be amazed how the fumes got in. The baseboards. tiny pinholes. Mortite was a Lifesaver

Ham radio is good idea. Buying more eyeglasses, a serious gasoline can, a water filter like life straw. superstore.wnd.com/Welcome/LifeStraw-Family-1-0-Water-Purifier

Too close to the Detroit and Dearborn for a bunker but stores don't warehouse. Got to stock. Have a friend who was a mountain man now insulin dependent. Going to buy an engel cooler which can run off grid. My Vet told me insulin keeps a lot longer than the exp date after I gave my diabetic cat a shot of really old insulin. It still had some power.

You only live so long, but everyone has value. Quitters just make it easy for the Takers.

Thu, 09/17/2015 - 00:31 | 6559175 MrSteve
MrSteve's picture

http://gardenplanner.seedsavers.org

start here, it is free; then see what else is at this URL!

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!