[Hick Industries]

I like preparations that don't come with a bunch of regrets. At times that means betting both sides of wager.

Let's face it, no one knows what's going to happen next with the US economy. We have not seen this kind of manipulation and fraud in our lifetimes and we don't know how it will end.

I don't think this can end well and I don't expect that. But I can not bring my self to liquidate my retirement savings.

I don't expect the US to be attacked by a foreign military, but renewed terrorism is possible.

I don't expect the climate to take a dump, or a solar flare to fry us, or yellowstone to erupt.

But one or more of these just might happen.

So I bet both sides of the wager. I store several years worth of food. I'm going to eat the food either way. I just bought it now.

I bought a small ranch for a retirement. I have been planning to sell out and leave California anyway and I grew up living on a farm.

I pulled my money out of stocks and bought gold and silver. I'm too damn old to watch 30 yrs worth of savings burn up in the stock market.

But most of all, I developed real useful skills. No matter what happens, I will have some job some where.

 

[determu]

A double whammy could be possible though, earthquake plus huge wildfires.

Or cher plus lady gaga.... So much glitter.... The horror

 

[COM_AMG]

Several years' worth of food doesn't seem realist to me, but then again to each his own.

 

[goose3]

What kind of skills have you developed?

 

[Tampagt07]

Several years' worth of food doesn't seem realist to me, but then again to each his own.

Why does it not seem realistic? I have about a years supply now, but my goal is two full years (8 people.)

 

[COM_AMG]

What kind of skills have you developed?

You know, like Nun chuck skills, Bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills...Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.

 

[OhioMan]

I like preparations that don't come with a bunch of regrets. At times that means betting both sides of wager.

Let's face it, no one knows what's going to happen next with the US economy. We have not seen this kind of manipulation and fraud in our lifetimes and we don't know how it will end.

I don't think this can end well and I don't expect that. But I can not bring my self to liquidate my retirement savings.

I don't expect the US to be attacked by a foreign military, but renewed terrorism is possible.

I don't expect the climate to take a dump, or a solar flare to fry us, or yellowstone to erupt.

But one or more of these just might happen.

So I bet both sides of the wager. I store several years worth of food. I'm going to eat the food either way. I just bought it now.

I bought a small ranch for a retirement. I have been planning to sell out and leave California anyway and I grew up living on a farm.

I pulled my money out of stocks and bought gold and silver. I'm too damn old to watch 30 yrs worth of savings burn up in the stock market.

But most of all, I developed real useful skills. No matter what happens, I will have some job some where.

Hicks...you might add the words "Rational Response" to your observations!

I agree with you, this just can't end well. If anyone takes an honest, realistic view at the state of our nation must conclude we are in a cluster ** that there is no realistic way out.

Clearly we are in unchartered waters, we will either face complete shut-down or at the very least massive cuts that will result in social unrest that will make the riots of the 1960's pale in comparison. The bubble created after WW2 is about to burst, America is no longer running the economic table around the world like we use to.

We can all see the very dark clouds on the horizon, the conditions are right for the perfect storm. Anyone who isn't preparing, is simple crazy or living in some weird denial in my book!

 

[Hick Industries]

What kind of skills have you developed?

Farming, horticulture, gardening, livestock, wool processing, metal working, metal bluing, gunsmithing, reloading.

I grew up on a small farm and my life long hobbies of hunting, fishing, trapping, and backpacking have grown.

I make my living as a mechanical engineer.

 

[Hick Industries]

A double whammy could be possible though, earthquake plus huge wildfires.

Or cher plus lady gaga.... So much glitter.... The horror

Yes, here in California the risk of a major quake triggering huge wild fires and blocking any effective control is a real risk as well. Riverside (entire inland empire) is squarely in the cross hairs of a quake on the southern portion of the San Andreas.

One more reason to sell out and leave this state.

 

[Sanderhawk]

You sound like you know what your doing. I would love to get out of california but theres no way the wife will ever leave

 

[MattB4]

I like preparations that don't come with a bunch of regrets. At times that means betting both sides of wager.

Let's face it, no one knows what's going to happen next with the US economy. We have not seen this kind of manipulation and fraud in our lifetimes and we don't know how it will end.

I don't think this can end well and I don't expect that. But I can not bring my self to liquidate my retirement savings.

It is really impossible to tell if a greater economic collapse is going to happen. Lately I am changing my belief that it is imminent. I am beginning to believe that the world will instead see a period where things will appear to be going great again. There is too much at stake to have it all come crashing down.

I don't expect the US to be attacked by a foreign military, but renewed terrorism is possible.

Looks like the Jihadis will be contained since we are killing off all their leaders.

I don't expect the climate to take a dump, or a solar flare to fry us, or yellowstone to erupt.

But one or more of these just might happen.

There is always possibility for natural disasters. Some bigger than others. Good reason to have some preparations made.

So I bet both sides of the wager. I store several years worth of food. I'm going to eat the food either way. I just bought it now.

I bought a small ranch for a retirement. I have been planning to sell out and leave California anyway and I grew up living on a farm.

I am a wilderness type person that hates urban/surburban/town life. So as long as I can afford to live remote that is my first choice. Some people find that they can not stand being removed from the company of others and are not suited for remote living. Most have a idealistic view of it being a idyllic existence, though when faced with it find that they are not cut out to live that way.

I pulled my money out of stocks and bought gold and silver. I'm too damn old to watch 30 yrs worth of savings burn up in the stock market.

I would be leery of gold and silver (especially silver since the cost to produce it is about $17). If the economy begins to improve like I am now thinking, gold will plummet in value back to the $600 range.

But most of all, I developed real useful skills. No matter what happens, I will have some job some where.

Useful skills are a great preparation against changing times. Though events (medical emergencies, getting old and beat) have a habit of taking all that away. Best thing you can do is to plan for the worse, hope for the best and settle for what may come along.

 

[MajorGreen]

There is nothing wrong with being prepared, good insurance in my opinion. But we can't be upset if nothing happens. ie enjoy eating your preps as you rotate them out.
I think they are just going to keep eroding our morals, money and family values, pitting one group against another until one day we are too weak and too fractionlized to care. They will keep raising taxes, the cost of food, gas and even water all the while continue killing jobs and promoting social welfare. Eventually they will blame us for preparing and being self sufficient, labeling us as "Hoarders", (as seen on TV), for all our values and fore sight.
I'm sorry to say I think we are still in for the slow kill it has been going on since the 50s. The problem is we are now aware it is happening to us and thus we are struggling against our bindings.
Pray that the good Lord watches over us and guides us through these troubled times.

 

[DukeOfDeath]

I'm playing both sides of the coin...heavy in preps and heavy in the stock market(401k & IRA).
IMO it's a good safe plan, as long as the wife and I keep our jobs.

 

[adobewalls]

I make my living as a mechanical engineer.

In my opinion there is no better profession for long term pre or post SHTF.

Enough chemistry, electricity and physics to get by with lots of practical understanding of mechanics, fluids and math to be really useful.

The 21st century Blacksmith.

 

[OhioMan]

=MattB4;3289323] I am beginning to believe that the world will instead see a period where things will appear to be going great again. There is too much at stake to have it all come crashing down.

I'm sure the people of Greece, Ireland, Spain have much at stake as well.

To say there is just too much at state for a financial collapse to be allowed to happen, would be to suggest there is some power that can actually stop it.

If there is some power that has all these matters in hand, they are doing a very poor job at hiding their powers. The fed are near 15 trillion in debt and have been down graded, there are only three states that still have a AAA bond rating. We have cities, counties and states selling off buildings and other assets just to meet expeditures.

Revenues will continue to fall and the governments abilty to respond with more failed bail-outs has reached it's ends, unemployment is still marching strong, we have lost our manufacturing base and Wal-mart is the nations number 1# employer....friggin Wal-Mart And if things couldn't possibily worse, we have prices rising so fast that the 45 million people on food stamps can't make it to the end of the Month.

Exactly, how do we avoid a collapse?

 

[LiamFisher]

Economic collapse is already happening. The double dip is already occurring. Unemployment is rampant, and future prospects are unchanged. The next year will be worse than the last couple. Businesses are not hiring, sales are down, and prices are increasing. The US is in trouble and when we struggle it hits the rest of the world. In the early 1990s it was preached that global markets insulated everyone from local economic downturns. Now we know that global markets spread the misery. Since China and India are in vulnerable phases of economic development its likely they will have real setbacks and spread the misery even more. Will there be another crash or 5-10 more years of suffering or a recovery that really isn't one for the next decade? No one knows. But no one with any sense is betting a return to the anomaly of the 1990s and the dot com years any time soon -- if ever. All these PONZI schemes have finally come to a head. And there is no adult in the room to lead us out of the mess. Hard times are here, and they are coming still.

 

[Prepping]

Several years' worth of food doesn't seem realist to me, but then again to each his own.

Why doesn't it? it's not too inordinately expensive to do so.

Do people just post things without knowing or is this deliberately incorrect?

 

[Harmless Drudge]

I've changed my lifestyle entirely, but I still have a strategy that draws directly from the modern financial practices. To wit:

1) Value investments. Buying ammo on sale so that it is immediately worth more than you paid for it is an excellent value investment.

2) Growth investments. Fruit and nut trees. I stick these in the ground and they grow. The upside is, even if they don't pay a dividend in the current year, they always grow in size, thus value.

3) Dividends. Annual veggies may not be designed to last a long time, but they pay massive dividends.

4) Day trading. In the process of bartering, I will often hold something for only a few weeks, days, or even hours.

5) Buy and hold. My homestead is not going anywhere.

6) Commodities. I invest in the shiny ones.

7) Minerals. Delivered for free in a form easy for plants to uptake. Gotta love manure.

8) Durable goods. In every caliber.

9) Income producing properties. They want to put a cell tower in my back yard. My solar panels are going up in the spring.

See, I do exactly what the sheeple do. :

 

[MattB4]

I'm sure the people of Greece, Ireland, Spain have much at stake as well.

To say there is just too much at state for a financial collapse to be allowed to happen, would be to suggest there is some power that can actually stop it.

If there is some power that has all these matters in hand, they are doing a very poor job at hiding their powers. The fed are near 15 trillion in debt and have been down graded, there are only three states that still have a AAA bond rating. We have cities, counties and states selling off buildings and other assets just to meet expeditures.

Revenues will continue to fall and the governments abilty to respond with more failed bail-outs has reached it's ends, unemployment is still marching strong, we have lost our manufacturing base and Wal-mart is the nations number 1# employer....friggin Wal-Mart And if things couldn't possibily worse, we have prices rising so fast that the 45 million people on food stamps can't make it to the end of the Month.

Exactly, how do we avoid a collapse?

I agree with much of what you post. I have also seen similar times back in the 70's. Watched Mexico, Argentina, The Soviet Union, Zimbabwe and others collapse over the years. Seen natural disasters come and go many times. Watched the fake bubble of the early internet burst and the housing one most recently. I used to warn others back in the Bush Sr. era of the dangers of "free trade" with China. That China was unlike Japan that was eating our lunch in the 70-80's period.

And we did have a major economic crisis hit us in 2008 that we are still working through. Many people are unlikely to see times as good as they were in the past. At least not for several years to come. But after thinking for the last 4 years that the US was on the verge of total collapse, I am beginning to think it will not happen. I now am thinking that next year the US will start to see improvement. That Europe may have individual country problems (nothing new there) but will muddle along.

It is easy to believe a trend will continue. However it is a mistake to believe that it has too.

 

[letsgetreal]

I'd like to see what several years worth of stored food looks like,,,,,,we have several years worth of food here too, in livestock.....

We got on a farm and have been raising livestock and processing the same.....as a mechanical engineer, if you could develope individual, affordable turbine generators and wind generators and solar panels and invertors and 6V appliances, that would be awesome. Aside from normal farm skills, I have developed beer and wine making skills and the wife have developed butter and cheese making skills( as you know, having the tools and parts is key). I'd like to get into beekeeping and process my own honey ....afa anything else, I'd need a machine shop and those skills to actually make stuff.....