Fabulous Commentary on its way....

I have a large list of blogs that I read - I love you guys, I really do....In fact, it annoys me - REALLY ANNOYS ME - when I have read everything and have to wait for one of you to update :) So be getting on that....





Anyway, every now and then I save a link to a post in my folder - I have a bunch of them but my favorite Favorites folder is named "Apocalypse". Its my survival stuff... I have gardening folders, house folders, farm folders and everything else, but the Apocalypse folder is my fave. "Apocalypse" is what my family affectionately calls what we expect to be forthcoming with this Country and this Government. The Hubs has strict orders not to call it this outside our home - it mortifies our daughter and it does make us look a little insane....





Anyway - THIS LINK is from the Utah Preppers site - as an aside, if you dont check them out, you are missing out. They link from another site....Just a chain link love....





The post is about 10 things you can do to prepare for an upcoming Depression - DEPRESSION with a CAPITAL "D". I read it periodically just as a benchmark on how I think I am doing and how I am emotionally prepared....





I think it also could use a little commentary from Moi....So here it is.... Please read the original post because I am not going to copy/paste the entire thing - just going to paraphrase and make my comments.... Today is the bottom 5 with the top 5 coming tomorrow....





10 - Get to know your neighbors...





I dont know about where you live, but here, we have a website where we can look up property owners by address, name, section number, you name it.... Its great when YOU are the one looking up the information, not so hot when you imagine people looking you up or your property. So, put your property in a trust that doesnt list your names....



But - I used this program to look up my neighbors. Dont just know their names, but drive by their land/house. You can gauge a bit of information about them....I have a couple of neighbors who built their houses into a hill so they basically mow their roof. One has a wind turbine and has been there for years, so he isnt a "Greenie" but probably a survivalist. I know who raises what kinds of animals, who grows what for market, who can fix cars and who may be liberty minded with the flags they fly and the names they name their roads - I pass Liberty Road on one of the ways to our land.



Emotionally, neighbors will keep you from feeling like its you against the world....



9. Buy Metal



Of course, buy Gold and Silver - use Gold to maintain your wealth and buy Silver for the possibility of use as barter, buy and trade. If you want to know where I stand, you can check out my comments on Gold/Silver to the right...


I also think you should save scrap metal.... In an absolutely total collapse, this stuff will be hard to get and expensive. You might need to affix to your house to cover the windows, roof a structure, weld or mend equipment.



If you are going to keep scrap metal, learn how to weld - WELD - and have the equipment to do so. This skill and this equipment could make you very popular in a breakdown scenario.



8. Stockpile Drugs



If you take something regularly, SAVE A TON OF IT... As Companies look for ways to save money, do not be surprised if your medication becomes unavailable or even removed from their product lines.


I could also see a scenario where anti-depressant drugs become even more popular than they are now....Especially when the populace realizes the dire situation this Country finds itself in.



7. Save Money



NOW - DO IT NOW - dont spend it unless you have to - unless it has value - unless it will serve you in the future....you MUST have a reason besides "I want it...."



Just about every company is posting losses - unless you sell Guns and Prepper items....and unless you are Netflix. NETFLIX is growing because people have cut back on their outside entertainment. Good for them - but I say do yourself one better. We buy movies. I never did before, but got in the habit when my FRUGAL Grandmother bought her movies instead of renting. She was on a fixed income and did such an amazing job handling her small resources that she took off, rented a flat and spent about 6 weeks in London one year - the woman knew how to make a buck stretch like no one I have known....so I decided to do what she did.

I bought my movies, not renting a flat in London, although running away looks awfully good sometimes....but I digress..... Nope, not the brand new releases and NO, I do not pay $21.99 for the current, hot item.... Walmart has a rack they sell movies for $5.00. They have a rack where they sell them for $7.50 and some of those movies are double features. They have recently started selling some for $4.00. I refuse to pay more than $5.00 for a movie and often get them much cheaper. Target has caught on and sell a line of movies also for $5.00 but have been putting them on sale for $4.75 recently. I also buy from Hollywood Video when they put their pre-viewed movies on sale. I buy from Hollywood and NOT Blockbuster because Hollywood guarantees their movies as long as you keep the receipt. I have a folder that I put the receipt in and I have had to take back only 1 movie since I began this endeavor. And they were very nice, giving me a new movie with out any hassle - NEW Movie and not another pre-viewed....

I am the kind of person who can enjoy a movie over and over....My husband thought he wasnt and when I pull something out to watch will usually make a face. Funny thing is, within about 3 minutes of the movie's start, he has put the computer down and is fully engaged in the flick... He is such a sucker for Mad Max ;)

Of course, your movie stash should only be started once your basics are bought and stored....Beans, Bullets, Bandaids and Antonio Banderas :)

Look for creative ways to save money, get your entertainment, spend time with your family. It will pay dividends more than mere bucks!

6. Get rid of debt

If you have debt - except for maybe your house - you shouldnt be buying movies - you shouldnt be buying anything unless it fills your stomach and covers your butt. You can weather just about anything when you dont have bills. Get a second or third job, chicks - go back to work for a bit, sell damn near everything, but pay it off....

It isnt shameful to sell belongings to pay debt, its FREEING and its liberating and it makes you more flexible to adapt to upcoming changes or available to take advantage of opportunities. Who cares what the neighbors think - when you are debt free, you will be the envy of the neighborhood - you may be the only one who can ride this out in your neighborhood - I am not being dramatic, but want you to realize the absolute IMPORTANCE of not hanging onto debt....How many years do you want to pay for that Taco Bell you charged when you were in college?