Archive for December, 2009
Dec
22
Book Review
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Book Review
Well, we have another book review today… You can see from the title that it’s sticking with the whole frugal living theme that I consistently preach here. It’s really not as much about just being frugal so much as it is just being conscience of were our money is going. I have always worked hard and had money in my pocket, always will if I have anything to say about it. It’s easy to miss those vicious little drags on our prosperity if we aren’t keeping track. I’ve found time and again that the it’s the little things that add up to the BIG things quickly.
With this in mind, I bring you the “Living Well on Practically Nothing” guide. This book is from the nether regions of my book shelf. It was copyright in 1992 and published by an old favorite, Paladin Press. Knowing that this too is an older book, you can see that my interest in leading a sustainable life has been surging through my veins for many years.
The author, Edward H. Romney, had been working in the corporate world for many years prior to making this move to volunteer simplicity. He is famous for quotes about poverty being a state of being rather than an economic condition. He spends an entire chapter explaining how to reduce your income without losing your self respect. It’s interesting the way he describes how our peers view of us is often tied to our economic state. Sad, but I think pretty true. I would even have to say that I ‘m guilty of drawing conclusions based off of how things look at the surface, far to often…
As I re-read these books to find those that are worth sharing with all of you, I’m reminded of how they have each impacted my life, or not… Some I don’t even remember the content in the book and others like this one come right back as if I had read it only months ago.
I particularly liked the chapter on repairing items rather than replacing them. The author writes about the many examples from his own life. Things that he learned from his grandparents and many things that he has discovered on his own as he has led a life of volunteer simplicity.
I think that this book is very good at getting the old wheels turning on ways that we could all cut back and or even do without. Written from the man that is actually doing this stuff to this day. I however, won’t go to the lengths he has and will continue my luxuries for as long as possible. I don’t personally like to sit in a cold room and just add additional layers of clothing to stay warm… It’s not that I don’t agree with him theoretically, I just would make these type of cuts as a last resort rather than to shave another 10 bucks off the electric bill.
This book is a real toolbox of information that will spin off new perspectives for each of your own specific situations. What will work for one of us won’t even apply to someone else but when we see what others are willing to take on, I whole heartedly believe it empowers us to go further in our own pursuits… The following is a quote from the conclusion of this book that spoke to me –
“People are not just reactive creatures responding to stimuli. They also create and control their environment. There is poverty, but the real poverty, as Martin Flavin points out, is poverty of soul. There is a message in this book beyond hardware and technique, and that message is for people to reach out and take hold and rise up and build and grow and create for themselves a better life. By doing so, it encourages others to do likewise, and that builds a better world.”
Most of the actual information in the book is still viable even though it was written in the 90′s. There are things surrounding personal computers and the like that just don’t apply anymore but if you’re willing to over look these details, you’ll still enjoy reading about the efforts that the author and his family have made to live cheaply.
In this particular economic time of history that we find ourselves living in now, it seemed that this book might be timely for many of us. I think that we should all be exercising our minds on ways to streamline our lifestyles and make ourselves as self sufficient and reliant as possible!
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As we have been doing with all the recent book reviews – I’ll be giving my copy of this book to a “Prepper” Nation email subscriber. I haven’t been harping about making sure to subscribe, most everyone seems to be finding the sign up area on there own… I would like to ask you all to continue sharing the site withanyone you might know that likes the kind of things we discuss here… I appreciate the word of mouth support!
For this book giveaway, I’ll take the 18th email requesting the copy! Have a great day and I’ll see you all again tomorrow!
Prepper
Dec
18
Financial Fitness Foundations, conclusion
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Alright Friday again, as usual the week has flown by, at least for me… I don’t know if that’s good or not – I think not? We’ve covered a lot of ground this week though… We’ve started building a financial pyramid that won’t soon be knocked down, not with our foundation…
We have a solid structure that’s founded on the 3 necessities any family has to have to survive. A shelter, a food production system and a water production system, all completely paid for. I know, I know, paid for is the ideal and I suggest that is the only worthy goal for a free man. I do realize it will all take time!
Have you asked yourself why this is so important? You already have running water, food on the table and a roof over your head, well don’t you? If you don’t I’m sorry for making you feel bad but I think that most of us are in similar circumstances, we have these bases covered – why rock the boat?
How long will any of us be able to keep that water running, food in our mouths and a warm bed? I propose that it will all vanish shortly after we receive our last paycheck… Care to guess why? We own none of these things, the very things that we all agreed were the things that keep us alive are merely rented at great expense from someone else. Something doesn’t sound right about this… It doesn’t sound right, because it isn’t right.
“Ownership” of all of these things is within our grasp! There’s a saying that I think I heard Dave Ramsey, the financial guru, say – “Live like no one else does today, so you can live like no else does tomorrow!” I think that this is pretty good advice. When we own and control these systems, we will really be living like no one else! Some folks have achieved parts of this plan but it will take some concerted and thoughtful effort to put all these systems together in a way that will provide our long term goals…
It seems a little redundant to harp on the reasons why we have to own the these systems rather than just go with the flow. I have felt for a long time and only recently determined that the flow isn’t going to take me where I want to go. A water well, fruit trees and an old mobile home will. How can it be so simple? “Ownership!”
What gets you up out of bed each morning, nearly everyday, of every year and will for as far into the future as you dare look? I think it’s fear, at least that’s what it is for me… If I stop doing what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years, I’ll stop reaping the benefits I’ve come to enjoy… I like that warm bed and tasty food, warm showers are fine things as well!
Fear or not, we are all only doing the same things as everyone else. The very thing that our society has determined was the norm… As a society we like to know what to expect from our friends and neighbors. We expect them to be doing the same things we do or we see them as weird or different. Dare we risk the criticisms of our peers?
The financial foundation that I’ve spent the last five days describing will require things from us to get started that will fly in the face of everything we’ve been taught or “conventional wisdom”. If we aren’t taking full advantage of our company’s 401K retirement plan, we’re making a dreadful mistake – “What about your retirement?”, they all cry? ”It’s not a good idea to payoff your mortgage and lose the tax write-off!”. I don’t know about you but I think I can withstand this peer scrutiny!
We say that in America our differences are embraced. I don’t think thats true… I think when someone is acting in any way different than what we expect we need to classify them as crazy, even put them away someplace out of sight. When we start to make choices that go a little against the grain, we need to be prepared for some resistance. This resistance will even probably start at home!
My propositions this week are going to be hard to sell to your spouse and children… Most of us are barely keeping our own heads above the clouds that society floats across the horizon to distract us. We act in ways that are not in out own best interest -why? We don’t want to be seen as different or appear to be less prosperous than our brother or the neighbor up the street.
Are the McMansions that went up across the land what is really best for a family of 2? What about a family of even 5-6? Do we really need a giant house to sleep in? I recall these now – “NORMAL”, 3-4,000 square foot houses when I was growing up… They usually sat on a LARGE piece of land and were occupied by an older established doctor and his family. They weren’t the “Norm” by any means… We’ve now set the bar so high, that the standard 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a 2 car garage is below much of our working brethren… Daycare is the rule rather than the exception. Stay-at-home Mom’s are looked at as some sort of second class citizens? What about that Grandma and Grandpa that were around in the old days… Not anymore, they’re still working full-time to pay their own mortgages these days too!
Are we better for these, supposed advances in society! Many families aren’t even composed of 2 parents anymore. When there are 2 parents in the home, it’s rare to find that one or the other is home with the children, they both have to work to keep ahead of the bills. I remember a slogan from television back in the early 90′s – “STOP THE INSANITY”. I think it was from a diet guru of sorts but it is even more applicable to what we’ve been discussing!
We can have our cake and eat it to! We’ll be breaking the rules though to get it… Not the law, just the rules! Are there any rebels reading this? Stupid question, most of you are rebels! Rebels without a cause, until now. Your cause, oh its real and its personal and I believe something you can get passionate about! YOUR OWN FREEDOM!
I can’t do any of this foundation laying for you, I have more than enough to do myself! I will stand by you and encourage you regularly with my words and even photo’s of what myself and others among us are getting done! Hopefully you’ll join in and share your encouragement with others around you and even others here at “Prepper” Nation!
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This Friday, right before Christmas 2009, I’m going to offer you my standard – “Get Out and Do Something!” I hope that this week has been thoughtful, if not inspiring… We’re in a difficult time economically right now and some of you have seen this economic situation first hand in decades past… This to, like everything will come to an end. It is my sincere hope that as preppers, next time we won’t be in the same place as so many of us find ourselves currently, in debt and hoping to make it through this down turn… With this foresight and the systems I’m encouraging us all to acquire, we will have a bright future, regardless what come down the lane next…
Prepper
Dec
17
Financial Fitness Foundations, part 4
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So far this week we’ve covered our need to construct a finacial foundation like we would expect to find on a pyramid… That’s if we agree that the intent is to have a wide, solid footing for everything else we want to put on top of it… A financial foundation that is constructed with care and designed with redundancies could take us and our legacy far into the future.
We’ve looked deeper at 2 of the three core necessities that have to be included in our pyramids foundation level… Food and Water, so today lets knock out the third – SHELTER…
Well, to start off, we have to ask what does – SHELTER – really mean. This has to be some sort of structure that keeps us warm and dry. We’ll get into how we accomplish the warm part in future posts and I think we can assume that no matter what structure was chosen, it would keep us dry!
So, what are our options? I’m really trying to go basic survival but saying something silly like a tent would be inappropriate! I personally wouldn’t even take the living in a van or enclosed utility trailer route either. The adventurer in me likes these ideas and will incorporate them in my life at some point but these don’t do it for me as far as being sustainable in the long term. The obvious – “Pay off your current house”, while this is VERY good advice, it would take most of us nearly a lifetime to accomplish this in the traditional fashion. I hear the ads from the Real Estate gurus that promise that you can pay the place off in 5 years instead of 30 but the old adage, “If it seems to good to be true, it probably is”, hasn’t stood the test of time without reason…
Where does this leave us? Part of me wants to ask what do the retired folks do now? They live in small apartments or mobile homes, even retirement villages or RV’s… Isn’t there a name for this and an entire industry built around these RV folks? Actually there is a large segment of many local economy’s that are built on the “Snow Birds”… These people have an RV and travel back and forth with the warm weather… I bet there are even readers that are looking forward to doing this in their own retirement. Why wait? Why not down size now?
This is a very personal choice, each person or even family unit, needs to evaluate which route they might choose. What will work for me and my family, may be completely inconceivable to you and yours. However hard this choice might be, it is a critical element to establishing a solid foundation. Family considerations are always high on the list but don’t think for a minute that you’re going to be able to keep all the people happy all the time…
I can’t speak for everyone but the time goes by so quickly in my life that I feel that it would be foolish to wait to long, thinking about this. Sit down with the people that this choice will most effect and map out an action plan. It may take several years to implement these changes but the sooner you start the journey, the sooner you reach the destination.
If your old age is going to be spent in a paid for home, do that now! If you plan to travel with your spouse and live in an RV, do that now… I didn’t say you get to stop working but why pay for a house for many more years when you already plan to sell and hit the road, or buy that small house in the country? What’s stopping you from developing that exit strategy today?
As much as I like the idea of working for awhile and then roaming the countryside for awhile, as a long term lifestyle it won’t easily fit into our foundation. We discussed the FOOD and WATER systems that are also important to our success… We could probably make the water system workout in an RV but it’s not to easy to setup that food production system. It’s possible but not easy.
For us to lay this foundation of financial freedom successfully, we’ll want to keep this plan as simple as possible… There will be of plenty of room higher on the pyramid to make things more complex, if that’s really what you want to do. For now though, we know we need to acquire a free and clear property that has a sufficient area to activate our plans for a food production system. You decide how to accomplish this but don’t sit on your hands, get it moving in the right direction. Even if this will take a few years to get off the ground, it’s a critical component and we can’t move to the next level without it.
This doesn’t have to be your dream home, just a snug shelter, that can’t easily be taken from us. Whether it’s an RV, old smelly mobile home or a small house with a large back yard, it will all be part of YOUR freedom pyramid.
All we need to do now is put the finishing touches on this foundation idea and we’ll be ready to move on to that GRAVY or excess that I mentioned earlier this week… See ya tomorrow!
Prepper
Dec
16
Financial Fitness Foundations, part 3
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Remembering Y2K
Posted by: Prepper | Comments (0)How was everyone’s weekend… Get all that last minute Christmas shopping done? I’d be interested to hear about what the shopping malls we’re actually like in your areas… Our’s were on the light side, not sure if that’s a good assessment of the larger economy but it’s an indicator… Maybe the recession isn’t over yet? Who knows?
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I know we have some new folks here, or “newbies” as they’re called. That term always sounds rather derogatory but I assure you that if you hear me use it, it isn’t meant that way. You can measure your success in a project like this by the number of converts you’re attracting… Also, newbies help those of us that have been at it longer to stay sharp, you can’t explain something to a new guy without really understanding it yourself – So WELCOME!
As much as I complain how fast the time has been going by, I hadn’t comprehended the fact that we were rapidly approaching the 10 year anniversary of the infamous Y2K, non-event. This New Years Eve will mark that date, and a turning point in my perspective on prepping.
For our newbies, this Y2K event was a much publicised and controversial “Potential” SHTF. It sounds quite comical looking back on it now but at the time I was an easily excitable young survivalist in my late 20′s. I had a bad feeling about where my country was headed and this date specific event gave me something of a dead line for getting my preps all squared away.
The threat was that due to the date change from a 1990′s date to the year 2000 or double zero date, a computers programming wouldn’t have understood how to handle this and just shut itself down… Everything from the clock on a DVD player to the important computer controls of a power plant would have to be fixed or face potential disaster. There was much hype as to the severity of the problems and many in the survival/preparedness supply industry did a brisk business for several years as this date approached.
I bought into this “Potential” threat in a big way… I’m quick to make decisions based on what I see as the worst case scenario. It’s not that I think that this is the wrong way to make decisions I actually still try to always consider the worst. It also allowed me to expend extra money amassing a lot of equipment in a relatively short period of time. A lifelong friend and I had purchased a BOL property and already began building a basic survival cabin, you know wood stove, outhouse, water storage and generator fed battery backup system. We had a lot of fuel stored and a significant store of food as well. Y2k was a catalyst in getting that project completed. I thought we were pretty well setup, we’d just have to wait and see what would happen.
During this period leading up to the year end deadline, I was fortunate enough to sell my home and became a renter until I could be sure of what would happen come New Years Day 2000. We used some of the sale proceeds to get completely out of debt. Everything – BOL property, credit cards, mortgages and vehicles were all debt free. That was a nice side-benefit to my later acknowledged over-reaction.
All of these preparations were things that I was going to be taking care of at some point anyway. I was a true believer in the whole “Be Prepared” lifestyle, so this really only helped me get squared away sooner. Unfortunately, I was young and shot my mouth off to anyone that would listen that they needed to get prepared for this thing. I have no excuse – “Bad Prepper, Bad Prepper!” From the horrendous breach of OPSEC, to the fact that I was being an obnoxious arrogant little jerk…
As the months, weeks and then days ticked off and we came close to the actual turn of the century, I began making the requisite plans for the actual event. I determined that it would be best to be at the BOL when the date changed… No biggie, I liked to be there anyway so that was a given! The hours clicked away right up until the stroke of midnight and then as we all know – NOTHING!
The government and most of the large corporations had spend untold billions of dollars to make the proper precautions ahead of this thing, so I felt I was at least in good company. It was a bit of a let down when this turned out to be nothing out of the ordinary, as strange as that sounds. I washed many eggs off my face and got to enjoy countless meals of crow over this non-starter. A bent ego was probably the best thing for that overzealous young punk… It influenced me from that day forward.
I had been so animate with friends and family that I had no choice but take my humbling situation like a man… Which as many of you can probably understand meant I had to – go undercover. The truth, actually is I went so far undercover that I did very little with prepping for several years. I had plenty of stuff stocked up and really kind of had burnt myself out on the whole thing.
As I’ve said before, I’ve been a prepper since long before the whole Y2K thing came on the scene. The lesson that I learned through that whole experience was that we shouldn’t be trying to prepare for any single event. We need to prepare for whatever happens and also be prepared for nothing to happen. If we spend our time and treasure in a way that will make our life better either way, we will end up far ahead of the narrow minded survival thinking that can become prevalent in the days ahead of some predicted disaster.
Financially, I lost nothing by prepping harder for Y2K and have probably gained far more in the long run than I lost in credibility. That circumstance has helped me be more level headed about the realities surrounding being prepared. As preppers we need to always learn our lessons were ever we might find them!
See you tomorrow!
Prepper