Alright, here we are again… Did anyone rush out and see the “Book of Eli”? Oh well, it’ll still be there this weekend… I have some more emailed questions to go through today, so I’ll just get started on them…

 

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Question #1 -     “What do I think of alcohol and/or tobacco as barter items?”

 

 

Honestly, I think they would be GREAT items to stock up on for that purpose. They meet all the logical criteria that a trader might hope to want! It would be very easy to store small divisible units and maximise your potential trades.

 

It would seem that there has always been a demand for these items and I can’t see why that would change. That said… Let me move on to the single objection that I have and have heard to storing these items…

 

I don’t currently have any of these items in my barter goods… Actually, I don’t have them for any other purpose either. I have a MILD moral dilemma over to store these items or not. I don’t use these products myself and haven’t for many years but I do know they will be a sought after commodity! I have heard people make the case that it would be better to let the chips fall where they will for the habitual users of tobacco and alcohol, they will have to quit eventually, right? We may disagree but that is a compelling argument to me…

 

On the other hand, I have heard the stories from WW2 and other examples where a bottle of this or that was used to ply a guard or what have you with good results. It would be with this in mind and for this reason I would consider stocking these as barter goods.

 

When and if I do come to a conclusion on what we will do in this regard I will let you know. If you don’t have an objection to these products, I can’t think of a better thing to store purely for the purposes of trading stock!

 

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Question #2 -     “How much fuel should the average prepper have stored away?”

 

 

First, what’s an average prepper? For the sake of argument, lets say the reader means an average family (2-4 people) and an average disaster scenario (2-7 days). I know that many of you won’t even agree to this assumption but I have to have a base line to build an answer from… So here goes…

 

 We will need to decide first what fuel we are going to need. Is it propane for a camp stove or BBQ grill? Coleman fuel for a lantern? Gasoline for the back-up generator? We might even need all of these different fuels and for the AVERAGE scenario, we shouldn’t have to much trouble accommodating a fuel supply like this.

  

Let’s start by making a list, what fuels are we going to stock up on… Can we make due with just a single fuel? Probably not as most of the scenarios that I would put in this “average” range would require us to set aside additional gasoline for the vehicles too. Once we have the fuel powered appliances all identified and which specific fuels they require then we can move to step 2.

 

In step 2, we will need to do a little guesstimating. I think that most of us have a decent idea of how much fuel our equipment would typically use over a specific time period. It is this time period that we will need to establish so we can do the multiplication for as many days as we think would be prudent.

 

For example our primary back-up generator will easily run several hours on a gallon of gas. I think that at a minimum I would be running the unit for several hours each day… So if I want to reach our 7 day goal, I will need at least 7 gallons of fuel. If we do the same exercise with each piece of equipment we plan to utilize, it won’t take long to establish a general list of fuel that will be needed to cover us for the duration.

 

As with most any preps we put aside, I suggest you over estimate. Setting yourself up with an extra 10% would be cheap insurance and an outstanding way to build good will with the neighbors, if the time ever comes that you need these supplies. Make sure that as you acquire your fuel reserves, good records are kept so a rotation schedule can be established as well.

 

Our personal fuel reserves for our primary residence in the city are as follows -

 

 

Gasoline – 25 gallons (Generator, Automobiles)

 

Diesel – 15 gallons (Pickup Truck)

 

Propane -  15+ gallons (Camp stove, Lantern, BBQ)

 

Kerosene – 15 gallons (Heater, Lamps)

 

 

I realize that this isn’t exactly a ton of fuel but it should be sufficient to carry us through 90% of the more likely scenarios.

 

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Questions #3 -     “Do I think that a 20 year old needs to be thinking about investing for retirement?”

 

 

Ahh, YES! I think that this would be the perfect time to begin saving and/or investing for the long term! I also want to say that I think you’re smart to even have the foresight to ask this question.

 

The short answer to the question being “Yes”, would naturally lead us to a much longer answer… The question being “What should I invest in?” This will depend on exactly what your current circumstances are? Will these investments be the only investments you will currently be making or do you work for a company that has a retirement program that you can choose to participate in?

 

For today let’s assume you’re on your own… This being the case, I would suggest starting out with a multiple tiered approach. First a traditional retirement investment account, probably a ROTH IRA. Second, a cash account, for flexibility.

 

I don’t have the room to do a full investment post today so I will go into why I would choose the ROTH IRA, at another time. The IRA structure will have some tax advantages that will be beneficial down the road and I would allocate up to 50% of the investment dollars to this account.

 

The second account or “Cash” account will be a designated place for the young investor to stash away money in a way that will allow the funds to remain liquid. It’s this account that will allow for non-traditional investments to be made when the time is right or a good deal can be struck. It takes time for cash to accumulate in sufficient amounts to make many investments, such as a home or land purchase. Even precious metals investing can require a relatively large cash outlay from time to time. This account should always be looked at as an investment account and not just a savings account. As the funds go in here, they should only come out for a bonafide, carefully considered, investment.

 

The dollar amount that was mentioned in the email was only $100 dollars a month. If these funds were divided into the 2 accounts I propose at $50 per account, it will take a long time to add up. All I can say is that following the typical long term investment program of a young person, the funds would add up even slower, this is do to the fact that there would be nothing invested at all! I would encourage every young person to start doing something in this regard even if it is only $20 dollars each month. No matter what direction your life might take, having any amount of money set aside will make things easier and it is a great habit to start at an early age!

 

 

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Question #4 -     “If  I had to choose only one firearm for survival, which would it be?”

 

 

It’s always nice to have someone try to pin you down to only having one gun around when the SHTF. The popular macho answer would be a high capacity black rifle. I do like the black rifles, don’t confuse the issue… However, if I have to choose one gun to do many things, I doubt the main battle rifle would be the smartest choice.

 

Just like everyone else, I would prefer to have more than one gun at my disposal but if one is all I get… It would probably be a shotgun. I know that the shotgun is hardly the best tool for all tasks but it is a capable piece of equipment and can fill many roles adequately.

 

It goes without saying that the shotgun could be used to take game both on the ground as well as on the wing. There are few animals in North America that couldn’t be harvested using a properly loaded shotgun. Over the years we have all probably either read or heard a story about a shotgun being used for defense, both against two legged and four legged predators.

 

If I can only have this one firearm, I would make the best of the situation… With some forethought a variety of ammunition could be acquired and stored away. Multiple sizes of both bird and buck shot, as well as a selection of slugs. With these shell options and possibly even a choice of multiple barrels lengths/chokes, I certainly wouldn’t feel lacking in firepower!

 

It is always better to have the right tool for whatever job is at hand. We as preppers know that to succeed though, we have to stay flexible and prepare for many different possibilities. The possibility that we might be left with only one gun is a realistic concern and I think we would all be well served with a good shotgun.

 

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Have a great day and I’ll see you again tomorrow!

Prepper

 

   Here we are again, closing in rapidly on the end of another week. Just 49 shopping weeks until Christmas. I know you all promised yourselves that you wouldn’t wait until the last minute again this year… So here’s your reminder get out there and just get it done once and for all! You’ll thank me later!

 

  I have a few more “Reader Questions” to answer today… I appreciate the feedback that has been coming in and do understand that not everyone wants to speak up or even acknowledge formally that they’re with us. The main reason for the prodding to send me your comments and questions is it allows me to better serve the needs or even the entertainment value of the readers! So, keep the correspondence coming!

 

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Question #1 -     “Why would I point out house boats for Preppers?”

 

 

The email went on to explain that to this persons eye, there wasn’t anything prepper about a house boat. In his estimation the house boat would be worse than a downtown condo for a prepper…

 

These are good observations and I can’t really say that I disagree with his premise. However, there is more to being a prepper than just collecting equipment and planting trees, out at the BOL - It’s also buying lots of guns and ammo! Seriously though, I look at prepping as not only a lifestyle but a strategy. It’s up to me to find a way of life that answers all of my needs and provides the quality of life that makes it all worth doing.

 

I’m always on the lookout for alternative living arrangements, some can be applied to our purposes, while others probably can’t. Other than the cash outlay to purchase a modest houseboat, or whatever the technical name for them is. There wouldn’t be an outrageous amount of money needed to live on it. I haven’t ran into the right person to ask about moorage yet but I will! I knew a man several years ago that lived on his 40 foot sailboat at a pier in the Seattle area, I recall him paying only a few hundred bucks a month. Might have gone up over these years but I doubt it would be as much as even a studio apartment in the same city.

 

The idea of living cheaper and having the remainder of the money at your disposal is what my point has always been. If a house boat could assist any of us in achieving that, then its worth a look.

 

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Question #2 -     “Would there be a reason to invest in Silver rounds over junk silver coins?”

 

Let me start by explaining what the emailer was meaning by silver rounds… These are one ounce of .999 pure silver in the shape of a round coin, rather than a silver bar or circulated US junk silver coinage. Numerous mines mint these silver rounds, they are often called trade dollars and probably several other things as well! They often have unique designs on them and can occasionally have some collector value but mostly they are just another form of acquiring and holding silver.

 

As far as I’m concerned the form you choose to hold your silver investment in is not that important. It is possible that a potential trading partner in the future might prefer the recognisable junk silver over a more easily counterfeited silver round or bar. Also, the junk silver coin will always have its face value, even if the metal value of silver went to zero. I like to think that I know a few things about this investment and I wouldn’t really have a problem with silver in any of these forms. It is easier to start small with junk silver because you can purchase as little as a single dime, where you would be required to buy at least one ounce with a round or bar.

 

Just like the reasons that I favor silver investing or holding over Gold is that the store of value is much smaller. If you wanted to trade someone a piece of silver for something they had, you would want to arrive at as equal a value as possible. If the item you wanted was only worth a half an ounce of your silver and you only had one ounce rounds, you would most likely find the trader unable or unwilling to make change… Nothing is a sure thing but the junk silver is quite possibly going to give you more options!

 

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Question #3 -     “Why not add more lights to my alternative lighting project?”

 

 

Last week I wrote about a project I wanted to get going on for the BOL. Alternative energy to provide some back-up lighting. In that post I outlined how I was going to approach setting this system up with mostly equipment I already had. I explained that I would install 6 light fixtures, one in each the kitchen, living room, both bedrooms and bathrooms.

 

The reader questioned why I would only install 6 lights? If I was going to go to the trouble of doing the job and also trying to do it correctly, why not go ahead and install adequate fixtures. The premise was that I wouldn’t have to use all the lights at the same time or at all. Having them if I ever did need the extra light would be pretty handy.

 

You’re correct, this would be shortsighted of me to under engineer the project. I had planned to make everything expandable, so I could add on as I had the funds but I think it would be smart to just go ahead and put all the lights in now and then exercise responsible energy use while I have limited generation capabilities. Thanks for the input!

 

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Question #4 -     This is more of a comment than a question but this seems like the place to address it…

 

 

I recently ran a guest article from James Dakin on the .22 rifle vs. the pellet gun for our small caliber needs. The author came to the conclusion that the .22 was the better value. Several comments and emails came in that pretty much agreed with him.

 

One email came in that made a lot of sense. This person went on to explain that he uses his pellet gun for practising and varmint control at the house. If he was to have to go to the range to practise with his .22, he would get far less opportunity to stay sharp… Good points! He also went on the remind me of the ammo shortage that he has experienced in his area of the country, he explained that his Walmart has been virtually bare but the pellets are still available!

 

I think that these are valid comments, it’s important to practise and this is an economical and quite way to achieve that goal! Thanks for speaking up!

 

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See you all tomorrow,

 

Prepper

 

 

   Hello, It looks like Christmas is almost here? How did that happen? Christmas has a way of feeling like it comes about every other month at our house. Prepper juniorette has been growing up so fast and has a busy social life outside of our immediate family and our traditions, that it hardly seems like the Christmas season at all… She asks if we’re going to do the traditional Christmas things and then is off with friends and wonders why the old family stuff just doesn’t get done anymore… Such is life with teenagers, I imagine many of you have experienced this as well! It’ll be up to old Grandma and Grandpa to keep traditions going for our Grand kids before to long…

  

I want to wish all of you the most Merry Christmas and Happy New Year as well. Stick around, I think that we’re in for some real fun in 2010… I can’t wait to see what will unfold in this circus we call modern America!

  

  

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Question #1 -     “Why didn’t I announce who got the book this week?”

 

 

   Sorry, my I knew I’d have a busy day on Wednesday and posted the Guest Article the night before. I hadn’t confirmed who the recipient would be at that point… It was “Jason” and I have emailed him for his address, so I can get the book over to him as soon as possible… Thanks for the reminder!

 

 

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Question #2 -     “Why didn’t I cover the good old candle in my lighting post?”

 

 

  Well, its not that I know something you don’t about the coming candle shortages… Actually candles are a great idea and I do have a stash of these as well as the copious amounts Mrs. Prepper keeps all over the house.

 

   I think that I must have been thinking of light sources that would be more appropriate for room lighting. Candles are a good option for small area, maybe even the bathroom, when a brighter light isn’t really required.

 

   I have a favorite candle that I keep in our stores. I believe it’s used a lot in the Catholic community but can be found at many grocery stores and for about $1.99, last time I checked. These are the tall round candles that come in either a plastic or glass cylinder. I think they are a sort of prayer candle. Maybe some one can straighten me out but that is my understanding. These candles will burn a small flame for 5-7 days. I did a trail on how long they last a few years ago and I think I remember it still going after the sixth day when I lost interest.

 

   Candles won’t put out a lot of heat or light but they do serve a purpose. They have an infinite storage life and don’t spill or smell. I keep a couple of these prayer candles in with my BOV equipment. My thought with these was if I was to get stranded someplace, they would put off at least a small amount of heat inside the car, I think that they have a calming effect too!

 

   If you don’t already have a supply of candles around the house, pick some up! Tea light’s, the little round guys in there own metal tin, come in bags of 100 for $4.99 at many stores – these last for about 2.5-3 hours and would be great for short power outages. So, for not much expense, candles can be added to fill another niche in our back-up lighting plans!

 

Thanks for pointing out my oversight!

 

 

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Question #3 -     “What are the other levels of the Financial Pyramid?”

 

 

  Good question – I have a lot of the ideas/details running through my head and have yet to flesh out how I want to approach everything. I can say that the whole pyramid is going to be built on “Systems”. I like this illustration for the specific areas that we all need in our day to day life. The next level of the pyramid will take us to the 2nd step in each of the 3 areas we began discussing last week. We’ll continue adding and refining these systems as we move up to the top. In the end I want each of us to have a virtually fool-proof lifestyle. We will be required to work in our systems and make financial inputs but our systems will be a multiplier of both our time, money and self-sufficiency.

 

  When we get to the very top, we should all be able to choose some, if not many of the finer things in life. The lake house or high end automobile, vacations and or lots of free-time to pursue our hearts desires. I can’t fill in your specific blanks in this area but on a sound foundation there isn’t much we can’t include in our life, to some level anyway.

 

  It’s my hope that when we’re done with the pyramid exercise, many of us will have a better understanding of our priorities. I see people everyday that undermine their financial foundations by forcing a piece of the puzzle that is meant for higher up the pyramid into a lower level. It’s what society has told them/us to do… Have it all today, worry about paying the bill tomorrow!

 

 

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Sorry, it’s a little short today… Lots to get done before the festivities tonight and tomorrow. Have a Great Christmas and long weekend, I’ll see you all next week!

 

 

Prepper

 

 

 

   Another week under our belts or another week swiftly ran through our fingers, depends how you choose to look at it? I swear Dad was right about just about everything. Actually, I can’t think of anything I could tell him he was wrong about right off the top of my head… I know there were a few things but they’re escaping me at the moment… Anyway, I was one of those teenagers that had all the answers! I couldn’t wait to get out of school to get to my job or jobs and make MONEY! Now, I have never been greedy or solely money(cash) driven but I have always liked the freedom that money in your pocket provides… Dad tried to slow me down and I remember being frustrated by it at the time… He told me to just focus on being a kid, there would be plenty of time to work for the rest of my life! I got the, “enjoy life where you are right now”,  speech more times than I could count… You know the one about time going faster and faster each year – yeah right Dad, time goes faster one year than another – sure! We’ll I’ll be a son of gun, its true, Dad was right again…

 

   Sadly, I’ve know this for quite a while, I found out how true it was shortly after High School. It reminds me of that old Eddie Money song – “I Wanna Go Back”… Unfortunately, just like the song continues - ”but I can’t go back, I know…”. Words to live by for those younger readers here! First, listen to Dad – he probably KNOWS what he’s talking about and two live today for what it is because you also, can’t go back and do it all over!

 

 

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Question #1 -     “Do I store the dry goods in their original packages?”

 

 

   I guess the answer to this is – Yes and No… I do store the dry stuff in the original package if its something we tend to use a lot of or will use up in the next 6 months. You probably won’t believe this but I like to buy WAY more of things than we will be using in the next 6 months. This being the case I end up with the need to add an additional step to my storage. What I do to process these dry goods is as follows.

 

   To start with I purchased a box of mylar food storage bags and a couple of hundred oxygen absorbers. We have a LDS regional “bishops storehouse” in our local area. I’m not LDS but was able to get these items direct due to the fact I have a number of friends in their community of believers. If necessary these items can be purchased via the internet from any number of sources.

 

  I then break down the supplies to be stored into equal amounts, such as 18 cups of… This allows me to keep all of these bags of, whatever, uniform. I can’t remember my exact thought process on this other than the desire for uniformity. I would then proceed to fill all the needed mylar bags for that days processing.

 

   Once the bags were all filled I would open the sealed oxygen absorbers and put the appropriate number in to each of these mylars bags. I would then quickly reseal the remain supply of absorbers. It was then just a matter of heat sealing all the mylar bags.

 

  That’s all I really do to process the dry stuff. This should give me a VERY long life expectancy on these goods. Again, I only do this for the true storage foods. This leaves us with a good supply of dry goods to rotate through and these mylar sealed bags for long term storage.

 

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Question #2 -     “Do I have any thoughts or plans for Communications?”

 

 

   Of course, this is an important subject. I just haven’t had time to gather my thoughts adequately to do the post or article I would like to… So, I’m going to give you the very abbreviated version on what we’ve done so far…

 

   First, I’m a HAM – Ha Ha, I knew you’d think that… I mean a HAM radio operator. I should clarify that I am not an expert and have forgotten almost everything I ever knew about radio operation but I do maintain my license and have several radios. As far as I’m aware the HAM radio gear is the best solution to the comms issue, at least for long term SHTF.  Don’t ask for my call sign as this would be a significant breach of OPSEC…

 

   Next, we’ve purchased a supply of MURS radios. I’ll be discussing these radios in particular at another time. These are a souped up version of the typical consumer level family band walky talkys. They’ll be what we use for localized communications. They claim to be good for miles but I haven’t tried to push them that far. They work well around the BOL and also on the Highway while we’re traveling in multiple vehicles.

 

   Lastly, we do have a couple of the low end walky talkys in the family bands. These are alright but never seem to work for long. I have this set, just because I saw them at a real low price… I put them and some rechargeable batteries in an ammo can for a just in case situation. I would probably only use these as give aways or for non security related comms, if I had nothing else!

 

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Question #3 -     “What’s the hunting like in our BOL area?”

 

 

   Sadly, I have to admit to not being a hunter. Wait, let me clarify, I’m not currently a hunter! I haven’t ever had the opportunity to get into this activity. When the opportunity and time allow, I will be changing this status!

 

   I’ll tell you what I do know about the conditions… There is a very large deer population and we have many deer hunters in season. In the nearly 15 years I’ve spent in this particular area I have yet to see any elk but I’m told by the elk hunters that they are here also. We get a mixed bag of bird guys coming through too. I personally haven’t asked them what they’re after but apparently we have at least some bird hunting opportunities. I have only seen one bear myself but have been told by close friends/neighbors that they’re seen regularly by the horseback riders in our area. We have coyotes in abundance, not sure what if any season there is for these guys but it isn’t strictly followed – wink, wink!

 

   I guess that’s all I can really say about the hunting here for now… I do see small game, rabbits, quail, etc. so there will be those to bag in the future as well. I’m looking forward to getting up to speed in this area but it will be awhile before I’ll have the time to dedicate to leaning this new skill…

 

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   Alright, keep the questions coming  – for the new folks that have recently joined us, please email me your questions at prepper@preppernation.com I haven’t reminded you in a while but please don’t keep “Prepper” Nation a secret, tell your friends! Also, please don’t forget to sign up for the email updates!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

Prepper

 

 

 

   Well, I was trying to figure out how to get as many posts up for you this week with the Holiday and maybe even keep it all interesting… I hadn’t decided to do a Readers Questions for sure yet but after the barrage stemming from yesterdays post, I have to respond…

 

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Question #1 -     “Are you an unhappy person?”

 

   Actually, I am a very lonely and miserable person… NO, I’m not an unhappy person! That is a really strange question but I guess we are still all getting to know each other? I have a feeling that this person is looking for a more in depth answer. See my lengthy comments to follow and I think it will fill in the blanks you’re after.

 

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Question #2 -     “Are you trying to mock the American Dream?”

 

   Yes and no, I am mocking the American Dream that was outlined in the “story” I posted yesterday. Let me clarify, I am a proponent of any and all of the things that Mr. Right did in the story, as long as they are things that help you achieve your goals. Such as education, I’m all for it! What I am wholeheartedly against is DEBT! All to often that education comes with a DEBT that lasts longer than it takes to raise a child. Don’t tell me that you did it without debt because I do know it can be done, it just seldom is…

 

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Question #3 -     “Is this story what the American Dream means to me?”

 

   Bingo! Absolutely not! This is the stereotypical version of the American Dream – HALLMARK CARD CONSUMERISM, even if the things being spent on are “good ideas”, my definition or yours… My friends we have been sold a bill of goods on the whole American Dream idea! Hollywood has corrupted every foundation of this once great society.

 

   Think back to what we all learned in High School history class… I know, I know – a lot of it was revisionist history but still the part I’m going to refer to was pretty accurate as far as I can see. Do you remember the immigrants that came from around the world to settle in “AMERICA”? Why did they come here? Was it possibly an “American Dream” that they were following? Yes, even in large part to provide better living conditions for their families, much like the choices Mr. Right made yesterday… Take this a little deeper though, these folks came from great distances to get something we had and they could never have? Can you think what it was?

 

   I’m going to tell you – It was LAND! Land folks, not a new HUMMER or a 100K college education, so they could work as a barista at Starbucks when daddy or the tax payers got done paying for them to have the “College Experience”. Does anyone disagree? These folks came from every corner of the globe to seek out the riches that America had, yes but in large part they came for the LAND. America was the only place in the world that a common person could actually own land! Ever think about that? We are still one of the only nations that allows the little people to own it! We have allowed the ugly boot of government to bastardize this freedom with a property tax that goes on forever but still we own it as long as we pay their fee! Mexicans can gain the use of land but never own it, they get a lease from the .gov for 99 years? Now why would that be? So, it never actually changes hands and the common man has nothing to hand down to his children and leaves the .gov firmly in control of their peoples destiny!

 

The American Dream was land and the FREEDOM that the land could provide! We’ll talk more about that important point soon!

 

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Question #4 -     “Do I have a problem with prosperity?”

 

   Not in the least. I want to have money and nice things in my life, just like anyone else! I DO have money and nice things in my life! I don’t buy into the popular misconception that many Church’s teach their parishioners, “Money is the root of all evil”. Its not the money but the LOVE of money folks that’s our undoing. Poverty is not what my God wants for me and I don’t espouse an ideology of the “Righteous” poor.

 

   Where my views on money differ from others is that I have adopted a real HATERED of DEBT. I have previously looked at debt as being potentially both good or bad. Let me give you an example of this good debt…

 

   If a real estate investor was to buy a rental house with a mortgage payment of $1000 per month and then rent it out for $1200, he would have a cash flow of $200. I’m over simplifying this process but you see how this mortgage debt could be viewed as acceptable… I used to believe this was true, actually made these kinds of investments myself. I guess in truth I couldn’t fault someone for believing this but I choose to no longer participate in the DEBT scam! I have a few more to pay off and then I’m out and I’m not going back… There are other creative ways to create opportunities, even in real estate without exercising your credit score!

 

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Question #5 -     “Am I Mr. Right?”

 

   Yes, I’m Mr. Right – at least as far as Mrs. Prepper is concerned! No, I was writing about a fictional character but I do have a few young guys that I know and see a treacherous road ahead of any young person starting out in life! Exciting times to be sure!

 

   The Mr. Right in the story could be just about anyone of us. Male or female for that matter. I would even admit that as far as the choices made in the story, Mr. Right did better than 90% of the folks in our society right now!

 

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Question #6 -     “What exactly was the stories point?”

 

   I guess I have to apologise for not making my point very clear. It is difficult to get all these thoughts in my head out on to the page. What I was hoping to accomplish with this illustration was nothing more than to show that even when a young guy played by the rules, he could become trapped. Trapped in debt!

 

   The trap was NOT the wife or the kids… It wasn’t even the house, student loans, cars or credit cards. It was the place the young man ended up. He had lost his freedom, not for an individual item or even any individual choice… He lost the freedom to come and go as he wished, work less hours or make a drastic change in lifestyle. All because of the well thought out snare he laid for himself in trying to do the right things and from a young age.

 

   Time has a way of teaching us lessons. What looked good and made sense a few years ago might look like a HUGE mistake now! How can this happen? Just like the young Mr. Right, we make decisions today that have a long lasting lifespan! We sign 30 year Mortgages, like they were nothing more than a credit card receipt at the steak house on Saturday night… 30 years is a very long time to make a commitment for. All to often as Americans our marriages don’t last anywhere near as long as the mortgage commitment we signed.

 

The moral to this story is simply – “Be very careful what you sign up for or you may find yourself arriving at a destination you hadn’t intended!”

 

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I want to wish everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING! The Preppers will be heading out to first the BOL and then to spend a couple of days with family… This means that my access to the internet will be sporadic but I will be attempting to have a couple more posts before Monday!

 

Prepper