consuming to invest

CONSUMING TO INVEST

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As survivalists, we madly consume to build a hedge against collapse.  Yes, the ideal is to grow our own food outside our super insulated earth sheltered home, reducing our consumption down to a few machines and a lot of firearm cartridges, but if we do that we’ve gone from being consumers to being debt slaves, and so we’ve really only traded one less than ideal living standard for another.  A mortgage for thirty years, praying and hoping the economy provides a job for us for that long, or working a detested job in an urban area long enough to then stop consuming?  Hobson’s Choice, either one, which is only one form of control or another.  Neither one is better than the other as either one surrenders too much control, and that goes against our trying to regain control over our destiny which is what being a survivalist is supposed to be about.  Being a survivalist means accepting surrendering to the same system we know is leading us to our doom.  For that, I have little to help you with.  But I do have a way to alleviate the worst excesses of consumerism.  Rather than consume to have enough product to see you through the future, only consume enough to free you from a reliance on any particular consumer item.  We’ve all talked about it and to some extent we have all practiced it.  Rather than two years for each child buying disposable diapers, you buy one set of cloth diapers.  Rather than a lifetime renting a signal from the cable company, you install a rooftop antenna.  

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Once you’ve bought your beans and bullets, gotten out of debt and have savings and precious metal, what are you left with?  I’m tired of just consuming.  Another can of coffee, another big bundle of toilet paper.  I want my money to go to more permanent investments.  You use a consumable, in the future it is a one time use.  You use a tool, it not only saves money but might make you some ( well, barter, but same or better difference ).  So, my next book after the Frugal Living is going to list two types of investments, those for after your typical survivalist consumer items ( even precious metal is a consumer one time use item ).  Hobby tools and their skills, and items you use to stop hemorrhaging money today.  The skills are ONLY non-petroleum.  No mechanics, no computer programmers.  Old school trades only.  Here is the list I have so far:

Tanning

Cobbler

Leather Working

Smithing

Cooper

Paper/Ink making

Hemp

Herbal  Remedies

Chemist ( using raw ores and material )

Soap maker

Candle Maker

Carpentry

I was unsure of some others.  Will mercenary or bounty hunter be a thing?  Will modern soldiers be as handicap with today’s skills as are doctors due to their modern material reliance?  Will a gunsmith be needed if ammunition runs out before guns break?  Should you concentrate on flintlock manufacture rather than center-fire repairs?  Will a librarian be a skill worth paying for?

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Next are the “invest now to stop consuming later” items that are skills required but not a trade in itself.

Clothe Diapers ( replace both disposables and TP )

Traps/Snares

Seeds/Garden Tools

Manual Tools ( reduce electricity )

Reference Books

Non-Firearm Weapons ( replace ammo )

Wool Clothing ( reduce heat )

Wool Blankets

Canning Supplies

Shaving Brush ( replace cans cream )

Caulking/Insulation

Razr Savr

Solar Panels ( reduce many AC appliances )

LED Bulbs ( almost a Forever Bulb )

Bike/Bike Parts

Manual Sewing Machine

Thrift Store Clothes

Grain Grinder

Thermos ( reduce cooking times/coffee maker )

French Press

Pressure Cooker ( less cook time if crockpot impractical )

Sprouting Trays/Seeds ( replace veggies if garden impractical )

Buried Tube A/C ( 12v fan to replace energy hog A/C )

Garbage Can Wine ( replace store bought liqueur )

Small Livestock ( dairy to replace some meat )

TV Antenna

Carding Hair ( to make own yarn.  Terminology correct? )

Passive Solar-clothesline, food dryer, enclosed clothes dryer,   

   Dish washer, water heater, cooker, window heater.

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These are what I came up with after a few hours of pondering.  I’d like all of your input, either to add new ones or refute any I have.  It is not a new concept, but I think putting it all together in a book might be helpful in getting the concept across better.  Thanks, in advance.

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