Monday, December 12, 2016

finances for collapse book 4-article 2 of 2 today

article 2 of 2 today
FINANCES FOR COLLAPSE BOOK 4

PROSPEROUS PEASANT

The Prosperous Peasant concept is from a loyal minion and basically just means you stockpile for the rest of your life to always have enough that you don’t fall too fall down the Third World Peasant Craphole.  Now, I hasten to point out that this is NOTHING at all like the Yuppie Scum Survivalists who think prepping is about securing a luxurious middle class standard of living for the rest of their lives.  That is an unrealistic goal for most of us financially, and it makes for a rather weak willed soft and gooey Marshmallow Person who is so dependent of Oil Age items that he/she has zero idea how to tough things out, Cowboy Up, Embrace The Suck or stop being a pussy when the crap hits the fan.  These fools think that the Collapse is going to be a Hollywood movie or a video game.  Don’t get me wrong, you CAN have fun during the collapse of civilization ( it just takes some work, because, after all, we are talking about war and brigandage and starvation and pestilence ) .  You can achieve your inner Viking/Conan and enjoy yourself as long as possible before the sheer numbness of overpopulation math kicks your ass.  You can enjoy what the rich fear, but you can’t be rich and do so.  You have to embrace depravation to conquer it, not try to cocoon yourself in cash to avoid it at all costs.

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Being a Prosperous Peasant just means a cushion against the worst of what is to come.  It can be as frugal and affordable as you make it, or as expensive and unattainable as most try for.  I include this chapter only because it somewhat counters the urgent need to stock tangibles that is the mainstay of almost all Survivalist Guru’s advice.  Understandably, few of us want too much cash on hand as it will hyper-inflate or be deemed unconvertible by our central bank run government ( if the Petro-Dollar ends or the banks conduct a Bail-In ), although with today’s unemployment numbers it is also foolish to NOT stock cash in anticipation of losing one’s job.  This dilemma I frightfully ignore at this point, calling it a discussion for another day.  Here, I just want to point out that not all tangibles are created equal, nor is barter always the best place to invest your money.  Your own consumables and your own investments are the important items ( investments being the way to cut back on the number of consumables you’ll need ), because trade will not be as important as self-preservation.  I won’t get too deep into all this.

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This chapter is just a teaser, as my next book will cover all this in far greater detail.  Consider this both an extended table of contents advertisement, as well as an answer to what you want to do with your money after you are out of debt and own your own land ( however sad and poor it might be, it is yours and represents the ultimate unemployment insurance.  We’ve covered cheap land elsewhere, so here I’ll just reiterate that your priority list is 1) bare bones survival stash, 2) get a very cheap affordable piece of land and, 3) get and stay out of debt.  Debt and land are a bit mixed up, as you’ll most likely make payments on the land, but it is more important to have a place to live rent free than to have your credit cards paid off, also-of course, beware if your land can be seized to pay off other debts like college loans.  I have no idea, myself.  But if you need to know… ).  The rest of this book will return to the philosophy of money and spending and earning. 

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You have a half dozen categories to consider on your quest towards becoming a Prosperous Peasant.  Four very important ones and two follow-ups.  The two follow-ups are as important, but I place them at the bottom as they are already duplicated to a certain extent.  You need them, but if they are the first and only investments ( say, you run out of time and the ass falls out of civilization ) then you are too heavy in some areas and too light in others.  Start with Clothing, then Energy and Building Materials and Sanitation.  The other two will be Food & Water and Entertainment.  I have yet to complete the lists, but here are the main areas.  Clothing MUST be centered around surviving in comfort without carbon fuels.  Think of a lifelong camping trip.  Cold weather gear and hot weather items.  Hats and shoes and shoe substitutes. 

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For Energy, concentrate on passive solar.  Secondary is PV solar and batteries.  This is NOT an expensive replacement for plugging into the grid but rather a bare minimum for heating and cooling and illumination.  Bare minimum has the bonus of being affordable.  For instance, chainsaws and spare parts and gasoline and a huge house with multiple fireplaces are all very expensive and unnecessary.  Better insulation, to include clothing, is a much better investment.  I also stress solar lighting, as candles are beyond suck-tastic.  LED lights require much less fuss, at this point in time, and are far superior for lighting.  No, it isn’t sustainable.  Neither is a lot of the rest of the list.  This is really only a one off generational thing. 

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Building materials are going to be very important in helping you survive with a lot less fuel.  They are, currently, cheap and compact and irreplaceable.  Think easy earth sheltering with thick plastic sheeting and rigid board insulation.  Sanitation is going to do a LOT for keeping you healthy when no doctors with antibiotics are going to be available.  Bar soap, liquid soap, toilet paper substitutes, teeth cleaning, hair cutting and shaving are all cheap now, dear later.  This is the cheapest yet the category with the most impact ( not to discard things like staying warm in winter-a bigger killer than malnutrition- just that it is the biggest bang for your buck ).

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The two follow-ups are increased amounts of food and entertainment, to keep your sanity.  Here is a list:

Primary

1) Clothing-cold weather, hot weather, hats, shoes, sliders

2) Energy-passive solar, PV solar, batteries

3)Building Materials-plastic sheeting, insulation

4)Sanitation-bar & liquid soap, TP subs, teeth, hair, shave

Secondary

5)Food & Water-wheat, fat, vitamins, trapping, filter, jugs

6)Entertainment-cheap multiples of your relaxing hobby

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If you wish to comment to add to the list, please do.  Keep in mind I’m focusing on Lifestyle Improvement, not plain old Survivalism.  Hence, I didn’t include gardening or water catchment, as that is basic life saving.  Trapping, on the other hand, is a nice, luxurious, soul soothing add-on.  Of course, yes, it is all subjective. 

END

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16 comments:

  1. I think one of the most important things to have to be a Prosperous Peasant is high-quality hand tools. This kind of cuts across the categories you have listed above. For example, a chainsaw is very useful while it lasts, as long as you don't hurt yourself with it, but a set of hand wood-cutting saws can last you a lifetime, especially if you get a set of files to sharpen them. And if you follow Wranglerstar on Youtube, you know just how hard it is to get a high-quality set of saw-sharpening files.

    And they give you much more bang for your buck in that while hand saws will be useful for much long than chainsaws, they are also cheap enough that they are not uncommon. Very few people, however, ever sharpen their handsaws, so having the tools and ability to do so will be a valuable skill to barter with.

    And that's just one aspect. There are hand tools for most everything else on your list.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I think this kind of gets into the old book on survival skills and tools. Important, but not our focus. Here are small affordable items making a bare bones existence easier and more effective.

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  2. For cold weather clothing, wool is probably best, but synthetics such as polyester work well as long as you get fleece. The reason is that the fleece is a looser weave and has good loft, so it better traps warmth, and dries quicker if it gets wet. I recently got some 100% wool pants from The Sportsman's guide, but upon receiving them, they have such a tight weave that I can't imagine that they would dry quickly, wool or not.

    For a cheap shelter, you might keep some of those polyethylene bags used in Earth bag construction around, sort of as a modern variation on the old sod houses. Even with shorter walls, it would be enough to shelter you temporarily until you can build it to full height, and the cost of the bags is nil. Also have plenty of plastic sheeting or some tarps so you can create a makeshift roof. I saw someone build a root cellar out of Earth bags, so keep this is mind as well.

    I do recall that Mike Oehler, in his $50 and up underground house book, featured a simple illustration for a quickie underground shelter.

    I have a book somewhere that I can't seem to find at the moment, that lists plants that can be used as soap substitutes. If I find it, I'll scan that section and post it.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I can't imagine the wool pants having drying issues. All my wool, from thin to thick sweaters to a thick dense cap seem to dry about the same.

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    2. You're probably right about that James, as I haven't actually field tested them as of yet, but I'll try to explain where I was coming from. I have a pair of 100% nylon swim trunks. Now normally, nylon dries really fast, but these are of a tight weave. I've noticed that even when it's very hot out, that it can take up to a half hour or more for them to completely dry.

      Bottom line. Try to buy fabrics with a looser, loftier weave if at all possible. Such garments may not be as wind repellent, requiring the use of an additional outer garment, but they dry faster and contain more heat trapping loft.

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    3. I agree with your bottom line. Wool pants would be preferable to long johns ( in my view-some folks swear by the Union Suit ) but of course be an under layer. I wear an outer wool pants, but they are mil-surp very thick. They stand up to wind. Hot as hell, I can't wear them until it gets single digits.

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  3. Hmmm I would add an old laptop. it would play DVD,s hold books music and is low watt compatible with a low watt pv system. The one other item often over looked is Pen/pencils and paper for writing and notes.

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    1. I know officially Madison Avenue approved survivalist gurus wish us all to go back to playing musical instruments to have Saturday night hootenannies, but most likely we will instead be listening to recorded music for awhile.

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    2. I keep having visions from the "Book of Eli" how important his MP3 player was to him. With the low cost of flash drives its foolish not to have a huge library of entertainment and information.

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    3. I'm one of the foolish ones, unless you count DVD movies.

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  4. I'm sure you're familiar with it but for your other minions check out "The Alpha Strategy" by John Pugsley. It's available as a PDF via a simple Google search. TL;DR version is to buy non perishables that you need now in order to beat inflation / being ripped off.

    The PDF lacks the list of stuff to buy but I have the book and the list isn't that crash hot

    ReplyDelete
  5. I thought I'd just add

    I heard that socks are highly valued by the homeless. They're so cheap to buy now that we just buy new ones whenever we get a hole in one. Yet in days of old *looks over shoulder* - When ladies knew their place *double checks over shoulder* socks would be repaired numerous times.

    Something to think about

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    Replies
    1. I have a basket of old socks with one hole in them. Some get turned into rags, most will be waiting for me when my stockpiled new socks wear down.

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  6. Sorry to spam but

    http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/12/12/video-venezuelans-dig-garbage-feed-families/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spam is selling us something-this is just off topic info. Thank you.

      Delete

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