The 10 Things You Must Know to Survive the Fall of America - No. 8 Take Responsibility
THE 10 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW
TO SURVIVE THE FALL OF AMERICA
The more self-sufficient and independent you become, the more likely you will survive.
Over the last two articles we've asked you to open your eyes and accept that not only might things never get better, they may well get worse. If you've taken our advice to heart, you know that your survival over the next few years is tied to how well you're prepared.
This time, we start investigating pro-active steps you can take to increase your odds of surviving the coming Greater Depression. In other words, we're going to start talking about things you can do to give yourself a fighting chance.
And even if you don't totally buy into the doomsday scenario--the whole collapse of the Western
World--when planning for the future you should take the worst case scenario into account. So let's imagine a world where the dollar is worthless—if you can even gain access to your dollar accounts. How are you going to buy gas for your car, food for your table, rent? In this scenario, it will be everyone for themselves, so how are you going to survive?
More Americans than ever depend upon the government to support them in some manner, as reported by the Washington Times on October 13, 2010:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/13/political-danger-of-a-rising-dependent-population
The answer is to become as self-sufficient as possible. If you can build it, grow it, make it, sell it yourself you're going to be that much further ahead when the worst happens.
Remember, we're planning for worst case scenario, while hoping for best case scenario. The great thing is that even is the worst doesn't happen, you will be much better off than your contemporaries because you took these steps.
Let's begin by breaking down the things we need to do into a few main categories: essential (life sustaining things); necessary (things we need to be productive); desired (not critical for life support, but they sure make everything better things.)
The essential, life sustaining things we must have
* A roof over our heads
* Food on the table
* A source of water
* Waste removal/treatment
* A source of income or barter (not working for the man)
* Health/Medical care
The necessary things we need to be productive
* Electricity
* Internet
* Phone
* Postal/Delivery system
* Transportation
Things we desire because they while not necessary, make life that much better for being around
* Still or Video Camera
* Grooming
* Gourmet Cooking
* Set of tools (electric, carpentry, plumbing, automotive)
Number one on your agenda should be food and water. Without them, you die. Under worst case scenario rules, you can't assume you can buy food at a grocery store or restaurant on any kind of reliable basis, nor can you assume that the city water supply won't have outages. So what would you do to ensure a supply of food and water? You could stockpile canned food. You could horde MRE's or dehydrated camping meals. You could grow your own if you have outdoor space for a garden (and a way to secure it from anyone else). You could even grow your own indoors in an apartment using hydroponics (provided you have water and electricity). How are you at hunting and fishing? Water can easily be stored if you have the space. Or do what I do…have an indoor Spa-In-A-Box hot tub with 200 gallons of hot water, just there in case of emergency. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the hot tub.
Number two on your agenda should probably be a roof over your heads. Worst case scenario rules dictate that you can't count on renting or owning a home in the new world reality. So do you sleep in your car if need be? Do you buy a Winnebago? Or go old school and get a tent and sleeping bags?
At some point you'll have to come up with a plan for waste removal. A hole in the ground gets unpleasant real soon. And while we're on the subject here's an anecdote for you. I grew up in Hawaii where we were dependent on the Matson ships for bringing in the essentials (the things that weren't produced in the islands, which was mostly everything). Periodically, Matson employees would go on strike and the island would suffer what amounted to an embargo on many products. How this relates is that the number one item that people rushed out to stock up on was toilet paper. At the first mention of the possibility of an upcoming Matson strike the grocery stores shelves would instantly empty of toilet paper. The moral of the anecdote is "If things really do go to SH*T, you're going to need toilet paper."
Health and medical issues vary for each individual. If there's life sustaining medicine you need, make sure you have an abundant supply. Learn how to be your own doctor whenever possible.
A source of income or barter will certainly help you to survive. That means you need to be your own business. You need to be able to supply a skill, a product, or a resource that other people need. If cash no longer is in existence then you can barter your stuff for other people's stuff. My guess is that the handyman is going to be very successful when things fall apart. Sure puts an entirely different spin on the immigration issue.
Fox News in Phoenix, Arizona has already reported that businesses are returning to bartering for at least some of their goods and services, as reported on October 10th, 2010. The trend has begun:
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/only_on_fox/business-bartering-is-back-in-style-10102010
Next are things necessary for us to be productive. These include electricity, communications (phone, internet, and package delivery services), and transportation. Electricity and communications are difficult to provide on a self-sufficient basis. In most cases, we must rely on others….the power companies, the phone companies, the post office, etc. Worst case scenario, none of them will be around. More likely, there will be areas in the country where these services are available, and areas where they are not. The question is how are you going to pay for them?
Transportation gives us more options. Driving a car, riding the bus, taking the subway are not self sufficient. They require money; they rely on products or services of others. A bicycle on the other hand is self sufficient. Make sure you have plenty of spare parts and a good lock. Get in shape to ride it. And if you want to go way outside the box, a sailboat could make sense…a mode of transportation and a place to live all in one. This requires a lot of maintenance though.
As far as things desirable, what makes sense is to learn how to do things for yourself and your family. Learn to hunt and fish. Learn how to give haircuts, pedicures, manicures, massages. Learn basic home medicine. Learn how to cook. Learn how to fix things around the house and make car repairs. Learn how to pitch a tent. Learn how to grow plants from seeds and from clones you create. Learn, just learn. Foraging itself is a fast-growing trend, as reported on October 7th, 2010 by the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704631504575532072467298394.html
The preceding is by no means a complete list of all the things you could be doing to become self-sufficient, but hopefully it has started you thinking on which things apply to you, and what you can do about them. Our list may be formed through worst case scenario thinking, but one thing is certain:
TO DO NOTHING IS TO RISK EVERYTHING.
COMING UP NEXT: MUST DO 7. GET OFF THE DOLLAR
Making your money and assets work for you, not against you
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
"The Fall of America and the Western World" is a nine disc, eight hour
collection of information, advice and voices from the left, the right, and
the center to give you the facts about what is happening to your world.
This DVD box set gives you the truth the mainstream media refuses to
give you. Information you will need to survive in 2010, 2011, 2012 and
beyond. Information, including over 150 actionable tips to prepare you and your family for the coming Greater Depression. The above article made use of several of these tips from the film.
Featuring Joseph Farah, Naomi Wolf, Doug Casey, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts,
Professor Mark Crispin Miller, Alex Jones, David Icke, Mickey Z, David
McAlvany, Doug McIntyre, G. Edward Griffin and Ken Klein.
Video Interview: Famed economist Doug Casey reveals the dangers headed our way in a discussion about ‘class warfare'.
See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzF90lWOKuI
Watch the video, and then read Doug Casey's Daily Dispatch at:
http://www.caseyresearch.com/free-publications/caseys-daily-dispatch/
RECOMMENDED READING
In The Oil Age is Over, Matt Savinar offers convincing evidence, backed by widely respected geologists, physicists, and investment bankers who are absolutely terrified by a phenomenon known as global "Peak Oil."
Invest 5 minutes in yourself. Watch the "Fall of America and the Western World" trailer.
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