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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Trying to prepare

Hello Ferfal:

A friend suggested I read your blog and it has really opened my eyes. I am sorry about all the suffering you and your family are going through.
I wanted to ask you a question. I live in the United States, more specifically, California.
Do you see the signs of an impending economic collapse like yours?
I am trying to prepare, but have limited funds and can only do so much each month. I have tried to locate a product you recommended, a solar charged hand crank battery charger and I cannot find one.

Thanks for the input.

Jacqueline


Hi Jacqueline,

My family and I aren’t doing that bad. We mostly worry a lot about the crime problem, just like every other living soul in this country these days. Dengue is also a problem ( it triplicated in the last 15 days) and the unstable economy doesn’t help, but other than that we have each other and are truly blessed. I have a gorgeous wife that loves me and I love her back, and two wonderful boys. What more can a man ask for?
I don’t dare say there will be an economic collapse in USA or not. One thing I know for sure, you’ll experience at least a bit of what we saw here in Argentina.
I know because in spite of not knowing what will happen in the future, I know the consequences of what has already happened, simply because we saw them here too and those things are following a surprisingly similar path.
You have to understand this: What already happened and probably will continue happening with the American economy will have certain consequences.
Crime will go up, people will have harder financial times, and life in general will be a bit more complicated.
Finances are a real concern. A lot of people are loosing their jobs and its important to be able to get new ones or make money on your own, reduce expenses as much as possible and sometimes that isn’t enough, you have to make more money.
Eventually the purchasing power will be affected by inflation (even if they hide inflation, it’s still there). In a nut shell, some people that are middle class today will become poor, and its not the end of the world, but it’s still hard.
Upgrade yourself as a person as much as you can. You’ll be better prepared for life in general, including an economic collapse, and if nothing happens or if it’s just a small slap on the wrist instead of a collapse, you’ll be a happier person anyway so it’s a win-win situation.
This blog has a lot of information, and of course I recommend you my book too. It has some hard earned experience that will no doubt prove useful to anyone getting started. It’s specially written to help you gain the required mindset, and includes a lot of tips and advice.
About the gadget you ask, I have a couple of those solar charged hand crank battery charger things listed on the right column (scroll down) sold by Amazon.
Don’t worry about spending tons of money, worry more about saving as much as you can.
Having said that there are certain things you should buy as soon as finances allow, check this miniguide.
As imperative as mindset and awareness are, they wont materialize food and gear when you need them. You need to get those in advance.

FerFAL

6 comments:

Joseph said...

Jacqueline,

Might be hard for you to buy a firearm in California, but then again maybe not. With limited funds, do things on the cheap where you can: Fill a few 2 liter soda bottles with water, purchase a few extra cans of food when you shop, etc. It might help to make a list of short term goals you can accomplish quickly and longer term goals. Trying to do everything at once can be difficult and intimidating, so just do one thing at a time.

Anonymous said...

I agree, when i go to costco i usally always buy some canned food and a bag of rice and beans, not too much and i'm stocking up.

GOT MY FERFAL BOOK IN TODAY FROM LULU!!! CAN'T WAIT TO GET OFF WORK AND START READING IT!!!!

I live in Califorina :)

DannyHSDad said...

Hmm. I live in SoCal and it got shipped yesterday but hasn't arrived yet (I went for cheapest shipping so YMMV).

As for guns, they are legal in California. A pain in the neck to buy them (compared to TX), but something you get used to.

In CA, you can buy blackpowder revolvers (BPR) without any background check. You can even get converters to shoot regular ammo in BP revolvers. The drawbacks are: price (as much or more than regular guns) and rather big guns (most are not for concealment). Pluses: no waiting period and no count limit (buy as much money you want to spend) and is possible to buy anonymously with cash (since no ID is req) and no need to register with CA DoJ (dept of justice).

Joseph said...

Good advice, folks!!

Jacqueline,

Should you purchase a firearm, PLEASE take a safety/self defense course if you have not already. Weapons are a lot less intimidating once you know how they work and have done a little shooting.

If you do even minimal preparation-food supplies, water, a radio and a GOOD flashlight, batteries-even for a couple of weeks, you will be far better off than the majority of people around you, who will not have prepared at all. (If people give you funny looks, just tell them "earthquake preperation". They may look at you funny, but it's reasonable.) Just one step at a time...I am an ex-paramedic and former hiker, and it is still kinda intimidating to me! :)

John H said...

For Dengue I have heard that papaya leaf juice works miracles.

http://archiechi.com/?p=578

Also if you use papaya seeds in place of black pepper it helps with parasites even the ones that are hard to deal with like amoeba and giardia. I have heard papaya extracts are sometimes used as a contraceptive so keep that in mind if you want children. You can replace peppercorns in a pepper grinder with dried papaya seed.

Another possibility is the Chinese herb qing hao/Sweet Anne in the US.

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/41/77.cfm

Anonymous said...

Jacqueline,

If you need to raise some quick cash for preps, first take a good, honest survey of your household, and sell off all the 'invisible' stuff you never notice and don't truly need.

Flat screen? Gone. Second computer? E-bay. Fancy clothes & jewelery you never wear? Adios. Second car? It's convenient, but truly nothing but a financial drain.

Buy bulk bleach to purify water. Buy non-prcessed, cheap, easily storable foods: dried beans, rice and grain. Get a bicycle. And 'yes', buy a good, simple, reliable shotgun & learn how to use it. But most important: read & learn. Knowledge is indeed power.

Just some thoughts.

Snoop-Diggity-DANG-Dawg