I am not sure what to think now. I just got lost in the weeds.I am preparing for hyperinflation and loss of production and distribution chains due to energy shortages. I have read the military’s “islanding” plan for post peak oil and choose not to participate because I like being right here just fine.
Debts will still be collected, but paying off fixed interest debt during a hyperinflation would be like winning the lottery when it comes to screwing the bankers.
I think my views on Chris’s recommendation to get the last bit of prep work done have perhaps hijacked the thread to a degree.
What is everyone else doing with this latest warning/ situation report from Chris?
Best Wishes,
Jager06
Jager,
Praying and buying metals.
That’s about all I can do.
Praying we’ve got enough time for me to finish out a degree, to get some land together.
That things hold together at least until January of 2012.
Don’t think I’m not going to take you up on a cold beer.
Cheers,
Aaron
Agree with earthwise.
Last night I plunked down $4000 on some solar panels - 6 X Kyocera 185 W, and a Xantrex charge controller. Those I should go pick up from the States in a week or two, then bring them back up to Canada. Then locally I’ll buy a 3000 W inverter and battery bank and wires. So all in all it should probably come to about $8000, pretty good if you ask me.
We recently got a Prius and a separate aftermarket plugin conversion kit. This will allow us to drive gasoline-free 50 miles per trip. We live in BC with tons of hydro so I don’t see electricity disappearing but it may be intermittant. But in a hyperinflation scenario it will become expensive so we might as well buy the solar system now and then be able to produce our own electricity for “free” later on when rates jump to $4 million a kW-hr.
[quote=nolas]Should sensible investors buy gold with the threat of confiscation at any time ?..[/quote]The government doesn’t need to confiscate gold. It would be more efficient for govenments to limit where gold can be exchanged to enable them to collect a transaction fee or tax at the time of the exchange.
[quote=Jager06]I am not sure what to think now. I just got lost in the weeds.
I am preparing for hyperinflation and loss of production and distribution chains due to energy shortages. I have read the military’s “islanding” plan for post peak oil and choose not to participate because I like being right here just fine.
Debts will still be collected, but paying off fixed interest debt during a hyperinflation would be like winning the lottery when it comes to screwing the bankers.
I think my views on Chris’s recommendation to get the last bit of prep work done have perhaps hijacked the thread to a degree.
What is everyone else doing with this latest warning/ situation report from Chris?
Best Wishes,
Jager06
[/quote]
Jager,
I’m working at perfecting the art of multitasking if it can be perfected! I have my projects, daily routine tasks and community building activities laid out by folders and review them twice a day to remind myself of the various things I need to get done each day. That helps me coordinate trips to town, supplies, etc that have to be picked up and so on and conserves energy and time.
The major difference I have noticed since doing the CC 2-1/2 years ago is that changing my priorities has resulted in a change in activities and skillsets I want to either learn more about myself or help others learn about. Bottom line is that life has become much more fun and interesting and I have met many new people that I would not otherwise have met or made acquaintences with.
Those efforts are paying off in spades now because the events of the day do not really catch me by surprise although I do get a bit anxious at times when I look at the length of those lists!!
Coop
[quote]
What is everyone else doing with this latest warning/ situation report from Chris?[/quote]
Stepping up plans to install solar/wind power. Working with group to stock up on food.
Doug
Oh yeh, built chicken coop and got a small flock. So far so good. Now the wife is lobbying for goats. I dunno about that.
edited for chickens
Beer is standing by.We have room for you and yours, as you know.
Not much better place to base from than one that is already set up for visitors like yourself.
See you soon,
Jager06
Good work. I continue to hear good things about your progress!But you bought all the Lister engines!! I got there like a week after you had cleaned them out.
How is your donation gathering going?
Best Wishes,
Jager06
[quote=Jager06]I am preparing for hyperinflation and loss of production and distribution chains due to energy shortages. I have read the military’s “islanding” plan for post peak oil and choose not to participate because I like being right here just fine.
[/quote]
So what is the military’s “islanding plan” for peak oil? I don’t think I’ve heard that term before and am wondering if this is open knowledge or hush-hush.
Just be ready to pay it off in full when the banksters start making noises about changing the rules! I doubt it would happen anytime very soon and we’d probably have some warning, but it would be prudent to have cash or PM’s ready to pay it off. I’ll start worrying about this when real inflation gets over 15-20%, or if the dollars value plunges by 25% or more in the space of a few weeks.
Really I don’t have a whole lot I can do at the moment that I haven’t already done as a response to the last Alert. Not owning a home gives a lot of flexibility, but at the same time it limits self-sufficiency options. As far as purchases go, I will be buying a scooter as well as some solar PV equipment for a small personal project I have planned, but other than continuing our storable food accumulation that’s about it. As for other things, I’ve recently received my concealed handgun permit and will be taking a couple defensive handgun courses in June, and picking up where I left off with martial arts now that I’ll be home full-time. Also, my dad and stepmom just moved into a new house and I will be helping them with the hard labor for any gardening setup and home resiliency projects. But all this stuff I really planned on doing anyway.
If there is any recent response we’re taking to the developments and this latest info, it’s that we’re holding onto even more cash savings than we usually do. We have been planning a move overseas later this year (or possibly early next year) to pursue some business ventures, but depending on how events transpire there is a small probability that we may need to move earlier than planned and on very short notice. And speaking more generally, the way I figure it this looming crisis or leg-down can go any number of ways, but liquid cash would appear to be useful in almost all of them. Maybe not the most optimal for some probabilities (for example I missed out on the chance to increase my silver holdings a little bit), but for covering all probabilities as a whole I see it as a good strategy.
- Nickbert
Like nickbert, my wife & I are mostly nibbling at the edges of ongoing preps (food storage, small resilience-related items like hand-cranked LED flashlights, etc.). The only big/new item on the docket is a CCW firearm, and that’s been stalled for a bit. Unless I course-correct on the current plan it could take month or two to complete and as this week wears on I like the feel of that less and less so I’m contemplating an accelerated sked/plan B. Otherwise, we just put our house back on the market as FSBO and therefore at a hopefully more compelling price point (since we don’t have to pay a broker fee). Feels a bit like selling sno-cones on the deck of the Titanic in terms of timing but it only takes one buyer from NYC who’d like a lovely little BOL/weekend home in the country. And oh yes, we’re expanding our garden by 50%, although we mostly cannot plant for another few weeks (radishes, peas & spinach already in).
Viva – Sager
I sure hope nothing major happens yet for quite some time.
As some of you already know: I rent, it’s a small place with little storage space, I have a wife who is not on board.
A Few Positives
- No debt to worry about.
- If gas prices shoot through the roof, being one mile from work will definitely remain advantageous.
- We have numerous relatives in the county, so that is good.
- Our twin baby boys are a "liability" right now but hopefully in a decade they'll start making a difference. I plan on taking them shooting as soon as they are mature enough to handle firearms.
Think of an oasis of petroleum with priority of use to military and government functions. Think strategically, high level highway classification, railhead, river, port, air access, manufacturing capability, local natural and pre-positioned resources.Of course this oasis exists in a post peak oil environment where fuel supplies have been determined to be for primarily strategic use only.
Live near a military installation? Or a railhead? Your geographic location may be a bonus.
Best Wishes,
Jager06
I haven’t been to this site for a while and I’ve just checked in to see if attitudes have turned a little more positive and not the end or the world.
I read a comment “Our twin baby boys are a “liability” right now…”, I’ll let fly through to the keeper as I’m probably reading it out of context, not being part of the evolution of that blog trail.
The reason for my entry being, I remember one of Chris’s earlier audio entries (back in 2009) about the behaviour of fiat currencies and using the analogy of skydivers falling from the sky at different rates. Here’s a great example.
Well the $AUD must have a sky hook at the moment at $1.08 against the $US, inflation is in Australia but no where near as bad as other countries.
As gold is traded in $US, Gold is declining against the $AUD. Gold in AUD $1,410 against US$1,515. http://www.perthmintbullion.com/au/
Unfortunately our manufacturing industry is being slowly weakened.
Just with my opening comment, I don’t want to sound too harsh as your all a great bunch of caring people. But the negativity by some can be a little overbearing sometimes.
I’ve lost everything (divorce does that in this country) Very liberating and I’ve never been happier. I realised material possessions are meaningless. Maybe I’m naïve, but people helping each other and your house is my house, calms any panic of ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality. Maybe it’s a cultural thing.
All the best
It sounds like your positives are really great…no debt, close to work, many relatives! esp. no debt, wow!!.. and even if your wife is not quite on board (yet) and your storage space is small, would any of your relatives store some preps?? I’m sure that most of your space is taken up my diapers and baby stuff!We are good on storage space, but we do have mtg debt (wanna trade?!). I’ve tried to get a little bit of everything for preps and started getting really overwhelmed. My main focus is on the garden right now. A friend had this advice… you do what you can and then live your life.
So, don’t forget to enjoy whatever good each and every day has to offer… And congrats on the twins!! Double blessing!
[quote=Jager06]Think of an oasis of petroleum with priority of use to military and government functions. Think strategically, high level highway classification, railhead, river, port, air access, manufacturing capability, local natural and pre-positioned resources.
Of course this oasis exists in a post peak oil environment where fuel supplies have been determined to be for primarily strategic use only.
Live near a military installation? Or a railhead? Your geographic location may be a bonus.
[/quote]
Hmm, ok. Well, we live in Palmer, AK, 40 some-odd-miles from Elmendorf AFB, Fort Richardson, and Anchorage (which is a major air hub, railway hub, and a port). Throw in the oil, coal, and other mineral resources that flows out of the state, and the answer is yes to everything but river traffic and major manufacturing capability. That doesn’t really make me feel better though. For the past 2+ years I’ve been working on an Army post, and while I’ve worked with many good individuals in the Army, the Army (and the DoD in general) as an organization and bureaucracy regularly makes me cringe with its wastefulness and sometimes appalling lack of common sense. I have a feeling that those qualities may only get amplified as the military & government takes on additional roles in widespread distribution of civilian resources. In a case of islanding I think it’s likely we’d actually end up with less fuel resources available to the average citizen, so unless there’s a substantial external threat (which is possible) I think we’d be worse off. And somehow I see almost all the oil going to either local military & government functions and the larger metro areas on the West Coast, with local citizens here gettting very little. I hope I’m just being too cynical, but I kinda doubt it…
- Nickbert
I think you are being generous in assuming there would be some leftovers for Non Government, non military citizens Nickbert.The threat is that there is no power projection or long term defensive capability without oil.
The nation that hoards oil while transitioning to the next fuel source within the context of the new global settlement currency will rule the world.
Best Wishes,
Jager06
thanks for the link. This is what I’d been looking. I too have livestock and it would be helpfulJudd
Hi All,
Im new to this blog, but not new to the idea that somehow as a result of poor financial management, the world is on the brink of another economic meltdown that will likely effect all normal peoples net worth. Even so I have to confess to be a little bemused by the growing army of individuals that seems to be preparing for a complete break down in society by buying up canned goods, moving to the country, becoming “self sufficient” getting off the grid so on and so forth.
Am I missing something here are you all saying that with a financial collapse all humanity and sanity will go out of the window? If so, then can someone please exlpain how so? There seems to be aweful amount of confusion about whether global financial collapse will lead to deflation or inflation…again if there is so much confusion about this basic issue how is that so many people seem to be preparing for the end of the world? Isnt the reality of the situation that despite the financials of the matter, there are still enough resources to go around, and that one way or another those resources will be available, just as they are now?
My personal view is that yes the US is losing its dominance, and with it the value of its currency, and with that a reduced standard of living for US Nationals, thats alos true of most western industrialised nations. But the whole point of Keynesion econmics of what little I know about it is simply that allows governments to slide down the slippery slope, rather than fall off a cliff! On that basis isn’t the only logical conclusion that the US dollar will continue to decline, that as a consequence any raw material purchase din that dollar will continue to rise in cost…and then isnt the natural conclusion to get out of fiat currencies, for the time being until its addressed one way or the other…yes hard times ahead, but no government is going to adopt policies that result in anarchy! The US has it quite withing their means to be self sufficient in food, water, energy and lots more besides, regarless of what the rest of the world does if it debases its currency, and that effort for the us to wean itself off of foriegn support (oil, goods, debt) will likely become the single biggest economic boost for the US that its had since WWII !!! Sorry i dont see the need for fire arms canned goods, and moving into the wilderness…although I do see that global cities are going to go into decline as more and more people realse theirs a lot of jobs in the city built on shuffling paper, and well they only ever where worthless jobs wasnt they? Even if they did pay some of the highest salaries on the planet!
[quote=V2]Or, in that case, is it better to turn that cash into useful, durable things, i.e. canning equipment? I have some silver on the side, so not totally without PMs. Also already acquired some “things”, but could always use more. This is a difficult debate that has been raging in my head. Maybe the answer is obvious to others.[/quote]I would definitely go for “things” rather than gold and silver. Indeed, CM was advocating, not so long ago, selling some of your precious metals to top off your preparations. Now we have him advising turning money into PMs. Surely that’s a low priority unless you simply can’t get into your preparations now. If things are about to fall apart, I don’t think PMs will help anyone prepare. If there is nothing useful to buy with gold or silver, gold or silver won’t be very useful.
To my mind, if the breakdown is drawing near, better to spend what money you have on things that will help you in the aftermath. I don’t think gold and silver will help unless you are already as fully prepared as you think you can be. Only then should people be buying PMs to preserve wealth, surely? The only other situation I can think of, when buying PMs is a reasonable strategy, is if you simply don’t have the opportunity to get on with your preps, for some reason. In that case, do what you can then buy PMs and keep your fingers crossed.
Tony
Hi Rufanuf,welcome to this blog!
I don’t think that humanity and sanity will go “out of the window” as you said … In contrast - so is my experience so far! By beeing aware (thanks to Dr. Martenson, the Crash Cours and this community & also thanks to blogger Sharon Astyk) of this unfolding crisis I’ve joined the “Prepper” Community too. And since then, the quality of my life has increased a lot! I feel a lot more free than in the last 50+years of my life, in a greater peace of mind than ever, with better contacts to my neighbours. I’m very thankful for every nice moment, enjoying the new discovered gardening & so on. Ok, canning sometimes might be sometimes not so nices, especially in summertime -:))) For me it was an experience I would not miss to discovering how to prepare what I need with my own hands & brain and with the help of friends and community - for example cooking from scratch and discover new methods of canning and so on.
Have a nice weekend,
Regina