How To Survive If The Dollar Collapses

Living in America ^ | 3/4/11 | Even Keel

[Kartographer]

We all realize it won’t happen, but the dollar is very weak. That’s just a fact.

Anything I read about survivalism indicates to keep at least a few weeks or even months supply of food on hand. As far as guns and ammunition, I seriously doubt that one person can protect what they have if people are starving. This means a network of friends is needed. That way the things that you have can be shared and protected.

I do know many people will say they can’t afford it. A food item that costs $1.00 today could cost $2.00 or $3.00 or even more by mid summer. We should all know that gasoline which won’t even store well, especially now with the ethanol can’t really be stored in quantity for any length of time.

The interest on just about any investment is presently much less than the increase in the cost of food. Therefore, a few hundred in savings spent now, will increase in value faster than just about any investment there is.

[Raven6]

You can't protect your city, but you can (with proper planning) protect your community and your home if you are not in a heavily populated area - my definition of community being every thing you can see from your house, including your neighbors' houses.

What I mean by this is: make it a point to have already discussed the possible scenarios with your neighbors... Get them on board with a plan and have a plan! The plan should include how you plan to communicate, eat, drink, defend, and administer medical aid. Make sure you have a good satellite photo, with with street and topo overlays, of the area you intend to defend, and then look for the weaknesses - mitigate the weaknesses.

I've done this for our "community" and have enough on board so that we can handle things for a good 6 months without having to worry about a harvest or having to venture outside of our safety zone. Those within the community that didn't want to be a contributor during the planning phase will either have to join in when it happens and prove themselves with "Mucho Gusto", or they will be left to fend for themselves.

We are geographically isolated enough that we can do this... We have water and a means to purify it... Food stores... and if needed, seed stores. We have "off-grid ability to communicate around the world (and it is currently EMP shielded, as are the needed electrical vehicle components for transportation. BTW- we can run them on our self produced ethenol.) We have welding and smelting capabilities as well, and can cast our own bullets for our reloading operation. Food storage is taken care of, as is meat curing and smoking.

The only thing we might run into trouble with would be a scenario that kept us from being outside: radioactive fallout... That one could leave us vulnerable to people that aren't aware of the radioactivity and that are out scavaging to see what they can find. They might breach the perimeter after someone else has set off the primary defense charges. (We do not have any illegal items whatsoever - we just know how to make things if we have to have them.)

Just food for thought...

Regards,
Raven6

PS: We do need a good dentist... The house next door to me will probably be on the market soon if one of you city-dwelling tooth-yankers is looking for a place to go WTSHTF. I'll keep a watch on the place while you're away, but you'll have to get here quick when the balloon goes up... Otherwise, the "have-nots" might get you! :-)

[mad_as_he$$]

Our Bishop's store will let you visit once without a Mormon sponsor. I did it and wore the crew out. Bought them all lunch and gave a generous donation to the facility.

BTW they have all the canning supplies etc. They do not bat an eye at about anything you want to can. 22 ammo to kotex.

[mad_as_he$$]

Hey Kart. Funny you bring up gravy. I was at Walgreen’s today and they were clearing out their inventory of gravy for $0.25 a can. I cleaned them out. Also visited the “Hispanic” store. Pinto bean in bulk on sale for $0.65 a pound.

[wku man]

Not that I'm planning on having to go up against you -- I'm pretty sure we're on the same team -- but just out of curiosity, why not? Is there a surprise under the lid?

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[Georgia Girl 2]

Gasoline can be stored for up to 5 years by using Stabil which was designed for that very thing. The ethanol will evaporate off after awhile.

You should have 12 months of food reserves. Don’t forget water. And don’t go telling everybody in your bridge club. If you can last 12 months after an “event” you will have a chance that things will get back to some sense of normalcy. It does not have to be fancy. Rice and beans will keep you alive. If you have $209 to spare buy yourself a Big Berkey water filter. We just got one and it rocks. It will turn pond scum into 99.99% pure water.

For storing quantities of grains and beans we get the food grade buckets for $1 each from the nice ladies at the grocery store bakery. Instead of throwing them away they hold the buckets for us. We have used the mylar bag liners and dry ice to deoxygenize. Don’t do that its a pain use the oxygen absorbers. You can order them online at Country living.

Almost any prescription medicine can be ordered in quantity online through the Canadian pharmacies. I’m talking antibiotics, pain killers, thyroid, high blood pressure, cholesterol drugs etc. You can order a years worth at a time. They will be effective past their expiration dates you might just have to take a little more of it at some point. The only drug I know of that actually goes toxic after a time is Tetracyclin. Don’t buy it.

Weapons: Get one or two or three. A high capacity semi-auto handgun like a Springfield Armory .45 ACP, a shotgun and a AR-15 or AK assault rifle come to mind. Make sure you have about 1000 rounds of ammo for each of them. And yes you may have to actually kill somebody. If you live in the burbs you will be fending off every neighbor who didn’t bother to buy an extra can of soup not to mention the denizens of the inner city who may make it out your way. Make that 2,000 rounds of ammo for at least the AK. Don’t worry too much about the food police. Their life expectancy will be less than 48 hours. If they show up at your door weeelllll you have a decision to make.

Get your whole family together in one place and make sure they all have a weapon. The reason its called survival is because your only objective is to still be alive 12 mos after the SHTF.

If you can afford to buy even a small retreat no farther than 1 tank of gas from where you live now do it. The folks that are out in the country will be OK. The burbs and in-town areas will be extremely hard to survive in. We came to the decision some time ago that even with excellent weapons and a bad attitude our home in the burbs is basically not defensible. We are one foot out the door to the mountains.

Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

[JouleZ]

Almost any prescription medicine can be ordered in quantity online through the Canadian pharmacies. I’m talking antibiotics, pain killers, thyroid, high blood pressure, cholesterol drugs etc. You can order a years worth at a time.

*************

Thanks for that info. I have been leary of using them but would sure appreciate any info on how to do it. Do I need a current prescription and which pharmacy would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

[Lancey Howard]

Awesome post. Thanks for the reply.

One thing you didn’t mention but IMO is worth the added cost and hassle is a couple of good large dogs. A pile of giant-size bags of dogfood can last a couple of years if stored properly. And there’s nothing like a good dog nearby to help you sleep a little better.

FRegards,
LH

[sneakers]

I taught myself how to make sauerkraut. Well worth it! As to the canning; I only can things that you can do in a water bath canner - Jams, pickles, relish, tomatoes, peaches, syrups, etc. I don’t have a pressure canner, and I’m not too confident about canning anything that needs pressure canning. I just freeze those things. Works well for my family. I’ve also started using my dehydrator for some things. Last year I dried Roma and Cherry tomatoes. Also dried apples. Delicious! Next, I want to learn to make cider vinegar!

[Kartographer]

No you would get one hell of a belly ache if you are lucky to live that long and it makes rats take permanent dirt naps.

[djf]

Well, before I started, I was always somewhat dismayed at the simple VOLUME of my trash that was empty plastic bottles. And I had already bought a couple 5 gallon plastic water jugs for storing some water, then the light bulb finally went on!

The only negative I can think about plastic is you have to keep it out of the sun, because the UV light can degrade the plastic to an almost sawdust consistency.

But think about it. Bleach containers, windshield wiper fluid containers, I personally love grapefruit juice so I get one or two of the 64 fl oz grapefruit juice containers a week, heck, it adds up FAST!

[Shadowstrike]

Heard that. ;)

[goodnesswins]

You might be interested in this thread...

[wku man]

Oh...THAT kind of rice! Yeah, best to avoid it.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[gopheraj]

mark for later reading

[wita]

Went down stairs to the bookcase and found the first six volumes. Looks like the series is now up to number 12.

[gitmo]

OK. That makes sense. I couldn’t picture that. :-)

[Lurker]

Went down stairs to the bookcase and found the first six volumes

I've got the first 4 myself. I'll have to dig up the rest. Thanks for the information.

[going hot]

Your brain is the best possible survival tool

Always has been, always will be. Lose your cool, and you lose, period. It is what makes us what we are, and the best tool that exists. Everything else is merely an accessory

[Raven6]

Well... We've got a pretty good alert system in our black lab. He will "put on his big boy bark" whenever he hears something unusual or if he sees something out of place. He can be downright annoying with it, but I don't discourage him about it - I know it might come in handy some day.

Regards.
Raven6

[The Duke]

I’ve long thought that the best way to survive under “survival” conditions is not to rely on stockpiles (which will eventually run out) or protecting what you have by force (you’ll eventually run out of ammo or get caught by surprise) but rather by having a skill that will be valued sufficiently that others will be happy to give you what you need.

You may need the food to survive long enough to gain all the needed knowledge, or to ramp up the business.