Prepping Archives - The Pickled Prepper Blog

Alternative Payment Methods for SHTF or to Avoid Inflation

As the dollar becomes worth less and less thanks to inflation, there are a few alternative payment methods preppers should consider.

I’ve talked about having a few rolls of junk silver on hand in case the SHTF. Junk silver may be useful to buy items after a collapse that destroys the dollar or a catastrophe that destroys our utilities, including the Internet and the power generation and distribution system. Let’s face it, without power and routers, every dime or dollar not in your physical presence might as well not exist because it will be inaccessible. Even valuable in your safe deposit box may be locked away forever if the banks don’t open. If you can’t use your cell phone, a credit or debit card, or your ATM, having $1 million in the bank buys you nothing, but a roll of pre-1965 quarters might.

I’ve also written about barter and the likelihood that survivors will trade with each other after a collapse or other disaster.

Today, I want to cover another alternative to the U.S. Dollar that might be useful in a different type of collapse. I’m talking about having a cryptocurrency wallet on your phone with some crypto on it.

Quick Updates and Some Thoughts on Burning Issues

Am I the only one who feel like multiple issues are coming to a head? They say Joe Biden has had a bad week, but he could be leading the country into an even worse time.

Ukraine Invasion Imminent?

It seems like headline writers around the U.S. are betting that Russia will invade Ukraine, possibly using a false-flag operation to give Putin an excuse to do so. While this is primarily a European problem, as I said before, and not a U.S. problem, by getting involved in last-minute negotiations this week, the U.S. will look weak when Russia invades and we failed to stop it. We’ll look even weaker with we respond with some financial sanctions.

Putin is proving that Biden’s international standing is on as shaky ground as his cognition. If Russia invades Ukraine, my guess is Biden will give a speech in which he whispers, repeats a few key phrases, and then raises his voice and yells, yet makes little or no sense. I fact, he’ll probably say some stuff that will leave everyone scratching their head until his spin doctors come out and tell us what he really meant.

Super Cold Temps Hit U.S.; How to Stay Warm

As temperatures plunge in New England, there are fears that there might not be enough power generation to meet demand.

I’d like to know how the United States became a country where cold weather could threaten the power grid.

I get it that high winds, falling trees, and other weather-related damage can cut off power, but that has nothing to do with it. In the Boston area, officials are warning of power outages because too many people turn on their electric space heaters and fireplaces, increased demand beyond their generation ability.

The entire New England area, across the Midwest and into Minnesota and the Dakotas experienced single digit temperatures Monday night with even worse wind chills. The cold will continue into the week.

Omicron Shows the Danger of our Fragile Society

Have you noticed it yet? In 2020 the government forced us to shut down. Today sick employees are causing slowdowns and backlogs.

I read an article from the Associated Press today which outlines how our system is collapsing because so many people are out sick with COVID-19. It’s not just hospitals and airlines that are overwhelmed but pharmacies, police, fire, EMS, and schools. Mass transit is reducing schedules, trash pickup is behind, the TSA is closing security lines, and plenty of restaurants and small business are getting hit as well.

Another article talked about the slowdown in meat-packing plants due to illness, shortages of food inspectors, fears that there will be an egg shortage, and the lack of employees on farms and at grocery stores to restock shelves.

Let me put this another way: The illness of 5 million people, not all of whom are in the workforce, is crippling our country.

Kazakhstan: Watching a Society Fall Apart in Real Time

It started with protests over the high cost of fuel. Now there are running gun battles in the street and the Kazakhstan government is bringing in Russian troops.

While I touched upon the situation in Kazakhstan yesterday, things have deteriorated in the past 24 hours. By watching Kazakhstan deteriorate in real time, we get an idea of what we might expect here or elsewhere when a society collapses. When the USSR fell, we didn’t have access to tweets, YouTube videos, and other first-hand reporting of events on the ground. A few details came out in the mainstream media, but much of the sad facts of societal collapse were never seen outside the former Soviet Union.

Here are just a few things that have been reported in the past 24 hours:

Deaths

At least 18 police officers have been killed and more than 800 have been injured. Reports vary, but apparently one or two police officers have been found decapitated. This raises the question: When will the police stop showing up or work? When will the police join the protesters? I am sure that in every department, there are officers who will stand until the very end. I am equally sure there are officers in every department that will call in sick when they disagree with their job or feel it is too dangerous, even if it means becoming unemployed.

Driving Home why you Need a Survival Kit in your Car

Thousands of drivers were stranded overnight on I-95 in Virginia, with many stuck for 15 or 20 hours, because a storm dumped snow on the road and caused trucks to jackknife and in some cases topple over. This made it impossible for snow plows to get through and difficult for rescue crews and emergency works to clear multiple wrecks. Drivers who could get off on exists often found the roads unplowed.

Sections of the road between Richmond and Washington were closed for up to 30 hours. During that time, people trapped in their cars had to deal with freezing temperatures, no food and no water.

Urban Prepping is an Oxymoron; Get Out while you Can

If you consider yourself a serious prepper and you live in a large city, you need to re-evaluate your priorities. Increase your odds of survival by leaving.

When I graduated from college, New York City was THE place for someone in my chosen career to work. That’s where I got my first job and then started my way up the career path. It was also a fun place to live for a young guy with a little pocket change and no family responsibilities. I think NYC has the highest number of bars per capita of anywhere in the country. There’s always a party or club you can go to, and the young women were out there looking to meet the guy of their dreams.

It was also expensive, dangerous, smelly, crowded, crime-ridden, and violent. Illegal drugs were everywhere, as were anger, greed, and corruption. What’s worse? I didn’t even realize how bad it was until I left.

Living in New York City was like living with my first wife; they both sucked, but I felt a sense of relief when I moved on.

When Shoe Sole Blows Out, Shoe Goo to the Rescue

Just when I thought I was prepared regarding footwear, the soles peeled off my old hiking boots. Will Shoe Goo do the repair?

As fate would have it, not long after writing about buying new boots, my old Hi-Tec brand hiking boots failed. The sole peeled off while I was walking the dog. I had just crossed a stream (note that the water proofing remained intact) when the black lug part of the sole started flopping around. It was attached on the heel, but had peeled back to through the arch.

I thought about removing it all the way to make walking home easier, but I just took high, awkward steps, like I was wearing clown shoes. I also tried walking backwards, which was more comfortable. The dog gave me side eye the whole way home, like she thought I was crazy.

Ringing in 2022 with Some Depressing Predictions

Happy New Year, but don’t get your hopes up. Our 2022 predictions for 2022 say it will be expensive, dangerous, and depressing.

In a recent survey, seven out of ten registered voters said 2021 was a bad year for the country, and 55 percent said it was a bad year for them personally. Brace yourself because I have bad news: 2022 will not be any better. In fact, I think it may be worse. Let’s look at why I feel that way.

It’s the Economy, Stupid

That phrase helped Bill Clinton win in 1992, but it’s going to help Democrats lose in 2022 because the economy will still be drowning in inflation by the time the mid-term elections take place. I do expect the supply chain problems to continue. That means inflation looks like it will continue to rise for most of the year. Food prices will be much higher. The average gas price will go back up above $4.

Mixed with less spending due to higher prices, this will eventually become stagflation, meaning people will spend less even as prices rise, slowing the economy.

Potential Underground Jobs and Opportunities after the SHTF

What will you do when the financial system collapses, the banks close, the stock market shuts down, and businesses close?

Let’s assume that there has been a financial collapse. Maybe inflation set in, followed by hyperinflation. Maybe we went to war with China over Taiwan and while we did not exactly lose, neither did we completely win. Regardless, the dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency and its value is dropping fast, dragging the country along with it.

You, and most of the people you know, are unemployed, but you get $10,000 a month from the government. That sounds like a nice sum, but a gallon of milk is $500 and a loaf of bread costs $350. Most of the fast-food restaurants have closed because a double cheeseburger costs $7,000 and doesn’t even include real meat anymore. The cows are likely out there somewhere, but there are no meat packers working and truck drivers are hard to come by. Most of the retailers have closed because the dollar won’t buy anything on the international market, so Asian manufacturers have stopped selling us goods. There are some U.S.-made goods, but no one can afford them.