Can Your Business Survive?

I picked up this checklist at a recent meeting. Although it was developed as a very basic list to encourage businesses to prepare for disaster, it can just as easily be used for personal preparedness.

• Do you know what kinds of emergencies might affect your facility (home)?
• Do you know what you will do in an emergency situation?
• Are you ready for utility disruption?
• Do you know what you will do if your building/plant (home) is not accessible?
• Do you know what staff, procedures, and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep operating?
• Do you have back-up plans for those operations?
• Do you have an evacuation and shelter-in-place plan?
• Do you have a plan to communicate with employees (family members) before, during, and after an incident?
• Do you have copies of building and site maps with utility and emergency routes marked?
• Are your employees (family members) trained for medical emergencies?
• Have you practiced your disaster plan recently?
• Do you practice and coordinate with other facilities (families) in your community?
• Have you reviewed your disaster plan and supplies in the last 12 months?
• Have you conducted a room by room walk through to determine which large items could be strapped down in preparation for an earthquake or similar event?
• Do you encourage employees (each family member) to have a personal emergency supply kit and a family communications plan?

Simple, but it is often the simplest things that get overlooked. If you answered no to any of these questions for your family and/or your business, start today to get prepared for a disaster.

Homeless Count

Last night I participated in our city's homeless count. This is an annual event that tries to get an estimate of how many homeless live in our city (and therefore form the basis of data that is used for funding and planning). At first glance, and in most all cities, you see homeless people hanging around downtown streets, however the actual numbers of homeless--including people who live outside, "couch surf" with friends and family, and live in transitional type shelters--is in the many thousands. Here's some observations from the count:

• It's hard to interview someone "tweaking" on drugs. They keep bouncing and moving and it is a bit disconcerting. You would think drug addicts would be a large population of the homeless but they are actually not one of the larger groups.
• Mental health issues came up a lot in the people surveyed. Depression seemed to be the biggest mental health problem. I'm not sure if the depression came first so they had difficulty working then ended up homeless or if difficulties in life, being laid off from work, family drama, etc, exacerbated the depression which catapulted these people into homelessness.
• Many people said that job loss was one of the main causes of their homelessness. Which makes me think that the recent round of thousands of layoffs may send many more people out to live on the streets and with friends and family.
• I was shocked at the number of homeless families we saw. Many people we surveyed were single mothers with kids and intact families (mom, dad, kids) who have no place to call home. I can't even imagine what I would do if I was homeless with kids.
• The majority of people we talked to were so normal. They looked like the average person on the street, not your typical "homeless" looking person.
• Homelessness can happen to anyone. Many of the people I talked to listed a cascading series of events that made them homeless (ie: loss of job so loss of insurance, then a medical catastrophe, then loss of a spouse due to death or divorce, followed by depression and sometimes the use of drugs and alcohol to deal with the pain, followed by eviction from their home...)
• The people we interviewed were all very nice. Some were more talkative than others, a few seemed angry (who wouldn't be), some offered to help haul the donations as we made our rounds; overall a nice group of people.

Here's what I took away from the experience (ie: some ideas for not becoming homeless):

• Stay away from drugs and alcohol; these make a bad problem worse.
• Pay attention to preventative health measures (vitamins, exercise, nutritious food, seat belt use, etc).
• Stay on good terms with friends and family when possible. Give and help them when you can but also learn how to take from others as well. Some people are always the "givers" and the "tough guys" so when a problem comes up, they find it very difficult to ask for and take help from others.
• Always have an emergency fund in reserve.
• Have multiple sources of income (if your one and only source of income dries up you are in trouble).
• Be as resourceful as I can be. Know what resources are available. Experiment with "alternative" living situations: bartering, selling things, I might even try dumpster diving...
• Get a grip on my living expenses and downsize. I talked to one guy who was previously homeless--he had been a multi millionaire and when he lost his business he was in such a state of denial and shock that he just continued to live in his huge house and drive his fancy car until everything was repossessed and he became homeless (then his wife left him then he was deeply depressed...). I am happy to report that he is now once again successful but still comes back to help the homeless community when he can. I think many people live the way they think they should live whether or not makes in their current financial circumstances.
• Pay attention to changes that are taking place around you and be proactive instead of reactive. If it looks like your industry is heading for the crapper, don't wait around until you get a pink slip, start now to learn a new skill, look into new job prospects, network with new and different groups of people, etc.

8 Things That Concerned Me Today

Some days I just get too much news. Better, I think, to shut it off than to let it stress me out. Too late now...so I'll share my concerns...

1. Our state is so deep in debt, they are eyeing the public employee pension funds. (yikes)
2. Starbucks is cutting 6,700 jobs, Boeing is cutting 10,000 jobs. (double yikes)
3. A family was in the news--their child has cystic fibrosis and with budget cuts, the state insurance plan that covers their child may be cut. The family earns too much for the plan that covers the poorest people in our state but not enough to afford to pay their own insurance. (sad, and there's plenty of other people in the same position)
4. The post office may have to cut a day of mail delivery due to budget deficits (hmmm).
5. Schools want to go to a four day schedule instead of five (kids aren't learning enough now, further reducing school hours is supposed to be a good idea??).
6. It looks like one of our a major newspapers will be shutting down (sad but I too am guilty of catching the latest news online or on TV).
7. Our state wants to tax cigarettes an additional dollar per pack (I don't smoke but targeting one group like that doesn't seem very fair).
8. A man in LA killed his five kids, his wife, and himself, reportedly over financial problems. (stupid, so what if you go bankrupt? Having your family is way more important than money)

Well that's enough doom and gloom for one day...hopefully tomorrow will be less distressing.

How Not to Die

I'm going to rant about a dead guy today. Actually I have never met him but he is just one of the many people I end up "knowing" because they leave their spouse a financial disaster to deal with after they die. I am running out of fingers to count how many clients I get (usually women) whose spouses die unexpectedly (usually men) who end up in my office with an armload of paperwork and no clue as to their financial position, no job skills because "their husband always took care of everything", and no money to even pay the light bill or car payment. Here are some tips on how not to die:

• Don't die without an updated Will. Many people die unexpectedly. Because of this fact, they put off writing a Will or updating their Will which leaves a huge probate mess and lots of disgruntled relatives. Whenever there is a change in your life--a divorce, a new spouse, new kids or other heirs, new property added or old property disposed of--check out your Will and make sure it covers your current situation.
• Don't die without life insurance. To bury you is going to cost a lot. If you don't have money now, your poor spouse certainly isn't going to have the money to pay for your funeral and burial or cremation. And that's only the tip of it. How will your spouse continue to make the house payment, pay the electric bill, make the car payment so the car won't get repossessed, or pay for the kid's braces? If you leave them no money they will have no money--it doesn't magically appear after you die!
• Don't die in debt. This is hard since many people have debt in the form of a mortgage, credit card bills, tax debt, and other things they need to pay off, however most debt doesn't die with you so if you think your spouse will get the equity in the house, think again. Most debts attach to your estate so if you have a huge tax debt, the IRS will go after the equity in your home or other investments and they get to be first in line, not your spouse. Work five jobs if you need to in order to get your debts paid off. For larger debts, make sure to have enough life insurance to pay off the debt should you die.
• Don't die with a spouse who is clueless and skill-less. I've met women who never learned how to drive because their husband always drove. I've met women who move to this country to marry a husband who later dies, leaving them in a strange country with very little knowledge of English or the customs of our country. I've met men who think their home is nearly paid for and that they have no credit card debt only to add shock to their grief when they find out that their wives had somehow put three mortgages on their home, emptied their retirement account, and left behind a stack of maxed out credit cards. I've met women who raised a family and were the perfect wife yet had never developed any job skills; after their husband's sudden death, they were thrust into a job market that they knew nothing about.
• Don't die and leave an unorganized mess for someone else to sort out. Information on where to find your Will, life insurance policy, current bills, financial accounts, deed to your house, etc. should be easily accessible to your next of kin. How else will they find all of this stuff? You may have all of this information in your head but when you are gone, so is all of the information you carried with you.
• Don't die with secrets. We all have secrets--passwords to our many online accounts, a hidden "slush fund" that we access for emergencies, sometimes there's a spare kid that the current spouse doesn't know about--whatever your secrets, consider how they will impact your spouse and your family after you are gone and make appropriate arrangements to straighten out any mess that many come up after you die.

I think that about covers it. If you have a current Will, adequate life insurance, little or no debt, a spouse who has been an equal partner in the running of your life together, organized paperwork, and a way to reveal any necessary secrets after you die, you will give your spouse the gift of being able to grieve your loss in peace instead of grieving while they are being evicted out of their home, walking to the food bank because they have no money and the car has been repossessed, and cursing you and themselves for the mess they are now in.

Lifestyle Design

A comment yesterday about my post on Thrifty Living got me to thinking. I too know people who are on the far side of thrifty to the point where they behave in ways that (I think) border on irrational. There is a doctor who only buys suits at garage sales, even when he has to present at national conferences. Then there was Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette which waxes poetic on making her kids masks out of dryer lint (eeuuww). Also people who take things that are offered free then pocket a handful of extras (ie: coffee is free but they take handfuls of sugar packets to fill up their sugar jar at home) make me annoyed because they aren't really taking things in the spirit in which they were offered. The thing with all of these people is that they can easily afford to pay for the things they need, they just let frugality take hold of them and their overarching goal is to be as frugal as possible. Not good. This is where lifestyle design comes in.

Lifestyle design is a relatively new concept in the blogosphere with many niche bloggers expounding on ways to design a lifestyle to match their needs and goals. My thriftiness is actually a part of my lifestyle design. For many years of my life, I kind of did what everyone else did (everyone being friends and family). I had debt because everyone I knew did. I ate at a different restaurant every night because everyone else did. I leased a fancy car because everyone else did. I kept up appearances with "bling" (fancy clothes, fancy watches, name brand apparel and shoes, trips to popular destinations) because everyone else did and I wanted to fit in with my social group.

As I got older and wiser it occurred to me that the life I was living wasn't doing a whole lot for me. I thought about Steven Covey's adage to "begin with the end in mind" and started from there to design a life that I wanted instead of a life that just happened to me. Here's what I wanted:

• To be self employed with work that I enjoy doing and no work schedule meaning that I could work when I wanted and for whom I wanted.
• To travel when and where I wanted.
• To have absolutely no debt since debt limits almost everything you do.
• To be able to enjoy my hobbies as I want to (these include shooting, preparedness stuff, online stuff like website development and blogging, and sports activities).
• To keep up with family and friends even though they are scattered all over the world.
• To help people in any way that I can.

When I look at this list, it makes it easy to determine how to spend my money. For me, being thrifty on things that aren't important to me (the latest movies, trendy restaurants, expensive clothes and cars) allows me to spend money on things that are important. How this has worked out thus far:

• I am self employed and my work is just about as I had envisioned it.
• We travel (although I would like to travel more) and by saving money have been able to bring all of the kids and grand kids and assorted other relatives on some pretty good vacations like a week long Caribbean Cruise.
• I'm still working on becoming totally debt free. When you think about it, this should be the first over arching goal because once you are debt free, you can spend all of your money on other goals.
• I enjoy hobbies (like this blog and the occasional new firearm) but I also make an effort to save money on my hobbies (ie: buying food preps in bulk and on sale, trading work for a nice handgun, etc).
• We can keep up with friends and family in part because we are thrifty (and therefore have the money to meet up with people when the opportunity arises) and because of my work being flexible so people know that if they call from the airport we always have time to pick them up and spend time with them without having to stick to a rigid work schedule.
• Finally, since I really believe that everyone should give back, I have been able to help a number of non-profits either by making their organizations more sustainable or by helping individual clients.

The bottom line is that everyone's goals are different and goals also tend to change at different stages in your life. With small children, you may want to put your effort and money towards experiences that will help them learn and grow as individuals, as you get older, community service may play a larger role in your life. Maybe survival and preparedness is at the top of your list of important things to do and therefore most of your time and attention goes in that direction. The most important thing to remember is that this is your life and you can design it any way you want. You don't have to have a leased car just because everyone else does. You don't have to skip nice restaurant if this is something that you truly enjoy. You don't even need to live in a mortgaged home if living in a motor home makes you happy.

Here's some people who are designing their lifestyle to fit their needs:

• Family on Bikes
• The Coonys
• Tim Ferris
• The Art of Non Conformity
• Hobo Poet
• Greg Rodgers
• Lea and John Woodward

Thrifty Living

I was born and raised by a thrifty family. There have been some times (like in the late '80s, most of the '90s, and the early 2000s) where I spent like a drunken sailor, but throughout most of my life, living thrifty was was just normal. Now that the spouse and I are both older and wiser, we are just automatically thrifty. Here's a snapshot of my thrifty lifestyle:

• The heat is set low (55 degrees) at night. It's best to sleep in a cool room anyway and just pile on the blankets if it gets too cold.
• Beverages in the morning are made at home instead of at Starbucks. Ditto for breakfast.
• For beverages on the run, we make them at home and put them in an insulated tumbler with a cover.
• Lunch is made at home and taken to work. I simply don't eat out unless it is a business lunch and someone else is paying.
• Conferences and meetings are great places to eat and drink for free.
• Dinner is made at home every evening.
• On the rare occasion that we are caught away from home and hungry, we head for a $5 sub at Subway to split, the $1 menu at Burger King/Jack in the Box (it won't kill you if eaten rarely), or the like. A guy brought in a $6 two piece chicken meal to the office the other day and I thought--wow, I bought a whole chicken for $2 just a few days ago!
• Shopping is done once a week by buying loss leaders at all of the local stores. Some weeks may be fish, fish, and more fish if that is what is on sale at all of the stores.
• The internet is used for new recipes instead of buying cookbooks.
• Internet, phone, and cable is bundled at a discount price. Also, when better deals are offered for new customers, I call and ask for the deal myself since I am a loyal customer; I usually get it.
• The heat is only on in our home if we are home, if not, it is set at 55 degrees. Lights are only on in the room we are in, ditto for TVs.
• Lighting during the day is done with the sun--just open the shades, unless specific lighting is needed.
• Laundry is done once a week using half the recommended laundry soap and half a dryer sheet. The clothes aren't THAT dirty and a whole dryer sheet is too perfumy. Also, clothes that don't get dirty are worn more than once before going into the laundry basket.
• Entertainment is done at the library, free community events, or at friend's homes. Movies are watched when they come out on basic cable or TV. It is a very rare occasion that we go to the movie theater or watch on-demand movies that you need to pay for.
• We rarely shop. Part of that has to do with the fact that we have had our home for years and everything works. Why buy a new TV when the old one works fine? Clothes are purchased at 50% off clearance sales and in the clearance sections of Walmart, Ross, and TJ Maxx.
• Most food is made from scratch. The spouse enjoys cooking which is helpful and we make our own processed foods (granola cereal, cookies and pastries, salads, salad dressings, yogurt, Asian/Indian/Mexican/Italian food, etc).
• Housework and yard work is done by us. In our yuppy days we had both a housekeeper and a yard guy but really, two people shouldn't need two other people to take care of them.
• Hair color is done at home. Haircuts are done at the local, generic haircutting place. We tried the home haircut thing before which didn't go so well.
• The products we use are basic--soap, shampoo, toothpaste. My friend's home has no less than a dozen products in the shower which to me is expensive overkill. A bar of soap and bottle of shampoo will take care of all of your shower needs.
• If we do need to shop for an item we usually hit thrift stores, Walmart, the internet, check out the ads for local stores, and try discount stores. Never pay retail.
• Maintenance is also done by us. Things like changing furnace filters, changing the wax ring on a toilet, and car upkeep, are simple and cost effective to do yourself.
• Cell phones are bundled on a cost effective plan. Why pay for 3000 minutes a month if we only use 1000 or less?
• I always ask for discounts and deals in most situations and if there is a problem with the service or product I receive, I don't hesitate to ask for compensation or an upgrade.
• I'm still enjoying riding the bus so with one car and one bus pass, we get along just fine for transportation.
• We exercise which I am thinking will save money on future medical costs.
• We don't drink or smoke so that probably saves a lot of money.

I think that's about it. While it may seem that we live a spartan life, we really don't. Most importantly, we don't do these things just to be thrifty or save money because we "have to" or "should" do it, but rather as a conscious choice because there are other things we would much rather spend our money on including travel and an early retirement.

The Survival Pantry

I came across this post over at the Simple Dollar today and it got me thinking about one of the most important parts of the survivalist's home, the pantry. Many people think about food preps as a separate entity from day to day living. In your food stores you may have bags of rice, bags of wheat, and a vat of cooking oil, but it is the items contained in your pantry that will pull the stored items together to make a meal. Having a full pantry also means that you never have to run to the store at the last minute or order out because "there is nothing to eat".
Here's the items that I keep in my pantry and which I also keep back ups of in my survival food supplies:

• Rice (white, brown, and sweet)
• Flour (white, whole wheat, Maseca, and rice flour)
• Corn meal (fine ground, polenta ground, and grits)
• Dried beans (all kinds: soy beans, pintos, split peas, navy, lentils, black beans, garbanzos)
• Salt (iodized table salt and the Kosher variety)
• Spices (pepper, garlic, cinnamon, basil, oregano, mustard, vanilla extract, maple flavoring, lemon flavoring, curry powder, garam masala, crushed red pepper, dill, etc)
• Oil (soybean oil bought in huge containers at Costco for cooking, baking, and frying)
• Olive oil (for cooking and salad dressings)
• Baking needs (sugar, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, cake/brownie mix, cocoa, shortening, molasses, corn syrup, shortening, yeast, cornstarch
• Vinegar (for cooking, pickling, and salad dressings)
• Oatmeal (also bought in bulk as it can be used for oatmeal porridge, granola, and baking)
• Pasta (spaghetti, Asian noodles, assorted Italian pastas such as manicotti, etc; you can make your own pasta but this is a quick standby))
• Canned/bottled food (fruit, vegetables, tuna, salmon, sardines, olives, pickles, soup, tomatoes, beans, coconut milk, etc)
• Sauces (salsa, mustard, ketsup, BBQ sauce, Tabasco, soy sauce, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, spaghetti sauce, mayonnaise)
• Sweeteners (honey, maple syrup)
• Beverages (juice mix, coffee, tea, soda, dried milk)
• Other stuff (peanut butter, jelly, lemon juice, lime juice, bullion cubes, gravy mix, Parmesan cheese, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, butter flakes, grits, sun dried tomatoes, jerky, dried milk, dried egg substitute, processed cheese)

With the above food in your pantry you can easily make a range of meals and desserts. For variety you will also want to add fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, fresh dairy products (eggs, milk, butter), fresh meat, and fresh seafood. There are plenty of other processed food that you can add to your pantry such as cookies, salad dressings, biscuit mix, cereals, however all of these things can be made from scratch with the items in your pantry!

Poll Results and a New Poll

Our last poll, how much time do you spend on preparedness each week? garnered the following answers:

• Minutes a day (13 people/28%)
• An hour or more (10 people/22%)
• Maybe one or two preparedness projects a week (14 people/31%)
• Hours each day (7 people/15%)
• Never (1 person/2%)

The good news is that people are preparing! No matter how you do it--a little each day or by tackling a project or two each week--adding to your preparedness skills, abilities, knowledge, and stocks will put you in good stead when the worst happens. I'm guessing the people who spend hours a day on preparedness either do so as their work or as their lifestyle (sustainable living folks who can manage a solar system, work in the garden, and repair their homes as a part of their daily activities). No matter how much time you spend on preparedness, every little bit helps!

P.S. Be sure to take our new poll, and email in those poll ideas (I'm running out of questions...)

Tailoring Your Job Skills to a Changing Market

Many people in the US have lofty ideas about job and career including where they should work, how much they should make, and what kind of work they should be doing. This sense of what "should" happen and what people think they are entitled to is the downfall in our current economic situation (read economic disaster). I think we have gotten away from the idea of being entitled to climbing the career ladder, earning more and more money, and gaining more and more seniority with the same company over the course of a lifetime--even in Japan, this isn't an assumption any more. However, when the economy makes its cyclical rises and falls, people these days seem to be just as stunned as many businessmen were a generation ago when they found out that their lifetime employment situation wasn't.

In the US and other "first world" countries, you can get away with being a not-so-useful worker for years on end, even earning quite a nice salary doing so. In the real market economy, however, you are only as valuable (and therefore garner as much money as the market will bear) as your services, skills, and products are wanted and needed by customers--those people who have the money to pay you for what you are selling. Notice how this is a problem for US auto makers. Workers (and their unions) feel they are entitled to a certain wage and executives of the companies feel they are entitled to certain bonuses. With a big coffer full of cash, you can get away with this for a while before bankrupting yourself because (duh) people are not buying your product and are therefore not bringing money into your company.

The free market is quite simple. You can either develop a skill, product or service that you become an expert at and enjoy doing then find customers to pay you to provide said item or you can analyze the market and provide the skill, product, or service that is wanted and needed by consumers. The problem with developing a skill/product/service first is that if no one wants to pay you for what you can do, you will not make any money and go broke (how many people need wagon wheel makers no matter how good they are?). In this example, you can become so specialized that you can serve the very, very few people who need wagon wheels (museums, stage shows, re-enactment events, etc) however you need to be very good and well known because these consumers aren't found on every corner.

On the other hand, determining a need then filling it the most logical way to make money no matter what the economy is doing as a whole. This is quite apparent in third world tourist areas. In any of these areas, the customer is obvious--generally from the US, Europe, Japan, et al. They are dressed in expensive, name brand clothes, carry expensive, name brand cameras, and they have money. With a bit of analysis, the customer's needs become obvious too--food (everyone likes to eat), cold bottled water (they will get thirsty and drinking tap water is out of the question), help finding their way around (they may need a guide or interpreter), a unique experience (put your boat/para sail/horse/local famous site to use and show the tourists around), sex (prostitution is an entire entity unto itself), drugs (Americans are one of the world's largest consumer of illegal drugs), etc. Offer these services/skills/products at a reasonable rate, and you are in business. If there are 25 food vendors or 25 prostitutes in your immediate area, however, you will need to either price you services lower than the others or otherwise attract customers with something that the other vendors don't have (more beautiful prostitutes, fresher looking food, a more persistent salesman, etc) in order to make money. Very simple.

Now let's see how these how you can use these ideas to tailor your job skills to a changing market...

• Who wants to buy the skill/service/product you have? Your employer may be your first thought but if they are quickly running out of money, they can't buy what you are selling.
• Who else wants to buy what you are selling? Think outside of the box.
• Can you tweak what you are selling to draw more customers? If you are designing software for the general public that doesn't much differentiate itself from what is currently on the market and which the public is not really buying at this time, consider tailoring your software development to entities that do have the money and the need--government perhaps? The medical industry? The banking industry (Lord knows they have enough of our bail out money)?
• Note that if you can sell something to others that will help them make money, be more attractive/popular to others, or make them feel better about themselves, you will have lots of customers. Think about the diet industry, hair growth products for men, etc.
• Can you take the lemons of your current job situation and make lemonade? If you are a realtor, houses may not be selling and people are being foreclosed on in record numbers but these people still need a place to live so maybe you can turn some of your "for sale" homes into rentals until the market gets better. This is a win-win situation--people get a place to live and homes don't sit empty earning zero money for the owner.
• What do people need now? There are things that people will always need/do no matter the economy. They will still get married, they will still have babies, they still need food, and they still want to be entertained. Instead of having the yuppiest bridal service store, maybe change and focus on classy budget weddings instead. The need for financial advice, fixing things (instead of buying new), and new job skills are also more in demand now because of the economy.
• Are there new skills that you could/should develop? Maybe your days as an automaker are numbered, but you have always enjoyed animals. How about learning how to train guard dogs--a cheaper alternative to home security systems?
• Don't forget to change your lifestyle to match your current situation. Your former job as a hot shot realtor may have included a Mercedes, tailored suits, and expense account lunches, but if your job/income is cut in half, then it only makes sense that you expenses get cut in half as well. Your ego may be dinged but realistically, people spend a lot of time and expense trying to impress others who really don't care about them. Your "friends" may think you are "the man" when you are picking up the bar tab for everyone but when you fall on hard times, are they there to pick up the tab for you? Often not, so why worry about impressing them now?

The bottom line is that you aren't entitled to an income, a job, benefits, or anything else. With this in mind, you ARE free to analyze the market, make an educated guess about people's needs, and develop ways to meet these needs; therefore earning the money you need to pay for your next lunch, make your bills each month, or become a multi-millionaire.

75 Things to Know About Your Home

Our home is often our largest investment, our sanctuary from the outside world, and the place where a whole hunk of our paycheck goes. In the interest of preparedness, here are the 75 things you should know about your home (many of these things apply to homeowners but others will apply to all):

1. your complete address (address, city, county, state, country)
2. legal description of property
3. year your home was built
4. square footage of your home
5. size of lot
6. type of home (stick built, manufactured, modular, timber-framed, etc)
7. information on any property easements
8. zoning of property (single family, multi-family, commercial, etc)
9. was all building and remodeling properly permitted and inspected?
10. property boundaries
11. any classifications of the property (wet lands, floodplain, etc)
12. location of any hazards on property (old mines, old wells, creeks, etc)
13. history of home (previous owners, previous use of property, has anyone died in home, historical society info, etc)
14. if there is a Home Owner's Association (HOA) and any HOA rules/restrictions
15. copy of home's most recent appraisal
16. copy of most recent home inspection
17. current value of home (check http://www.zillow.com/)
18. tax assessor information (valuation, tax rate, etc)
19. if the home is paid off, where is the deed?
20. mortgage company info (name, address, phone number, account number, etc)
21. interest rate and terms of the mortgage loan
22. type of loan (FHA, VA, conventional, other)
23. are there penalties for pre-payment of the loan?
24. information on any second or third mortgages on the property
25. information on any levys or liens on the property
26. location of gas shut off and emergency contact number for the gas company
27. location of water shut off and emergency contact number for the water company
28. location of electrical shut off and emergency contact number for the electric company
29. location of main line drain cleanout access point
30. well information (location, depth, most recent water test, etc)
31. septic tank information (location, location of drain field, last time emptied, etc)
32. name and phone number for home service providers (housekeeper, gardener, plumber, electrician, handyman, pool guy, etc)
33. info for all utility providers (name, contact info, and account number for phone, cable, electric, water, gas, sewer, garbage, etc)
34. home insurance information (name of insurance company, contact info, account number, agent's name, etc)
35. copy of insurance policy (be aware of what is covered and what is excluded)
36. special insurance policies (flood, earthquake, special property riders, etc)
37. copy of most recent insurance policy update (know amount of land, structure, and personal property coverages and amount of deductible; increase or decrease amounts and deductibles if necessary)
38. security system info (name of company, account number, contact number, code numbers, etc)
39. how to open security door and window bars
40. set of master keys for all locks in home (interior and exterior)
41. roof info (age, type--shake, tile, composite, any warranties in affect)
42. siding info (age, type--shake, aluminum, vinyl, LP, any warranties in affect)
43. Heating/Air conditioning system info (appliance info--serial #, brand, etc, current warranties, previous service info, fueled by--gas, electric, propane, etc)
44. info on all interior and exterior paint used on home (brand, color code)
45. info about drainage system (location of sump pumps, location of exterior drains, etc)
46. written instruction on how to use unique features of home (solar power system, composting toilet, cistern, dumbwaiter, etc)
47. contact information for neighbors (name, address, contact phone numbers, etc)
48. annual safety equipment check (smoke detector, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, sprinkler system, etc)
49. warranty info for all appliances (range, refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer, et al)
50. water heater info (type--electric, gas, capacity, age, warranty if any)
51. location of seasonal items (storm windows, screens, awnings, etc)
52. fireplace info (when was flue last cleaned, rain cap/spark arrester is in place, etc)
53. energy efficiency of home (how much insulation in walls/attic/basement, type of windows, etc)
54. internal home hazards (lead paint, asbestos materials, lead pipes, radon, etc)
55. large appliances/furniture/bookcases are secured to the wall to prevent falling over in the event of an earthquake/tornado
56. parking information (location if off site, permits needed, etc)
57. type/location of exterior property hazards (dead standing trees, poison oak patches, vicious neighborhood dogs, wild animals, etc)
58. neighborhood: location of local sex offenders
59. neighborhood: annoyances (located in flight path, commercial/industrial odors/noise, traffic, etc)
60. neighborhood: existing or proposed development
61. neighborhood: crime statistics
62. location of: nearest public transportation stops
63. location of: nearest fire hydrant/fire department
64. location of: nearest school, church, hospital, grocery store, bank, post office, library, etc
65. location of: mail delivery (to home or box)
66. location of: trash pick up
67. any problems with mold, mildew, rodents, termites, etc.
68. most likely local natural hazards (hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, earthquakes, etc)
69. location and operation of safes, trap doors, escape tunnels, panic rooms, etc
70. multiple evacuation routes from property to freeways, the next town, the next state (taking into consideration that bridges, tunnels, and overpasses may close roads)
71. written and practiced fire escape plan
72. location of exterior family gathering spot in case family must flee from home
73. written and practiced lock down plan
74. home safety hazards are addressed (loose rugs/stairs/handrails, adequate lighting, window blind cords are not a strangulation hazard, etc)
75. outbuildings (are secured, items in building are safely stored, etc)

Change!

Well today was a day of changes. First, I changed climates--going from 80 degrees and sunny to 30 degrees and freezing (brrrr). Second, I finally have dependable internet (yipee--and a distinct improvement over the last couple of weeks). And most importantly, we now have a new president. Although Obama was not my first choice for president (I'm still a big Ron Paul fan), he started off his presidency with a bang. Anyone who can get millions of people, young and old, to stand outside in below freezing weather for hours on end must have something going for him. My take on Obama: orator (excellent--his speeches are quite eloquent and powerful), work ethic (very good--he has a number of projects in mind, not the tunnel vision of other presidents), uniting people (very good--judging by the crowds that turn out to see him), family values (very good--nice family that he cares very much about), First Lady (excellent--she is one sharp lady), leadership (so far so good--we'll see how his coalition of opposites works out), the issues (we'll see--actions speak louder than words...just stay away from my guns).

Spring Projects

Spring will be here before we know it. Here's a list of projects you may want to consider:

• Grow your own food (find basic info here, Google 'gardening', and/or check out the gardening section at your local library).
• Raise your own chickens and eggs (you can order chicken online here, and learn the basics of chicken raising at http://www.backyardchickens.com/).
• Prepare for a spring garage sale (and stash the proceeds in your emergency fund).
• Put up your own food beginning with the earliest season crops such as asparagus and strawberries (you can find all kinds of information on canning, drying, pickling, and other methods of food preservation online and at your library).
• Plan a major home improvement project for the summer (new roof? install a solar heating system? make your home more energy efficient? all of these tasks can be overwhelming without a lot of planning an preparing so start now in order to have a successful result this summer).
• Get healthy. If you fell off the resolution bandwagon you can always begin again. In fact spring is an even better time to being an exercise program since the weather is starting to become nicer. Plus if you start a spring garden, you will have lots of healthy food choices.
• Figure out a way to make some extra money this spring, summer, and fall. The days are warmer and longer and are therefore perfect for activities that will help add to your income such as selling items at a farmer's market, turning some spare land into a U-Pick field for simple to raise crops, creating a lawn mowing or apartment maintenance business, etc.

10 Foreign Travel Tips

Since I’m traveling right now, I thought I would write down some of my “rules of the road” for travelers…

1. Most Americans are going to look like Americans no matter what they do (ie: you won’t be able to “blend”)—just try to not live up to the American stereotype (loud, dresses funny, embarrassing behavior, etc).
2. A well-stocked first aid kit can be a God-send—both for you and others. Actually my first aid kit has been used much more by others than by me. Everything from infections to intestinal problems to blisters to the flu has been treated with its contents.
3. Be prepared to entertain yourself. We are used to hundreds of cable channels, 24/7 internet, iPods, text messaging, X Box, et al. to keep us entertained on a daily basis, however in many countries (especially of the third world kind) they may not even have dependable electricity so being able to keep yourself entertained by doing something that doesn’t require technology or electricity is a valuable skill. Bring a book, bring a harmonica, bring a deck of cards, etc.
4. When traveling to foreign countries, bring patience—things usually run differently, slowly, or not at all like at home. Be patient and personable. Rudeness and insolence usually gets you no where and may even slow down the already slower than slow process of whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.
5. Learn some of the language. The locals may not be able to understand you even if you are speaking what you think is their language but even a few words that they can understand makes them happier to deal with you (we aren’t talking about Paris here, this goes for most third world countries--the more unusual the language the more they are surprised by your efforts).
6. If you forget something you usually take with you, go local. All countries have a method for brushing teeth, using the bathroom, and curing the common cold. If there is an American product you really need, check tourist areas of the country you are visiting; these items include toilet paper, any name brand item (shampoo, toothpaste) that you can’t live without, SD memory cards, etc. Of course, if there are some items you can’t live without, bring them with you because it isn’t always a given that the specific items you need can be found at all in some countries.
7. Eat local. I gladly pass up the tourist hangout for local street food. Go to the stands that have lots of local customers as this usually means that the food is good, the prices are low, and the turn over of food is quick.
8. Travel as light as possible. Lugging luggage is a hassle. People who travel often travel light unless they have a staff to carry their stuff for them. I can fit everything I need for an extended trip into one 50L backpack.
9. Be open to new experiences. You don’t know what you don’t know so you need to be open to new experiences in order to learn new things. I was in southern Mindinao once and a friend had to stop by and see his sister in the hospital and asked if I wanted to come along. Always open to a new experience, I said yes (and brought food, see next point). I was a bit concerned when we went into the hospital room and the girl had purple splotches from Dengue fever all over her body and the nurse that was tending her had a mask on. Although at the time I didn’t have time to run out and research Dengue fever, I just crossed my fingers that it wasn’t contagious. It was an interesting learning experience.
10. You will rarely go wrong by bringing small gifts to give to the people you meet in your travels. Packaged food from home is often welcome as is purchasing food at your destination to bring with you if you are invited to someone’s home. You of course want to be careful that you don’t give overly expensive gifts, personal gifts to a person of the opposite sex if you don’t know them well, and be sure to read up or ask a local about the whole gift giving thing if you are headed to an Arab country.

Travel can be as interesting or as complicated as you make it. A “go with the flow” attitude, common sense, and patience will take you a lot further in most of the world than insisting on things running the “right” way like they do at home.

Location Poll Results and a New Poll

Posting will be a bit messed up for the next week or so--I am out of the country and internet access is slow to non-existant so I try to type up a post then upload it as quickly as possible before the internet goes out.

Here’s an update on our latest poll. The question—What part of the country do you live in?
The answers as outlined below were a bit comforting, it looks like instead of having pockets of preparedness, the percentage of people who read this blog and are therefore probably into preparedness are spread pretty evenly throughout the US.

• 12 people (20%) are from the Northeast
• 12 people (20%) are from the Southeast
• 8 people (9%) are from the South
• 14 people (16%) are from the Midwest
• 10 people (11%) are from the Southwest
• 10 people (11%) are from the Northwest
• 0 people are from Alaska and Hawaii
• 8 people (9%) are from outside the US

Check out our new poll too...

How to Handle Any Medical Emergency

Medical emergencies happen all of the time, in fact, these are one of the most urgent of all emergencies you can face. If you run out of money, you probably won’t die. If you lose your job you probably won’t die. If you have a heart attack, you probably will die without quick medical treatment. Here’s some tips to help you take care of any medical crisis that may occur:


Before an emergency happens, be prepared:

• Have a well stocked first aid kit.
• Know some basic first aid skills such as CPR, the Heimlich Maneuver, and how to fix up some basic injuries such as sprains, cuts, minor illnesses, etc.
• If you or anyone in your home takes medication on a regular basis, try to have at least a three month prescription for each necessary medication and always keep a good supply of said meds on hand; you don’t want to run out right as a hurricane hits your town, thus closing down every pharmacy within a many mile radius. This is especially critical with medications needed for acute problems such as Nitro pills for a heart condition or an Epi Pen for someone with serious allergies.
• You should keep a list of pertinent medical information for each family member in an easy to access location; this information should include each person’s name, birth date, name of doctor, doctor’s phone number, allergies, and list of past and current medical issues (chronic medical problems, surgeries, etc). The list should also include the name, dosage, and reason for taking each prescription medication the person uses. In an emergency, this information can be invaluable.
• Other ways to be prepared prior to a medical emergency is by having some useful (but spendy) equipment such as an AED (automatic external defibrillator) which can make the difference between living and dying from a heart attack, taking the time to learn more advanced medical skills through an EMT or Paramedic course, and practicing (ie: volunteering with the local ambulance so you will get some real life experience at treating patients in an emergent situation).
• Having basic first aid/medical books on hand can help tremendously for unusual or uncommon problems that you need more information on.
• Note that the more remote you are, the greater the chance that YOU will be put in the position to have to render medical care. If you live a mile from the trauma center, you could cart the patient there yourself but if you are living in the Central American highlands, medical care could be hours or days away, and your skills and equipment could make the difference between life and death for your friends and family members.

During an emergency, here’s what to do:

• Make sure the scene is safe. If the person is in a burning car, obviously do what you can to carefully remove them from the car. If there has been a shooting, make sure the shooter is gone before you attempt to help the person or you could be the next victim. assess the situation quickly.
• Does the person need basic at-home medical care or will they require immediate medical attention (you can usually tell this by looking at the patient—if they can’t breathe or are having difficulty breathing, if they are having classic symptoms of a heart attack, if they are having a severe allergic reaction such as hives or intense swelling of the face and extremities, if there is copious amounts of blood, if an extremity is positioned very oddly (like a foot facing backwards or bones protruding), or if there is the possibility that the person has a head, neck or back injury, these are good signs that advanced emergency medical care is required.
• In the case of a medical emergency, call 911 immediately or have someone else call before you begin any type of care (you don’t want to start CPR then have to stop to call 911 so call 911 first).
• Administer basic first aid: CPR in the case of a heart attack, the Heimlich Maneuver in the case of someone choking, compress the wound in the case of bleeding, etc.
• Take direction from the 911 operator. They will tell you what you can do to help the patient before the ambulance arrives. If you don’t understand something, ask. If you can’t stay on the phone for some reason, tell them, don’t just hang up.
• Do what you can to keep the patient calm, breathing, and their blood circulating until help arrives.
• Don’t try to perform advanced medical procedures yourself unless there is absolutely no other option. You may have seen someone make a slit in a patients throat on TV then put a tube in to help them breath but if you’ve never done it before, the 911 operator does not instruct you to do it, and medical care is on its way, DON’T DO IT.
• When help arrives, stay out of the way unless otherwise directed and provide necessary information in a clear, concise way to the medical responders.
• In the case of minor emergencies, treat as per the problem (ie: disinfect a scrape, put on some antibacterial ointment and a bandage).
• If you are unsure as to the severity of the situation, you can call the nurse hotline at your local clinic or hospital, call the Poison Control Center in the event of a possible poisoning, or call 911 for direction.

After the emergency, here’s what to do:

• Follow up with the patient to ensure their medical needs are being met.
• Restock any supplies you have used from your first aid kit.
• Find out more—after having lived through such an experience, people are often interested in learning the first aid skills that “they never thought they would use”.

Medical emergencies can be traumatic for all involved but with a little preparedness and practice, you can be the difference between life and death for someone.

10 Things Many People Don't Know

Here's a random assortment of things that many people don't know...

1. If you pass out drunk at 2am then get up and drive yourself to work at 6am you can still get a DUI because your blood alcohol level can still be above the legal limit.
   
2. You can legally carry two US passports. See article here.
   
3. You can't lick your elbow. I know you're going to try it anyway...
   
4. People know that without water you can die but drinking too much water within a short period of time can kill you as well. It's called water intoxication.
   
5. Lapbelts (the kind found in older cars without the shoulder belt) have been known to slice people completely in half in even moderate speed car accidents.


6. Teenagers are three times more likely to die in a car crash than others.
7. Every cell in the human body is replaced at least every seven years. So the you that is you now wasn't the same you that was the you seven years ago.
8. Dalmatians are born without spots.
9. 63% of burglaries take place during the day.
10. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of accidental death (44%) while accidental discharge of a firearm causes only .8% of accidental deaths).

Some Help for Your New Year's Resolutions

Seems the blog world is all aflutter with ways to help people keep the most common of New Year's Resolutions. Here's some resources:

• The Latest Must-Haves for the Pantry
• Free Printable Work Out Log
• Suze Orman's Free Book Download
• 5 Ways to Stay Fit Without a Gym Membership
• Thriving on Less
• Seven Money Saving Menu Strategies
• 6 Ways to Help Your Business Weather the Economic Storm

Flood Report

First it was massive snow and now it is massive rain causing--what else--massive flooding. Although we are high and dry, hundreds of thousands of others in our state aren't. Here's a bundle of random observations:

• Keep your road drains clear. When they get covered up with leaves and debris, even moderate rain can back up and cause minor flooding.


• This is another reason to have a BOB (bug out bag). Many people were caught unprepared in areas that flooded rapidly. They had to evacuate with very little notice and many on the news were leaving with just the clothes on their backs. Always evacuate with a well-stocked BOB.


• Think again about your evacuation plan. When people in our area think about evacuation, we think we have a number of options--north to Canada, east to Idaho, or south to Oregon. As of this afternoon ALL of these roads were closed due to flooding and mud slides so we are, in effect, an island with no way out other than boat or aircraft.


• Think also about keeping your food stocked up. Because all roads in and out are closed due to flooded roadways, it means that delivery trucks which are carrying the food that stocks our grocery store shelves can't get in. While this shouldn't last for more than a week or so, I am guessing there are plenty of families with children that are going to be needing milk, diapers, and other basic supplies who aren't prepared.


• The best sources of information about current road conditions: local online newspapers, TV news broadcasts, AM talk radio, department of emergency management websites, and county road department websites.


• Speaking of AM talk radio, one particular station was doing an excellent job today of letting the public get on the air and give first hand reports about the roads in their area. They also were allowing people who needed help with sandbagging and other tasks get on the air and ask the public directly for help which seemed to, pardon the pun, bring out a flood of volunteers.
• There are some areas that flood like this every year. Why people insist on rebuilding in these areas is beyond me.
• Note that floods are usually not covered by homeowners insurance. Without separate flood insurance you will be (another pun) up a creek without a paddle.
• Don't drive over flooded roads. You hear this every time there is a flood and every time there is a flood, somebody drives over a road that is flooded. While they may have driven over this road every day for years, as one guy saw today, the road that he knew so well was actually missing under all of the water. It had washed out and so instead of driving through a puddle of water, his car hit the drop off and floated away, with him inside. He was able to get to the roof of the car and call for help which required a swift water rescue team and no doubt a lecture by the local fire chief.
• If you have a septic tank and/or well, you will have problems if your area floods. If there is any question about flood water getting into your well, always boil your water until you get the all clear from the health department. This is also a good reason to have water stocked for an emergency.
• You need an evacuation plan for just these types of emergencies. Where would you go? What will you do with your pets and/or livestock? How will you get to your destination? Do you have alternate ways to get to your destination and/or alternate evacuation destinations?
• Keep your cell phone charged. When you evacuate, or in the case of the guy stranded in his floating car, you may need to call for emergency help. If the battery on your cell phone has died, you will have a problem.
• In situations like these is is always good to have skis (in the case of heavy snow) and a boat, even if it is a simple kayak or canoe, in the case of heavy flooding.

Anyway, that's my observations of the situation. Some preparedness ideas: never build in a flood plain. It is fine for pastureland if you also have much higher ground available for your animals, but the thought of having to sandbag each year or move your furniture to the second floor each winter is ludicrous. Always have a BOB, cash, and charged cell phone on hand. If you are high and dry, stay home where you are safe; wandering around to "see what's happening" can put you in a precarious situation.

Survival Skill #4 Make Stuff

Another skill to help you survive hard times? Make stuff. If you take a look around your home, you will find many consumer goods that you can make yourself. Aside from complex technological goods and alloying metal, many things can be created with your own hands (and with practice the items can look quite professional). Here's some ideas:

• Food (everything from pot roast to yogurt to bread)
• Furniture (bookcases, bed frames, desks, etc)
• Jewelry (a great activity for the kids)
• Clothing (with a sewing machine and pattern you will be on your way)
• Medicine (plants are the basis of many medicines)
• Crafty things (paper, candles, weaving)
• Home decor (curtains, paintings)
• A car (some people piece together working vehicles from parts)
• Personal products (soap, toothpaste, laundry soap)
• Grow a garden or flowers (grow your own food and medicine)
• Breed animals (technically you are helping to make a new animal)
• Raise chickens for eggs and meat (make your own eggs in a manner of speaking)
• Treats (candy, cookies, cinnamon rolls)
• Music (if each family member plays an instrument you will have a band!)
• Special food (dog food, baby food)
• Write a poem to your beloved (instead of buying a trinket that will soon be forgotten)
• Make a special card for a birthday or anniversary instead of buying one (ditto)
• Special skills will allow you to make shoes, weld a fireplace insert, even build a house

There are many more things you can make yourself if you just think about it. And, if there is something you want to make but don't know how, simply Google the topic and you will find a wide range of instructions.

Reminder--It's Gardening Time

Well actually not gardening time yet since the tiller won't be digging through the six inches of snow that is currently on the ground, however now is the time to start planning your garden. I was going to type out a list of all of the best seed companies so that you can order your gardening catalogs now and start dreaming of...um, planning...your summer harvest, but I came across this nifty list.

10 Ways We Are Disconnected From Nature (And Why That Isn't Good)

As the US has increased it's wealth throughout all classes, especially over the last few generations, we have moved further and further away from nature. This isn't good. Here's why:

1. Decades ago, before computers, video games, VCRs, and more than three channels on the TV, kids were encouraged to go outside and play. Actually "encouraged" isn't the word...it was more like: kid "I'm bored", adult: "go outside and play". This conversation repeated itself a dozen times a day. When I was growing up, that was the standard answer no matter if the weather was 20 degrees or 110 degrees, just to keep the kids out of the way of the adults. Kids had to use their imaginations and make up their own sources of entertainment (stick ball, cowboys and Indians, hide and seek, etc) rather than having commercially created entertainment force fed to them on a 24/7 basis.


2. I'm no scientist but it seems quite odd that so many kids these days have asthma and severe food allergies. When I was a kid, maybe one kid in an entire school has asthma and no one in the entire school had food allergies to things as common as eggs, peanut butter, shellfish, etc. Why is this? I don't see these problems in third world countries where the kids entertain themselves by playing in polluted water, eating everything even marginally edible, and spending the entire day from dawn to dusk outside.


3. Many people in developed countries don't know how the steak they are eating gets to their plate. People literally "freak out" when they see an animal being butchered. Years ago this was, well, the way that food got on the table--deer hanging in the shed so it could bleed out, grandma wringing a chicken's neck so that it could become the evening's meal--it was just the way food was procured. If people suddenly had to start providing their own meat, who would be around to do this? Certainly not your average American.


4. People cannot provide the most basic food stuffs for themselves. Victory Gardens, even in the smallest city lots, were quite common during the war. People knew that if they didn't raise their own fresh food, they may not get any. Fortunately during the war years, the people were not too far removed from the farm so gardening skills were still known. These days, if people had to grow their own food, I'm afraid many people would be ill prepared to do so.


5. Kids (as well as older people in today's world) have missed out on the opportunity to develop self esteem by being successful at useful things. When kids bring back a string of fish and are praised by their elders for their skill and for providing food for the family, it build their self-worth. When a boy (or girl) gets a deer, tills acres of land, or helps bring a calf into the world, they have visible reminders of how useful and skillful they are. Without this connection to life, death, and hard physical work, the connection doesn't get made. IMHO this is why we have so many shiftless, depressed, trouble-making people in the world today--they haven't done anything to build their responsibility and self esteem.


6. The world is too "safe" these days. Granted when you have a loved one lost in the wilderness, I'm sure being able to reach them by cell phone is immeasurably comforting, however years ago, people had to rely on themselves to find their way out of difficult situation, provide their own basic medical care, and send word anyway they could (I remember the ubiquitous paper plates with messages posted on them and nailed to trees in the wilderness as a way of providing information to others who were following).


7. Wilderness skills are a lost art. Start a fire without matches, sheer a sheep and end up with a knitted sweater, find your way by the stars, snare a rabbit...the list of skills that one needs to be able do in order to provide for themselves is long, the number of people who could actually do such things these days is few. Sad.


8. Nature is reality. It is cold, it is wet, it is beautiful, it is tragic...in nature the only sure thing is change. Parked in front of a computer all day, you miss out on these things. One could literally stay inside for a year attached to a cell phone/computer/video game and miss all of the seasons, the changes in trees and flowers, the smell of fresh air, etc.


9. Living close to nature requires a wide variety of skills. When I ask a farm kid what they can do I hear: rototilling, running the backhoe, taking care of the horses, gathering eggs, welding, building, roofing, and a myriad other skills. When I ask an average suburban kid what they can do, I hear very few things..."Can you cook?" "We eat out everyday". "What skills do you use during the day?" "Texting, email, chatting online..." "Can you find your way to the next city?" "My mom will drive me." Frightening.


10. Nature is anything but dependable which means that people learn how to be flexible. Raining today? Stay inside and do sewing or reading or baking. Plant the corn today? It will grow at its own rate, you can't speed up nature, and you get to learn to be patient. Nature is fleeting. If it's sunny and the wheat is ready, it gets harvested today--you can't be lazy and put harvesting off until you feel ready to do it.

Now maybe these examples make the situation look much worse than it is, but being so far removed from nature can't be a good thing. As long as we live in an insulated, climate-controlled world when you can call for food to be delivered or you can simply shop for the things you need, I guess survivability of the masses will continue. However should TSHTF, having the skills to live in and with nature will be worth its weight in gold.

Survival Skill #3 Fix Stuff

We live in a disposable society. If something doesn't work, toss it in the garbage and buy a new one. If something breaks, ditto. If you decide you don't like something, again, just throw it away and get something better. For those on the edges of society (ie: low on cash but with ample time and creativity) throwing something out because it doesn't work or you don't like it isn't an option. A family I know who moved to the US some years ago from Iraq takes this idea to the extreme. I guess having very little money and a family of twelve (plus now a number of grandchildren) may have something to do with this, however I have never seen so many ways to keep things going when most people would have tossed said item into the garbage quite a while back. Here's what they do:

• They bought old, used, uncomplicated to fix cars (for cash of course) and between the brothers and the dad have kept them running for years past their usual life span.
• Clothes are handed down through the entire family. With some exceptional sewing skills, all of their clothes also live way past their usual lifespan.
• One of the daughters asked me how to repair the vacuum cleaner belt which had broke. I didn't have an answer for that.
• They keep their home in exceptional shape by fixing anything that goes wrong (leaky roof, broken stairs, etc) which means small problems don't fester into bigger problems.
• One of the brothers is a whiz with fixing electronics (computers, TVs, everything else), in fact, he got a full ride scholarship to become an electrical engineer.
• They are more than happy to take anything that people don't want (furniture, appliances, toys, etc) and fix the item to make it work for them or someone in their extended family.
• They don't redecorate annually like some people do. It's a good bet that the sofa they have now will probably outlive some of the family members. Ditto for the carpets, bedding, and any other item that can be fixed/mended/repaired in order to not have to spend money to replace the item.

Unfortunately, fixing things is almost a lost art. Surviving, however, may mean this lost art makes a come back. I hope so.

Survival Skill #2 Ask for Stuff

Another survival skill that you can use to get things you need is simply to ask. Kids and panhandlers are good at this because they have very limited resources, so they ask and ask and ask. If someone says "no" they will ask someone else. If there is no one else around, they will come back and ask the same person a number of times until they get what they need. This is a basic survival skill.
If you have no money, the common currency in most countries, then you have to rely on what you do have--the guts to simply ask for what you want. It seems like the higher up in society we become, the more "beneath us" it is to ask for things from others. If we don't have money to purchase what we want, we will charge it, save for it, find it on sale, or put it on layaway, but how many people would think to ask for it--for free?
The most recent example I've seen of this skill in action was on a recent Asian variety show. Part of the show is a daily beauty contest with young women who are interviewed by the host of the show. A couple of weeks before Christmas, the host asked each girl, in addition to the contest question, what they wanted for Christmas. All of the girls gave the politically correct answer--world peace, time with family, etc--except one. She stated that she wanted an iPod. After talking with her some more, the host again asked what she wanted for Christmas, again she said she really wanted an iPod. A couple of days later it was mentioned that the host gave her a new iPod. Now I'm sure the dozens of other girls who participated in the contest would really like an iPod too, but no one asked, and as a result no one got an iPod except the girl who asked for one.
So the bottom line is to develop the skill of asking for what you want. Here's some tips:

• If you see something you can use (a broken down car, apples hanging on an apple tree, a raise) then tactfully ask for it. For example, if your neighbor has apple trees, ask if you can have some. Even offer to pick a basket for the owner as a way to "pay" for your apples. Usually the neighbor will just tell you to take what you want.
• Be known as a person who always has a good home for unwanted things. One of my clients seems to redecorate their office seasonally instead of out of necessity. As soon as I see things start to move, I let it be known that if there is anything they want to get rid of I would be happy to take it off of their hands. Over the years, I have been able to update my office and the homes of friends with all of the stuff they would have otherwise thrown out.
• Be very gracious and thankful when you do receive things from people. Drop them by some homemade cookies or something from your business; this will make them remember to call you the next time they have stuff to give away.
• Don't be discouraged if someone tells you no. Just try again.
• Make each transaction a win-win situation. Years ago an elderly neighbor passed away and her only relatives had to come from the other side of the country to take care of her home and belongings. I met the relatives at the neighbor's funeral then introduced myself to them afterwards and stopped by to check on them over the week that they were working on cleaning out the house. While they were getting ready to sell the entire contents of the home to someone who would resell the items, they mentioned that if there was anything I wanted I was welcome to it. I mentioned how nice a bookcase and some other pieces of furniture were and they were more than happy to have me take the things--at least some of their aunt's things would be well cared for. Out of the blue I decided to look up the bookcase on eBay a week ago because it was rather unique and was shocked to find out that the same brand and style of bookcase was listed for $1600!
• Don't be stuck on one certain item; be open to serendipity. My brother in law is an expert at this. He came to visit one time. borrowed the truck and left the house in the morning, then returned in the evening with a salmon (he had stopped by the docks, chatted with a fisherman, admired his catch, and the fisherman gave him a fish), a desk (it was sitting outside on a porch and the owner was working outside, when my brother in law spied the desk he simply asked if he could have it--the guy didn't want it anymore and was going to donate it but hadn't had time), two mp3 players (a store had them on clearance so he asked the department manager if he could buy one and get the other free--and the manager said yes), and an arm load of fast food (he had stopped by a restaurant that was getting ready to close and ordered a burger then asked if he could have any of the leftover food that was going to get thrown away and again was told yes). He has done this sort of thing for decades; he has a laid back way of interacting with people and the wherewithal to ask for the things he would like to have. Cool.

Take this survival skill and give it a try. See what happens if you just ask for what you want. In hard times, this skill will definitely be quite useful.

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing that you all have a happy, safe, profitable, successful, and healthy New Year. My New Year's Resolution this year is to make no resolutions. Each day I want to just go with the flow and see what new and interesting things happen. Often when you are constrained by a list of "have to do's" and "should do's" you overlook opportunities that land at your feet because you are too busy trying to check things off of your list instead of learning from and enjoying events and situations that are totally unexpected but totally rewarding if you give yourself the chance to partake in them. Happy New Year!