52 Weekly Goals for 2020

Have you created your list of New Year Resolutions yet?  Consider adding these preparedness goals to your list so that by the end of the year, you will be prepared for anything.

1. Begin the 52-week money challenge so that by the end of the year you will have an extra $1300 to add to your emergency fund.
2. Put together an EDC (everyday carry) bag based on your needs.
3. Resolve to cook complete meals, from scratch, several times a week.
4. Apply for a passport if you don't already have one.
5. Sign up for a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training course in your area.
6. Put together a BOB (bug out bag) which meets your needs.
7. Sign up for a concealed carry or basic firearm safety course in your area.
8. Perform a vehicle inspection to ensure your vehicle is in good working order.
9. Put together an emergency car kit with everything you need to stay safe in your vehicle.
10. Store enough emergency drinking water in your home for each member of your family that will last for two weeks.
11. Store enough food to feed all members of your family for a minimum of two weeks (longer if possible).
12. Make sure your home is safe by reviewing all of these checklists.
13. Sign up for a first aid course in your community (take advanced courses in first aid if possible too).
14. Put together first aid kits for your home, EDC bag, camping/backpacking gear, boat, RV, office, etc.
15. Work with your family to create a family emergency plan.
16. Review your insurance coverages (life, health, auto, home, long-term care) to ensure that they meet your needs.
17. Make a list of your current debts and resolve to become debt free as soon as possible.
18. Grow a garden this summer (or a container garden, or even sprouting on your kitchen counter if you are limited in outdoor space).
19. Use the video camera on your phone to create a home inventory video of every item you own.  Show every room of your home as well as garage, land, outbuildings, etc.  Keep this digital file backed up in a safe location to use for insurance purposes in the event of a disaster.
20. Make a file on each member of your family (pets too!) which includes their photo, personal info (name, social security number, birth date, height, weight, tattoos, etc), medical info (medical history, current medications, allergies, etc), and even include a DNA sample if possible.
21. Digitize all of your important documents then save these document files, as well as a back-up of all of the files on your computer, on an external hard drive then store this back-up drive in a safe location.
22. Prepare back-up systems for power, lights, heat, cooking, sewer, water, entertainment, garbage removal, etc. to use in the event of a disaster that takes down municipal utilities.
23. Develop two or more alternate sources of income.
24. Sign up for self defense classes (krav maga, karate, boxing, etc).
25. Make appointments with your doctor, dentist, vision clinic, hearing clinic, and vaccination clinic and ensure your health is in tip top shape.
26. Schedule four family camping/backpacking trips for weekends in the winter, spring, summer, and fall and test your outdoor survival skills.
27. Teach the entire family how and when to shut off your home's water, electricity, and gas.
28. Practice various ways of preserving food including canning, freezing, pickling, making jams and preserves, etc.
29. Be sure that the entire family uses good internet, social media, and home network safety practices.
30. Make home evacuation plans with the entire family.  Determine how to evacuate your home, your neighborhood, your city, your state, and even your country.
31. Practice traveling around your city via public transit including walking, bicycling, city bus, Uber, etc.
32. Spend the weekend foraging for wild edibles in your neighborhood/community.
33. Volunteer in your community in an area that will help increase your preparedness skills (volunteer as an EMT, with your local ARES/RACES group, with Search and Rescue, etc).
34. Develop a daily family exercise plan; not only is this a fun bonding experience but being physically fit is a basic tenet of preparedness.  Activities can include playing soccer, running, going to the gym, playing basketball, etc.
35. Determine what are the most likely disasters in your area and prepare accordingly for these possibilities.
36. Take an international trip with the family and learn how to navigate foreign countries/cultures.
37. Set up everyone's cell phones with safety and security apps as well as to receive notifications from your local news, police/fire agencies, city/county/state department of emergency management offices, etc.
38. Hop online and learn even more about preparedness and survival via reddit, YouTube, FEMA, etc.
39. Decide which of the items on this list you would need in a disaster then start stockpiling them as you have extra money or as the items come on sale.
40. Take time to prepare for any family member(s) who have special needs (infants, babies, the ill, the elderly, pets, cattle/farm animals, deaf/blind/non-English speaking/mentally ill or other special populations, etc).
41. Diversify your investments.  Instead of, for example, stockpiling only gold, spread your investments around in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, precious metals, annuities, cash, etc.
42. Clean your home from top to bottom.  Go minimalist, get rid of things you no longer need/use, get rid of cheap junk and replace it with quality items, etc.
43. Put together a hard-copy and digital copy library of preparedness and survival books.
44. Have a weekly family game/activity night that doesn't include TVs/tablets/computers/video games/other digital entertainment.  Here are some ideas.
45. Learn a variety of "old fashioned" preparedness skills such as knot tying, HAM radio, bush craft, Morse Code, hunting, fishing, orienteering, soap making, etc.
46. Install a comprehensive interior/exterior/perimeter home security system. 
47. Attend a prepper/survivalist conference, gun show, or other preparedness-related event.
48. Deal with any personal problems: divorce and custody issues, financial problems, legal issues, addiction issues, etc.  It's hard to be prepared for the future when you have negative things from your past still hanging around.
49. Develop a circle of people you can absolutely depend on (this may be family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc).
50. Encourage preparedness and safety in your community including at your office, at your kid's school, at your church, etc.
51. Hold preparedness drills in your home including fire drills, evacuation drills, lock-down drills, etc.
52. Practice with weapons (guns, sling shot, bow and arrow, knives, etc).

10 New Year's Resolutions

Here are ten simple and inexpensive things to add to your list of new year's resolutions...

1. Join a local CERT team training course.  Learn how to prepare for a disaster and get some local insight into how responders in your area are planning for a disaster.
2. Get your HAM radio license.  HAM radios are pretty inexpensive these days, it makes for a fun hobby, and they also come in handy during a disaster.
3. Get certified in first aid/CPR/AED use.  There are several places you can do this, usually through your local Red Cross office, local hospital, local fire department, or private companies which offer the classes.
4. Sign up for a 5k/10k/half marathon/marathon.  If this is new to you, there are lots of "couch to 5k" training programs available online.
5. Take up a new hobby.  The more skills you know, the better.
6. Build an emergency fund.  If you already have an emergency fund, increase it.
7. Plan a camping trip.  There are lots of free places to camp, you can start out with thrift store gear, and again, this is a great way to learn new skills.
8. Learn an old fashioned, traditional skill.  Whether you choose canning or bread baking or fishing, these are fun, inexpensive ways increase your preparedness, save money, and learn something new at the same time.
9. Volunteer.  Volunteering helps out the community, helps out people in need, and can also teach you some valuable survival skills.  Consider volunteering as an EMT, for your local Search and Rescue, at a soup kitchen, etc.
10. Take a class/go to a conference/do a boot camp/etc.  Up your job skills to make you a more valuable employee/business owner.  By gaining more knowledge and education in your field, you will be poised for better things, work wise.

10 Resolutions for 2019

If you are the type to set big goals for yourself at the start of each new year, here are some items to consider for your list of new year resolutions:

1. Money: pay off a specific debt or save a specific amount of money
2. Physical fitness: complete a big fitness challenge like a marathon or even just a 5k
3. Income: start a small side business or pick up a new client to increase your income
4. Health: pick a current health challenge (weight, blood pressure, A1C, etc) and work to (naturally if possible) fix it
5. Volunteer: pick a place to volunteer for or set a goal of a specific number of hours to volunteer for the year
6. Learning experience: learn something new/big that you have always wanted to do (build your own solar system, take a NOLS course, etc)
7. Family goal: set a goal you will achieve as a family (example here)
8. Preparedness goal: see where your preparedness efforts are lacking and make it a goal to fix it
9. Mental health: if social media is an issue stop it for a year and see what happens, if a toxic person is the issue figure out how to get away from them, for serious mental health issues figure out how to fix it (with adequate professional help)
10. Home: pick monthly home improvement goals and complete one project a month

10 (Huge) Goals for 2017

Need some ideas for your New Year's Resolutions list?  Consider these huge goals which will not only give you something big to aim for but the skills you develop to reach these goals could also save your life.

1. Be debt free including the house (or make giant strides towards this).  For help and inspiration on this goal check out Dave Ramsey's site.
2. Run (or walk) a marathon.  When TSHTF and all roads are closed/washed out/etc. and your only option for bugging out is via your own two feet, knowing that you are able to walk long distances is a good thing (plus the daily act of walking or running is pretty good for your overall health).  More info on this topic here.
3. Participate in an IPSC shooting competition.  This is one of the best ways to practice tactical shooting (well, besides having Uncle Sam breathing over your shoulder about it but I digress...) and an excellent way to sharpen your overall gun handling skills.
4. Put an extra $1378 in your emergency fund by the end of the year (or more).  The 52-Week Savings Challenge is a good way to do this.
5. Go backpacking for an entire week.  Can you imagine being totally off the grid for a week?  Can you think of a better way to practice your outdoor survival skills?  A week-long (or longer) backpacking trip is a great way to get away from it all AND practice living without the comforts of modern life.  More info here.
6. Get all of your documents in order.  Do you have all of your important documents in an easily accessible but secure place?  Are they up-to-date and not expired?  Check out this list and make sure all of your important documents are ready to go at a moment's notice.
7. Be prepared to earn money.  You might already have a job or a business but should that income source dry up, are you ready to easily transition to a new venture that keeps the money rolling in?  Update your resume, start a side gig, grow your business, network in your industry...basically all of the things you would have needed to be doing before TSHTF and an income crisis happens.
8. Learn to save a life.  There are a lot of ways to save a life so take your pick, but consider learning/honing some life-saving skills.  Take a CPR class, volunteer to be an EMT, take a wilderness first aid class, volunteer with Search and Rescue, volunteer with the Suicide Hotline, donate bike helmets to kids in your community, etc.
9. Build your homestead.  You don't need to move to the middle of no where and buy a thousand acres to create a homestead, but where ever you live, make it a place that has all of the comforts of a homestead--a garden, a security system, multiple heating options, etc.
10. Go after a big 'I never thought I would ever do this' sort of goal.  A Front Sight course, shooting a range of full-auto firearms at Battlefield Vegas, an Evasive Driving course, etc.

Christmas, New Years, and Beyond

With the holidays approaching, it is getting busy around here so before I forget...

• Merry Christmas!  Here's hoping you have a loud and crazy or quiet and serene, family-filled or family-free, minimalist or gifting overload Christmas (your choice, whatever makes you happy).
• Happy New Year!  Be safe of course and plan ahead so if you drink you won't drive.
• Consider a new way to celebrate the holidays (in the case of my city, I just found out that the local parks service will be offering midnight hikes to celebrate the New Year which, in my opinion, will be about a hundred times better than celebrating on the Las Vegas Strip...but that's just me).
• Set some challenging New Year's resolutions.  Yes I know that these usually fail by week two (judging by the packed gyms the first week of each new year and then crickets by the first week of February).  If you need something to really push you, pay to do something you are kind of iffy about currently (pay the $100 for that marathon, book your flights and hotel...the financial loss if you chicken out should be its own kind of motivation).
• Resolve to take care of your money situation this year.  Double your income, develop multiple streams of income, get out of debt once and for all, set up that investment account you have been thinking about...
• And as always, protect yourself and your family.  Be aware of your surroundings, watch out for fraud and scams, carry concealed if that is your thing, wear your seat belt.  Better to be prepared and not need it than not be prepared and suffer the consequences.

5 New Years Resolutions (That Will Help Avert the Most Common Causes of Death)

Most people become preppers because they want to be able to keep themselves and their families safe from harm.  And when they think of harm, all manner of problems come to mind (rape, robbery, active shooters, kidnapping, et al).  But when you look at the actual statistics of how people die in the US, you will find that the most common causes of death have nothing at all to do with the aforementioned threats.  In actuality, people's bad health habits have much more to do with their future causes of death than any social/political/economic/etc issue.

First, check out this list of how people actually die in the US.

Then, consider that if you can avoid accidents (a declining cause of death) and suicide (unfortunately, an increasing cause of death), the rest of the top 15 causes rest heavily on how you treat your own body.

With that in mind, here are five New Year's Resolutions you may want to consider (that can do more for preventing your untimely death than, say, having a nice collection of firearms or a stockpile of food).

1. Walk everyday.  For at least an hour, preferably longer.
2. Engage in other physical activities.  Consider this list of sports.  Consider what you need to motivate yourself to do these sports (join a bowling league to keep you accountable, set a big goal like a mini triathlon and work towards that goal, join a hiking club, etc).
3. Make your diet healthy.  The paleo diet and the Mediterranean diet seem to be the most popular.  Both seem to limit junk food and both seem to limit mixing starchy carbs with protein.
4. Stop eating junk food (easy to say, not so easy to do when you consider more than 50% of the stuff in stores these days is junk).
5. Reduce stress.  Stress negatively impacts nearly every facet of your life if you don't get a handle on it.

10 New Year's Resolutions for the Survivalist

It's that time of year again. Time to make resolutions that will probably be hammered away at for a week or so then put on the back burner then forgotten about entirely before spring arrives. These resolutions are, however, designed to be easy to accomplish, and will, if adhered to, put you in a much better position to survive just about anything.

1. Learn something. Take a class that will teach you a survival-related skill. Get your EMT certification, pass your HAM radio tech test and join the local HAM radio club, join the local Search and Rescue organization and participate in their trainings, etc.
2. Get out of debt. Completely. This will do more for your survival-ability than nearly anything else you do. If nothing else, it will decrease your stress level considerably.
3. Exercise every day. No excuses. Even if it just means walking around your block a couple of times a day, exercising every day could help you save your life or the life of someone else when TSHTF.
4. Pay cash only. For everything. This will reduce your paper trail and up your personal privacy considerably.
5. Spend time building and strengthening relationships with your family and friends rather than being glued to the TV, your computer, or your cell phone. When it comes down to it, the only ones who will have your back are these people. Period.
6. Guard your privacy. Change your passwords, back up your files, wipe the hard drive of your old computer, shred all documents that contain personal information, check your credit report annually, etc.
7. Know where you live. What are the potential natural and man-made threats? Where are local water and food sources? How many different ways can you enter and leave your residence/neighborhood/city?
8. Develop multiple sources of income. I don't care if it is delivering papers and mowing yards. You need to be able to generate income when you need it and on a regular basis. Having multiple sources of income can ensure this.
9. Challenge yourself. Make it something big. Huge. A 40-day Amazon River expedition with NOLS, biking across the US, taking a high risk security operations course with Blackwater...er, XE...er, US Training Center. You get the idea.
10. Change your life. If you aren't happy with any part of your life, change it. What are you waiting for? No one will give you permission to do such a thing so it is up to you to make your own choices and set your own goals. Of course then it will be up to you to follow through on this decision come Hell or high water...

Will you read this list, think it is a good idea, maybe make a few feeble attempts at achieving some of these goals, then forget about the whole thing within a few month? Or will this be the year that you turn into your own action hero? The choice is yours.