100 Skills Everyone Should Know

Being able to survive in a myriad of situations is the goal of being a prepper.  With that in mind, it is important to have as full a skill set as possible.  Here are skills everyone should know:

1. How to swim.
2. How to ride a bike.
3. How to perform CPR and use an AED.
4. How to drive (both manual and automatic vehicles).
5. How to safely use firearms.
6. How to perform the Heimlich Maneuver.
7. How to provide basic first aid.
8. How to navigate (with map and compass, GPS, by the stars).
9. How to shoot a bow and arrow.
10. How to fish.
11. How to hunt.
12. How to grow a garden.
13. How to preserve food (canning, drying, freezing, pickling, etc).
14. How to bake (bread, cookies, cakes, etc).
15. How to cook (breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals).
16. How to sew.
17. How to knit.
18. How to identify edible and poisonous plants in your area.
19. How to forage for food.
20. How to make a fire in several ways.
21. How to find and purify water.
22. How to camp (make shelter, make a fire, cook food, etc).
23. How to backpack (camping skills plus wayfinding and long distance walking).
24. How to do tasks online (banking, applying for a job, finding information, etc).
25. How to breed, raise, train, and care for animals.
26. How to play games (chess, poker, Monopoly, etc).
27. How to do basic automotive maintenance (oil change, change tires, jump a car, etc).
28. How to participate in a variety of sports (both team and individual).
29. How to use a variety of communication methods (HAM radio, sign language, foreign language, etc).
30. How to do home maintenance (basic plumbing, electrical, and construction skills).
31. How to play a musical instrument.
32. How to do a variety of arts and crafts.
33. How to dress appropriately for all occasions.
34. How to pilot a variety of watercraft (sailboat, canoe, kayak, powerboat, etc).
35. How to read the weather.
36. How to  use a variety of self defense tactics (boxing, karate, etc).
37. How to care for your tools (sharpen knives, clean firearms, etc).
38. How to perform basic calisthenics (push ups, sit ups, pull ups, etc).
39. How to survive outdoors in all weather (snow, high heat, rain, etc).
40. How to ride a horse.
41. How to tie a variety of knots.
42. How to optimize your own health.
43. How to travel in snow (cross country ski, snowshoe, etc).
44. How to ride a motorcycle.
45. How to manage financially (budgeting, saving, investing, etc).
46. How to make money in multiple ways.
47. How to develop good character traits.
48. How to use interpersonal skills in all situations.
49. How to travel (locally and internationally).
50. How to respond to legal situations (with the police, to a court summons, etc).
51. How to use tools (chainsaw, power saw, drill, hammer, breaker bar, etc).
52. How to prepare yourself and your home for a disaster.
53. How to clean (your home, your clothes, your vehicle, etc).
54. How to develop leadership skills.
55. How to raise animals for food.
56. How to think critically and evaluate information.
57. How to respond to a variety of disasters (fire, flood, active shooter, earthquake, etc).
58. How to communicate effectively (verbally and in writing).
59. How to fit in to all social situations (weddings, funerals, bars, parties, etc).
60. How to use basic math skills (for everyday purposes like figuring the area of carpet needed for a room).
61. How to use basic science skills (like knowing not to mix ammonia and bleach).
62. How to take care of others (infants, toddlers, children, the elderly, etc).
63. How to deal with wild animals.
64. How to do extreme sports (sky diving, SCUBA diving, race a car, rock climbing, etc).
65. How to protect your privacy (in person and online).
66. How to make major purchases (vehicle, house, etc).
67. How to play bar games (shoot pool, throw darts, sing karaoke, etc).
68. How to use basic software (MS Office suite, Photoshop, etc).
69. How to teach others how to do things.
70. How to haggle, barter, and bargain for things you want.
71. How to make good decisions quickly.
72. How to uses disguises and covert ops skills correctly.
73. How to create things (build a bookcase, brew beer, make wine, etc).
74. How to do old time skills (cast iron cooking, woodworking, bush craft, etc).
75. How to control yourself (lust, anger, jealousy, etc).
76. How to prevent the spread of disease.
77. How to build a house from the ground up.
78. How to build a car out of parts.
79. How to build a PC from scratch.
80. How to learn new things on your own.
81. How to grow and use herbal medicines.
82. How to wash clothing by hand.
83. How to create and store energy from alternative sources (wind, solar, water, etc).
84. How to signal for help in a variety of situations.
85. How to make a variety of traps and snares.
86. How to track (people and animals).
87. How to set up a security system no matter where you are (at home, camping, in a hotel, etc).
88. How to extinguish a variety of fires (wood, cooking oil, chemical, etc).
89. How to get rid of pests (bees, wasps, ants, roaches, rats, etc).
90. How to process all of your garbage yourself (composting, burning, etc).
91. How to make your own tools and weapons from scratch.
92. How to participate in civic activities (voting, jury duty, volunteering, etc).
93. How to access community resources (using the library, finding assistance centers, getting government benefits if needed, etc).
94. How to travel around your community a variety of ways (mass transit, Uber, bicycle, walking, etc).
95. How to survive without technology.
96. How to survive without utilities (no gas, electricity, sewer system, etc).
97. How to use manners and etiquette in every situation.
98. How to hide and use camouflage in a tactical situation.
99. How to gear up for all situations (EDC, BOB, etc).
100. How to be situationally aware (aware of all exits, aware of possible threats, etc).

Extreme Survival Skills of the Poor

When most people think of extreme survival skills, they often think of Bear Grylls or one of these top survival experts level of skillfulness.  While there is the (slightest, most minute) possibility that you will find yourself in a situation where you would have to drink your own urine, make a fire with a couple of sticks, or shoot your way out of an ambush, it's much more likely that you will have to survive a situation that has to do with weather (of the really bad kind), money (or the definite lack thereof), or some sort of societal collapse (always a bad thing).  Do you have the skills to survive these sorts of extremes?  Learn from the poor and homeless how to make do with very little:

• The homeless, while often the most vulnerable in our society, have generally developed some pretty good survival skills when it comes to shelter and keeping themselves safe in difficult environments.  Some skills here, here, and here.
• Poor people do things such as dumpster diving, trash picking, and otherwise living off the excess of others in order to stretch their limited cash.  Even more extreme is using animal medications which are cheaper than going to a doctor to treat their ills.  
• And there are several lists of really-poor-people skills that can be rather eye-opening--and useful.  Like this, this, this, and this.

10 Anti-Establishment Activities for Fun and Profit

The dictionary defines anti-establishment as:  A view or belief which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society.

I always shook my head when, back a few years ago during the Occupy Wall Street movement, protesters would show up on TV tapping away on their iPhones while juggling their Starbucks, in their Nike tennis shoes, after pulling some money from the ATM of the local megabank.  If you are against Wall Street, why, in the name of all that is holy, would you support companies that, make up Wall Street?

As I am feeling rather contrarian this week, I got to thinking about how most people follow along with conventional society, all the while complaining about conventional society.  Complaining may raise your blood pressure but it does little to nothing to actually generate change.  Kind of like venting about obesity and the low pay of fast food workers while gulping down a cheeseburger from said fast food restaurant.

In the interest of "sticking it to the establishment", saving or making a bit of money, experiencing something new, and "walking the talk", I give you ten activities to enjoy this summer which have an anti-establishment flair...

1. Cook all of your meals from scratch for a month.  Don't support the soda industry and fast food industries which basically sell you a boatload of chemicals and obesity, learn about how the food industry engineers your cravings, and watch a few health-inspiring videos on Netflix.
2. Get out of debt.  Our world revolves around debt.  Can't afford to pay cash?  Just use your credit card and pay small monthly payments!  Can't afford the payments on a new car?  Simply lease (fleece as Dave Ramsey says) a car and pay less!  Can you imagine what your life would be like if your monthly bills were only for utilities?
3. Participate in the underground economy.  This can include everything from bartering and swapping to sharing to buying and reselling.
4. Support your local community.  Buy from local stores, shop at local farmer's markets, volunteer at your kid's school, help out a an elderly neighbor.  If you want your community to be strong and vibrant you need to invest (your time, effort, and money) in it.
5. Learn to do for yourself.  There are YouTube videos that can teach you anything you need to learn.  Grow a garden, change your own oil, fix an appliance, mend your clothes instead of buying new ones...the list of things you can and should learn how to do is endless.
6. Get away from it all.  I firmly believe that all of the hyper reliance on technology not only melts your mind, causes depression, and makes people fat and anti social (see other list of impacts here) but it has an overall negative impact on most people's everyday lives.  To combat this, head out to a remote, people-less place for a few days at minimum.  Enjoy the silence, learn how to rely on yourself instead of crowd-sourcing everything from your daily living skills to your self esteem, and recall what life was like before the tidal wave of tech took over our lives.  See also: Microadventures.
7. Set a big, anti-conventional goal, and go for it.  I've been fortunate to meet a lot of interesting (read unconventional) people over the course of my life.  The common denominator amongst them is that they took a big, outrageous idea which caused people to question their sanity/make dire predictions about their life, and thumbed their noses at the naysayers.  See also: Helene Neville, Yolanda Holder, the Family on Bikes, and Karl Bushby.
8. Be your own boss.  Most people cling to their one (piteous, underpaid, overworked) job like they are clinging to a life ring in the middle of the ocean.  Of the few "real" jobs I have had (complete with an employer, benefits, paid sick leave, etc), they have only served as stepping stones to gain knowledge or skills before heading off on my own.  I much prefer the secure insecurity of being responsible for my own income by developing multiple sources of income.  Examples of how to do this here and here.
9. Do your own research.  With facts, alternative facts, and straight up lies by those in power, it pays to do your own research before making decisions that impact your life.  Among the "you didn't do the research" crowds: anti-vaxers, those who are surprised that Trump lied to them, people who fall for scams and rip offs that are easily Google-able.
10. Support the people and causes that make a useful/positive difference in your life.  Turn out to vote, support gun rights, eat food that makes you healthy, join clubs with like-minded members, and hold your politicians accountable or vote them out.

March Challenge #31 The Wrap Up

After all of the challenges we have done this month, it is now time to ensure that the answers to the following questions are a resounding "Yes" (if not, see what you can do to change any no answers to yes as soon as possible).

1. Do you have a Bug Out Bag?
2. Do you have a first aid kit (or multiple kits if you need one at home, at the office, in your RV, on your boat, etc)?
3. Have you ensured multiple sources of water for a variety of disaster situations?
4. Have you ensured a comprehensive supply of food to see you through a variety of disaster situations?
5. Does your family have a disaster communications plan?
6. Does you family have an evacuation (bug out) plan?
7. Does your family have a shelter in place (bug in) plan?
8. Have you taken steps to take care of your money situation (be debt free, protect your assets, etc)?
9. Have you ensured that your home can is secure both inside and outside?
10. Do you have (and do you continue to develop) a wide range of skills that would be useful in a disaster?
11. Do you stockpile things that would be useful in a disaster (everything from food to toilet paper to tools, etc)?
12. Do you practice the things that would be useful in a disaster (everything from starting a fire without matches to sewing skills to HAM radio skills, etc)?
13. Have you taken steps to protect your privacy as much as possible?
14. Is everything about you (home, records, work space, etc) organized and are all important things backed up?
15. Do you have multiple ways to protect yourself?
16. Do you have an organized, streamlined, useful Every Day Carry bag?
17. Do you practice situational awareness on a regular basis?
18. Do you have multiple sources of income?
19. Do you own, and are you experienced with, firearms?
20. Are you a minimalist or are you heading in that direction?
21. Have you done a microadventure (or multiple microadventures)?
22. Have you learned and do you practice bushcraft skills?
23. Are you more than familiar with your neighborhood and community?
24. Do you regularly do do-it-yourself tasks?
25. Do you utilize a variety of information sources to stay abreast of current news?
26. Have you prepared for natural disasters that are common in your area?
27. Have you taken on any long-term survival projects?
28. Do you travel (both near and far) regularly?
29. Do you have some semblance of a plan for a TEOTWAWKI situation?
30. Do you utilize your preparedness skills and knowledge to give back to your community?

Congratulations--you are far and away more prepared for any disaster that could happen than the vast majority of the population.

Survival Skill #9 Skills (Part 9 or 10)

You are almost all set to face disaster.  You have money, water, food, shelter, supplies, knowledge, and the ability to provide medical care and security.  One of the most important survival skills to have, however, is actual skills that you have learned and practiced before you need them.  Anything you know how to do will be a benefit but here is a list of standard survival skills that all people should learn as soon as possible and practice as often as possible:

• Cooking
• Baking
• Hunting
• Fishing
• Foraging
• Firestarting
• Sewing and repair
• Navigation with GPS
• Navigation with map and compass
• Camping
• First aid
• Carpentry
• Plumbing
• Electrician
• HAM radio
• Gardening
• Animal husbandry
• Butchering
• Bee keeping
• Car repair
• Food preservation
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Backpacking
• Tracking
• Trapping
• Gunsmithing
• Balcksmithing
• Shooting
• Knife skills
• Hand to hand combat
• Interpersonal skills
• Candle making
• Escape and evasion
• Weapon making
• Weather forecasting
• Search and rescue
• Jungle survival
• Desert survival
• Arctic survival
• Swimming
• Boating
• Bicycle riding
• Motorcycling
• Finance and investing
• Veterinary
• Advanced first aid
• Beer and wine making
• Leather working

Survival Skill #1 Money (Part 1 of 10)

With a handful of basic survival skills, you will be miles ahead of the pack when TSHTF.  One of the most important survival skills you can have has to do with money.  Here are ten ways to set yourself up financially for a disaster:

1. Get out of debt ASAP (and don't generate future debt.  If you can't pay cash for something, you can't afford it).
2. Have an emergency fund (start with $1000 and add to it consistently until you could live off of said emergency fund for at least a year).
3. Live below your means (this makes both #1 and #2 easier).
4. Be able to earn money (ie: have an education, job skills, self employment skills).
5. Have passive income (this can range from investments to royalties to other ways that you make money "while you sleep").
6. Have alternatives to cash money (such as a bit of gold, silver, and items that would have value during a collapse that you could sell).
7. Protect your money (both physically such as in a safe and theoretically such as protecting it from swindlers and bad deals).
8. Insure your money (keep life, health, auto, home, disability, and other necessary insurances to protect you financially from ruin).
9. Use your money to buy/stockpile items which would be necessary during a disaster (non-perishable food, medical supplies, ammo, etc).
10. Invest some of your money in yourself (in your education, in valuable job skills, in survival skills such as a first aid class, etc). 

25 Skills to Practice This Summer

Summer is a great time to practice a bunch of survival skills.  Obviously the ability to perform a variety of survival skills in the dead of winter, in the middle of a storm--basically under least optimal conditions--is crucial, getting the hang of these skills under more optimal conditions (namely in the summer) is a good idea.  Here's some things to learn/practice:

1. Geocaching (no better way to learn how to use your GPS device).
2. Camping/hiking/backpacking (how to survive without running water, electricity, etc is a necessary skill).
3. Fishing (catch your own food).
4. Swimming (a vital skill that everyone should know).
5. Growing your own food (a great way to produce food on the cheap and develop a useful skill).
6. Preserving the harvest (can you can, freeze, pickle, and otherwise preserve your own food for future use?).
7. Walking (there are plenty of people who can't walk more than a couple of miles.  Regular nice, long walks are great for your health as well as survival in some situations when you need to evacuate on foot).
8. Shooting (I'm becoming more of a fair-weather shooter as the years go by).
9. Distance bike/canoe/kayak trip (being able to cart yourself a long distance under your own steam is a valuable skill).
10. Home improvement projects (to develop self sufficiency skills and save money).
11. Barbecuing (learning how to cook over an open flame is both useful and tasty).
12. Shelter building (this could be something as simple as building a chicken coop or a garden shed).
13. Plant and tree identification (can you identify which plants in your area are poisonous? which can be used for medicine? which ones are edible enough to add to your usual meals?).
14. Raising animals for food (chickens and rabbits are easiest; pigs and cows much more complicated).
15. Boy Scout merit badge stuff (can you tie a variety of knots, navigate by the stars, etc?).
16. HAM radio (summer is a great time for HAM Fests).
17. First aid (your local Red Cross, DEM, fire department, etc. usually offer a variety of first aid classes--a set of critical skills you should know and practice).
18. Making money (extra cash is always useful; hold a garage sale, sell stuff on CraigsList, mow lawns and challenge yourself to do other things to raise a set amount of cash).
19. Do preventive maintenance things (clean your guns, sharpen your knives, change the oil in your car, etc).
20. Master a new skill (make cheese, knit a sweater, reload your own ammo; the more skills you can add to your repertoire, the better).
21. Revamp your BOB (not a skill necessarily but a continual opportunity for improvement and preparedness).
22. Conduct drills: fire drills, lock-down drills, evacuation drills, etc.
23. Entertain yourself without electricity (this is, surprisingly, a useful skill as when the power goes out, people have absolutly no idea how to entertain themselves without a working cell phone/TV/computer/etc.  Play cards, read a book, whittle a figure, etc).
24. Develop a hobby (be known as the guy who can: build a bird house, make a robot, make his own moccasins, etc.  Hobbies are useful for developing useful skills, creating another stream of income, entertaining the kids, amusing the neighbors, killing time, etc).
25. Travel (make your summer vacation a survival-worthy adventure.  The further off the beaten track you go, the more survival lessons you can learn).

10 Old Fashioned Skills You Should Still Practice

Here's ten old fashioned skills you still need to know even though it is the 21st century:

1. Yes I know that everyone and their brother uses their newfangled smartphones for communications these days but in a SHTF scenario (or even during a random EMP attack) your cell phone is going to become a very expensive paperweight.  Learn how to use a HAM radio.
2. Wayfinding with map and compass.  I'm not one to eschew new GPS technology (except when my old GPS unit tells me to make a left and it's obvious that there is no place to make a left and that doing so would launch me off a cliff or something).  So imagine that your GPS is DOA for whatever reason and all of your markers have been washed away.  That's why you need this skill.
3. 40 years ago if I told a kid to go out and hunt up some dinner they would grab their 22 or their fishing pole and come back with something resembling food.  These days if I said that they would probably give me a blank stare like I had lost my mind or something.  Know how to procure your own food (and not from a grocery store).
4. Making a shelter.  When I was a kid we did this for entertainment (it was called making a fort in those days).  This meant going out in the woods (or in some out of the way pocket in an urban area) and making a small shelter that would--theoretically--keep you dry and protected for the night.  Fortunately I had a grandfather who grew up in the woods so he had no qualms about letting us sleep out in our forts all summer long.  Again, this is a lost skill that people should really practice because you never know when a Katrina-esq event will wipe away your home and leave you without shelter.  And if you don't know what I mean, seek out a homeless encampment, these folks know how to keep themselves warm and dry while living outside.
5. How to entertain yourself sans anything electronic.  I know many people who would be hard-pressed to do anything except stare numbly at their unworking cell phone/laptop/TV should all electronics be wiped out.  Play cards, play board games, knit...basically learn how to do things that don't require electricity to keep you and the family entertained.
6. How to cook from scratch.  What happens if every food service vendor within 50 miles suddenly shut down?  Many people would be hard-pressed to fend for themselves in this area.  So start practicing today in order to have at least marginal skills at keeping your family fed in the event of a SHTF event.
7. Gardening is a hobby today for some people but I believe that too few people actually know how to grow even a small percentage of food that would be needed to keep their family fed in the event that they couldn't access a grocery store.  Our nation has had a history of gardening to provide much needed food--everything from kitchen gardens on every farmstead to Victory Gardens during the war--but this too is becoming a lost art.  Practice this skill and you may be surprised that not only does it lower your grocery bill but it also provides a bit of exercise and self sufficiency as well.
8. Building your own weapons.  Of course I would take an assortment of firearms and copious amounts of ammo any day but what happens during a long-term disaster when these items run out?  Homemade weapons are certainly a thing of the past but it can be fun/useful/insightful to make and use your own slingshots and bow and arrow set.
9. People skills are important (and often sadly lacking in this day and age).  Since most people do a majority of their communicating via electronic methods these days, some old fashioned communication skills have fallen by the wayside.  Learning how to barter, how to persuade someone to your point of view, how to be personable, how to mind your manners, how to take a leadership role, et al. are often unknown, overlooked, or just plain foreign concepts to people today.  They are still worth practicing and knowing.
10. Good old fashioned muscle power.  Nearly everything has been brought to a point these days that muscle power is virtually unnecessary.  Nevertheless, building up your muscle power can have some significant benefits in a SHTF scenario.  Years ago you became muscular not through a gym membership but because everyday you were splitting wood, walking miles to school, hauling hay, carrying stuff up five flights of stairs sans elevator, etc. Go out of your way to use and develop your muscles/stamina/etc. not only for use in a disaster but to keep yourself out of the doctor's office as well.  

Think Local, Starting Now

While it is true that our economy is now interwoven on an international scale, recent events point to the need to significantly limit your economic focus, mostly to the point of creating a strong local economy if you want to be prepared for TEOTWAWKI.
Greece is headed for Hell in a handbasket (probably to take place in the very near future), economically speaking.  Which will soon be followed by Spain and a number of other countries that thought it was a good idea to band together with all of the other countries of the European Union and jump on the Euro bandwagon (FWIW, if Warren Buffet says that having a single currency for a group of nations of varying economic strengths is a really bad idea, those in power should listen to him...but it is a bit late for that now).
Which brings us to the need for a strong local economy.  And by local economy I mean strengthening economic ties to others in your community as well as doing for yourself as much as possible.  The reason for this is that with economics on an international scale being so inter-dependant, when one (or a bunch) of foreign economies have a problem (like a depression or recession or a complete bankruptcy of an entire government(s)) this can quickly and drastically impact your own pocketbook.  Not only will your 401k and other investments suffer a hit (these are often invested in international markets and in products that are very sensitive to foreign economic troubles) but your very lifeline--your job--can also be significantly impacted.  And then how will you put food on the table and pay for junior's braces?
One way to face an uncertain economic future is to jump whole-heartedly into your local economy.  Here's some ideas:

• Barter with others in your community for vital products and services.  No matter what is happening in Europe or China, if you can trade a dental filling for a car repair, you can bypass the whole of the general economy and get what you need.
• Learn how to perform a vital service or produce a useful product.  This way you will have something to barter and/or sell that other locals will need.  Obviously start doing this as soon as possible because you don't want to start learning how to sell or trade your product after TSHTF.  The more practice you get now, the better off you will be in a crisis.
• Then expand this to learning to perform a range of vital services and/or produce a range of useful products.  If you are a wonderful artist, you shouldn't let your artistic skills wither because they aren't much in demand during tight economic times.  Then again, you still need to put food on your table and/or pay the mortgage so you will need to be able to do/make other things that are more in demand during difficult economic times (maybe you can learn to re-paint automobiles--a completely different skill--but one that is more useful when people are keeping their old cars longer).
• Learn how to do for yourself.  Unfortunately this in itself has a negative impact on your local economy (you aren't paying other people to provide services and products to you), but on the other hand, you can save a lot of money this way (by cutting your own lawn, repairing your own car, etc).
• Learn vital skills.  This usually takes a while whether for official schooling and certification or simply for getting enough time and experience under your belt to be able to actually do something useful.  When TSHTF there are some vital skills that people will spend their last dollar on.  These include vital medical services (doctor, dentist, nurse), food (selling eggs, processing and selling beef/pork/chickens/etc), items necessary for survival (soap, natural medicines, etc), vital services (repairing leaky roofs, fixing broken cars), and services that are critical but that we think the government will always be able to supply (water, electricity, communications).   
• Stockpile now.  The local economy is great for most things but there are certain items that go very quickly after a disaster and/or are subject to drastic price hikes when there is a shortage and often times these items are not things that can be easily produced locally.  Check this list for items to stockpile.
• Practice now.  Over the past five years my own lifestyle has changed drastically.  From living the high life and having a housekeeper, gardener, and buying anything I wanted, whenever I wanted, we have scaled back to an almost primitive level of living (but the significant drop in job stress and financial stress and the pure enjoyment of going back to basics more than makes up for this).  Going out to eat is rare, cooking at home and using home-preserved foods in common.  Our clothes are always line-dried (we could hand wash but I will wait for a crisis to necessitate this).  The Goodwill and thrift stores are now my favorite place to shop.  In other words, practice living as self sufficiently as possible now before you really need to do this in the event of an economic disaster.
• Get out of debt.  It is much easier to make do and stretch your limited funds when you don't have a bunch of creditors breathing down your neck.
• Consider drastic ways to "go local" in the event of a major crisis that results in TEOTWAYKI.  One of the things I miss most in leaving Seattle and moving to Las Vegas is that I know very few people here.  While I don't tend to "band together" with militant survivalists who are waiting to spring forth when the end of the world nears, I was practically comforted with the knowledge that I knew a pretty good group of guys that would have my back any time, any place (and with significant skill and firepower to do this if necessary).  In other words, when your local world is going to Hell, you will need to provide for your own security.  Doing this by yourself will be challenging to say the least so it is a good idea to have a group of like-minded friends who will be able to act in a mutual-assistance fashion and help each other out as needed.  There are also a number of other things that would need done that, again, you would be challenged to do by yourself.  It's a good idea to know who you can rely on in a disaster (and the reverse, these people know they can rely on you as well).  Start building this network now.

The bottom line is that you need to be prepared now for any eventuality.  If you want to see what you may be facing when TSHTF, keep a close eye on news reports about how the situation is in Greece, Spain, and war-torn countries to see exactly what services and products are lacking so that you can prepare now in case this situation becomes a reality where you live.

100 Things to Teach Your Children

Call me old fashioned but it seems like kids these days are learning very few useful skills.  By the time I was a teenager I could fish, hunt, make pickles, grow a garden, backpack for a week without getting lost, rappel off a sheer rock cliff, swim across a lake...actually a very long list of things, compliments, mostly, of the skills my grandparents taught me.  And it wasn't like they went out of their way to teach me these things, it was just part of their lives and all of us kids basically learned from watching (back then there was no such thing as sitting in your room with a computer, there was lots of work to be done to get on with everyday living so it was an "all hands on deck" sort of thing where everyone pitched in to get the work done thus a lot of skills were taught this way).  Here's 100 basic skills that every child should learn:

1. How to swim.
2. How to catch a fish.
3. How to safely use a variety of firearms (and clean them too).
4. How to hunt and dress an animal.
5. How to grow vegetables.
6. How to take care of animals.
7. How to perform CPR.
8. How to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
9. Basic first aid skills.
10. A nice set of good manners (yes ma'am, no sir, thank you, not to gossip, etc).
11. How to fight.
12. How to set a goal and reach it.
13. Way-finding (with GPS and map and compass).
14. Good hygiene.
15. How to take care of their body (everything from exercising and cooking nutritious food to brushing teeth and wearing a bicycle helmet).
16. Backpacking and camping skills (how to start a fire, how to make a shelter, etc).
17. How to read (well and voraciously if possible).
18. How to write effectively, clearly, and correctly (ie: how to write a consumer complaint, how to write a letter to your grandparents, how to write an essay, etc).
19. How to speak to people in a variety of situations (good posture, good grammar, speaking loudly enough, etc).
20. How to think logically.
21. How to play a variety of games (chess, checkers, Monopoly, etc).
22. How to be a good sport and have a good attitude.
23. A variety of physical skills (that build strength, flexibility, balance, and cardio).
24. Good social skills.
25. How to set up their own business and earn money.
26. How to budget, save, and invest money.
27. "Old-time" skills (everything from fencing and archery to woodworking and leathercraft).
28. How to express themselves through art (dancing, music, painting, etc).
29. Safety skills (how to escape from a house fire, how to avoid "stranger danger", how to keep their information private, etc).
30. Electronics (everything from HAM radio to how to build a robot).
31. Teamwork (by joining a team sport or working with a team towards a goal).
32. Food preservation (canning, freezing, smoking, drying, etc).
33. How to mediate disagreements.
34. How to shop effectively (looking for bargains, comparing prices, using coupons, asking for a discount if a product is damaged, etc).
35. Sciences (botany, astrology, biology, chemistry, etc).
36. Math (consumer math skills such as how to figure out discounts, how to figure interest, how to measure for carpet, etc).
37. A foreign language (our country is becoming more multi-cultural by the day).
38. Basic car repair skills.
39. How to report an emergency (how to call 911 and provide useful details).
40. How to drive a variety of vehicles (car, bike, motorcycle, boat, etc).
41. Basic life guard and water safety skills.
42. How to follow directions (ie: follow a recipe, build a model, etc).
43. Building skills (ie: basic construction, welding, plumbing, painting, etc).
44. How to choose, use, and care for tools.
45. How to teach someone else a skill.
46. Emergency prep skills (how to evacuate in an emergency, how to create a communications plan, how to make a BOB, etc).
47. Social media safety skills (ie: no sexting, how to protect your private information online, etc).
48. How to reuse and recycle items.
49. How to cook (everything from soups to desserts).
50. How to sew.
51. How to knit and crochet.
52. How to learn about and prepare for disasters that are most likely to hit your area.
53. How to procure and, if necessary, purify water.
54. How to forage for food in the wilds.
55. How to apply for a job (including how to put together a resume and interview well).
56. How to plan for, and travel alone from, Point A to Point B (via bus, subway, train, plane).
57. How to make your home safe (check fire extinguishers, check the smoke alarm, lock windows, etc).
58. As many sports skills as possible (karate, ice skating, skiing, etc).
59. How to escape, evade, and hide in an emergency.
60. How to resolve school problems (with teachers, administration, and other students).
61. How to do research (online and with primary sources).
62. How to learn (good study skills, how to self-teach, how to edit their work, etc).
63. How to give back to others (volunteering, good deeds, helping others in need, etc).
64. How to clean and organize their room/the house/their things, etc.
65. How to have good relationships (choosing their friends, asking for help, empathy, resolving problems, etc).
66. Homekeeping skills (yard work, laundry, basic handyman skills, etc).
67. How to develop hobbies.
68. How to save up and pay cash for an item that they really want.
69. How to apply for and receive various documents that are useful in our society (driver's license, library card, passport, etc).
70. How to safely use dangerous tools (knives, chainsaw, ax, etc).
71. How to resolve a consumer dispute (asking for a refund, writing to the president of the company, getting publicity for a problem, etc).
72. What to do if they get separated from the family (everywhere from at the mall to if the family is separated by a major disaster).
73. How to plan, prepare for, and carry off a major event (party, family vacation, etc).
74. How to check their credit report and fix any problems with it (obviously small children shouldn't have anything on their report but this prevents fraud).
75. How not to become a victims of consumer fraud (ie: don't fall for scams, don't loan money to people, don't give out your private information, don't co-sign for friends, etc).
76. Good work habits (how to show up on time at school/work, how to be organized, how to take direction, etc).
77. How to type.
78. How to effectively use technology (I'm sure they will teach you a bit about this).
79. How to take responsibility for their actions.
80. How to enjoy simple things in life (looking at clouds, taking a walk, etc).
81. How to build good character skills (being responsible, owning up to mistakes, being kind, being confident but not arrogant, etc).
82. How to call for and request appointments (doctor, dentist, car repair, etc), then how to record that appointment so it won't be missed.
83. How to take care of babies and children (babysitting skills).
84. How to take care of people who are ill.
85. How to take care of people who are elderly.
86. How to shop for food (finding sale items, figuring out the price for produce, how to choose ripe produce, how much meat to buy from the butcher, how to check expiration dates on dairy items, etc).
87. How to open a checking and savings account, write a check, use an ATM card, and keep the accounts balanced.
88. How to be observant (from playing " I Spy" with small children to walking through a crowd with teenagers and seeing how much they can remember).
89. How to plan their future (will it be college, trade school, the military? Start preparing now).
90. How to apply for credit and use it wisely.
91. How to tithe.
92. How to turn off the electricity, water, and gas in an emergency.
93. What their legal rights are and how to interact with the police (ie: provide basic information and car license/insurance if requested, that they have the right to remain silent, that they don't have to open the door unless the police produce a warrant, etc).
94. How to resist peer pressure (or how to get out of difficult situations when they are with their peers such as at a party or when their driver is drunk, etc).
95. Some basis in religion or a higher power.
96. Where to go when they or a friend need help (hint, it may not be you.  They need to know there are resources out there to provide help such as Planned Parenthood, the Suicide Helpline, 211, etc).
97. How to protect themselves in social situations (how not to become a victim of date rape, kidnapping, hazing, etc).
98. How to gamble (play poker, bet on the horses..and of course how not to lose your shirt doing these things).
99. And a random assortment of other life skills: how to pack and move things, how to wear a suit, how to eat in a fancy restaurant, how to tie a tie, etc.
100. And how not to do things (usually taught by your example) such as not smoking, not drinking, not doing drugs, not breaking the law, not lying...and all of those other things that could get them in trouble.

10 Things That Every Survivalist Needs

I use the word "survivalist" in the most all-encompassing way, meaning that anyone who wants to/plans to survive a fairly good sized disaster falls into this category. As a survivalist, you need these ten things if you want to have a chance of coming out the other side of a disaster in a rather whole manner.

1. An emergency fund.  Cash works wonders in most disasters.  It can get you a ride out of town, fill up your gas tank, get you some food, buy you an airline ticket to a better place, etc.  To do: get your emergency fund together now.  I used to recommend $1000 but now I have upped it to $5000.
2. Basic survival skills.  No matter where you are, can you get/make/barter for/steal/hijack/or otherwise acquire: water, food, clothing, shelter, medication?  To do: if there were a disaster tomorrow, where would you get water (the most vital of necessities in a disaster), food (second most important), clothing (pretty vital), a place to shelter from the elements (ditto), and critical medication?  Make a plan for this and an a back up plan as well.
3. Material goods.  This can be important for your survival comfort (on the other hand, in many disasters you are often left with what you are wearing on your back and no more, anyway...).  Once you come through the initial disaster, some basic material good will come in handy.  Do you have: a BOB?  Basic camping supplies (even if you live in the middle of a city)? Firearms? Booze (actually useful in multiple ways after a disaster)? Tools? To do: start to acquire a small collection of each of these items.
4. Knowledge.  The good thing about knowledge is that once you learn something it is yours to keep.  You can't lose/have stolen/have confiscated the things that are in your head.  To do: read widely.  And conduct experiments as necessary.  Reading/studying/practicing should encompass: camping and survival, basic medical care, navigation, how to drive anything that moves, how to grow/forage for/hunt for/fish for your own food, how to process said food, how to make your own electricity, how to make your own medicines, how to defend your home and your person, etc.
5. Friends.  No man is an island and in a crisis situation, some extra pairs of hands will come in mighty handy.  Obviously you should still prepare on your own but cultivating a group of people who could band together to help each other before/during/after a disaster is quite useful.  To do: help others with general things and expect them to help you in return.  This is the fastest way to see who you can count on in an emergency (if they won't help you with simple, everyday tasks, how useful with they be in a disaster?).  The more you have in common with said people, the better (ie: those you hunt with, fish with, camp with, participate in shooting/exercising/other survival-related events with, the better).
6. A prepared home.  Did you know that most common survival situation you are statistically likely to encounter is common, every day disasters like a house fire, domestic violence event, health crisis, etc.  To do: while it is great to practice with your handy dandy night vision goggles on a scheduled recon mission of the city park, you actually will be better served to spend some time at home getting your home prepared (all safety items should be in place--fire extinguisher, smoke detector, etc), your people prepared (if there are internal issues in the home that could lead to a dangerous situation such as domestic violence, that needs to be rectified ASAP), and your health prepared (exercise and eat right and you may have a chance of hauling your ass out of a crisis on your own.  If you don't do this you will most likely be left behind hoping someone will come along to save you).
7. Advanced survival skills.  This is where things get fun.  Anyone can forage for food but how many people can go out and bring back a gourmet salad (something like this).  Anyone can construct a rudimentary shelter during a storm but how many people can make this?  Anyone can point and fire a weapon (well, almost anyone) but how many people have this kind of training? (note: I don't know anything about this particular school, they just had a nifty list of skills to use as an example).  To do: get as many practical, advanced, survival skills under your belt as possible.
8. People skills.  Oddly enough, much of survival isn't like you see in action films with the hero single-handedly walking into a situation and fighting his way through a gauntlet of gunfire, physical violence, and high-speed chases.  Much of survival has to do with people skills.  Can you talk your way into getting help as quickly as possible?  Can you size up a person's intent quickly and accurately?  Can you talk your way out of a brawl before it starts and diffuse a tense situation?  Can you be a physical threat if necessary? Can you lead a team, especially under high stress conditions?  To do: brush up on your people skills (if necessary, use books, classes, and actual practice to get this done).
9. Get the hell out of dodge skills.  Sometimes you can do nothing but flee if you want to save your skin and live to fight another day.  To do: plan multiple evacuation routes from your home and work, have the means to evacuate if necessary (everything from a car that works, plenty of gas, a place to stay far away from your home, etc), have a BOB or at the last a small "go bag" that you always carry with you, have the foresight to leave BEFORE it becomes impossible to do so (don't even get me started on those people who hang around home until a hurricane is minutes away before they call 911 for help, never mind that the news has been telling them to evacuate for DAYS).
10. A heightened sense of awareness.  Again, much of survival is just being aware of whatever situation you happen to be in.  If you live in an earthquake zone, you should know this and be prepared for such an event. If you are heading down to a seedy bar, you should not be surprised if a fight breaks out and someone pulls a gun (why would you want to be there anyway?).  If you are in a public building, you shouldn't have to wonder where the emergency exits are if the fire alarm goes off, you should already have ascertained this information as a matter of habit.  To do: actually practice being more aware of your surroundings/situation.

Survival Lessons: An Egypt Case Study

If you are looking for an excellent example of what happens when TSHTF or a society begins to crumble, you need look no further than the news about the situation in Egypt. Here's some lessons:

• Situations, particularly political situations, can change very quickly. A few weeks ago it was business as usual, and now it is a freaking madhouse there. So while it is nice that the evening news can give you a week or two notice about the coming winter storm or hurricane, many other disastrous situations happen very quickly (which means you need to be prepared NOW!).
• Things that are in short supply over the course of a few days: water, food, security (neighbors are now having to band together to defend their property), money (ATMs are pretty much all out of order).
• The economy has come to a standstill. All phases of the economy have shut down due to this event. Suppliers can't deliver or manufacture goods. People aren't going to work. Citizens aren't out shopping or eating eating in restaurants. The very basics of the economy are ceasing to function (think, during such an event people skip going to the dentist, they certainly won't go in for plastic surgery or visit their local barber for a haircut). In short, no money is being exchanged in the usual economy (although I am sure the black market economy especially in weapons and other critically needed items is booming).
• Going out on the streets is a lesson in chaos. When there is no sense of safety or order, you take your life in your hands when you venture out. Even though the demonstrations started peacefully enough, they have degenerated into violence.
• The rules of polite society have gone out the window. Now you will see mostly men on the streets as women and children are hidden away from the violence. The wealthy, the elderly, basically anyone who is not able to protect themself could be in danger, not to mention those in the middle of the riots.
• When there is no social order, looting is one of the first things to happen. People will take advantage of the fact that no one is in charge and the police won't be coming so they think that they can just take anything they want. Citizens have, again, banded together to prevent looting and there is no such thing as waiting for a jury trial.
• The "mob mentality" can take over quickly and people can turn on each other in a heartbeat. People can be wholly unreasonable when they are in the midst of crisis and the mob mentality takes over. Even well respected journalists have been attacked.
• Infrastructure can go down quickly. This has been a common tactic for centuries--take out infrastructure (centuries ago it was destroying bridges and stopping the flow of water, these days shutting down electricity and the internet have the similar affect)--and control the people.
• Escape may or may not be possible so other alternatives need to be planned for. During political uprisings, many people head to the airport or try to find other routes to get away from the chaos. The problem is that everyone else has the same idea and systems that can barely handle usual day to day traffic can become overloaded and shut down rather quickly.
• People end up protecting themselves since the police won't be coming. In Egypt many people were brandishing knives and clubs. I would prefer an AK and Glock (and plenty of ammo). Again, plan accordingly.

So what have we learned? That what you have been doing all along is important. Stocking up on water in case the water stops flowing is important. Ditto stocking up on food. Making sure your home/business is secure and can withstand looting attempts is also important. Having goods that can be bartered in case the cash economy comes to a halt is a good idea. Being able to communicate outside of the usual ways (ie: HAM radio) is also important. Being able to protect yourself when there is no law and order could become a necessity. Working together now, with friends and neighbors, is a good idea as these may be the people you depend on in a disaster. Having alternate escape routes pre-planned could come in handy. Being creative and being able to react in a flexible manner is also important in chaotic, fluid situations.

Whether this will be a short term glitch or a long term event that will change Egyptian society significantly is still to be seen, but the opportunity to learn from afar by watching what is happening over there is a very good idea.

The Colony Part 1

I just stumbled across "The Colony" on the Discovery Channel as I was writing my last post. Looks like a fairly interesting series. The scenario is that a group of people will be stranded together for a period of ten weeks in an urban area in order to simulate what would happen after a major global disaster. Here's some notes:

• The group has in interesting mix of people: scientist, martial artist, handyman, doctor, nurse, ex con, etc.
• Prior to beginning the taping, the people were deprived of sleep, food, and water for 30 hours to simulate what would happen to people immediately after a disaster.
• The people scavenged what they could as soon as they were set loose.
• Secure shelter is important. These people are using an abandoned warehouse.
• They immediately located a water source (a disgustingly dirty river in Los Angeles)
• They filtered the water with sand and charcoal then boiled it to make it safe to drink.
• Basic needs: fire, water, shelter, security, sanitation, food.
• To protect their feet while their shoes and socks were drying out over the fire, they made "shoes" out of shipping envelopes and duct tape.
• Cleanliness and sanitation are important so as not to spread disease. Toilets were flushed manually with water.
• Beds were made out of pallets, cardboard, Styrofoam, drapes, and rags.
• People were rotated on two hour security watches
• A quote: "people will attempt to get supplies and resources by any way possible after a disaster." Security is a must and will be a continual effort.
• Assume you are not alone and will have other survivors to contend with.
• A quote: "In survival mode you may have to let go of your moral compass".
• If you have limited resources will you share with other survivors who are strangers? This was a contentious scene for both the "inside" group and the new survivors put in the situation.
• After the basics were taken care of, the people moved on to power. They used scavenged batteries which were "daisy chained" then converted to household AC for power.
• One man kicked alcohol, tobacco, and coffee when he started the challenge--he wasn't a happy camper for the first few days. Somehow coffee was found on Day 4.
• Water is budgeted to one gallon of water per person per day. The average American uses 144 gallons of water per day (!).
• The warehouse had lots of useful materials and supplies for their various projects.
• Storage of water in the shelter was valuable.
• During a rain storm, they devised a system to collect water from the gutters (it's easier than traveling to the river and hauling it back to the shelter).
• Baking soda was used for laundry soap and corrugated steel was used for a washboard in order to wash clothes.
• Jobs were pretty much divided up along gender lines.

I will definitely watch this show next week. While I usually find a lot of technical faults in these types of "reality" shows, the random bits of information gleaned even from TV shows may prove valuable should I find myself in this type of survival situation.

5 Basic Survival Skills

When it comes to basic survival skills, you might automatically think such skills would include things like firearms handling, bugging out, and the proper use of camouflage paint. Here's five survival skills that anyone can learn that will be a whole lot more useful (and critical) than the aforementioned items:

1. How to make money. Money makes the world go round. There are very, very few people who can live off the land indefinitely and be satisfied with such a life. For the majority of us, living takes money. Knowing how to make money in any circumstance and situation is a very useful skill to know. To learn how to make money, learn a skill or three, sell your skills to someone who wants to pay for them, and continue to refine the process.
2. How to live a low profile life. This includes everything from not earning a bad reputation to living below your means so that you don't have creditors and the IRS hunting for you. You want to avoid lawsuits, legal problems, court issues, vindictive/psychotic exes and anything/anyone else that can thoroughly disrupt your life.
3. How to take care of your health. An ounce of prevention, you know... The better your health, the more easily it is to survive a disaster or even function on an average day. If you are in good health, keep it that way. If your health is declining, take all possible steps to return it to a better state.
4. How to do for yourself. In most survival situations, you are on your own, at least during the initial stages. This means that the more that you can do for yourself, the more likely you are to survive. I know people who are infinitely specialized (neurosurgeons, international business lawyers, derivatives traders) yet they are clueless about basic things like replacing a light fixture, growing a vegetable, or cooking a meal from scratch. Granted these particular skills aren't critical to survival, you can usually pay someone to do these things for you, but the idea is that the more skills you have and the more experiences you have, the more likely you are to be able to fix problems as they arise if there is no one else around to do it (plus in a disaster, who would you find more useful--someone who can cobble together a meal from stuff found in the forest or someone who can trade a now worthless financial instrument?).
5. How to be flexible and creative. Life isn't always linear and it doesn't always turn out how you expect. Rolling with the punches and handling difficulties with creativity instead of stress and frustration will go a long way towards lowering your blood pressure, solving small problems before they explode into something huge, and making others more likely to respect you (and offer a helping hand if needed).

Survival Skill #5 Finding Opportunities

A critical skill to survive in any situation is the ability to find opportunities. There are always opportunities around no matter how your personal situation looks this week, no matter how the economy looks this week, and no matter how you perceive your abilities to be this week (or any other time past, present, or future). Just today there was a news story on TV about how many burgeoning opportunities there are because of the current economic situation. Businesses are springing up all over to clean up foreclosed homes that need to get back on the market, to haul away excess stuff that people can't take with them when they leave their foreclosed homes, and to help people who are facing foreclosure.
Have you ever wondered how businesses such as the "cash for gold" companies you see advertised on TV happen to hit the airwaves just as people begin thinking about selling their gold due to the poor economy? Or how Amazon can carry a number of books on the crashing economy that are published about a week after a recession is officially announced? Or how one week you couldn't find a company to help you avoid your foreclosure anywhere and then the next week there are a dozen such companies advertising everywhere you look?
All of these businesses are created because people look at a situation and see an opportunity. They think about how the situation will impact people then determine what the people's needs will be based on the information they have.
When businesses were growing exponentially a decade ago, many people looked at the situation and saw opportunity: the companies would need office space so office space was built, their employees would need to eat lunch so restaurants sprang up near the offices, maybe a particular area of town was a tech/office draw so businesses that catered to these kinds of people sprang up as well (think office supply and computer stores), these employees were making around X amount of salary so homes in the X dollar range were built to accommodate people who wanted to live in communities that fit their needs, demographics showed that the people who populated these growing cities and suburbs had 2.5 children in the mostly 2-15 age bracket so businesses that catered to these kids also developed (think My Gym, movie theaters, skateboard shops, etc). Anyway, you get the idea.
Tomorrow, pay attention to the things you see and hear. Watch the news, check out what's happening on your way to work or on your way to town, ask people how they are doing and listen for what their needs are. When you come back home, list down ten potential opportunities based on your findings. Who knows, you may come up with a business out of this research. If nothing else, you will have practiced the survival skill of finding opportunities where the average person would think none existed.

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.

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.

Survival Skill #1--Find Stuff

The survival skills I am talking about here are not the go out into the wilderness and live off the land survival skills. Although these skills are extremely valuable, this first series will focus on general survival skills that the majority of the population will be able to use.

I think the reason I am fascinated with the homeless, illegal immigrants, rural homesteaders, the "mole people" who live in New York's subway tunnels, survivalists, and others who live on the fringes of society is because they don't play by "polite society's" rules. Cool. This series will look at a bundle of ways that these people survive on a daily basis which we all can learn from.

This first survival skill, finding things, is one way that people who are short on cash and long on ingenuity and creativity use to take care of their needs. Most Americans have a pretty cut and dried way of acquiring the things they need: write list, go to store, charge needed items and some extra stuff, go home, show off your purchases, then pay for purchases for the next 18 months.

This process has a number of problems. First, many of the "needed" things on our lists are made up of stuff we see advertised on TV or things that our friends have. For example, a friend gets a 160 gb iPod and all the sudden you need one too. If you think about it, a 160 gb iPod holds 40,000 (!) songs. If you (legally) pay to fill up your iPod with 40,000 songs, that would cost around $40,000 (!!) dollars, and then it would take about 160,000 minutes, or 2,666.66 hours (!!!) to listen to the music. When you think about it like that, it really doesn't seem as necessary as it first did. Other reasons, in no particular order, that this system doesn't work as well as people think include: this is an expensive way to acquire things, charging stuff on your credit card is not good for your finances, this system leaves no room for serendipity, and how do you know that what you may find won't turn out to be something very useful?

On to our topic: finding things. Kids are good at this. Their minds are more open, or maybe their line of sight is just better because they are shorter than we are. So they spy something different in their environment (a new trinket at home, a hidden Easter egg, a toy left by the side of the road) and just like that, without any expenditure of money, time, or much effort, they have acquired something new. This is what we want to accomplish with this survival skill. Find things that have been forgotten, discarded, or otherwise left behind and--legally--take it. Here's some ideas:

• Dumpster divers have made finding stuff that has been discarded and using it for their own purposes (a desk for their office, a slightly stained jacket they can use for fishing, food for lunch that has been tossed by the local grocery store, etc) into an art form.
• Beachcombers find all sorts of interesting stuff that has washed up on the beach. Everything from items to decorate their homes with to things to sell on eBay can be had, for free, by smply taking a walk on the beach.
• Walking down the road last week, I found a 5 gallon gas can in the ditch. It was new, empty, and I'm guessing it wasn't secured in someone's truck and went flying off the back. I passed it when I went on my morning walk and an hour later it was still there. Now it's in my shed. You can find all kinds of stuff on the side of the road...ladders, mattresses, clothing, et al.
• Pets. Strays cats and dogs seem to find you rather than vice versa.
• Other things...how many times have you found money on the ground simply by looking down? Letting the kids outside and telling them to find things to use for an art project usually yields all sorts of stuff. Some people have a habit of checking the change return on vending machines in case someone forgot to pick up their change after their purchase.

So your task tomorrow is to find something. The more extreme action that is required--such as jumping into a dumpster--the better. Keep both your eyes and your mind open and see what turns up. Be sure to report back here on your find!