JWR’s Introductory Note: This is an update to an article that I wrote for SurvivalBlog back in June, 2008. It includes an adenda from my first wife Linda (“The Memsahib”), who passed away in 2009. It is part of a series of SurvivalBlog 20th Anniversary update re-posts, in recognition of the fact that the majority of readers did not join us until recent years.
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I often stress that a key to survival is not what you have, but rather what you know. (See my Precepts of Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy web page.) In part, I wrote:
Skills Beat Gadgets and Practicality Beats Style. The modern world is full of pundits, poseurs, and Mall Ninjas. Preparedness is not just about accumulating a pile of stuff. You need practical skills, and those only come with study, training, and practice. Any armchair survivalist can buy a set of stylish camouflage fatigues and an M4gery Carbine encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken for genuine skills and practicality.
To expand on those precepts, consider the following:
Balanced logistics are important for everyone, but absolutely crucial for someone that is on a tight budget. If you have a three-year food supply, then a quantity miscalculation for one particular food item will likely be just an inconvenience. But if you only have a three-month supply, then a miscalculation can be a serious hazard. Be logical, systematic, and dispassionate in your preparations. You need to develop some detailed lists, starting with my “List of Lists” spreadsheet. Be realistic and scale your retreat logistics purchasing program to your budget. Avoid going into debt to “get prepared.” A friend of mine who was a Physician’s Assistant went way overboard in 1998 and 1999, stocking up for Y2K. The massive credit card debt that he racked up eventually contributed to a prolonged mental depression and his eventual suicide. May he rest in peace.
Choose your retreat location wisely. If you can’t afford 40 acres, then be sure to pick the right 5 acres or 10 acres. Finding a property that adjoins public land, and/or property with like-minded neighbors, can make a huge difference. The smaller your land-buying budget, the longer your search should be, to get the most for your money.
In today’s uneven real estate market, don’t overlook the possibility of finding a foreclosed (“bank-owned”) farm or ranch at a below-market price. Watch the foreclosure listings in your intended retreat region closely. Two websites that I recommend for finding foreclosed properties are ForeclosureRadar.com and Zillow.com. (At the latter, type in the word “foreclosure” as a keyword under the “More” tab. By the way, the other keyword that I like to use at Zillow is “gravity” to find properties with gravity-fed spring water.)
Pinching Pennies
Buy used instead of new. It goes without saying that your purchasing dollars will go farther if you concentrate on quality used tools, guns, and vehicles. Remember that preparedness is not a beauty contest. There are no “Style” points awarded. So owning gear with some dings and scratches is not an issue. Just be sure to inspect used items very carefully. In the case of buying a used vehicle, it is worthwhile to run a check on the vehicle’s history through a service like Carfax.com. This will reveal if the vehicle might have been repaired after a major collision or a flood. Also, hire a qualified mechanic to do some checks before you buy a used rig. That will be money well spent!
Clip coupons, watch and wait for seasonal sales, shop at thrift stores, go to garage sales and flea markets, attend weekend farm and estate auctions, and learn to watch CraigsList and Freecycle like a hawk. The only thing better that finding inexpensive used items is having thing given to you. This is a common occurrence with Freecycle. For example, it is not unusual to have someone give you several dozen Mason-type canning jars. Just be sure to return the favor, in the spirit of Freecycle.
Strike a balance between quality and quantity. I’m a big believer in the old adage: “Better is the enemy of good enough.” Why buy a $425 Chris Reeve folding knife when a used $40 CRKT or Cold Steel brand pocketknife will provide 100% of the functionality and 95% of the quality of a custom knife? Buying at 1/10th the price means that you will have money available for other important logistics and training.
Take advantage of free or low-cost training. The WRSA, for example, offers shooting and medical training at near their cost. I’ve discussed other such training opportunities at length previously in SurvivalBlog. In my Precepts page, I noted:
Tools Without Training Are Almost Useless. Owning a gun doesn’t make someone a “shooter” any more than owning a surfboard makes someone a surfer. With proper training and practice, you will be miles ahead of the average citizen. Get advanced medical training. Get the best firearms training that you can afford. Learn about amateur radio from your local affiliated ARRL club. Practice raising a vegetable garden each summer. Some skills are only perfected over a period of years.
Learn to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials. Do you really need cable television? Eating out? Magazine or movie streaming subscriptions? Snacks from the vending machine? Use the cash generated to buy the really important things, like storage food.
When you don’t have cash, then apply sweat equity. Do you need a pasture fence or garden fence at your retreat property? Don’t hire someone and “have it done”. Build it yourself. Not only will you save money, but you will also learn valuable skills. You might even lose some of that flab around your midsection, in the process. Also consider that people are often willing to barter their excess tangibles in trade for your skills and time. Do you have an elderly neighbor with a big gun collection? Then offer to paint his house in trade for a couple of guns or a few of those heavy ammo cans that he won’t live long enough to shoot? In my Precepts page, I wrote:
Invest Your Sweat Equity. Even if some of you have a millionaire’s budget, you need to learn how to do things for yourself, and be willing to get your hands dirty. In a societal collapse, the division of labor will be reduced tremendously. Odds are that the only “skilled craftsmen” available to build a shed, mend a fence, shuck corn, repair an engine, or pitch manure will be you.and your family. A byproduct of sweat equity is muscle tone and proper body weight. Hiring someone to deliver three cords of firewood is a far cry from felling, cutting, hauling, splitting, and stacking it yourself.
People often assume that because my blog, nonfiction books, and novels are widely read that I am wealthy. But I actually have a very modest income. The only reason that our retreat is so well stocked is that I have been systematically stocking up for 45 years. I am not a “yuppie survivalist” as at least one fellow blogger claimed. I gave up my Big City salaried job 20 years ago, to concentrate on living self-sufficiently. Part of this was a conscious decision to raise our children in a more wholesome environment. One major drawback is that the Rawles Ranch is in such a remote area that we don’t get into town very often.
The Memsahib Added: The good thing about living so remotely is there are no shopping opportunities. Even if I had the urge to indulge in some retail therapy, I’d have to drive more than two hours to do it. The next best thing you can do is cancel your magazine subscriptions. If you analyze the contents of most magazines you will realize that they are designed to make you dissatisfied with your clothes, your home decor, garden, electronics, and autos because they aren’t the latest, greatest, and most fashionable. I also highly recommend selling or Freecycling your television, for the very same reason. A couple of exceptions to our no-magazine rule are Backwoods Home, and Home Power. [JWR Adds this update: The latter is now defunct, but there are great archives still available. It was published from October 1987 to November 2018.] Both publications are heavy on practical skills and light on advertising.
In closing, do the best you can with what you have. Be truly frugal. I grew up in a family that still remembered both our pioneer history and the more recent lessons of the Great Depression. One of our family mottos is: “Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.” I thank my late mother for passing that wisdom along to my generation, and I did the same, to my children.
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