Monthly Archives: June 2013

What if the Disaster was: No Money Available?

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We strive to be prepared for upcoming struggles and/or disasters — big and small. We talk about food, water, shelter, security, energy, and hygiene but we don’t seem to talk a lot about money.

Woman Having Credit Card DeclinedRecently a friend had her bank account frozen. Unbeknownst to her there had been a legal judgement against her and her bank account was to be garnished. She first became aware of this when she went to use a debit card and it was declined. She knew there was several thousand dollars in the account. When she checked her account status on line she found that her money was unavailable to her and the only explanation given was “We have been instructed by legal order to place a hold on these funds.”

Sure in this day and age of credit card visa-declinedcornucopia that many of us carry in our wallets, no big deal — just use another card. But that’s not the point, the point is HER money was unavailable to HER. No notice, no warning, nothing. Whether it was a legitimate or illegitimate reason doesn’t matter to her when she needed to access the money she had placed in the account from her paycheck. Hell, it could have even have been a mistake, but the money still wasn’t available.

I’ve written before that we know that we have basic needs, and that we need them everyday “…but most of us are dependent upon systems beyond our control to supply them for us. We also know that those systems have and will again fail. So if we know we need them why not plan ahead and have extra on hand…?”

Doesn’t this also apply to money we have in the banking system?

It could be a legal lien, a mistake, a bank failure, or even just a relatively long-term wide-spread power outage. Whatever. But if the money that you have in the bank isn’t available to you, it’s a big deal. Sure the problem will likely be resolved soon, within a few days or a week at most — can your family make it that long without access to your bank funds?

There will be those who argue that in a collapse money won’t even have value and won’t matter, and I agree that is true in a complete collapse. But we prepare for the most likely disasters first, and being unable to access your bank funds is more likely than an EMP going off and destroying all electronics and the electrical grid.

I’ve given some thought as to what our family can do (and in some situations already does) to prepare ourselves for this “disaster” / this short-term SHYF (shit-hits-YOUR-fan) situation:

  • have cashHave cash in a secure place at home. You’ve heard it before, but have enough cash readily on hand to cover your family’s expenses for at least one month, preferably three (with a goal of six).
  • Carry cash in your wallet. An extra $100 will allow you to maneuver around most short-term situations and allow you to get back home.
  • Carry more than one credit/debit card, and be sure they are from different financial institutions. Sometimes mistakes happen and credit cards get declined or just don’t work, if you need to use a card to pay have a back up just in case. (see Repetitive and Redundant x2)
  • Consider having small individual accounts for both you and your spouse with some extra money. That way if only one of you is targeted by a legal lien, or a mistake, there will still be banking funds available.

Plan ahead. We know we need, and use, money on a daily basis. Have a back-up plan for what to do if your normal routine fails.

 

Nuts & Bolts by Nick: The 1st “Prepper” I Knew

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by Nick Romaniello

I was saddened by the news recently that my aunt, Joann Green, had passed away. I don’t intend to hijack a prepping blog to eulogize a family member, but as I reflect on her life I recognize her as one of the first people I know who prepped, and as someone who had occasion to confront the disaster scenarios that we discuss here.

HurricaneHugo

Remnants of Hurricane Hugo

In 1989, my aunt, along with her husband and mother, survived when Hurricane Hugo devastated Charleston, SC. As workers in the insurance industry, they were kept busy after the storm helping others put their lives back together while dealing with their own hardships. I only saw the devastation in pictures, but they had to live and work through it. Watching from the safety of Pittsburgh, my 10-year-old mind could barely imagine it.

About three years later, my mother and I moved to Charleston. We stayed for a time at the new home my aunt and uncle were building after the storm destroyed their previous house. I was fascinated by some of the things I saw that we now call “preps”. The house was built on pilings seven feet above the ground, to protect it from the storm surge of a future hurricane. Pre-cut plywood panels were designed to slip into brackets over the windows to allow for fast securing against flying debris and looting. A room beneath the house was filled with candles, food, jugs of water and other necessities. They were ready for the next storm.

Despite being politically liberal (as am I for the most part) they were also the first people I knew to keep firearms for home defense. Their new home was remote–the closest police station was over a half hour away–that took all of the politics out of gun ownership, leaving only a practical decision to protect themselves in the absence of timely professional help. When my uncle passed away and my aunt remained there by herself, a .410 Remington and a loyal dog were her first line of defense.

During the Tunisian Revolution

During the Tunisian Revolution

Eventually, my globally minded aunt left her rural home to travel the world teaching English. Abroad, she encountered many more disaster scenarios that preppers muse about. A bank collapse while residing in Argentina left many residents rioting without access to their money. Recently, she lived (and remained) in Tunisia throughout the fall of the government that launched the “Arab Spring” of region-wide civil unrest and loss of public services. Rented apartments, varying international laws, and regular relocation prevented the hoarding of supplies and firepower that are sometimes the basis of prepping in the US, but she still JoanneThailandmanaged to sail through these and many other crises relatively unscathed. Her kind personality gained her friends anywhere she went so there was always a strong support network that would be lost to the isolationist. Simple living, mobility, adaptability, and above all a calm and rational demeanor, allowed her to roll with the punches of any situation and get through with a smile and another good story to tell.

As a traveler myself she was my definitely my biggest role model, but as a prepper I learned a lot from her too. She demonstrated to me the value of preparing ahead of time, and remaining adaptable and open-minded above all. She not only endured through, but thrived in many trying times. She showed by her example that life is not merely to be survived, but to be lived as a gift with more optimism than fear.

 

Mother Earth News Fair Review

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Mother Earth News logoThe first weekend of June Sarah and I attended the Mother Earth News Fair at the Puyallup Fairgrounds (Brynn also attended most of Saturday). It’s held annually here, but we had never been before. It was highly recommended by some good friends who went last year, and since it’s practically in our backyard we made it a priority to attend.

The Mother Earth News crowd was different from the typical prepper crowd. There were a lot of old (and new) hippies, tree huggers, and minimizing your carbon footprint types — not that this is a bad thing, but different. Mother Earth News describes themselves on their Facebook ‘About’ page as: “Launched in 1970, Mother Earth News features practical and money-saving information on organic gardening; do-it-yourself projects; cutting energy costs; using renewable energy; green home building and remodeling; rural living; and conscientious, self-sufficient lifestyles.” All these are also prepper goals, but their motivation and scope are different. For example, with the exception of Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy (yes they were there, more below), there was no discussion of collapse scenarios or disaster preparedness. And there definitely wasn’t any mention of guns, security, or home defense.

Again I’m not saying this as a negative observation, just an observation. Just because they don’t have the same endgame in mind doesn’t make their skill-sets, knowledge, and goals any less valuable. It was actually refreshing to approach some of these topics without the typically implied doom and gloom caveats.

The fair was centered around two full days of classes (six class blocks each day), with thirteen available choices each block (yea, there were a lot to choose from). Of course there were also the many booths and vendors supplying both information and equipment, ongoing demonstrations, and animal displays.

Sarah and I, after pondering the list of classes, took a class almost every block; some together but mostly separate to be able to cover more information. Some of the notable classes we took were:

Mother Earth News w Joe & Amy-1We learned a ton and are very motivated to apply the new knowledge we gained. As we get closer to getting our own 5-acre homestead we can’t wait to try our hand with more livestock, permaculture planning, and alternative power! (Quick home purchasing update: We recently got the appraisal back and were very happy with it, hopefully we’ll close about mid-July.)

A highlight of the weekend was getting to meet Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy (aka Joe and Amy Alton). We’ve “known” them for a couple of years, but had never met in person. They are awesome and incredible people, anxious to share their vast knowledge, and full of positive Mother Earth News w Dave-1energy! We were able to have dinner with them and, because Amy had just met Dave Duffy the founder of Backwoods Home Magazine, Dave and his assistant Toby came to dinner also!

It was a great weekend: the organization, the people, the knowledge, and the energy. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Mother Earth News Fair. If there’s one in your area I can’t recommend it enough! (Seven Springs, PA September 20-22, Lawrence, KS October 12-13).