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Big Grey's avatar

Pretty good article overall. However, I think crypto is BS but hey, I could be wrong. The rest of this posting is very true. Real assets and the ability to feed and protect your family should be top priority. Period. Gardening or adjacency to farmers is key but you better have something to trade. Silver coins to me are best especially the older 90% silver US variety. Good for transactions like getting eggs or a bag of potatoes. Think I'm kidding? Wait a while. Shit is going to get real here in the USA very soon. Everything going on now and I mean everything is about an economic re-set. Add to this the neocons rattling their sabers with Russia and the bait and switch is in motion. Covid is just the engine driving the bus into the abyss. If you don't really have your shit together it's pretty much too late but at least get some long term food and the ability to heat your home with wood. Pray. Plan. Prepare. Resist.

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Mike Fay's avatar

You nailed it. And I want to cosign your point about 90% silver. Terrific for barter.

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TexBat's avatar

Gardening is HARD. I try and then these jerk rabbits eat the greens. I still grow tomatoes and cucumbers in containers but I prefer growing microgreens and sprouting because it's a fraction as much effort

Love your junk silver suggetsion but also want to plug backyard chickens. I'm going to make a post about it soon but our backyard is 80% pool and I just have the coop by the pool pump. Chickens are easy!

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Recynd's avatar

My husband would agree with you. He loved his chickens. 🐓

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Recynd's avatar

The way I look at inflation is by looking at how much minimum wage will buy: minimum wage in CA in the early 80s was $2.65; that’d buy you breakfast. Now, it takes $15 to buy that same breakfast. Simplistic, yes, and it doesn’t factor in perverted housing prices or commodities manipulation, but it’s a good general indicator of inflation.

An ounce of silver/gold has the same essential purchasing power as it’s always had, making it (in theory) stable. However, purchase premiums can funkify this formula. (I’m obviously an expert. Not.)

As my kid’s friend said, in reference to an economic crisis, “If you can’t take it, eat it, or fu** it, what good is it?” (Trade, I suppose.)

BTC isn’t going to save us.

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Mike Fay's avatar

Simple is the best way to truly measure it, in my opinion. Minimum wage is an interesting barometer for another reason too; it was $1.25 federally back in the early 60’s. So when junk silver was still minted via US coinage, minimum wage expressed through 5 silver quarters now has a melt value of about $20.

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Big Grey's avatar

If you want a good read on life after SHTF, I recommend the "World Made By Hand" series by James Howard Kunstler and "One Second After" by William Forstchen. They are entertaining in their own right but also show the serious nature of being able to take care of yourself and others.

Not to beat the zombie apocalypse drum, but even another great depression (coming) will require these things and skills. Preparedness as a way of life is also rewarding on a spiritual level. If you know what I mean, you already get it. If not, just read the above books and think a little. It may hurt at first, but it is worth the effort... :) Pray. Plan. Prepare. Resist.

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TexBat's avatar

Excellent post. The double eagle is beautiful. Do you live in Texas?

We are renting a house right now as we're still figuring out where exactly we want to live but the market in DFW is bananas. We've put in a couple offers on a couple of places and we're one of 20 offers (and not the highest). Part of me feels compelled to buy a place we can't afford and have King Joe inflate away so we pay it off with 1 oz au but since when have the little guys won something like this

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Mike Fay's avatar

We're in Ohio. Nice quite rust belt town. I'm not enamored with the amount of taxes we currently deal with but from an ideological perspective I think we have a pretty good amount of people locally who have had about enough.

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TexBat's avatar

That is good. I told my husband about your substack, I think you two would have plenty to talk about. He goes down to Austin and Houston for Bitcoin meetups. He's into the gas flare Bitcoin mining thing. So if you were in Texas I'd tell him to buy you lunch and you could chat

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