Why stock up now? Because prices are going up

I just saw this article that illustrates why it makes sense to stock up now while food is readily available at relatively low prices:

Gas, food and clothing prices are on the rise

And I don't think it's a stretch to say that as prices start to rise rapidly, people will increase the pace at which they buy food, thus depleting the supply of available food and causing prices to rise even further--it's simply the law of supply and demand.

I bought a case of coffee several months ago for $3.38 a package. The coffee I usually buy is now $3.88 a package. But since I bought it at $3.38, I won't have to pay more for what I've already bought. I locked in low prices by buying the coffee before prices went up. And since, according to the above article (and hundreds of others), prices on food and other necessities are rising, some rapidly, what's your excuse for not buying what you need now while you can still get it for less?

Stocking up by starting small and being persistent

In lieu of new posts that I'm struggling to find time to write at the moment (knock on wood that I've gone from losing my job in April to now having two jobs), I hope that a repost below of my "5 percent rule" might offer encouragement to those of you who are having trouble getting started stocking up.

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As I stated in my first post on this blog, if you set aside just 5 percent of your take-home pay and use that money to build up your food storage pantry, you can build up a pretty good surplus in a relatively short amount of time.

Let's say that 5 percent of your take-home pay is $25. Last fall I did a little research on how much could be bought for $25 at that time among the items I stock up on as part of my storage pantry:

25 lbs. of frozen carrots at Walmart (which I dehydrate and store in mason jars)

or...

17 lbs. of frozen spinach at Walmart (which I also dehydrate and store in mason jars)

or...

50 lbs. of rice at Sam’s Club (with about $9 leftover)

or...

30 lbs. of dry beans at Sam’s Club

or...

18 cans of canned mackerel at Walmart

or...

4 6-gallon cases of bottled water (because without water, you'll die)

or...

7 cans of Cafe Bustelo coffee at Walmart (coffee is my daily treat to myself and also helps keep my asthma from flaring up--see the letter at the bottom of the page at this link)

or...

a 400-count bottle of naproxen at Sam’s Club (with about $8 leftover)

or...

10 paperback NIV New Testaments (because man doesn’t live by bread alone--Luke 4:4)

YouTube videos on food storage to help you get started

I'm gratefully busy enough now that I have a second job that I probably won't have time to write much for a few weeks, but I thought this link to food storage videos on YouTube might help some of you with your food storage efforts, or hopefully encourage you to get started ASAP:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=food+storage

It's hard to put food on the table or in the deep pantry if you don't want to work

I guess if there's one gripe I have about my new job, it's not the long hours--it's that so many people there seem willing to not work. It's a factory job, and there's no guarantee from one day to the next that there will be enough work for all employees on any given shift. Last Monday, 15 minutes after the 100+ employees on our shift clocked in, the supervisor came around and said that she only needed about 20 people and asked for volunteers to leave. More than 70 people volunteered right then to go home. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to not work, and I don't know how anyone else can, either. Especially when it comes to long-term planning with food storage and any other such preparedness efforts, diligence in working or looking for work is imperative. Without such diligence, you're going to get really hungry very soon.

End of rant. My alarm is going off in less than six hours, so I need to get some sleep. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. ;)

Being prepared keeps you from having to rely on "the system"

As an addendum to my past few posts, I've had several people comment to me over the past several weeks since I lost my previous job that I should've applied for food stamps after I lost my job, since I'd obviously paid into the system and was now in need. A few people I know only in online forums (primarily preparation/food storage-related sites) have said that while it's great that my family has enough food for several months, this might not be the ultimate "stuff hits the fan" scenario for me, so instead of depleting my deep pantry, they said, I should apply for all possible aid that I was eligible for, since I'd "earned" it.

Someone needs to get a lesson or six in zero-sum economics.

And they need to learn what real hunger is like (as I did 13 years ago) and take steps to prevent it in the first place (as I have been doing since that time).

You'd have to be living on Pluto to not realize that the world in general and the U.S. in particular are in dire financial shape right now. The bottom line is that there just isn't enough money for all the needs, much less all the wants, that people have. More and more people are going hungry and turning to food banks and the charity of others to help fill their stomachs, and government dollars are drying up as millions more people apply for food stamps and other such aid. I could go on and on about the federal government's reckless printing of money out of thin air, but since states, cities, families and individuals have to live within their means or go bankrupt, I'll just make this point again: Since "the system" doesn't have the means to take care of you, you need to do all you can to take care of yourself and your family.

Sure, in theory I could apply for food stamps, but that would take resources away from people who are truly destitute, who don't have food in the house in the first place. Sure, I've paid into the system and I've "earned" the right to apply for food stamps...but is it moral to take the means to buy food away from others who have no food at all when I have enough food to feed my family for several months? I've "earned" this right by paying into the system, but just because I have this "right," does this mean that it's moral or Biblical for me to do this just because I've "earned" it? There's no way in good conscience I can do this--I'd be like a rich man robbing a bank because he didn't feel rich enough. Meanwhile, more people go hungry because I've taken what I'm entitled to, even though I don't need it and they do. Those of you who have been hungry before know the misery I went through so many years ago. Millions of people in this country are going through that same misery at this moment. What would Jesus do? He'd help feed the hungry, not take food away from them. I might be broke, but I've got food. And I'm in a position to help hungry people. I hope you will find those opportunities as well no matter what you're "entitled" to.

Are we thankful for what we have or resentful for what we don't have?

One thing I've learned in my almost 25 years of following Christ (Friday is my spiritual birthday) is that you can't teach gratitude--it has to come from within. As I mentioned on here a little over a month ago, I'd just lost my job, but thanks to a couple years of diligent food storage efforts, my family won't have to worry about food for several months. I started a new job almost two weeks ago, and I'm very grateful for it. The downside at the moment is that while it's a full-time job, I took a significant pay cut from my previous job and the wages at my new job will cover everything except gas and food costs. Now, I could be ungrateful for the fact that I'm shorter on cash than I'd like to be, but I have a little bit of cash to fall back on and, to emphasize the point again, no trips to the grocery will be needed for several months except for milk and (until we start making our own) bread, because we have plenty of food on hand. Now, at some point, our income will have to exceed our expenses, or else our reserves will be depleted--so from the perspectives of some people, I'd have every right to be upset. But let's think back to basic math--half of something is more than nothing, right? I'd rather have a job at half of my previous salary than nothing at all! Keeping at least some cash flowing in is stemming the financial blood loss, so to speak, and I'm very grateful for that!

Some people at my new place of work aren't so happy about the job, though. I'd never worked in a factory until now, and it's been a bit more strenuous physically than I'd anticipated. But because of that, I've slept really well at night the past couple weeks because I've been really tired! But I've been hearing one person after another at the factory say that they hate their jobs, with one man yesterday emphasizing his feelings about his job by frequent use of a four-letter F-word. (You'll have to take my word for it that his word of choice was not "fine"!) So as I'm standing there across the line from him putting our widgets together, I'm thinking to myself, "Dude, would you rather be unemployed and have even less money and less food?"

Remember that I mentioned in my first post a few months ago that I've been really hungry before and don't want to be hungry like that again? I'm guessing that this guy didn't get the memo! I've had a number of jobs that I really haven't liked, but I disliked starving more than I disliked my job! But then it all goes back to gratitude, which can't be taught or conditioned--it has to come from Christ. Take a look at what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:10-13:

"I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

You can have all the "stuff" in the world and still not have peace. But you can also be destitute and in abject poverty, but still have Christ's peace inside. It's not a matter of whether your cup is half empty or half full--it's a matter of Who is filling your cup! If Christ is not the one who is giving you strength and peace, then you don't have strength and peace--you have an imposter. But if He is the one filling you from the inside out, who or what in this world can stop it or take it away from you?

I'm thankful for my new job. I'm thankful for a family that loves me. But most importantly, I'm thankful for God's grace through Christ in my life, even though I don't deserve it. I'll update you guys soon on what the Lord is doing in my new job and in this next stage of my life. In the meantime, what is He doing in yours?

Breakfast from our food storage

My family has basically two levels of food storage--what we normally eat and have a lot of in our kitchen and extended pantry, and what we normally eat and have EVEN MORE of in what I've heard referred to as our deep larder. And it just makes sense that for your food storage, you should stock up large quantities of what you normally eat anyway, because why would you stock up on stuff you don't eat??

So with that in mind, having plenty of food on hand has paid off this past week while I've still been jobless (but praise the Lord, I start a new job Tuesday!), because even though we've had very little cash to spare the past couple weeks, we haven't had to set foot in a grocery store because we have plenty of food to draw from.

Some people might think "food storage" sounds boring and not especially tasty, but if you're storing what you normally eat anyway, why shouldn't it be? So I thought I'd share a photo of breakfast this morning--oatmeal with dehydrated banana chips (I buy my banana chips at BulkFoods.com). Add a touch of honey, and talk about a yummy breakfast!

Stocking up on medications

Here's a post from the SurvivalPrep.net Archives that I think would help a lot of people. It's easy to stock up on food, but what about prescription medicines? I think this has taken on particular importance to me this week, now that I'm officially without health insurance until I land a new job, and I know I'm not the only one in such a situation.

I think it's also important to remember to stock up on vitamins and other supplements as well--you need to make sure you're getting all of the necessary nutrients, especially during high-stress periods. We've got extra bottles vitamin C and plenty of fish-oil capsules, as well as men's and women's vitamins for me and the missus.

http://survivalprepdotnet.blogspot.com/2010/03/stocking-up-on-medications-before-tshtf.html

In the event of personal, local or national emergencies or other natural or manmade disasters, if you’re like millions of people who must take various medications on a regular basis, you might be out of luck if something happens and keeps your medicines from getting to the store shelves. Many people’s quality of life would be severely diminished if they couldn’t get their medicine, so having an ample stockpile of drugs that aren’t controlled substances is just common sense.

I realize that a lot of people either don’t have insurance and have trouble paying out-of-pocket for more than a month’s supply of any particular medication at one time, or whatever medications they take might be subject to DEA restrictions on how much of the drug they can be prescribed within a particular time frame. So for what it’s worth, I’ll share my approach to stocking up on the meds I need every day and hope it might help you as well.

Rule #1 should be obvious: Talk to your doctor. Depending on the medication you’re on and your drug plan, your doctor may be able to increase the authorized dosage and/or number of pills for certain medications that aren’t controlled substances to allow you to build up a surplus.

I’m on an old-school antidepressant (nortriptylene) as a migraine preventive, which works rather well — I’ve been on it for about two years. I take 50 mg. at bedtime. My neurologist had originally written the prescription for up to 100 mg. Once I realized that 50 mg. was keeping my migraines in check, I kept getting refills on the same day each month and just put the new refills behind the older ones — first in, first out. At my six-month followup appointment, I told my doctor that 50 mg. was doing the trick but asked her if she could keep my prescription written for 100 mg. so that I could build up a surplus just in case of job loss or anything else, I told her. Since nortriptylene isn’t a controlled substance, she said she’d be willing to do that. I have 13 months worth of nortriptylene in my medicine cabinet at the moment.

The only other meds I take on a regular basis are Claritin for allergies (I’m allergic to cats but have two cats anyway — they adopted me) and I take 800 mg. of generic Aleve every night at bedtime for my fibromyalgia. I got four 60-tablet bottles of generic Claritin at Walmart for about $25, enough to last about eight months, and I don’t remember exactly how much the generic Aleve was at Sam’s Club, but I got three 400-count bottles for less than $50, and that’ll last me about 10 months. I also take 1000 mg. of Vitamin C every night at bedtime and got a big bottle of that as well at Sam’s Club (gotta keep my immune system in good shape).

I’d be interested in hearing from any of you who’ve also talked to your doctor about stocking up on medications. And be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist about the shelf life of your medications, to make sure they will be safe if stored for an extended period.

For those of who who are medical practitioners, I’d be interested in hearing your ideas and perspectives as well.

Looks like my pantry is going to be paying off...unfortunately

I say "unfortunately" because although my wife and I have enough food on hand to sustain us for several months, we're going to have to tap into our extended pantry due to my losing my job today. I'd really appreciate everyone's prayers as I'm starting the job search. In the meantime, it looks like we're going to have a lot of homemade soup with our rice and beans! Please keep us in your prayers, and I'll post an update on here hopefully soon.

Great post on spiritual survival

I think it's fitting with today being Easter that we stop for a minute to think about the "big picture" of our preparations for hard times--it's not what we have, it's Who we serve and what He does in our lives to make us more like Himself to draw others to Him.

What is the big picture? What is the point of it all - all the hours of prepping, all the hard work, researching and sacrifices? To get to Heaven, where “no eye has seen, no ear heard what the Lord has prepared for the who loves him.” See that?! the Lord prepares too! but He is preparing for our coming home. Heaven is our true home and we are but pilgrims on our journey home. He is planning a big home-coming party for us. He is preparing a place for us and He wants us to be with him forever. “And when I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:3-4

Click here to read the entire post at SurvivalBlog.com.

Have a wonderful Resurrection Day!