FINANCIAL PREPPER KNOWLEDGE
How much do you invest in surviving?
Money and Prepping go hand in hand. Financial Prepping is a topic rarely discussed yet a challenge we all face daily. Personal economic hardship and the awareness of the likelihood of a Life Altering Event (EMP, hurricane, civil unrest), represent two of the biggest reasons folks prep.
Step one is to make a preparedness and emergency plan using Grayman’s ICERS template. Before money can even be a concern, survival must be considered. Make a plan for SHTF then get your finances in order.
💰REASONS TO PREPARE FINANCIALLY
1. Unexpected vehicle repairs
2. Sudden medical expenses
3. Collapse of banking system
4. Civi Unrest and National State of Emergency
5. Job loss, death in family, birth of child.
From a prepping perspective, financial problems increase your risk of emergencies and reduce your ability to handle them because you have fewer options and resources. Get your money in order. After paying the absolute necessities, divvy your savings between the below 5 categories.
💰HOW TO PREPARE FINANCIALLY
1. Build a 6 month emergency fund. Determine how much the cost of living is for your family for half a year. Think only necessities such as, utilities, food, vehicle loan, medical, fuel, etc. (Set aside 50% of your savings to reach this goal)
2. Convert your currency into gold or silver. Store in a secure area. These valuables will hold their worth after the dollar has become dead in the event of a national crisis. (Set aside 10% of your savings for this goal).
3. Invest in Prepping and Survival needs. Build an emergency supplies stash. Canned foods, batteries, water filter, dry goods, toilet paper, etc. This can be done in small steps, i.e. each time you go to the grocery just buy 2 extra cans of beans. Attend courses and training events to increase your knowledge in skill sets that would aid in sustainment following SHTF. (Set aside 5% of savings for this goal)
4. Invest in retirement, land, stocks, etc. Create an account to live off of after you retire. Save up and buy land away from the city where you could be safe, self sufficient, and not need to bugout from. Research and/or hire an investment agent and put money into stocks, real estate, bonds, etc. If there are months when you can’t contribute to your longrange investment goal then you need to look into not buying a soda with your meal and get water instead, cancel a streaming service (Netflix), log out of amazon prime (create an insanely long password that you’ll have to look up to log back in) so you don’t make sporadic purchases. You can save, you just need to cut out other costs. (Set aside 25% for this goal)
5. Pay down debt. Use the remaining savings to pay more than the minimum due. (Set aside 10% for this goal)
📝Prepping Tip: Spend money on prepping experiences, like a ham radio course, a survival medicine training class, range time and gun familiarization, gardening 101, etc. Spend money on Training first then gear.
📝Practical Tip: If you haven’t used something you own in the last 12 months, get rid of it! Pawn it, yard sale it, trade it.
📝Primitive Tip: Use basic skillsets to save or make money. Gather, chop, and sale your own firewood. Hunt or trap for food then eat it, sell or trade the leftovers. Collect spent brass casing from a firing range and recase your own bullets. Be an instructor of your skillset; teach your own first aid course or fly fishing session.
This article was originally written by the Grayman Briefing. Stay in the know, sign up for Intel and Situational Awareness alerts pushed to your phone on emerging threats and preparedness warnings. Click HERE to subscribe to the Grayman Briefing.