Raising Money for Preparedness

[slim_bob]

I'm relatively new to preparedness and being relatively new in my career (Crime Analyst) and having large responsibilities (Wife, Child, House, Cars) I'm finding it hard to prioritize preparedness purchases and/or raise money for them.

I'm looking for advice from those farther along in how you went about raising money. Our budget is pretty tight as it is and I'm looking for part-time supplemental income. I'd like to get a position that allows me to learn a trade that may help in a TEOTWAWKI kind of situation, but none of my organic skill sets lends towards them except shooting (I have a BA in Political Science and a Master in Public Administration and I work with computers all day analyzing crime trends).

Also, do you find it more important to pay down debts and responsibilities first and prepare after or take a minimalist approach to dept and prepare fully now?

Here are my specifics, or at least as much as I'm willing to put out into the internent.

Polytech AK 7.62 (250 rounds)
Remington Pump-Action 12Ga (100 Rounds)
Springfield XD .40 (200 rounds)
Sig Pro 2009 9mm (200 rounds)
S&W Sigma .380 (50 rounds) mainly a CCW weapon

Mortgage $125,000
Student Loans $130,000
Cars $12,000
Credit Cards $10,000
Household is comprised of 3 adults, 1 child (In-law currently lives with us)

Income is Upper Middle Class but I'm in no danger of my taxes being raised, at least according to the President.

I own some incidental camping and fishing equipment in good repair. With that and the firearms that's as far as I've gotten with preps.

Our house is in a suburb in a county adjacent to a large metro area that would indeed see mass migration out in a TEOTWAWKI situation. We sit close to one of the main highways people would be taking out of this city and as such I am also looking to purchase land/home/Farm/Ranch farther out.

Any advice or sugestions on fund raising and prioritizing, I'm all ears.

[Lostinoz]

Ok, but cha ain't gonna like it... :D

Sell the house (if possible) and purchase a smaller one with a much lower mortgage rate or buy a piece of land and build a cabin (cash).

Sell the vehicles (if possible) and purchase other ones for cash, paid for.

Pay down your student loans.

Pay down your credit cards and cut those suckers up.

I know, I know, easier said than done. I WOULD try to pay down debt as much as possible to avoid being in a bind IF you should happen to lose your job.

As for prepping...there are a lot of ways to prepare that does not take a lot of money. Do you Freecycle? Yard sales? Coupon? Barter? All of our hygiene items I got for tax only or for very little by using coupons. I have enough to last for at least a couple of years. :D

I'm sure others will have better advice than I do. This is just how we chose to live our lives, frugal as possible.

[herbalpagan]

I hate to say it, but Oz is right! The first step that I would take is to work on downsizing. Eliminate any crap from your budget...eating out, latte's,atm fees.
Get the wife and in law into shopping...I've lived near where you are and I know that they have some good discount stores. Coupons are good too.
Get everyone into home canning and home gardening. It's a low cost family activity...buy a rototiller and rent it out in your free time to do other gardens, it will only take you about 10 gardens to make it pay for itself. Meanwhile, you are learning a survival skill.

Getting by with less will never hurt, learning to do more for yourself will never hurt. Put the bulk of your supplies into food and dry goods and you will always be able to use it. When the wife goes shoppping, she should pick up a half dozen of an item you use when it's on sale.
Pay off the debt and make yourself put the money saved on interest into a prep account to buy the guns with.
Good luck!

[Lostinoz]

I hate to say it, but Oz is right!

LOL :D LOL.. HP, I am so humbled. LOL I luv ya, honey!!

[waitnc]

Getting started

Slim_bob,

Since your details are vague by choice, which I agree with for what it's worth I'll toss in some ideas since you seem to understand that situations other then a few weeks without power are possible.
Your basic weaponary is good with the 7.62X39 being a little low. I figure two 30rnd mags side by side (loaded =60 rnds) Then 3 30 rnd mags in a waist
pouch of some sort. Amounting to 90 rnds for a loaded 150 rnds. Atleast carry 300 rnds and add to it upto 1 to 2 thousand rounds. it gets heavy and realistically you aren't going in weekly fire fights. Hide and staying out of peoples way is probably wise for a small family group. Get a Ruger 10/22 rifle
with a couple of 30 rnd mags. Reason being ammo is cheap and light weight. The 22 isn't clamorous but if you're a decent shot you can bring a deer down easily in the 50 to 60 yd range. I am going with the idea your spouse is going to pack one of the main caliber pistols? If not trade one for the Ruger 10/22 and mags.
Start foods with Rice and Beans, Jug water 2.5 to 5 gal These things last for a while without special storage needs. Then add can meats like Spam, Sardines? Something you can enjoy added to the rice and beans. Soy sauce, Check over you outdoor equip. Make sure any Gas powered grills or lights have a few weeks supply of fuel. Then make sure you get equip that doesn't require you to have man made supplies to operate. These seems harsh but, remember you need to stay secluded mostly. Feel free to message me and we can cover what I've done and how you perhaps should look at your situation.:)

[Oscar Wilde]

Make minimum payments on all of your loans....they're not going to exist for too much longer....take those unspent funds and purchase the supplies to equip you and yours for an extended "camping expedition". Stay smart...stay informed....a false flag is on the way.
O.W.

[Skyowl's Wife]

Make minimum payments on all of your loans....they're not going to exist for too much longer....take those unspent funds and purchase the supplies to equip you and yours for an extended "camping expedition". Stay smart...stay informed....a false flag is on the way.
O.W.

I'm intrigued. Care to elucidate?

[unswydd]

Well, Here's my 2cents.
We live in a throwaway society. As much as we hate to admit it we do. If something isn't working just the way we think it should, we toss it and buy a new one. Fix the old, make it work. Get the mindset that you don't need all the "stuff" and you're on your way. The biggest part of being prepared is your "mind". Get it in tune and you'll find that the rest will follow. I have gotten rid of things I know I do not use, if I haven't used it in a year, it's gone. I keep only what I use frequently. I downsized my vehicle, my house, my clothing, eat better. I don't eat out. I use jars for rice and cereal....ect. There is so much on this site you can't help but learn. Just read and print. Start a binder and make a list and start checking things off as you go. This has helped me tremendously. Keep it simple is my motto! Don't become obsessed but make it a Lifestyle not a pastime.
This won't help you make money but it's a start.

[voodoo]

As O.W. said, only make the bare minimum payments. Pay nothing off. If your credit is not good, you might even want to go as far as skipping a payment to use the funds for supplies. (Not that credit will mean much in the near future) The U.S, heck the world, as at its tipping point. If you are not prepared soon, it will be too late. This Summer all hell breaks loose. So I say.....

[Omegaman]

I do not in these current economic times have extra money ( my hours were cut and pay reduced 5% :mad:and medical insurance went up $400 a month:confused:. But as I began to prepare I looked at what I have already have on hand like hunting, fishing, camping and first aid gear. My house is by the ocean, that means free fish, lobster, crabs, shellfish and seaweed. Then I saw my land is wooded with fields, good for gardens, livestock and firewood. I have farms all around me so there is tons of wild game. My house is small ( easy to heat with wood and easy to not notice and I have my own well and septic .When it came time to get a nice new truck I didn't. I kept my old paid off truck and bought a new 1977 farm tractor;) I have some food staples like canned and dry food but not a trailer full. Do I have as much stocked up as others and am I as prepared as others? Not even close.:( But with what I have and the way I have set it up, I could get by like an 1800's homestead. My wife and I are working, trying to simplify our lives. Equipment that I do have I have purchased used or at pawn shops or through craigs list or even the dump, other stuff I build my self. I purchase what I can when I can. Any little bit that you can do is better then those who will do nothing. I broke it down in to things you must have ( food, water, shelter, protection and medical supplies ) and to me one of the most important things ( a plan and backup plan ) I too often feel like I have nothing prepared when I read about other peoples set ups and equipment.:eek: I am working on it though a little ever day. Don't get over whelmed by what others have and just keep preparing a little at a time.

[Oscar Wilde]

[I'm intrigued. Care to elucidate?]
A number of carefully orchestrated....situations..... have developed which include the unjustified, rapid increase in fuel last fall.....most recently the raiding of our treasuring to "bailout" failing institutions that have been robbing us for decades+....these, I believe are stress tests to see to what degree members of our society will continue to endure. Now we have a flu bug...out of season....that is not all that significant compared to our average flu bug that affects hundreds of thousands+ each year with numerous fatalities.....currently government agencies are preparing to institute mandatory inoculation procedures with vaccines that don't yet exist or have not been proven....with consequences for those refusing to participate. This could all be part of my overactive imagination however....lets hope so. I believe in the not so distant future another "situation" will surface and the public reaction will warrant some organized, heavily armed response by the government to ensure "public safety". Again, I hope this thinking is just me not having enough important stuff to do.
Take care. Stay safe.
O.W.

[Oscar Wilde]

[But as I began to prepare I looked at what I have already have on hand like hunting, fishing, camping and first aid gear. My house is by the ocean, that means free fish, lobster, crabs, shellfish and seaweed. Then I saw my land is wooded with fields, good for gardens, livestock and firewood. I have farms all around me so there is tons of wild game.]
It would appear you have found a piece of heaven.....now imagine what it will require to keep yourself in that position.
O.W.

[TAZDEVIL]

I'm not nearly as prepared as I would like to be... but I'm proud of what I do have and keep working a little ata time, I really feel bad for the ones that have nothing prepped. They all pretty much covered it all... cut-back to the min. on everything... have a mindset that your going to survive!

[slim_bob]

Thank you all

I appreciate all the replies guys. And the honesty. I new the truth was that I'm starting behind the eight ball on prepping.

The reason I asked specifically about how to earn extra on the side is because my spouse is not as sold out about preparedness as I am. Which makes it a lot easier and less of an inconvenience to others if at least a good portion of the finances used for prepping come from funds not already allocated. We also already live relatively lean. Carpool when we can. Don't eat out much. don't have cable or satalite TV. I'm wearing shorts I bought 1.5 years ago, weekend pass times normally revolve around cleaning projects or family or friends and maybe some fishing (from the shore with a pole and worms).

I'm not ready to skip payments on any accounts yet as we've already seen a few close calls as far as the overall economy goes lately yet it keeps bouncing back. I've decided that I won't be able to time the collapse, we'll just know it when it happens.

I'm also of the opinion that even though a collapse could happen at any time (and I thought for sure we'd see hyperinflation with the fed printing 1 trillion something odd dollars), I think the telltell sign will be when a US gov't Bond auction fails. I thought this was close, but it looks like even though our dollars aren't worth the paper their printed on they are still worth more than the currencies of other countries.

That said you have all inspired me to once again examine the budget and see where it can be trimmed. For example one of the cars will be paid off in about 3 months. I was going to take that money and put it towards other debt. Now I may earmark that cash for preps only. I'm sure there's other fat to cut, there always is.

Knock on wood my job is pretty secure right now as I'm one of the lucky few working for Gov't (and in the police dept to boot, no I'm not sworn, but my unit is still growing while others are laying off).

By all means continue with the advice, I thank you all very much and I'm sure others who may peruse this thread will find it useful.

[shadowwalker]

I have some friends that go to donate Plasma twice a week. Last I heard they got $40 to $50 bucks a pop for it. After the initial set up they only spent about two hours doing it.