Looking back to just a year ago, my main preparedness concerns were an economic collapse, and this country slowly becoming a socialist state. While these are still high on the list, there are a couple of disaster scenarios that have moved up on my list.

A couple of the threats that have moved up on my list are a North Korean conflict, the possibility of an EMP, and the repercussions thereafter. Both could have long term consequences, and both are very real possibility’s.

SPP215 (Part 1) Nukes, National Debt and North Korea

This weeks show turned out to be a long one, so we split it into 2 parts. This week we talked mainly about how seriously we should take the North Korea threat, and the affects an EMP might have on us. At the end, Lisa went off a little bit talking about secret space programs, and what might be out there.

In next weeks show, Lisa and I will be talking about our national debt, and how it seems like there is a silent coup to unseat a duly elected president. Both of these could have serious long, and short term consequences that could turn our lives upside down.

The North Korea Threat

With all the big talk coming from Kim Jong-un’s pie hole these days, it’s hard to figure out what he could actually do, and how much we should be concerned. Couple that with our media’s propensity to over hype everything, It’s almost impossible to figure out what’s really going on.

The Media Hype Machine

These days, reporting the news is secondary to getting ratings. And getting ratings sometimes means creating news, or spinning news to make it interesting to their audience. This is true on both sides of the isle.

I’m not saying we should just ignore what is going on, it’s our responsibility to be prepared regardless. It’s important that we think with a level head, and not take everything the media says as fact.

Remember the Scud?

I hesitate to not give this the credit it deserves, but this North Korea situation reminds me of the Iraq war, and those feared scud missiles. In the days and weeks leading up to the Iraq war, we heard the same rhetoric, and heard the same media hype. We all know how that turned out.

The difference that has me concerned is that we are not talking about scud missiles, we’re talking about nuclear weapons. A nuclear war head launched for North Korea may not hit it’s target, but it will land somewhere.

False Flag and Distraction?

2 questions I always ask myself when something like this happens are, is this being hyped for a reason? And what are they distracting us from? In the show Lisa mentioned the latest Bilderberg meeting, and how they were discussing “population Control.”

I don’t get too deep into the tinfoil hat stuff, but when a bunch of rich people get together to decide our fate, or decide what is best for us, I get a little concerned. There is no better way of decreasing the population than WW3.

While opinions differ on whether or not WW2 ended the great depression, the timing is hard to ignore. My fear is that if the economy went into the tank, they would use that as an excuse or false flag event. History has shown that human life is secondary to the elites maintaining their power.

The Possibility of WW3

Any situation like North Korea makes me think about things escalating into WW3. While I don’t think this is likely, because they wouldn’t have many allies, it is a possibility. A conflict between North Korea, Iran, Russia and even China could be the catalyst to WW3.

The chain of events sur...

It can be pretty confusing for anyone just getting into preparedness, but once that fog clears, it becomes fairly basic. Unfortunately, that is just the beginning. After a while, we find ourselves with a whole new set of long term prepping challenges.

If you have been at this for more than a year or so, you probably have a good grasp on food storage, water storage, first aid and other miscellaneous survival supplies. To become better prepared, we need to take these basic skills to the next level.

SPP214 Long Term Prepping Challenges

This week in the show, Lisa and I talked about some of the challenges we begin to face as we get deeper into preparedness.  We covered everything from Self-doubt, to getting out of debt, to storage problems and solutions.

Getting Out of Debt

Let’s face it, as Americans we are really good at justifying our purchases. Quite often, we confuse our wants with our needs. Couple that with the endless supply of companies willing to “help you out” and it’s far too easy to get into debt.

Getting out of debt (and staying out of debt) is much harder, but one of the most important parts of becoming better prepared. The money we spend monthly on credit card debt could be better spent, saved or invested.  Not to mention the money you pay in interest, which is basically paying to be in debt.

Helpful Links…

Investing in Silver

10 Ways to Reduce Debt

Maintaining Your Preparedness Level

This is something we all battle with. We reach our preparedness goal, and we tend to let off the gas a little bit. Let’s say you reach your goal of being prepared for 6 months, and you give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. If you wait too long, that 6 months will turn into 3 before you know it.

This is also why it’s important to do inventory, and why we try to store food and supplies with long shelf lives. If we just “get it and forget it” or supplies could become spoiled, damaged, or destroyed when you actually need them.

Helpful Links…

Prepping Supplies at Home

11 Things That Will Derail Your SHTF Plans

Where to Store Everything

Inevitably we all run into this problem. Cupboards get packed, closets get stuffed and we begin to look for creative ways to store our supplies. A lot of this also depends on your living situation as well. Smaller homes and apartments only has so much available storage space, while larger homes have their own set of challenges.

In a larger home you will have more options, but how you store your preparedness supplies is just as important as where you store them. If you store things in front of things, in front of other things, you will have a hard time finding that thing you need when you need it.

Helpful Links…

Storage Problems & Solutions for Preppers

Food Storage: One Sizes Does not Fit All

Staying Organized

Along the same lines as where to store everything is staying organized. The deeper you get into preparedness the harder this becomes.

If there is anyone left out there who hasn’t read any of Franklin Hortons books, I highly suggest you do. If you are like me (and most preppers) you are always looking for movies to watch, and books to read that have something to do with why or how we prepare.

I’ll admit, I’m not a big reader. I think it’s because I can’t sit still long enough to finish a book. What’s great about Franklins books (and other top level prepper fiction authors) is that they are not only available at amazon, they are available at Audible as well. It’s much easier for me to listen to books while I’m working or driving.

In The Borrowed World, a series of terrorist attack has taken out fuel refineries, and wreaked all sorts of havoc in the United States. The book series chronicles the challenges and struggles the characters face on their way back home.

Valley of Vengeance is book 5 in The Borrowed World series, and the characters are reaching the end of their journey. Along the way, they have lost some friends, gained a few new ones, and found that they themselves have transformed into people they wouldn’t recognize a short while ago.

SPP213 Valley of Vengeance: Interview With Franklin Horton

Just like in our previous interview with Franklin, we didn’t want to make this podcast a book report. We decided to talk about how some of the situations in the books could apply to us, and give us an opportunity to ask ourselves “what would I do?”

If you have already read Franklins books, you will still love this podcast. And if you haven’t, this podcast will make you want to get a copy and start reading today.

Get a FREE Signed Copy!

At the end of the show Franklin mentioned that he would like to give away 2 signed copies of his books to a couple of our listeners. All you need to do is leave a comment below and tell us why you want one. Next week I will pick 2 random winners and send you an email.

Questions & Topics From the Show…

I half jokingly asked Franklin about if he had plans for taking his books to the big screen. His answer was “ABSOLUTELY”, nut the problem is getting it in front of the right eyeballs. I think the Borrowed World books would make a great mini series, ore even weekly TV show…but I would settle for a movie.

Valuable SHTF Skills

In any sort of post collapse or shtf scenario, skills are not only important for your survival, but they are also an important part of community. Even people that think they have nothing to offer could be a productive part of a community.

We talked about how everyone has something to add and how there are other factors than just skills like family, friendships, bonds.  A couple characters from the book are Alice’s mother who is a homesteader, and a HAM radio operator who found himself more useful than he thought he would be.

The Value of Community

This book series really shows how community and working together is important. From book 1 where everyone was trying to figure each other out, to this book, where everyone is settling in to their SHTF roles.

We talked about why community is so important and give some examples from the book. In a large scale disaster like this, having laborers, technicians, teachers, gardeners and security would all help to build a group that would better withstand the challenges you might face.

Operational Security

This book centers around the group having a fuel tanker, and people finding out they have it. In the book Jim’s father unwittingly spilled the beans, and started an unavoidable chain of events.

Those of you who have listened to the last couple of Survivalist Prepper shows know we’ve been working on getting a 2 day survival medicine course put together in Colorado in October. Kevin Reiter from WildSafety.com will be doing the bulk of the training, but in the process of setting everything up he has added a few guest trainers.

The great thing about this is that it gives us the ability to make this course more “preppercentric” (if that’s a word). With the guest trainers, this 2 day course will include not just survival first aid, but natural hazzard awareness, CQB (Close Quarters Battle) room clearing, HAM radio basics and more.

Signup to get updates via email

If you are interested at all about joining this 2 day training course, make sure and sign up for email updates by clicking the button below. You are not committed to anything when you join the list, but you will get updates about the course as we get things figured out.

SPP212 PrepperMed Colorado

In this weeks podcast Kevin and I went into quite a bit of detail about what this course will include. There is a list of topics and guests below, but I highly suggest you listen to the show. We went into much more detail about how exciting, economical and educational Colorado PrepperMed will be.

PrepperMed Details…

Here are some of the details we have so far for the PrepperMed course. As I said earlier, make sure and sign up for email updates. There will be quite a few more updates in the coming weeks, including the venue and pricing.

For more information and how to register click here.

Where: Ramada Denver Downtown,1150 East Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80218 (We have 10 rooms blocked out at a discounted rate – details will be sent after you register)

Cost: This course will be NO MORE than $200. Kevin has set this up to be a not for profit course. This means the final cost will be determined by how many people sign up. There will also be a discount for Survivalist Prepper Academy members.

Date: The training will be October 7th and 8th (Saturday and Sunday) and will be a combination of indoor and outdoor training.

Class Size: We want to keep this course to around 15 to 20 people. The reason for this is because we want people to get everything they possibly can out of the training. A smaller group will allow everyone to interact and ask the questions they want to ask.

Day 1 Training:

(8 or 9AM until …?)

The first day will be done around 6PM. We left it a question mark because if people are still learning and enjoying themselves, we can keep going.

* Introduction: Description of Wilderness First Aid

* Vital Sign Assessment: Lecture and Practice

* Patient Assessment: Demonstration, Lecture and Practice

* Bleeding and Shock: Lecture and Practice

* Wound Management: Lecture and Practice

* Abdominal and Chest Injuries: Lecture and Practice

* Extremity Injuries: (Fractures/Dislocations/Immobilization)

* Spinal immobilization and patient transport workshop

* Heat & Cold Injuries Bites, Stings & Anaphylaxis

* First Aid Kits

* Drowning and Lightning Injuries

Day 2:

(8 or 9AM until 5PM)

On day 2 we will need to end around 5PM for people who need to catch flights or travel.

* Wilderness First Aid Wrap-up ( 1 hour)

* Room Clearing/CQB with Brian Duff (2 hours)

* Natural Hazards Awareness for the Non-Responder with Kyle Nelson (2 hours)

This week in the Survivalist Prepper show, we did something a little different. Instead of going over one subject, we answered some listener questions. We talked about bug out bags, an economic collapse, prepping skills, and the NSA.

The show notes are a little short this week, but the podcast was full of useful information . We also talked about the Prepper Med class here in Colorado that we are going to in October, the members giveaway, and how to get a free trail of the Survivalist Prepper Academy.

Make sure and check the bottom of this post for details about everything we mentioned in the beginning of the show.

SPP211 Bug Out Bags, Economic Collapse, Prepping Skills and the NSA

Which is more important, a bug out bag, or bug in bag?

In the show I talked about why I think a bug in bag might be more important than a bug out bag. Actually, it doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as it’s with you when you need it.

Most of us have no plans on bugging out, unless it is unavoidable. A bug in situation is more likely to happen because you never know where you will be when disaster strikes.

I noticed you have Medihoney in your bug out bag first aid kits. Can you explain what it is, and why to have it?

Lisa answered this question much better in the podcast than I can here. She uses Medihoney quite a bit at work helping people with diabetic wounds. For preppers the applications may not be as severe.

Medihoney helps expedite the healing process, and donates moisture to the wound when necessary. For preppers, Medihoney would be good for larger wounds, burn wounds and even blisters you might get from bugging in.

If you are interested in the Bug Out Bag First Aid Kits we have a few more available at the SHTFShop.com here.

You two seem very level headed, how do you stay that way? The more I read about all the bad stuff in the world today, the more I want to hide in the corner.

While it’s true that some people are just “less stressed out” about things, I think we should all try to not become overwhelmed when we are researching preparedness. There are a number of ways our lives could be turned upside down, but if we can’t change it, why consume our lives worrying about it.

It is important to research all these disaster scenarios, and it’s important to be prepared for them, but other than that, things are out of our hands. The reason we prepare is to give ourselves the best possible chance in the event of a disaster. Doing this actually makes me more confident for if and when something happens.

I know that what you are concerned with most is an economic collapse. Could you expand on why, and how you are preparing for it?

To me, preparing for an economic collapse means preparing for a number of disaster scenarios, not just investing in silver and storing food. An economic collapse could be the first domino in a long line of domino’s to fall later.

A financial collapse could cause civil unrest, Martial Law, military actions, loss of income, and even the inability to maintain some of our critical infrastructure. While an economic collapse would not cause a complete grid failure,

One of the most important parts of preparedness is having the right first aid supplies. Because food storage and bug out bags always seem to steal the show, first aid sometimes gets overlooked. Having at least one first aid kit around the home is great, but that’s just the tip of the ice burgh.

You should always have some sort of medical kit with you at all times, and that includes your family members. We should all have first aid kits in our cars, our bug out/in bags, as well as in the home.

Our children know we’re “crazy preppers”, and it’s quickly becoming a tradition to give them a prepper gift at Christmas. This year it was first aid kits. We do this because 3 of them have recently moved out, and are ‘adulting” as they call it. They may not like them very much, but we do…and that’s all that matters.

SPP210 The Different Types of First Aid Kits

This week in the show we covered everything from what to have in your first aid kits, what to store them in, to where to store them. We also talked about first aid for pets, and the pros and cons of premade kits.

Basic First Aid Supplies

Here is a list of the basic first aid supplies from the Red Cross that you would want in every kit. After you have these, you will need to customize your first aid kits. What you add to them will depend on where they will be used, who will be using them, and their skill level.

* 2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)

* 25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)

* 1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)

* 1 Tube Silvasorb Jel

* 5 antiseptic wipe packets

* 1 bottle of aspirin/Advil

* 1 blanket (space blanket)

* 1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)

* 1 instant cold compress

* 1 box of nonlatex (Nitrile) gloves

* 2 hydrocortisone ointment packets

* Scissors & Tweezers

* 2 roller bandage (4 inches wide)

* 10 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)

* Oral thermometer (non-mercury/non-glass)

* 2 triangular bandages

* First aid instruction booklet

Preparing for a small-scale disaster is straightforward, it mainly requires having supplies. When it comes to a larger scale event, it becomes a little more complicated, because there are things that could derail your SHTF plans.

Preparing for a large-scale event requires more than just food storage and bug out bags. Surviving for a long period of time when things go really bad requires planning, critical thinking, and understanding what to avoid, and how to avoid it.

As preppers we try to think about what could go wrong, and how we are going to handle each situation. Sometimes it’s the small things that can lead to big problems, and some situations are just unavoidable.

SPP209 11 Things That Will Derail Your SHTF Plans

This week in the show Lisa and I went over some of the things that could put us at risk during an SHTF scenario. All the items on this list can (and should be) worked on now, in order to avoid them in the future.

Yourself (OPSEC)

Operational security is crucial to everything we do now as well as in a SHTF scenario. Everything we do today, and everyone we tell, could have consequences down the line.  People love to gossip, so be careful about who you tell about your preparedness plans. The odds are, some people know more about you than you think.

After the S has hit the fan, operational security will play an even bigger role. The consequences in this situation could literally become life or death. People will become desperate, and desperate people will make different choices than they do today.

Your Neighbors

Like it or not, your neighbors will be there in an SHTF event. How long they are is another story. Your neighbors probably know more about you than you think. Or they have preconceived notions, which can be even more dangerous.

Our neighbors are literally right next door, or right down the street. We should expect a visit from them, and we should think about how we are going to handle that. This is why getting to know your neighbors is so important. We need to figure out who might be helpful, and who might be a problem.

Untrained Dogs

Dog are great for giving you a little early warning, and deterring intruders. A loud dog can also bring unwanted attention. If you are trying to remain quiet and maintain a low profile, dogs that bark at everything are going to ruin that.

I think the benefits of having a dog outweigh the risks, especially if they are trained. We have a large dog that tends to bark at everything, but is a very good deterrent.

Kids Being Kids

Children don’t intentionally set out to ruin our day (most of the time), it’s just what they do. We can talk to them until we are blue in the face, and they still don’t understand the consequences of their actions.

Children live in a different world than us. Their job is to learn and play, our job is to teach and protect. When children are out with their friend, they could talk about things you don’t want them to talk about.

Being Plump

In a SHTF situation where everyone is hungry and thirsty, we need to blend in. If everyone else is losing weight, and we look nice and healthy, we become a target.

This doesn’t mean we need to starve ourselves,

A grid down event or even a small power outage would affect our lives much more than it would have just a couple of decades ago. When the lights go out, it will mean much more than that. Everything we do these days requires electricity, and depends on internet access.

Even if you don’t use the internet to pay your electricity bill, the electric company uses it to keep the machine running. In a large-scale event, no electricity would mean supply lines being cut off, no work, no public services, and none of the modern conveniences we have all come to depend on.

In a small-scale blackout, the consequences wouldn’t be so dire, but they would be inconvenient at the very least. In a small-scale situation, we might just be trying to keep our food cold, and keep the kids busy. In a large-scale event, it would truly be a survival situation.

The (Thin) Silver Lining

In a short-term power outage, the situation will be what we make it. If we choose to dwell on the negative, it is probably going to suck really bad. If you choose to make the best out of a bad situation, we could use it to our benefit.

Bonding Time: With all the distractions we have these days, it’s pretty easy to just ignore each other…especially when it comes to teenagers. With all these “conveniences” gone, it would force us to talk to each other.

Practice Time: Having nothing else to do but stare a a blank TV screen also affords us the opportunity to sharpen our skills. It’s also the perfect opportunity to teach those who are apprehensive about prepping how, and why you do it.

SPP208 When the Lights Go Out

Possible Causes

Power Grid Failure: The U.S. power grid is alarmingly vulnerable! In the last 125 years our power grid has been pieced together starting from the east coast and slowly stretching to the west. In a recent podcast we had Jim Cobb on and he used the analogy of adding on to a home.

There are a number of scenarios that could cripple our power grid, and depending on how it happened, could take quite a while to fix. Even in a short-term power outage, having electricity for medical equipment is important for some people.

EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse): There are quite a few misconceptions about EMP’s and what exactly we need to do to prepare for an event like this. This is also an area of preparedness that most of us are lacking in.

We know an EMP or CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) will do damage, but how much depends on a few factors such as it’s power. The damage could range from affecting small electronics, to totally disabling our power grid and automobiles.

Natural Disasters: While a natural disaster wouldn’t completely disable the power grid, it would cause power outages. How long this lasts depends on the natural disaster. Preparing for a power outage that only lasts a few hours or a few days is fairly straight forward, yet most people would be SOL.

Power Outage Supplies

In the show this week, Lisa and I mainly talked about preparing for a short-term power outage. Whether you are talking about a short-term or long-term situation,

If you were to ask the average person who knows nothing about preparedness what  A “prepper” is, you are bound to get an off the wall answer. Mainstream society has “taught them” what their definition of prepper should be. The truth is, there isn’t 1 type of prepper. There are so many different aspects that go into preparedness, and everyone chooses to prepare differently.

While there are those that take preparedness to the next level (good or bad), most of us are just trying to do the best we can. Most people think preppers are waiting for the world to end, but this is not the case. We prepared for TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It), “as we know it” being the key words in that phrase.

We prepare for survival. This could mean surviving the week until the next paycheck comes in, or surviving a natural disaster. We prepare for the S#it to hit the fan, not a sledgehammer hitting the fan. If the proverbial fan is clogged with doo doo, it might be fixable. If a sledgehammer smashes it, it’s game over for the fan.

SPP207 The Different Types of Prepping (And Preppers)

This week in the show Lisa and I talked about the reasons why you can’t lump all preppers into one category. Every person is different because of their age, finances, location and their abilities, and preppers are no different.

The “Prepper” Label

Because of shows like Doomsday preppers and the mainstream media, the word “prepper” has a negative connotation to some people. If you have any food storage at all, or you are prepared for a disaster scenario, you must be one of those crazy preppers.

We use the term prepper all the time online because it’s a way to find the information we are looking for, but our everyday lives are a little different. Because of operational security, and concerns about how people are going to react, we don’t go out and advertise we are preppers.

In short, you can take the prepper tag or leave it. I personally don’t mind it, but some people who do the very same thing as us, don’t want the prepper label put on them. If you asked someone who lived 100 years ago if they were a prepper, they would laugh at you and say “it’s called life”.

Why We Prepare

Sometimes I wonder what it is that makes us care about preparedness, while some people are happy in their oblivion. I think this is partly to do with how our brains are wired, and not because we are afraid. We choose to be proactive and responsible about life, while others just cross their fingers and take it as it comes.

Why we start to prepare, and why we continue to prepare are 2 completely different things. The reasons we become interested in preparedness are different for everyone. For some people it was living through a disaster, and some people see the writing on the wall.

We continue to prepare because we realize things are not getting better, they are slowly getting worse. Even if nothing large scale happens in my lifetime, eventually it will. If I can pass on even just a little preparedness knowledge to my children, I consider it worthwhile.

Another huge factor is that we choose to question everything coming from the mouth of the MSM. Most people take everything they see on TV as fact, we know better. These days, the “news” is about ratings, propaganda and pushing agendas…on both sides of the isle.

How We Prepare

In the show this week, we also talked about how we prepare. Some of us just can’t do what others can do, but that doesn’t mean we give up. Some people can afford all the cool stuff like years of food storage or a badass bug out vehicle, most of us don’t. Some people have the time and finances to f

The world we live in today is filled with conveniences. Conveniences we often take for granted. We are so busy consumed with what we must do every single day, we forget to think about what life would be like without them. Life after SHTF means learning to live without these modern conveniences.

What would happen if you woke up tomorrow and all the modern conveniences were gone? What would you do? Would you be able to not only survive, but thrive in the event of a world changing all modern conveniences gone type of scenario?

First World Problems

This is just my opinion, but I think that prepping is more common in the United States because we have more to lose than people in most countries. What we call a “SHTF” event, other people call “daily life”.

This is both good and bad. It’s good because we are lucky enough to live in a country where even the poorest of us live a better life than people in some other countries. It’s bad because people in the U.S. have come to expect this, and feel entitled.

This is why a SHTF or disaster scenario is much more concerning to us than say somewhere in Africa or some areas of the Middle East. As the saying goes “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”.

SPP206 Life After SHTF: Learning to Live Without

This week in the Survivalist Prepper Podcast we talked about how life might be after a small or large-scale disaster scenario. Just about everything we talked about in the show can be applied to a short term power outage, or a large scale financial crisis.

How Important is Electricity?

What would you do if you didn’t have electricity? If the power went off and never came back on, a lot of people would die…literally! This is sad, but true. We have come to expect that when we flip the light switch on, it will always work. But what happens one day when it doesn’t?

Everything we do these days revolves around electricity. Not having electricity would mean much more than having to use a flashlight. It would affect how we fill up our gas tanks, how we get our food, how we access our money in the bank…and much more.

Refrigeration

refrigeration is something many of us have come to feel will just always be there. But what would you do if you didn’t have standard refrigeration? This is when it comes time to think outside of the box. You could make your own ice box, and for those of us that are lucky enough to live in a colder environment, this would be easier to do, especially when the weather is cold. But what do you do when the weather is bloody hot?

The answer is simple, we need to figure out an alternative. People have been doing that for longer than all of us have been around, and some cultures do it to this day. It’s hard for some Americans to grasp, but some countries don’t have Walmart’s and frozen food sections…yet somehow they survive.

When Darkness Falls

Most people these days don’t have a clue about how important having light is. A power outage would not only make it impossible to do anything after dark, it would affect hospitals, stores and our jobs. The ability to actually see what we are doing is kind of important.

As preppers we probably have plenty of alternatives for light when the power goes out. If you don’t,