By Kellene Bishop

OK. I admit it.  I do have a few pet peeves that really bother me.  One of them is seeing my city’s municipal properties drowning their lawns in the middle of a rainy day when we live in the middle of a desert. I figure that it makes an impact in my taxes as well as the volatile water table that I rely on. The second peeve I have is when people leave their garbage in the movie theatre as if it’s the employee’s responsibility to clean up after them. I mean really? You can’t lift that heavy EMPTY popcorn container and put it in the trash on your way out? I figure that if we all cleaned up for ourselves, then our ticket prices could go way down, which is a reasonable request since the level of entertainment has certainly decreased, eh?  Lastly, I have a hard time with coupon shoppers who are clearly purchasing goods in a dishonest manner—we’ll call it working the system (I won’t tell you how this is done, because I don’t want to tempt anyone. *grin*). If you knew the method I’m speaking of you may share my sentiments that such abuse is no different than the blatant theft which causes my grocery prices to increase. So yeah, I do feel myself getting all ugly inside when I witness this kind of behavior.  I see it as an infliction of harm on others, and the “heroine” in me has a hard time shrugging that off easily. Of course, I do try to sensor my judgmental feelings because they do me no good. But here’s a question for myself. What am I doing that is costing my fellow Americans a whole lot of money? I’m not talking about $50 here. I’m talking about hundreds of billions of dollars. And the unfortunate part is that my research shows that 97% of you are actually my accomplices in this act.  Oh boy!

Do any of you take any satisfaction in the fact that you don’t abuse the welfare system and stand on your own two feet? Perhaps you take pride in the fact that you don’t owe any family or friends a penny? Perhaps you can be relieved that you’re not one of those people who file false workman’s compensation claims?  Or at least you’re not the CEO of Enron or Goldman Sachs, or AIG and thus not responsible for fleecing Americans 10 generations deep? I’ll admit it. I do take some level of pride in all of that. At least I did until I realized that I was a willing thief to my neighbors’ financial strength. The fact is that until I was able to give up a really bad habit, I wasn’t anywhere near as expensive of a liability to my nation as my city’s water bill was to me.  So, what wrong have I committed along with so many other adults?  I used credit cards.

Ok. Now before you roll your eyes, no, this isn’t going to be another one of those “get out of debt now” articles. I have no allusions of grandeur in believing that I’m the first one to espouse such wisdom and am suddenly capable of getting you to change your debt habits when no one else could.  Obviously you’ve heard the “get out of debt” message before, but for some reason you’re still using them.  In fact, it’s an interesting trend we’re seeing as of late. Thanks to so many being upside down in their home mortgages, more and more Americans are actually paying their credit cards before their mortgages—why? Because they have to live off of their credit cards and they’ve stopped caring about carrying a mortgage on a worthless asset.  These desperate people reason that they can stay in the good graces of 4 or 5 credit card grantors OR they can pay one “greedy little SOB who didn’t earn their money.” Which would you pick in desperate times? For many families in our nation, their credit cards feed and clothe them.  If you haven’t been there, it’s quite likely that you know someone who has.

About 40 years ago, the average number of credit cards in a home was one.  Today, it’s 5.6. (In New Hampshire or New Jersey, that average number is TEN!) Nearly 50% of the WORLD’S Visa cards are held by Americans! It’s no coincidence that one of the poorest cities in our nation, Jackson, Mississippi, also holds the highest amount of credit card debt to income ratio in the U.S. There are over 1.5 BILLION credit cards in the U.S. right now. Alarmingly, this number increases to SIX for persons who are retired and on a fixed income. Some families actually count their available balance as a financial asset in their monthly budget! Ok. So where’s the crime in all of this? Bear with me for just a moment.

As you may have heard me harp about previously, the amount of currency in circulation in comparison to the available goods and services is what determines our financial health. Think of it as the percentage of body fat to muscle in a human. Obviously, a body that is 58% body fat is ripe for a heart attack, diabetes, arthritis, and a compromised immune system.  The problem with our monetary system at present though is that unlike the amount of fat in our body, we have no primary way to determine just how much is in circulation.  We can identify the amount of goods and services produced in a given year, but the Federal Reserve has conveniently halted its production of the M3 report, which is what published the information about the amount of currency that was issued into our market each year.  For several years now, we’ve been flying blind, so to speak.  So instead of an M3 report, we need to look at other factors which can be nearly as useful as an M3 report, although surely on a conservative level. (It’s interesting though, that the Federal Reserve has no problems regularly publishing the amount of debt though. Natch.)

Bear with me. There’s one more fundamental aspect of economics that I must establish in order for the light bulb to turn on for everyone. The real value of any nation is based on what it produces—preferably in the form of tangible goods such as food, clothing, real estate, etc.  America quickly became the financial powerhouse that it is because of the significant amount of hard goods that it was able to produce and export to the rest of the world. It was in part this very reason that the U.S. dollar became the standard in currency markets worldwide, the U.S. had more tangible production to show for their work versus other nations. So long as hard goods continue to get produced and sold, then a nation is not in anywhere near as much financial peril as they would be if they just kept printing money and making up intangible things to spend it on.  Let me restate that. Even though money is being printed with reckless abandon, if it’s at least chasing hard, visible, goods, it’s bearable to just about any economy.  However, when money is created out of thin air, backed by nothing other than a “Because I Said So” signature, and is spent on nothing tangible, then the path to serious financial failure is imminent.  The reason being is that when it comes to not having anything to show for it, the useless money becomes even more of a thief by appearing in useless, intangible forms—say, digits on a computer screen. Think about it. I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one who had a brother who went through cash like it was water with NOTHING to show for it. He was always broke. Now, picture an entire nation like that.

So, now let’s take a look at credit cards. When a credit card is issued to a person, it’s not in exchange for anything initially, right? If you have the lucky numbers on your credit report, or if you have a pulse in some cases, you get one. (Ironically though, last year over 1.2 million “pre-approved credit card” offers were awarded to deceased persons or pets!)  Even for those cards which charge a fee for their “privileged use”, nothing tangible is circulated into the economy.  Worse yet, there are numerous fees associated with credit card use AND possession.  Yes, this means that even those who pay off their credit card every month, are still feeding the problem.  Last year, over $20.9 BILLION dollars were charged to consumers for “over the limit” fees. Another $15 BILLION was charged to hardworking consumers for the privilege of having a credit card. Hmmm…plastic has never been so valuable, eh? Remember, I’ve not even addressed the interest earned on these credit cards. Let’s take that aspect on now.

We all assume we know what happens when a credit card is used. I purchase $1,000 of household furnishings at my local House Mart.  Instead of paying cash for it though, I use a credit card. House Mart delivers the goods to my home and then send the credit card receipts to their merchant (digitally). Within a couple of days, the merchant sends digits into House Mart’s bank account. House Mart then pays their employees, vendors, taxes, rent, and all other expenses as a result of these digits which they see on their computer screens when the log into their bank account.  So yeah, I get drapes, end tables, and a dining room table and some throw rugs, but no one else has received anything tangible in exchange for that, right? Now let’s follow those digits. Employee A receives his weekly amount of digits in his bank account. He then goes about town paying for his groceries, gasoline, taxes, and mortgage with those digits, right? Still, nothing tangible is exchanged.  House Mart uses their digits to pay their vendors who then turn around and use their digits to pay their supplies in China. Still, nothing tangible, not even our worthless paper money here. But that’s not the most alarming part.  The fact is that credit card companies are playing a true ponzi scheme with a very thin margin for error. If they grant me a $1,000 credit line, they are only required to have SIXTY to EIGHTY actual dollars (in the form of digits, of course) on hand to do so. So, even if House Mart demanded that they not get paid in digits, but in actual dollars, Credit Card USA could not do it. The ponzi scheme would unravel.

Now, let’s consider that there is presently over $850 BILLION dollars in credit card debt currently owed. There is also an average of 14.48 percent of APR charged on that debt.  This means that each year Americans are exchanging real labor in order to pay over $126 billion in credit card interest. So, let’s just take a quick M3 kind of look here.  $126 billion in interest, plus $20.9 billion in over limit fees, plus $15 billion in possession fees. That equals $161 billion of intangible services that Americans are exchanging for their real labor. See the problem?

Now, this gets even worse when you take into consideration the amount of bad debt that is “written off” each year by the credit card companies.  “Written off.” Exactly what does that mean? All it means is that the credit card companies are now able to limit their amount of taxable income by the amount that is “written off” via bad debt, delinquencies, or bankruptcy. So, yes, because someone files bankruptcy, that means that an obligated corporation pays less in taxes. Vicious, eh? Nearly  twenty four BILLION dollars of credit card debt was written off last year as the result of bankruptcy or other type of delinquency.  So, not only do we have all of those digits being created out of thin air, but we make almost a third of those digits USELESS through defaults.

Are you seeing the problem here?  Credit card usage is VOLUNTARY INFLATION. Inflation affects all of us—employed, unemployed, over paid, rich or poor!  Feeding the credit card beast which thrives among the world of the Federal Reserve and our banking system is akin to ensuring a heroine addict has Carte Blanche access to the Mexican drug cartel, only much more convenient. So yes, debt is harmful in oh, so many ways, but the use of a credit card is an even more vicious offender to the sanctity of our currency value. It’s worse than drinking the Kool-Aid folks. It’s drinking it AND watering it down to nothing!

We may not be able to get Congress to hold the Federal Reserve accountable any time soon, but we DO have the power to starve the Kraken! When you exchange hard work for credit card use then you discount all of what you produce for society. It’s akin to offering yourself, and that of your loved ones to be raped and pillaged by the lowliest of fiends, and paying them to do it. After all is said and done, it’s the quality of life that you give yourself that you can rely on, not the hand outs, praise, or “Black Diamond” privileges from others.  So, for the sake of yourself, your family, and your fellow Americans, burn up those credit cards and never let them adulterate your honest work or the value of your nation again!

For more credit card statistics, visit http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

By Kellene Bishop

Hey Folks. Happy Friday to you!  As some of you know, I’m helping to take care of friend who’s battling breast cancer. As such, I’ve made sure that I have plenty of reading materials on hand. Since I’m already an admitted book addict, I’ve probably used this opportunity as an excuse to devour several books that I’ve been wanting to read but haven’t had the time.  In the last month I’ve read several books—some of them I couldn’t put down—and I thought that I’d share these books with you. I frequently get e-mails asking me what I would recommend. So here you go:

“The Coconut Oil Miracle” by Bruce Fife, C.N., N.D.—This is a very well written book with tons of references and resources to back up that author’s medical research into the wonder world of coconut oil. In it you will discover the major cover up of the proven merits of coconut oil. Did you know that it’s the closest thing we have to a mother’s breast milk?  Did you know that not all fatty acids are created equal? Some actually HELP your body, while others—such as those found in Canola oil—actually introduce toxins into your body.  Did you know that coconut oil components have long been an additive used by pharmaceutical companies to successfully combat HIV? After reading this book, you’ll no doubt have another powerful method of independence in your pantry as well as a long-term shelf-stable one at that! The author also includes a great sampling of recipes which you can use to make sure you’re making coconut oil a great part of your diet.

“Dishonest Money: Financing the Road to Ruin” by Joseph Plummer—I’ve shared with many of you my love for the book “The Creature from Jekyl Island.” This is a big book, but an enlightening read. However, Dishonest Money could easily be considered the cliff notes to “Creature.”  I think it’s critical that everyone really understands what’s behind the workings of our U.S. currency so that they can make wise decisions to be better prepared in the very likely event of its demise. The author does a great job of taking a somewhat complicated subject and makes it very clear and concise. I have to agree with others when I say that it could be one of the most important reads of your lifetime.

“MÔLON LABÉ” by Boston T. Party otherwise known as Kenneth W. Royce—The title is Latin for “come and take them,” however, it’s not a surrendering plea, it’s a challenge. The book is a thinly veiled novel which takes a look at a group of Americans who accomplish the unfathomable—they create a state of TRUE freedom in the United States by setting up camp in the state of Wyoming, gradually gaining control over political parties, and gradually reversing all of the legal wrongs that have fully penetrated our society, court systems, State Constitutions, and our no-so-freedoms today.  The education of the book is priceless and the story line is so engaging, I had a hard time putting the book down at 1:00 in the morning several times.

Just a little warning though—there are two characters in the book who are lacking in vocabulary skills and thus they drop the F-Bomb periodically. I personally loathe such verbiage, but the author depicts these characters as they truly would be in the real world. The pollution of the dialogue is certainly not to the point though to ruin the reading experience for me.

“The Can Opener Gourmet” by Laura Karr—This book is a great resource for meal ideas which can be created from shelf-stable foods in your pantry.  While it was originally intended to cater towards the culinary challenged, it’s a great resource for folks who may end up suddenly living off of their long-term food pantry. Several of the dishes are simple enough that even my husband—who LOATHES cooking—has been willing to take them on.  I think that every prepared home could find plenty to enjoy in this book.

“Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty!” By F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.—This book is a critical read for anyone who’s wanting to store a sufficient amount of water for their family for that “just in case” scenario.  The author puts water in it’s proper vital perspective, and helps you understand the “why” behind water consumption.  If we all followed the counsel in this book, I’m positive that we all would experience a significant reduction in our symptoms of ill health and completely eliminate many of them as well.  Did you know that WATER is the very first nutrient your body requires?  Every other system in our body, which helps us to function and to fight disease, is contingent first and foremost on the water we consume. So, before anyone dismisses the proper role of water in their preparedness efforts, read this simple book and be enlightened.  I highly recommend his other books as well that delve into greater detail of the relationship between water consumption and obesity, depression, and cancer.

Lastly, I wanted to mention a book that one of my readers recommended called “Hanging by The Thread” by Donald B. Anderson. The author brilliantly writes of a terrorist cell known as “the thread” which infiltrates all levels of society here in American and threatens to destroy it with financial manipulation, orchestrated food shortages, acts of war, etc.  It was another good read that I couldn’t put down.

Just as a reminder, some of the books that I’ve mentioned in the past that are some of my very favorites novels which deal intimately with the topic of preparedness are “Alas, Babylon” (a novel) by Pat Frank, “One Second After” (a novel) by William R. Forstchen , and “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse” (also a novel) by James Wesley Rawls. I also love to read books by qualified authors which help to make the scriptures more clear as they relate to the last days. No reading is complete without this context taken into account as well. 

There was a book that I was sent to review recently that I didn’t really care for called “Noah’s Castle” by John Rowe Townsend, but perhaps I’m too hard of a critic when it comes to addressing topics of economic or societal collapse. I just couldn’t relate to any of the characters in the story line and felt frustrated that the author didn’t tie everything together in a manner which I consider to be true.  However, I will say that there were several parts of the book which were helpful reminders in my preparedness efforts—most particularly the importance of holding your cards close and only sharing information with individuals you know you can trust. It also reminded me how important it is to align with trusted friends who are like-minded and well educated in the area of preparedness.

If any of you have books to recommend, I’d love to hear about them as well.  It’s all a part of your Mental Preparedness principle, so I highly encourage such reading.  Reading of the very scenarios that you may come in contact with someday will give your brain great resources to guide you through such times.  Reading is a form of mental rehearsal which can’t be appreciated enough, in my opinion.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

By Kellene Bishop

I may sound like a snob saying this, but to be frank, I don’t do fear.  Nope, I simply refuse to do it.  Any decision made out of fear is usually wrong or at the very least, incomplete. Why would I willingly want to knowingly make wrong decisions when I make perfectly innocent wrong decisions without the nasty toxin of fear added to the heap? Seriously. Fear is underrated. There’s a lot of validity in the saying “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” Bottom line, fear has no place in our lives. Every fear we have, we can conquer and counter with actions which smother it with peace.

Let’s be straightforward here. Fear does not come from a place good.  It’s as useful as a cheap plastic toy made in China. Fear—not greed, not pride, and not guilt—is the most dangerous emotion polluting mankind today. Fear clouds our mind. It demeans us into less than we really are.  It camouflages every scenario it touches so that the truth and the solution cannot be seen clearly.

Today I received an e-mail from a friend. It was written by a so-called expert on a forum site for folks who are interested in being prepared. Here’s the message displayed on the forum by the poster. It says:

“A comment before you read this short article.

There is a calm on [this site]right now..

It’s (sic) as though the sense of urgency has left us.

Perhaps it’s (sic) just the normal middle of summer, when we are all off busy doing the things we do. But there is a perceptible feeling of “calm”.

And yet.

Winter is coming.

All is not right.

Strange things are happening all around us.

There is a pause occurring.

It’s (sic) almost as though people are holding their breath on the roller coaster knowing that the next big drop is just about to happen.

I honestly think we are approaching the next precipice. Something significant is going to happen very soon now. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. The water in the kettle is just about to start boiling…

So, when I read this statement, I couldn’t help but utter aloud, “What a JYNORMOUS pile of horse crap!”

I’m just plain fed up with folks saying that the boogey man is coming. For crying out loud, the boogey man is already here, he has been here, and he will always be here. It’s called LIFE.  Will it get tougher? Yes; but not because of what will happen. Misery, desperation, and despair only come to those who are not prepared. The intensity of the pain and suffering we endure during our trials is solely contingent upon our level of preparation. Think about it. Do you really think that a multi-billionaire gets upset when he wastes a half gallon of milk?  No. Of course not.  His level of preparedness is such that such a trial wouldn’t make an impact on him. However, to a single mother of 5 kids, living on her disability checks, spilling the last half gallon of milk you’ve got until the next check comes could be a sorrowful moment. How much we suffer during the tougher events on the horizon is completely up to us!  We can be arrogant and obtuse and somehow believe we are more powerful than the law of gravity, or we can decide right now that we are going to minimize our misery by being prepared now! To be blunt, a prepared person does not need to worry about the “boiling water” or the “roller coaster” plunging downward.  Even better, a truly prepared person would never utter this fecal diatribe because they would not possess the nature to spew such gloom and doom with persons that they care about. That doesn’t mean that specific aspects of imminent trials should be ignored, not mentioned, and foolishly dismissed. But what it does mean is that we will not allow FEAR to motivate us.  Any action we make with fear as our fuel will be rife with disappointments and shortcomings. However, making the many decisions throughout our preparedness efforts from a place of peace, love for others, and a earnest desire to be our best selves in any situation is a perfect formula for success.

Sure, I’ve tried to keep folks up on the reality of things which are taking place. I too believe that there will be a serious financial collapse very soon and I also believe we will be accompanied by a food shortage as well. Even more so, I believe that all of that will occur prior to all of the prophecies in the Book of Revelations being realized. Yeah. The scenario won’t be pretty. But our environment of living, thriving, and loving does not need to be contaminated with fear. Understand that although the scriptures depict some pretty awful scenarios, such events are not shared with us so that we can be scared. Rather, it’s the exact opposite.  No one needs to fear what they have suitably anticipated. That’s why, I believe, that we have a glimpse into such scenarios. It’s His way of saying “this is going to happen, but don’t worry so long as you are prepared and follow me.” Where is the fear in that approach?  Conversely, I find nothing but beautiful promises in such passages to those who will put away their foolish ways and grow up and get prepared. I think to believe otherwise is to alienate ourselves from the Lord. There is no way, no how, that the Lord shares these things with us to make us FEAR. He’s all about love, patience, kindness, tenderness, and mercy. Granted, He has to live the laws of consequences just like we all have to. He wants to make it clear what playing for the other team will be like—because you can bet that team leader won’t be giving us the straight story.  But folks, if we want to stay sane and productive in the midst of all that is coming, FEAR is not the way to do it. Preparedness is.

Look at it this way. What’s the very, very worst that could happen?  You or your loved ones could die, right?  I suppose it could be worse if you died a particularly painful death, sure.  But seriously, I say big deal? Yup, I’m going to miss some wonderful folks.  And yes, the adjustment will be mournful for a bit.  But there IS a better life waiting for us all on the other side. I know that’s true. Don’t you? So, the so-called worst case scenario isn’t so bad after all.  But what would be bad is if any of us prematurely went to the other side knowing full well that we didn’t put up a good fight on this side to take care of ourselves and our fellow men. Perhaps we’d even be plagued by that torment of shortsightedness for a long time. That would be worse. Much worse.  So, let’s all take the best path here folks, get positive, get smart, and get prepared.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

By Kellene Bishop

Many moons ago (I think nearly 11 years) my hubby and I decided to go to Walt Disney World for a delayed honeymoon. As a part of our Land/Cruise package, we were given about $300 in the form of a gift card that we could purchase any of our food with as well as any items that the restaurants sold.  We did such a good job in budgeting the use of this card while we were there that we found ourselves still with about $100 left the night before we were to board on the cruise ship. In essence, our gift card would be useless and expired as soon as we left the park. So, my husband, in one of his rare less-than-brilliant moments, decided that he wanted to use the leftover credit on some Cinderella steins at Cinderella’s Castle. I think it only took me a couple of years to finally donate those things to the local Salvation Army store.  My point in telling you this story is that soon, this is very similar to the position we all be in with the U.S. currency we presently hold. It’s called hyperinflation, and I firmly believe it’s in our own backyards, circling around to our front doors.

I firmly believe that if folks understood this, and they understood that their paychecks will soon not be able to purchase even the most basic essentials, I’m positive that they would start looking at ways to maximize their dollars right now, while they still DO something for them. While this may sound a bit overly dramatic, I assure you that it’s based on extensive research and experience in recognizing the looming hyperinflation that is an imminent threat to our nation right now.  Yes, I said, right now.  This shouldn’t sound like a new alarm to anyone reading this. Although I suspect we tend to block it out because we’ve been hearing it so much.  But don’t you think it would be an absolute shame to needlessly suffer simply because those who love us warned us “too much?”  How ironic is that!

As proud as I am to live in this country I believe we all have to realize that we are not the exception to the empirical rules of financial law…we cannot spend our way out of the debt that our nation is in.  IF debt was the only problem, then maybe such a move could be accomplished—but only because it was a lucky gamble. In this case though, it’s not a gamble—it’s an illicit manipulation and those who have the most to gain are definitely aware of the consequences. What does this mean? Well it means absolute bankruptcy. It means a halt to food stamps, unemployment benefits, critical municipal services, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security income. It means that folks who have IRA’s will all suddenly feel like they work for Enron in its last day.    It also means empty grocery stores, rationing of essentials, but even if you aren’t a part of that ostensibly elite group of manipulators, you are not left without a map.  There has NEVER been a time in history in which a nation has been able to sustain debt in excess of 15% of their Gross National Production.  Never.  The death warrant on a healthy economy has already been signed, sealed, and delivered, folks.  The only thing we can do is prepare for the consequences and I’m telling you today that using coupons is one of those ways that you can do so!

Regardless of the calories you expend at work, the numbers of hours you clock in, or the floor number of your office, you do not have any control over the value of the dollar in your paycheck.  Unless you are receiving a 13% raise every 4.3 weeks, you are not keeping up with the REAL cost of living increases.  This 13% represents an average of the increase of all of the “necessities” which we purchase on a regular basis.  So, are you in a losing game right now? Yes—BUT only if you ignore the problem.  If you take advantage of what tools that are available out there to help you combat hyperinflation, then you will make it through until the spiral death resets our economy.

First of all, let’s be clear, no one can presently cure hyperinflation of the U.S. dollar. Like I said before, we’ve already picked up the wrong end of the stick and the other end must follow. We can improve its impact, but the fact remains that there are trillions and trillions of dollars printed and in circulation. These dollars only exist to create the illusion that money is aplenty. Again, money is only worth what it can buy. And right now there are too many dollars chasing too few items to buy.  That may not ring true to those of us who never see such an abundance of dollars in our checking account. And I’m sorry to say, that’s exactly what the Federal Reserve is counting on—for you to only see things from your immediate point of view.  The uneducated have always been the most valuable tool of the maniacal. But, what we can do is get focused—not on the value of the dollar, but what that dollar can STILL do for us now.

No, coupons aren’t the answer to living during hyperinflation, but they are indeed an ideal solution for those who have the foresight to make use of them now! Seriously, if I could come to each one of your houses and speak to you for just a few moments about the importance of this tool in preparing yourselves against the disaster of hyperinflation, I would do it.  It’s that important to me. But, unfortunately, such a labor—regardless of how passionate and well-intended I may be motivated—is simply not realistic.  And so today, I try once more to get you mentally accept and act on this great tool—not to manipulate you, not because I have this pompous sense of having to be right all of the time—but seriously, because I am positive that I see things pretty clearly right now, and I KNOW that the coupons can help you and those around you very quickly, abundantly, and that they won’t be able to help for many more years. So I say, get while the getting is good! Once the financial collapse has undeniably occurred, the paper the coupons are printed on will be worth no more than the paper the currency is printed on.

Last month I was able to purchase over $950 worth of groceries and my total out of pocket was just under $204.00. How?  Well yes, coupons had a key roll in that, along with a store special.  But we should also take note that part of the reason why I can do that now is because so many products are at artificially low prices. We’ve all come to accept that there are “loss leaders” at grocery stores—you know those items which are such a ridiculously low price just to entice you into the store? Well, considering that I got three grocery carts full of stuff last month for free or cheap, I’d say that’s a whole heck of a lot of loss leaders, wouldn’t you? Just like the present rate of inflation, money printing, and national deficit, this is NOT something that can be sustained. The more I can get for “free or dirt cheap” the more the rational side of me gets a bit concerned because I know that what goes up, must come down.  When it finally hits that there are too many useless pieces of paper aka currency, chasing after too few products, the stuff is really going to hit the fan. The knee jerk reactions to this kind of a problem are price fixing and rations. When that takes place you then have a black market. No matter what, unprepared people go hungry.

So, I have a proposal for you folks.  PLEASE allow me to teach you how to effectively use coupons now, while you can.  We have a class coming up the end of this week on Saturday.  After that it will be on August 21^st.  However, I’m giving everyone fair warning—the prices of all webinars are increasing in prices the first week of August, so be sure you get registered to which webinars you’d like to attend, now. Our nation’s hyperinflation nightmare isn’t going to pay much heed to empty excuses later.  I know, 100%, that I can help ANYONE get ready for tougher time through this completely, kick-butt coupon boot camp! it’s about time that we all get a bit more serious and focused and fight fire with fire. I hope to see you there!

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

“Profit is not about what you make, it’s about what you keep.”

By Kellene Bishop

Author’s Note: Before I finish this particular series, I want to emphatically remind everyone that there is only 1 week left for you to increase your chances for winning one of SIXTY-FIVE prizes we have  for the $1,500 Preparedness Pro Giveaway!  To enter, all you need to do is comment on our blog or our Facebook page, register for upcoming webinars, or send us an e-mail that tells us what you think about Preparedness Pro. It’s that easy one folks. And you can enter to win as many times as you want to increase your chances of having your name drawn! We’ve got plenty of prizes, so have at it!

Today’s article will finish our Self-Employment series, but I’ve got some good news. We’ve had a LOT of online and offline feedback on this series. I also feel strongly that self-employment has a significant impact on our ability to be more independent in so many areas of Preparedness. So I’ve decided to address this issue each week.

The person who wins at being self-employed does so by adhering to a simple financial rule.  It’s not about making a lot of money, it’s about KEEPING most of what you make. That is the purpose of today’s article.

I once had a great gal work for me but she suddenly quit one day without any notice. She claimed that she was concerned that our company was going to go under. When I asked her what gave her that impression, she said that it was because of the e-mail that I had sent out asking everyone to be mindful of what size paper they used in the copier so that we weren’t wasting the more expensive, legal-sized paper when the regular sized paper would do (Yes, it was an ‘oh brother’ moment!). In spite of these kinds of comments you may hear from those around you, it’s important that you always pay attention to the pennies if you want the dollars to materialize.

Whether it’s printing, mailing, copywriting, or office supplies, I suggest that you ALWAYS find out if there is a way for you to spend less for the items that you need regularly.  One great way to save money is to purchase used equipment and tools. You don’t need everything to be new, right? It just needs to be right. Also, never be shy about asking if there is a business discount or a way for you to obtain a business discount.

Next, while this may have some welfare-minded individuals hating you for the next decade, I recommend that you have an appropriate view of those who work for you. Yes, they are flesh and blood, and yes you may get along great with them. But you MUST view them as what they truly are to your business.  You did not hire them to be your friend.  You did not hire them to sit at a desk and make the place look better. You did NOT hire them because they needed a job.  You hire other people for one reason and one reason only and that is to make your business more profitable.  Pure and simple. If they cannot do that, then you MUST get  rid of them as quickly as you would dismiss a bad idea or a festering odor.  Everyone who works for you should be pulling their weight in strengthening your profit margins. Too many entrepreneurs hire people to do “busy work.”  Well, I have only one thing to say about that—NO ONE in your company should be doing any work that does not have a direct impact on your bottom line—not you and certainly not someone who works for you.  You should always have the attitude, prior to hiring someone, “How will this person make my business more profitable?”  Bottom line, no one in your company should be doing any work that does not have a clear impact on your profits.

Another thing that I believe business owners must do is to protect themselves from liability. It’s no secret that we are in a litigious society. For crying out loud, a woman is suing Google maps right now because she got hit by a car on the road that Google Maps led her to.  This lawsuit makes the McDonald’s hot coffee saga look like a cartoon. There’s no question that there’s a sufficient amount of stupidity and greed surrounding us. As such, you must protect yourself from losing everything you’ve got. You can accomplish a good level of protection by filing your business in a manner which protects you AND by making sure that you have business insurance which will pay for legal expenses.  I recommend that you do some research with some experts on this matter to determine what is best for you. My father, an attorney, as well as the well-known attorney, Lee Phillips of Legalees,  has always recommend that businesses protect themselves by forming an LLC in addition to obtaining appropriate business insurance. I can tell you from personal, painful experience, the LLC has saved my bacon in the past.

Another way that entrepreneurs exhaust all of their profits is by purchasing large amounts of inventory. Unless it’s an inventory that you, yourself, would always want to have on hand (such as bullets or food—hee hee), I recommend that you avoid this money pit.  Instead of investing in large quantities of inventory, consider what you can do by aligning yourself with companies that can drop ship the product directly to your customers. At the very least, consider leveraging your product sales with a company in which you can buy as you go and not have to buy large quantities. When my husband and I started a business which required inventory, we made a lot of trips initially to buy products only as we sold them.  No entrepreneur can really afford to have product just taking up real estate. Freeing up available capital should be a prime concern for all business owners. Case in point, Augason Farms is getting rid of a whole lot of inventory for less than it cost them to manufacture.  Why are they willing to sell it so low? Because they understand that those products represent needed capital that’s just sitting in a warehouse for them right now.  Until there is a financial collapse in our nation, cash is still king.

Another way to keep more of your money is to not buy into all of the bells and whistles when it comes to taking people’s money.  I’m talking about thinking you have to take credit cards and such.  It’s your business. YOU get to decide what forms of money you will accept.  If you want all cash, then so be it. If you only want to take cash or debit cards, then so be it.  Make a decision on this matter which best suits you and then stick with it (I’ll write an article on “how to train your customer to sit” some time in the future).  In spite of the fact that you pay the credit card merchants a whole lot of fees, they do NOT represent you and your best interests. They will always take the side of the customer initially.  That’s a problem when you consider the fact that nowadays a customer simply has to make an accusation that they didn’t like the product, didn’t get the product, or was charged for something they never ordered. Then you get to spend the next 6 months duking it out between them and your credit card company—all the while the money has been withdrawn directly from your bank account until the matter is settled. To make matters worse, the credit card companies make the final decision and they are just people—not lawyers who know the law, not partners in your business.  “Guilty until you can prove your innocence” is their motto.  Heaven forbid that you would have the audacity to spend the money you earned when you received it.  I’m 100% positive that taking credit cards is a serious liability for business owners nowadays—one which should be avoided at ALL costs.

While there are a lot more areas of penny pinching I could address for entrepreneurs, I would be useless to you if I did not share with you one of most significant things that entrepreneurs must do to maintain profits.  You MUST familiarize yourself the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.  Yes, there are over 3.4 million words in that code. So perhaps it’s not exactly some light reading for you. Not to mention all of the other case law (particularly Supreme Court rulings) that you would need to cross-reference in order to have a working knowledge on this matter as well.  But I can tell you unabashedly that your ignorance of this beastly collection of words is what’s costing you way too much time and invaluable amounts of capital. Yes, this kind of reading won’t exactly make it’s way to the New York Times best-seller list. So if you’re not interested in reading, fine. But at least make your business as profitable as possible by investing in the expertise of others on this matter.  There are such experts out there. Admittedly there are only a few.  But their solid foundational expertise on the IRC is critical to the profit of your business. If you’re paying too much in taxes then you are robbing from your very own family. I can assure you that every single small business owner I’ve consulted with over the last 5 years is paying as much as 100% TOO much in federal, state, and other employment taxes.

In closing, allow me to reassert my position that I believe that the self-employed entrepreneurs are indeed the backbone of our economy. I also feel that given the entrepreneurial characteristics of hard work, ingenuity, creativity, and undeniable work ethic, entrepreneurs represent the spirit of a independent and free nation. As such, I believe that by strengthening the entrepreneur, we strengthen our entire economy and reinforce the foundation of our society. A society which lives by the Law of the Harvest (you reap only what you sow) can never be conquered in body or in spirit.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

By Kellene Bishop

Oh, the choices we make…

Today we continue in our Self-Employment Equals Independence series by addressing what types of criteria one should consider when electing to add a facet of self-employment to their life.

First of all, allow me to reiterate that I understand that it isn’t realistic for someone to just instantly switch from working for someone else to working for themselves.  To such persons I would implore that they at least commit to adding a facet of self-employment to their life.  Add a way that you can produce a necessary good or service to others and earn money from doing so—even if it’s on a very part-time basis.  In such a case, I’m not concerned so much with the amount of time one invests, so much as I am the fact that they know that if something were to drastically change, they would have a simple “Plan B” to fall back on.  In my opinion, this is critical in order to have true independence from vulnerabilities.

So what should folks consider when stretching their entrepreneurial muscles? Here are my hard rules:

1)      It must be enjoyable: There are many opportunities out there that can earn you some respectable sums of money. But I’ve earned those sums before; and I have made only enough to get by. I assure you that when I work at something that I love and enjoy, so long as my basic needs are met, I’m much, much happier.

2)      Meet a REAL need: Identify a need, and then meet that need. I also always ask myself if what I’m doing is meaningful to my community. If  can meet both of those needs, then I’m most assuredly content with what I’m doing. Truthfully, there has never been a more simple yet successful formula for entrepreneurial success.  If you can’t see how people would need your product or service, you won’t be very convincing in entreating others to do business with you.  Additionally, in considering this need, may I suggest that you focus on tangible asset production rather than just services?  I’m not saying that services do not fill a need. But if I had my druthers, I would steer the most of entrepreneurial pursuits towards tangible good production/sales OR the services which FIX/REPAIR such tangible goods that people need everyday.  Here’s why.

Over the last two years, the amount of U.S. exports has declined consistently. Why? Because we have less in the form of tangible goods that the rest of the world needs, after all, you don’t export “services.”  This is indicative of the problem we have of not producing as much as we used to, and that we’re cut off with limited access to business capital lending.  In 1970 about 1 in 4 American workers had jobs in the manufacturing sector. By 2005 that number dropped to 1 in ten.  We’ve gone from manufacturing of real goods –with manufacturing being our flagship enterprise—to now becoming the world’s beast of financial services.  Yup. The U.S. is now the kingpin of world financial services.  (And we’re doing that so very well, right? *gasp*) The most significant issue with that is that services are not tangible. They are not necessary in all conditions of life elsewhere in the world.

Financial services in particular do not meet any of the most basic of human needs.  Unfortunately, regardless of the number of financial services companies that we create here, we cannot escape indisputable laws of independence. “A country that makes nothing will inevitably amount to nothing.”—Patrick Buchanan  The lack of our willingness and capability to produce real, necessary items, has manifested itself dramatically in our economic state. For example, my husband specifically chose to focus on the sale of preparedness goods because he knew that worst case scenario, he’d simply have more supplies on hand that he needed for the care of his own family.  A person focusing on the sale of an obscure, one-time service, would not be as fortunate if things were to get tough.

Mind you, I’m not saying that tangible goods are the only option, I’d be happy if any of you wrote me and told me that you bailed on the job to pursue your self-employment full time—regardless of what it was that you were doing. I’m just saying that a business which deals in tangible goods that are needed by others are the epitome of the best option for entrepreneurs.

Having said that though, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring attention to the fact that even a choice to deal in tangible goods can still be improved upon. For example, making jewelry, selling cosmetics, or selling fuel additives may earn money. But if the fit hits the shan, being stuck with a bunch of jewelry or makeup someday would not help you thrive in such a scenario. If that is your choice, your passion, and your enjoyment, then be sure that you keep as little inventory on hand as you can get away with and invest your personal monies that will ensure you thrive should a serious crisis ever manifest itself.  Still, it’s a heck of a lot easier to sell jewelry at a garage sale than graphic design abilities. So be sure that you shore up your own personal strengths to help compensate for those vulnerabilities.

3)      Lastly, I recommend that whatever you do, you start small. Don’t go into debt to start a business. Business debt is the NUMBER one reason why small businesses fail.  I don’t care if you are offered 15 or 30 day terms from your suppliers. Don’t take that offer. Pay as you go.  Grow only as fast as you can literally afford to pay to grow along the way.  Contrary to the stupidity we see paraded across our televisions regularly, it makes little sense to solve economic problems by adding more debt to our life. Self-employment pursuits are about independence. Don’t’ shackle your independence by marrying to slavery first. It’s obviously not a good way to start any profitable relationship. Understand that your greatest asset is your physical WORK and your knowledge about the skill or asset that you’ll be offering. Work with those two assets first and then use money that you earn to expand from there.

Bottom line, I strongly implore folks to consider a self-employment route for income. We simply can’t wait around for the government to create a job for us. Governments can’t create jobs. American entrepreneurs do. In fact, numerous studies have found that throughout the last 40 years, entrepreneurs created over 80% of all NEW jobs! So, if you want to make your own family more secure, pursue this route. In the process you’ll also be adding to the safety and economic strength of your nation.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

By Kellene Bishop

The unemployment reports you’ve been hearing are just plain wrong—for so many reasons—but specifically they are wrong because some persons are beginning to discover that being employed by another is a risky business nowadays. As such, they are taking measures into their own hands and choosing to become self-employed.  Even more important is that some courageous souls are leaving their present jobs in exchange for self-employment. Why? Because they are wise enough to recognize the value in the Law of the Harvest, and have made determinations on who they can really trust.

Trust—a  dicey word nowadays when it comes to money. But think about it.  Will your retirement really be there when you’re done working? Will you get conveniently terminated just prior to retirement? Will your company’s marketing and public relations efforts be sufficient so that you still have a job tomorrow?  Will they create a product that continues to sell or will they screw up royally and create a product that becomes the next recall of the hour? Will your company become the object of a fierce lawsuit and lose everything? Will you suddenly be required to take non-paid furlough days? Will your health benefits get canceled? Will you be replaced by someone else who’s desperate for a job and willing to work for 30% less than you are presently getting paid?  How about a freeze on pay raises regardless of merit or work load? Some are even having to worry as to whether or not their paychecks will clear. Talk about stress, right? It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when the longer you’re with a company you have to worry that you might get replaced by someone younger, healthier, and more desperate than you just so the company can save a few bucks. I swear it wasn’t too long ago in which seniority meant stability with a company.  But that picture sure has changed nowadays. Is there an alternative reality?

What if there was a world in which you get to set your own hours, your own dress code, and when you take your breaks, You never have to demean your role as a parent or helpful friend by asking for time off so that you can be there for an important event.  You never have to compound the grief of a loved one passing by calling in to people who don’t really care about you, just to ask them permission to pay your respects. You can promote yourself any day. You can expand or narrow your work on whatever you want to focus.  You can wear purple polka-dotted PJ’s and munch on kettle corn while you get paid what you’re worth, not what some arbitrary budget dictates. You get to decide who you will and won’t work with. Oh, and you’re the #1 employee every day of the year. Such a world really does exist. It’s called being SELF-EMPLOYED.

Clearly, there are some downsides to self-employment of course. Anyone who’s done it will tell you that you don’t really work for yourself, you work for all of your customers.  You don’t get to call in sick.  And you have to foot the bill for your entire health care costs. You MUST be self-disciplined with no one to report to except your mortgage company, utility companies, hunger pangs, and an undeniable desire for resting on something other than the hard, cold floor.  In many cases you work longer and harder than you ever did at a “real job.” The ultimate hard part is that when you’re self-employed, your boss knows you too well and won’t let you get away with anything. But when all is said and done, that harder, longer work provides a heck of a lot more LIFE and real LIVING and feeling in your soul than reporting for the same job everyday that you have absolutely no control over.  Yeah, it’s funny. True independence has that effect on people.

Seriously though. The number one reason why folks do not consider self-employment is that they don’t trust themselves to be able to put food on their own table consistently.  It’s a huge mental shift to go from an “automatic paycheck” to one that is solely contingent on how hard and smart you work.  But if you think about it, who is more reliable to take care of you and your needs nowadays than YOU?  Which is it? You or that company you work for? Yes I realize that the company you work for may have more contacts, money, and experience than you might at being self-employed. But contacts are fickle. Experience is relative to the job you’re performing, and money—well surely you’ve noticed by now that money doesn’t mean success.  Think about it.  How many banks have failed lately, and yet they had the luxury of legally charging mounds of money for AIR. You’ve got to be a special kind of stupid to fail at that kind of gig.  You don’t have to look far in the news to see that even those companies with deep pockets can crumble overnight. Goldman Sachs was the Golden Child of Wall Street for crying out loud, and yet they were just as vulnerable to the dangers of their own ego.  So, let me ask you this again, who’s more reliable to provide for your family than you?  Who cares about your family more than you?  Who’s more motivated to provide for your family than you? OK. So this really boils down to trust.  Let me see if I can help you out there a bit.

When it comes to infusing an economy with new ideas, additional streams of money, and stable employment, who is really able to make a difference? A company that has to go through layers of bureaucratic red tape, or an idea that can be executed by a lone, agile, entrepreneur?

In a world in which “too big to fail” has come to mean “bend over, taxpayers” do you really think that you don’t have a better chance at succeeding on your own, doing something that you feel passionate about, and providing a tangible good or service that people need?  Really? ‘Cause when I look around, I’m thinking that it doesn’t take a whole lot to do a better job than the soulless, “big money” companies out there.  What is that old saying? “It’s easy to look like an eagle when you’re hanging out with a flock of turkeys.” Well, what I’m trying to say right now folks is that things are so incredibly volatile in the “real job” world that you ARE hanging out with a flock of turkeys.  Thus it won’t take much for you to soar and break from the pack as an eagle!

I can remember when I took my first real entrepreneurial jump. Nearly 20 years ago I found myself in Augusta, Maine, sitting at an uncomfortable makeshift desk punching in numbers as fast as my fingers would dance on ten keys, for 8 hours a day. The numbers didn’t mean anything to me.  The company didn’t mean anything to me. Adding insult to injury, I was working with a real, honest to goodness bully who saw it as her lot in life to inject a taste of hell into mine. Even worse, the pay only represented another month’s existence in a cramped 2 room apartment with a Honda Accord that had the rear bumper clinging to life with some duct tape. During this time I had interviewed for another job—but this job was straight commission.  For every business membership I sold, I would be paid $50 in commission.  As I sat there and mindlessly punched in those numbers at my desk the day after my interview, I started calculating something completely different.  “What if,” I dared to ask myself. “What if I could sell only 4 memberships a week? I’d make more than I’m making now. And if I could sell six memberships a week, I could actually afford a new apartment and a new car. (Yes, I had different values back then. *grin*) Surely, if I treated this prospective job like this job and contacted X number of business a day, I could sell 4 memberships in 40 hours.  I wouldn’t have any more back pain. I could actually interact with people. I could wear business suits. I could have intelligent conversations.” Yup. I totally psyched myself up.  To be forthright with myself, I realized that the only part I was scared of was whether or not I could trust myself to sell 4 memberships per week.  I decided that afternoon that if I couldn’t trust myself to take care of myself, then I had no value to anyone else either. So I went for it.

That first week of work was a typical January winter day in the middle of Maine. Three feet of snow had been dumped on our area.  But I had rent to pay and groceries to buy.  Frankly, I was afraid NOT to work that day for fear that I would miss my non-negotiable goal of 4 sales for the week.  So I trudged out in the snow going door to door talking with small business owners who were light on customers that day due to the weather.  By the end of my first day I had sold 5 memberships!  The only negative feeling I had amidst the high I felt was the regret that I had waited so long to gamble on my own worth.  By the end of the week I had sold several times that number of memberships.  It was quite humorous actually when I called my new boss to tell him how many I had sold that week. He thought I was mistaken in how I calculated my number of sales. He told me that no one had ever sold that many memberships in month, let alone a week.  I responded to him “Well, I guess they were simply lacking in enough belief and motivation.”

Now here’s where you come in.  Being self-employed, even if it’s just a side job in addition to your “real job” is the beginning of a grand realization—it’s the realization that the Law of the Harvest is just as real and applicable today as it was when our country was first formed.  Nothing will change that because the Law of the Harvest is a principle of truth. We will always reap what we sow. As such, don’t you think it’s more reliable, more trustworthy, and more worthy of your consideration for YOU to be one doing the sowing rather than relying on someone else to do it for you?

I have been a commission-based professional for nearly all of my adult life.  I have enjoyed the high of making great money in a month. And you know what? I can honestly say that I have NEVER not receive a worthy return in exchange for hard, smart work. I have learned that the Law of the Harvest never lets me down. It always works for you if you will work with it. Even better, there are a compounded number of rewards in doing so in the form of enjoyment, dignity, worth, and satisfaction.

In the next part of this series, I will discuss what type of self-employment paths you may want to consider.

‘Til then—may your sowing today reward you with peace in preparedness for all of your tomorrows.

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For any questions or comments on this article, please leave a comment on the blog site so that everyone can benefit!

Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

By Kellene Bishop

Live your life.  Don’t leverage it. 

In the world of “emergency preparedness” which any regular reader of mine will know that I don’t subscribe to, it is common to hear proposals to “get off the grid.”  Typically what that entails is someone living via their own food, water, and electric production. In some instances it may even encourage a hermit type of lifestyle.  Well, in understanding reality, I believe that the hermit aspect of being off the grid is unrealistic.  People, by nature, are a social lot thus making self-imposed exile unrealistic.  However, we still have the right and even a duty to be very particular of the company we keep, right? So today, I’m going to point out some villainous low lifes, that I recommend you cease associating with as soon as possible.  Unfortunately, I realize this will not be an easy task. You have already allowed them not only into your living room, but they eat frequently at your kitchen table, they sleep with you every night, and indeed, they attempt to blackmail you into making the kinds of decisions that place you and your family into slavery—yes, real life, legal slavery. Even worse, these untoward influences which you opt to keep in your life have manipulated the majority of your friends and family members in exactly the same manner.

Before I reveal who these nefarious persons are, allow me to ask you a question. Isn’t it accurate that a blackmailer has no influence if you do not have an attachment to whatever it is that they hold over your head?  For instance, suppose a blackmailer threatens to tell and demonstrate to your entire community that you are a horrible wife and mother if you do not comply with their demands.  Logistically speaking, that blackmail threat only has power over your actions if A) you believe that your image can convincingly be portrayed in such a manner and B) if you believe that your life will be affected negatively, even irrevocably, if this information were to get out.  However, if neither A nor B play a part in your decision, then you automatically thwart any power that the blackmailer has over you.  You may even go so far as to take out a front page ad in your local newspaper that says “I’m a bad wife and mother—get over it. At least I can improve.”—or something like that. Obviously, such a response to a threat of blackmail would definitely take the wind out of the sails of any potential extortionist.  In fact, late night host, David Letterman, did just that when one of his producers threatened to “go public” with a litany of affairs he knew David Letterman had engaged in over a span of years.  Instead of giving in to the proposed extortion game, David Letterman elected to break the news of his infidelity himself—thus destroying any untoward influence the would-be extortionist had over him.

Ok. So what’s all of this talk today of blackmailers, villains, and low lifes, and what in the world does it have to do with the subject of preparedness? 

If I had my druthers, I would wish for every person to see the credit reporting culture for what it truly is.  I believe that if you were to do so, then you could easily dismiss its unnecessary influence in your life, and that you would be living a much more independent and true version of yourself.  Grant it, this is much easier said than done. Some persons say that the drug addiction to heroine is nearly impossible to overcome. Other doctors say that sugar is just as addictive of a habit. But I say that the use of credit and the consequential influences of using that credit, rank right up there in terms of difficulty to overcome.  So my goal today is to give you some sound “whys” so that you can be better armed in your release from this enslavement.

Credit reporting has influenced our lives in nearly every aspect. In spite of the fact that every American has the right to work, someone, somewhere elected to give the credit reporting agencies the right to weigh in on whether or not we would be a good employee.  In spite of the fact that many of us elect not to participate in the rat-infested waters of the credit card game, someone, somewhere decided that if we do not play in this game, that we are less than perfect and thus receive a lower credit score.  Even more manipulative, if we simply choose to have a credit card, but not use it because we are wise and self-sufficient, we are considered still not fit to receive an approval rating of the credit reporting monarchy.  It doesn’t matter that you were unable to afford an attorney when a frivolous law suit was thrown at you, and as a result you got behind on your bills. It doesn’t matter that your insurance company elected to play games with your medical claims when you had an emergency triple by-pass.  It doesn’t matter that some $7 an hour employee was distracted with a benign cell phone conversation and made a mistake when they reported your credit payment history.  The credit reporting oligarchy does what they want, why they want, when they want, and they have somehow convinced every employer, insurance company, and extender of private person credit that they are the authority on who you are or are not.  Hmmm…. Doesn’t this make you want to ask “who made YOU the authority on my character, heart, and soul?

Even worse, the credit reporting network has somehow been given permission to “rate” you with a number, without any real boundaries, accountability, or any amount of required accuracy.  It’s interesting to note that out of every single erroneous bit of information that the credit reporting agencies have published about you, it was NEVER in your favor.  Every mistake made by Transunion, Equifax, and Experian (the big three reporting agencies) was never made in such a way that your credit position was improved.  Mistakes like this do not happen unless you have a derogatory system in place to begin with.  In addition, out of 1,000 credit reports that were sampled, over 25% of them had errors—serious errors—that cost you your job, a larger portion of your paycheck, or your ability to obtain affordable insurance.  These self-sanctioned reporting agencies are owned by the very persons who benefit from you having a less-than-stellar credit score—the banks.  Think about it. When your score is lower, the banks “get to” charge you a higher interest rate. 

Credit reporting agencies also get to pry into our lives without our permission. Seriously, have you ever given anyone the authority or permission to pry into your work history, medical history, or debt history before?  No. Is this supposed to be public information?  Uh, no.  And yet I can tell you right now that the information on your credit report is sold with reckless abandon to any business who desires it. I know. Because I used to be one of those businesses who bought your credit information!  I could look through anybody’s credit report and figure out the majority of their life story! The credit reporting agencies have all of that information on you, and then have the gall to charge other persons—including yourself—to view such information!!   They are profiting on the manipulation and disbursement of your private information. Even worse, they have convinced everyone that this is “normal” and “just how it’s done.”

Here’s an example.  Recently a medical collections company shared with me that nearly all of their collection accounts will settle an account without even checking to verify that the medical collection is accurate, rather than have it negatively affect their credit report.  I don’t know what you call it in your world, but in my world folks, that’s called a shake down.  A recent news article in the New York Times reported that several banks delay reporting positive payment behavior in order to protect themselves from losing their good clients to other banks, and in order to justify their present interest rate.

In spite of the great amount of power and influence that the credit reporting agencies have self-proclaimed, there are very little consequences for their inaccuracies, inherent vulnerabilities for identity theft, and downright fraud.  With the errant  press of a button, a person’s life who is reliant upon credit can come to a screeching halt.  No checking account.  No mortgage.  No automobile. Etc.

So, you know what I say?  Stop playing the game with them. Stop giving them permission to use you as a profit center.  Stop acknowledging them as any kind of authority in your life.

Did you know that you are not required to give a bank your social security number?  Just because they are required by law to ask you for a social security number, does not mean that they are required to RECEIVE your social security number in order to open an account. (See U.S. Code Title 26). This is exactly why I do not have any credit cards, car loans, etc.  I will never even apply for a credit card or line of credit.  If my husband and I want a car, we will pay cash for it. When my husband’s business needs more product, he pays for it up front, never taking it on “15 day terms.” If you don’t play their game, then they have no control over you.  When I buy a new house, it will be with cash or I will lease/rent to own.  I will never provide my social security in order to obtain medical care. You are NOT required to have a social security number. (See Social Security Act).  And if you’re paying cash for your medical care, then what business do they have of demanding this number from you?

“Mr. Smith, if you don’t have this many kinds of credit cards open for this period of time, you will have a poor credit score.”

Mr. Smith should say “So what? I don’t use credit and I never will.”  That, my friends, is how you become financially independent. And only if you are financially independent do you become independently wealthy.  Any other kind of wealth is a mythical state of belief. How can you truly be independent if you are indebted to any other person? 

You may not be aware of this, but this credit crap shoot does not apply to the commercial world.  Yup. In the commercial world of lending a credit score is a moot point. All the underwriters focus on is the value of the collateral, the viability of the business plan, and the experience of the business owners. No credit score required.  Hmmm…doesn’t that make you wonder just a little bit?  It’s ironic that the whole credit reporting scheme got it’s start as a way to grade business risks. And yet now, it’s rarely used for that purpose. Instead it’s used to get everyday persons like you and I to cow tow to some made up, unexplainable (literally—it’s unexplainable even by those who run the business), secret, scheming system.  That may sound dramatic to some of you. But just because it has some illicit taste, does not detract from the fact that I’m 100% correct in this matter.

 I beg everyone who’s reading this to stop playing the credit game.  Stop using credit cards.  Stop purchasing what you cannot really afford.  Every time you do, you are simply empowering the credit scheme to have effect on your life, and on everyone else around you.  Only if you shake off the shackles of this sham can you enjoy true independence on every aspect of your life.  Don’t meet the demands of your blackmailer, annihilate them first. *yup, I’m feeling like Clint Eastwood right about now—grin*  And I’m here to tell you that yes, it is completely possible to live your life without the need of any credit. 

 Live your life. Don’t leverage it.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.

By Kellene Bishop

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you have figured out by now that I’m not one of the gloom and doomers. In fact, I try diligently to simply take a situation, examine it, and try to determine how I can best avoid an undesirable consequence and vulnerability to it simply by being better prepared. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, “preparedness is about peace, not panic.”

I still stand by that belief and I’d like you to remember that as I direct you towards an interesting article I read today.  True to the typical brainless “preppers” hype  the article was posted on someone else’s “emergency preparedness” site as an incentive for everyone to dig nuclear bomb shelters or create full-sized Faraday cages “asap”. But when I read the article I felt that it simply gave us a nice, gentle reminder that we are indeed vulnerable to a loss of the electrical or computerized power which keeps our nation civilized.  On April 20, 2010, the Sacramento Press reported that the CIA Director conveyed the reality of our vulnerability to international hacker terrorists and admitted that it’s a full-time job preventing them from collapsing our nation financially, physically, and throwing our society back to the early 1900’s.  (See full article here: http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/25185/CIA_Director_tells_CaptoCap_delegates_Cyber_attack_could_be_next_Pearl_Harbor)

For those of you who have not participated in my “Lights Out, Now What?” webinar, I want to remind everyone that there’s a speedy and unavoidable domino effect when and if our financial or electrical system is interrupted.  Because our financial doings are so heavily reliant on all of our modes of communication—to the point that even a mere hour without electricity can cost our economy billions of dollars—if our communication lines are downed for more than 72 hours nationally, it would cause a financial collapse. If a financial collapse occurs, then a national blackout is a natural consequence which will follow quickly on the heels of such a disaster.  If a significant power outage occurs in just one regional grid in the U.S. then that will also cause a financial collapse. A cluster of hard copy research which I read last year suggested the due to the present regional power grids not being strong enough to carry their respective areas on their own, rather are intended to carry the weight as a nationally collective whole, then if our entire nation were to go black at the same time, the task of bringing everything back online is estimated to take a mere 36 months. Apparently no single grid on its own can handle the weight of supporting the surrounding grids long enough to power up the next ones.  (Remember the blackouts that occurred throughout the Western States a couple of years ago simply because a part of the California grid wasn’t functioning well?) With over 250,000 trucking companies in the U.S. and the fact that our economic system relies heavily on such systems, then it is also intimated that if our fuel costs were to exceed $4.00 a gallon, at least 17 % of the trucking companies would have to shut down. Very few transportation companies have the capital to take such a cost increase in a “must have” category of running their businesses.  (Apparently even the trucking companies run their business with a thin margin of profit just like our very own households have done for decades.) Keep in mind that the airlines just got hit with billions of dollars of losses from the recent “volcano black out”—this after they had already opted for the cannibalization pricing practice of taxing their customers for essentials such as luggage, in-flight entertainment, 1 ounce of padding known as a pillow, and 2 ounces of mysteriously colored air known as a blanket. Imagine what even a short-term power outage could do to that industry, especially if it is coupled with a sharp increase in fuel costs.

 So, once again, don’t panic.  Instead, calmly determine how you are able to insulate yourself now from as little vulnerability as possible.  How can you make yourself more independent when it comes to providing environmental control, security, cooking, heat, light, medical aid, and necessary commerce transactions in your life? To answer that, look at what has been done in past history when the luxury of electricity and the internet was not so abundant. Look at what some third world and even European countries do today in order to mitigate the high cost of fuel and sporadic accessibility to power.  Solar power, alternative fuels, butane stoves, pressure cookers, kerosene lanterns. These items aren’t “emergency preparedness” tools for many areas of the world. These are tools of wisdom used in everyday living for real people like you and me. So, take a moment to review the posted article. Ask yourself how you may be vulnerable to the “what ifs” and then determine what you can do today with the control and freedom that you now have to alter those vulnerabilities into strengths of independence.

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Counter Commodity Security

By Kellene Bishop

To be completely forthright, I wanted to write this particular article first in this particular series. However, I knew that it wouldn’t have as much of an impact if the foundation hadn’t been laid out properly with the previous articles. So think of this article as the cymbal clash that follows your drum roll.

As I’ve shared with you previously, preparedness is not about being ready for an “end of the world” type of scenario. It’s about independence of everyday scenarios.  I am positive that if we are prepared to handle everyday scenarios head on, then even when such scenarios are compounded into more alarming, widespread scenarios, then we will also be ready for those as well.

 I’m going to assume that most of the world would agree that we are reliant on others for our food sources. Very, very few persons in the world nowadays have the skills or the wherewithal to produce all that they and their family consumes in terms of nutrition.  As such, we are reliant on the grocery stores to stock what we want, we are reliant on our paychecks clearing the banks in a timely manner so that we can purchase the food we need; we are reliant on the health inspectors to ensure that we don’t die or get violently ill as a result of the food we eat; we are reliant on the Federal Reserve to make sure that the money which we pay for our foods has sufficient value to buy enough of what we need; we are reliant on transportations flowing smoothly so that we can get our food delivery; and we are reliant upon Mother Nature to nurture and grow the foods that are planted and harvested each year. Frankly, an interruption in any of these areas will not only affect our personal food supply, but because such a snag in a constantly tenable situation would be so widespread, it would also bring with it some dire domino consequences.  As you can see, food preparedness is very closely tied to many other areas of preparedness including physical, medical, and financial.  This is exactly why I’ve attempted to lay a better foundation for you relative to understanding how tenable the financial world in on an international basis. Because you need to understand that are in order to understand why an imminent true-blue food shortage is about to change your financial world as you know it.

 No, I don’t say the words “worldwide food shortage” lightly.  I don’t believe in fear mongering, inducing panic, or chaos.  That kind of emotional manipulation only helps the retailers of “emergency preparedness” supplies.  But what I do believe in is education.  If you are able to see the scenario we have before us in it’s proper light, then you are able to calmly, deliberately, and strategically prepare for a more serious scenario.

Food Shortages photo c/o www.foodshortageusa.com

 FOOD SHORTAGE—the two words that initially bring about distrust, disgust, and denial in most persons who hear them. And yet even our government officials are blatantly sharing food shortage information with us on the USDA website. The disturbing thing is though that the USDA has such food shortage information on the exact same page in which they are predicting a bumper crop scenario this year.  In addition to the USDA reports, there is unlimited, credible, and undeniable information that there will indeed be a food shortage for 2010.  Even the mainstream media has dared to share information of the 450% increase in pricing on some standard produce such as tomatoes and green beans due to weather related harvest shortages.

So, why are we sure to experience a food shortage this year?

1)      Mother nature has wreaked havoc in several key areas of the world—including in the farming capital of the world, our own Midwestern states.  Our spring last year was so wet, causing many farmers to plant later in the year.  Unfortunately, the water continued to wreak havoc on the farms as they attempted to harvest their crops. Over 30% of all of our key crops in the Midwest went unharvested due to the wet soil conditions (as in the Mid-west and the South), record droughts (as in Texas) or unexpected freezes (as in Florida). Click here to see article.  We are already playing things close in our food supplies this last harvest. We really couldn’t afford a 30% hit.  

Tie this in to how it plays out in the financial world, it means that there will be less supply of food in spite of increasing demand.  Larger demand for something in short supply requires higher prices. At present circumstances, you food budget may purchase as little as 30 percent less food than it did before but as much as 400% less food than it did before—yup, that means you’ll be in the negative.

2)      Several key exporting food nations have experienced the same kinds of shortages who have been some of the key exporters of wheat, rice and other grains. Unfortunately, these nations are having to rely on food IMPORTS this year.

The tie in to this problem as it relates to the financial aspect is the same as #1, except that it pinched not just the pricing, but the plain and simple availability of food.  In which case, money won’t make a bit of difference if you don’t even have the commodity around to purchase it.

3)      2009’s early financial crisis.  Farmers could not get credit to run their farms properly and certainly not in response to the additional help they needed in the face of adverse weather conditions. As a result, there was drastic drop in the number of crops that were planted.

This means that they are, at the very least, behind one harvest season—and that’s assuming that they were able to make it through this past one in spite of a lack of financial aid.  This inhibits the farmers from being able to get ahead by planting enough to make up the financial difference.  Unfortunately, the further behind one gets financially, the less likely they are to qualify for financial aid. A lack of farmers definitely means a lack of foods. According to David Miller, Director of Research for Iowa Farm Bureau, as of December 2009, the net farm income was down by one third! He predicts that the drop in income will continue during 2010 as well. In other words, once the farming industry gets behind on food production, it’s unlikely that they can catch up.  Our population is ever increasing in the U.S., not going down. Thus the need for food will continue to increase as well. We’re in a vicious downward cycle right now.

fusarium head blight or scab, photo c/o www.ars.usda.gov

4)      New insect enemies have begun to infiltrate entire wheat and soybean crops that we do not yet have a suitable weapon for. Officially called a fusarium head blight or scab, it’s more commonly  known as “tombstone” because of the white tombstone-like appearance it has on the dead crops. It’s a toxin-infecting fungus that attacks the wheat flowers. The cooler and more moist the growing environment, the more the scabs flourish.  Unfortunately the cool, wet weather we’ve had in our crops the last two years have been an expensive weather pattern. The way to combat this problem is to develop wheat strains that are resistant to this disease. Obviously, discovering such requires more than one harvest, and historically requires 4 harvests to be sure.  With the present food crisis we have in the world, I’m not sure we have the luxury of waiting through four harvests to get back on our feet.

In addition to this, many parts of the country experienced a dearth of grasshoppers consuming their hay reserves for their livestock. (South Dakota and Wyoming, for example)   Considering that many farmers only yielded one-sixth of what they typically do, this was a traumatic setback for many.

 Again, the financial consequences of this affect the supply and demand in our food market.  Wheat, corn and soy are king in nearly everything we consume in one way or another. Meat needs the nutrition of quality feed and plenty of it. Without proper feed, every aspect of our meal get formidably expensive.

food recall photo c/o lunchbox.hospsrvc.ttu.edu

 

5)      The last two years have brought about the largest number of food recalls ever.  And merely 4 weeks ago, we experienced the largest food recall in American history with the salmonella discovered in the manufacturing plant in Las Vegas. This plant was the largest producer of hydrolyzed vegetable protein, which is found in nearly every processed food on the market. As a result, our market got hit with a massive food recall, which also impacts profits of grocers and cash flow for them to be able to provide additional food for their shelves.

 Can you see the financial consequences on this one?

 6)      Gas prices are on the rise again.  I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but fuel has risen over 30 cents per gallon in the last two weeks where I am.  When I see fuel rising I immediately think of food costs. It takes fuel to harvest, transport, clean, and process food, Folks.  With unemployment at record high numbers, accompanied by abysmal inflation, that’s a recipe for a lack of access for many folks to purchase food. If food can’t assuredly be sold off of the shelves before it spoils because folks are having to be more cautious in their spending, then grocery stores will pull back on how much they stock on their shelves so that they don’t have to take the financial hit for spoilage.

7)      The wheat and other food reserves have already been exhausted or are inaccessible.  China has long bragged that they hold an enormous wheat reserve of over 150 to 200 million tons (2009). But news articles over the last 5 years account for China reducing that reserve is far in excess of what they claimed to have stored.  No one can verify today that there is any wheat in reserve in China.

India, which has a burgeoning population growth long bragged about their wheat reserves. Unfortunately, such reserves have been completely exhausted due to stark poverty and agriculture problems and replaced with low quality, rotting wheat instead. Under India’s FCI act, the government is required to purchase all of the wheat, regardless of the quality. Thus, in an attempt to keep up with export contracts, India had to raid their stores of quality wheat and replace them with their poor quality, disease-ridden wheat instead for their own people.

As you know, the U.S. no longer has any wheat reserves. The fact that the dollar has been so soft, makes the importing of U.S. wheat by other countries very attractive as their own currencies remain strong against the U.S. dollar. (See, even they understand that “stuff” is more important than money.)

 Argentine dock workers going on strike has made worldwide access to the 3^rd largest supplier of soy useless as the soy harvests simply sit in the port until concessions can be made. (A particularly uncomfortable problem for Europe, which is already experiencing a soy shortage due to the South American crops yielding less than normal.)  Oh, and did I mention that Argentina is experiencing unusually heavy rains so far this year?

 And the financial consequences continue…

 Food shortages have many financial affects, including triple digit food inflation numbers.  But it’s an impact that very few persons can avoid because we all need to eat, right?  The evidence shows that not only will food cost substantially more in 2010, but there will plain and simple be the elimination of food in many aspects.

food harvesting photo c/o www.extension.iastate.edu

The production of food is cyclical. We rely on harvests. Much of our food has been destroyed and thus we cannot create more until the next harvest cycle.  Since the U.S. and most other nations have eliminated their “just in case” food supplies as a result of the previous year’s weather and economic related problems worldwide, we simply do not have a back-up plan. That’s why some food will simply not even exist, even if someone did have the money to pay a higher price for it. In fact, it’s in part attributed to the USDA’s false prediction of a bumper crop for the past two years that the U.S. chose to walk the edge of the cliff when they got rid of their excess food supplies and sold them or donated them to hurting countries.  The USDA told them that the food they were exporting would be easily replaced by the next two year’s harvests.  In fact, they even went so far are to claim that we would have the “largest ever soy crop and the second largest corn crop. Well, here we are, two harvests later, and Mother Nature pulled a fast one on the USDA. In direct contrast to the suspicious predictions by the USDA, we experienced some of the WORST harvests of 25 years!

 So, why did the USDA come out right and just plain LIE about the bumper crop predictions?  Well, our friends, the Chinese have a lot to do with this one. They are the most heavily invested in our debt and they rely heavily on the U.S. for the food supplies.  Remember, money is only as good as what it can purchase, right?  So if China relies heavily on our ability to export food to them, then it requires them to play nice with us, right?  So it’s important to the USDA anyway, that we keep up the pretense that our food supply is just fine and dandy and capable of keeping up with our own supply and demand as well as that of other nations which rely on us to feed them.  Oops. We’re about to be discovered real soon folks.  Not just by China (which latest numbers indicated that they own 25% of our foreign debt) but also by Japan, which is at 22% ownership of our foreign debt.

Zimbabwe inflation photo c/o stan.uio.no/

Here’s where the real crisis begins, folks. If China does not get their food needs met by their relationships with nations who are willing to export their foods, then China has no other choice but to DUMP their U.S. currency and debt back into the market so that they can reclaim their own currency (yuan or Renminbi) so that they can purchase “stuff” to feed their nation with instead of just having debt or currency sitting around.  What happens if China dumps their debt and currency back into the open market?  Our existing currency value will drop way, way down, due to an oversupply in our economic system.  What that then means is that the money which we rely on to purchase our own food, will simply not purchase as much as it used to.  (Think Zimbabwe—in which they had to brings BAGS of cash just to purchase a loaf of bread)

China drought photo c/o physorg.com

 To make matters worse, are you aware that China is experiencing the worst drought ever this year?  On March 19, 2010 one of the provinces worst hit by the drought , Guizhou Provice, released a statement claiming that the existing drought has affected 84 counties, cities and other areas within China, with a total affected population of 17.28 million persons.  Of that 17.28 million, the report claimed that over 3.1 million people are literally starving from a lack of food. This drought has affected the drinking water supply for over 18 million people as well, including the water necessary for about 12.5 million acres of crop and livestock farms.   They claim that over 2.9 million acres of land are already completely destroyed and unsalvageable.   So far, this drought has caused a loss of $2.85 billion (US).  The leader of the Yunnan Province, another province affected by the drought, told the Bejing News that local citizens in this area should “prepare for the worst.”  Does this put China in a vulnerable position in which they are likely to do something desperate in order to protect their greatest asset—their man-power? Of course it does.

 So, what does all of this mean to you?  It means you need to mitigate your risk of exposure to soaring food costs by purchasing smart NOW. Purchase food that has a long shelf-life with plenty of nutrition. (i.e. freeze-dried produce, whole grains, and canned meats).   Utilize coupons as much as possible. While a coupon may only be 50 cents off of an item, the items add up to a sizeable savings—as much as 110%!  Even the 50 cents savings on a $3 item is a better return than most of Wall Street is experiencing presently. And forget about the couponing stigma! No one would accuse Warren Buffet of being a “hoarder of stocks” would they? Just because he kept buying stocks that he recognized as being valuable didn’t make him some kind of a crazy, right? Well, the same holds true to those of you who take the initiative in purchasing a commodity that will still have it’s value 5, 10, or even 30 years from now—food. Food prices will NOT be going down. They are only going to keep rising. So mitigate your vulnerable position by investing heavily in quality foods now.  There’s a big difference between being a crazy food hoarder and stabilizing your grocery budget over the long-term. At least you can ensure that your money works for you today and years from now in that capacity of your life.  Remember, that’s what preparedness is about—eliminating your vulnerabilities and establishing independence.

 May your dinner table be independent for decades to come in spite of what Mother Nature or foreign nations throw at you.

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Copyright Protected 2010, Preparedness Pro and Kellene Bishop. All Rights Reserved. No portion of any content on this site may be duplicated, transferred, copied, or published without written permission from the author. However, you are welcome to provide a link to the content on your site or in your written works.