Collapse Probable - How Prepared Are You?

Karl’s been warning about the blowup of the US financial ponzi, in perhaps 2 to 4 years maximum. If the financial system goes the way of Argentina or Greece, where do you stand on this preparedness scale?

1) What Me Worry? Congress and the President will find that Unicorn that excretes candy.

2) I watch CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, read a few dailies, Bernanke and Geithner have things under control, don’t they?

3) I follow the Ticker, ZeroHedge, I have some savings and I invest in my company 401K. No way my credit card will stop working at Kroger, BP and Walmart, right?

4) Glen Beck convinced me to have extra canned goods, I walk twice a week, cars are paid off, I have 3 months expenses in cash.

5) Backwoods Home magazine got me started on a garden, we can sauce, harvest potatoes. I have 6 months expenses in cash. I save my spare change. We’re paying down the mortgage, and pay off our credit cards each month. I bought a shotgun and a few boxes of shells.

6) Bought the TV series Jericho, wow that was a wake up call. We’re storing water in portable containers, have about 6 months of food in canned goods, MREs and dried, nitrogen packed. I hunt, and the wife knows how to shoot my rifles and handguns. My cousin has a farm, I wonder if he could put us up for a few months…

7) Jim Rawles makes a lot of sense. I have cash, some silver, some gold. A good 4x4. An AR and AK, shotgun, a 1911 and ammunition. One year of food. We’re looking into buying some rural land and putting a used mobile home on it. I’m dabbling with photovoltaics, and have a gasoline generator.

8) I follow Kellene, FerfFal and SHTFPlan, I have a preparedness library. We have 1 year of savings and a bunch of silver. Arms and ammo no problem. I’ve spoken with immediate family about coming out to our hunting camp acreage if TSHTF. Wife and I carry Bugout Bags in cars. I have a well at the camp with a diesel generator and small windmill, composting toilet.

9) I have 10 acres and a lodge. Water well, steam backup, and septic. 2 years of cash plus equivalent in gold and junk silver. 2 years of stored food; wheat grinder; made local farm produce contacts, have garden, stored seeds and hand tools. Got neighbor’s agreement to tap his gas well for heat, cooking, a backup natgas generator; pay him cash. Log furnace for heat backup; 2 chainsaws and stored, StaBilized gasoline. Have a diesel tractor and VW Rabbit, and a 500 gallon diesel tank in the ground. Semiauto rifles and handguns, ammo, vests, NV and web gear.

10) I married George Soro’s daughter. We’re taking the Gulfstream to the Dominican Republic as soon as George hears the nukes are in countdown (either side) or the derivatives bubble will pop. We have enough Cuban cigars and Knob Creek for 5 years.

1- dont go full retard, never go full retard.
2- most people are here.
3- as long as exxon-mobile, shell and bp are the number 1,2,3 largest companies in the planet I doubt it. But it doesnt mean it will be attainable.
4-glen beck sucks ballz
5- why does the person you describe read backwoods home, more like "better homes and gardens"
6-these will be the hardest hit folks. its like mentally disabled people. its almost better to be completely disabled and happy living life as a perpetual 2nd grader than only being 50% disabled, and knowing it. these folks will see it coming and be unable to change their fate.
7-rawles is a snake oil salesman.
8-ferfal is a drama queen that makes side cash by telling people how bad it is to live in the ghetto. no ****.
9-this is roughly where I am. but for good times, not for bad.
10 - but I didnt marry her, I just doggy styled and donkey punched her. thats where i got the cash for me to be at number 9.

#10 thought of everything. During a nuclear exchange U.S. will lob a nuke over to Cuba just because. They'll be prepared for sure (not even settling for Dominican Cigars)!

Nine here. No interest in 10...

I'm part 7 / part 9.

We have a nursery / greenhouse business. About 60 months of rice and beans stored up, among other things.

LOTS of guns and ammo. Well water with a dipper.

Gardens. We can.

4 kids between the ages of 8 and 14. We like to camp, go shooting, etc.

It is expensive, but I have made sure all the kids have quality hiking boots that fit them on hand at all times. If one of the kids can't walk a long distance over rough terrain, that could cramp our style badly.

We keep the suburban 4x4 fully fueled at all times and don't drive it that much because it only gets 14 MPG.

We live in the foot hills of the Cascade MT. range. Across the river from us is woods, for all pratical purposes, that go on forever into the mountains. Wouldn't want to cross them on foot, but we are prepared to do so at a mooments notice with our bugout packs.

I am former active Army / infranty from the 10th Mountain Div. / airbourne qualified and am in relatively good shape (could do better in this area).

What we lack is any real savings at all.

Did I mention we are well armed? Yes?

somewhere between 5 and 9.

Parts of 7-8-9

I don't fit on the list, but if I did it would probably be a number over 3 and wishing it was much much higher.

Definitely a 4, going towards a 9. No debt, credit cards are paid off in full every month. Living off savings for last 3 years, can last a couple of years more. Am a caretaker for a disabled family member living with me, so that definitely limits any bug-out options.

-BigCowboy

We're probably 30% as 'prepped' as we'd like to be. Got plenty of guns/ammo, but that's about it(I doubt guns or .308 shells would be terribly good to eat). Need to stock up on long term food, among other things. The wife and I are contemplating doing a garden in the backyard this year. Even if S doesn't HTF, we LOVE fresh vegetables and it will save us a few dollars on the grocery bill. (too bad we also can't grow gasoline lol)

PS: We don't know the first damn thing about gardening. If anyone has any helpful hints, or could point me to some good information, I'd be most appreciative!

in 2007-08 I was at 9, now I'm at 7++. In 2005-06 I learned from trading that being early is the same a being wrong, and now I'm learning it all over again.

I'm a 9 out of 10, 10 being the best, in being prepared.
However, I'm 10 out of 10 in being exposed, in the eye of the public and being vulnerable.

Dogs, guns, security systems, check, still won't be enough.

I`m ****ed............................... but resourceful, I MAY survive with a little luck.

At first i think it will be a little exciting but then MAJOR suckage will ensue!
I think my downfall will be that i try to help too many people spreading myself too thin until i am trapped..................

****!!!!!!!

Not at all and I don't plan on it either. If life gets to the point where being holed up in a "sanctuary" or fortress with a bunch of great Danes, sacks of rice and mre's and twenty weapons when I can only hold one at a time....then I plan on getting the hell out of here quickly. I have no interest in living in 2,400 BC like circumstances and will do my best to find a civilized part of the world in which I may abide. If there are none, then I will do the laws of numbers thing in the city with the best chance of survival and fewest leech****s.

"Karl’s been warning about the blowup of the US financial ponzi, in perhaps 2 to 4 years maximum. If the financial system goes the way of Argentina or Greece, where do you stand on this preparedness scale?"

Do you realize that the perma-bears here have been calling for the collapse of the financial system every year for the past 4 years? I have been reading MT since 2008 so I know. Yet the economy keeps on growing and life goes on. This collapse that is suppose to be occurring keeps getting pushed back every year and is becoming less likely not more.

I've been racing dirt bikes and have taken up the piano

Quote:

Yet the economy keeps on growing...This collapse that is suppose to be occurring... is becoming less likely not more.

I think you'd better read TF a little more closely, for comprehension perhaps. Karl has distinctly and regularly said that the longer this farce goes on the more painful (i.e. - the worse) it will be. You can ignore the politics, but ignore the math at your own peril.

Yeah...when debt to gdp is *falling* not rising that statement might be accurate.

Might.

The longer they kick the can and the more outrages they impose on the responsible people in America, the less I care if the financial system collapses.

I moved from Tampa, FL to the rust belt because I could see the downward slide into the abyss there for the last 5 years. I also know that will eventually happen in my current location, as the federal spending insanity comes to an end. So be it. Bring it on.

Probably around a 5 with goals around 9. I've been surprised how far they can kick the can past the math but that's probably from me being naive.

I don't think this can kicking can go on forever but let's say that it does. The downside to my prepping and getting semi-off grid is that I have control over my food and water supply. I take advantage of the cost effective things of being on grid (like electricy, which though is more expensive here it is convenient and off course the internet) and as things get more expensive I can drop the ones that I'm priced out of as I've already come up with plans to live without them.

I would dislike going back to 24,000 BC but am preparing to be able to survive under something like turn of the century 1800 in a manner that is not unpleasant.

It helps that as I get older I'm completely content wrapping up the day sitting on the lanai, looking out over the jungle, drinking a home brew and reading a book.