Why Be Prepared?

I have written about being prepared for rising food and fuel costs. I should side step that a little bit and discuss being prepared over all. Being prepared for a worst case scenario. First a little history lesson.

I grew up in South Florida, Miami, to be precise. We were all aware, from an early age, about hurricanes. Unfortunately for me, I lived in Miami during a period of time, nearly 25 years, when a major hurricane had not impacted the city. Oh, we had some close calls, we even bought canned goods, batteries, water and boarded up our house. We were never directly impacted by a major storm. The people of South Florida started slipping into a complacency. Oh, we knew, deep down, it was only a matter of time. Living life, however took precedent over being prepared.

Hurricane Andrew caught South Florida napping. In an instant millions of lives changed forever. Thousands died during the storm. Hundreds died after. Basic services, like water, power, telephone, all gone. Some sections of South Florida had no water service for nearly a year. Power was out for six months where my house was. Yes, was.

I have since lived through 5 major storms - Hurricanes Andrew, Opal, Rita, Katrina, and Ike. What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? "I don't live in a hurricane zone, or even close to the coast", you may say. Well, hurricanes notwithstanding, we have floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, ice storms, and severe thunderstorms. But that is just the beginning.

When the dollar collapses, will it be an orderly collapse? Will it be tumultuous and riot filled, like Argentina? Will we enter a hyper-inflationary period that makes the Weimar Republic at the end of World War I look like a tea party at your grandmother's house?

Riots, civil unrest, shut down of civil services - water, power, phone, police, fire and rescue, ambulances, hospitals. All of these things are what the Federal Reserve is steering us towards. History abounds with examples of this happening, worldwide.

You need the basic three to survive the very likely extended periods of civil unrest we are headed towards: food/water, shelter/heat, and security to keep what you have from those that would take it from you.

Food and water - you need this to live. Without these, you will most assuredly die.
Shelter/Heat - Kind of self explanatory. A place to live and shelter you from the elements, and a way to keep warm when the power is out and it is below freezing outside.
Security - I use a simple word for a complex thing. Security covers guns, ammunition, secure domicile, low profile living (don't let the have-nots know you have things they will want. The list is near endless.

I add buy physical metals as a final resort, after you have the basics. Buy things like like gold and silver coins and rounds, as a hedge against inflation or complete collapse of the dollar. Why? My grandfather was able to weather the depression because he saw the signs, took all of his money out of the bank, invested in gold and silver coins, and hid them. He worked, he used cash just like everyone else. When the depression ended, he sold those metals back into cash, thereby preserving his wealth. He did not trust a bank at all until the day he died.

The banks will fail. The Republic as we know it is on it’s death bed. Are you ready for the day it dies?
Pray for the best, prepare for the worst.