New Years Resolutions- Finalized a bit late

I dropped some draft goals awhile back and was recently reminded of them. It is high time I solidify them.

Physical:

Maintain a consistent weight lifting program.

Run a half marathon (I changed to this because it's March and I haven't tracked mileage which was a big fat fail)



Continue working on barefoot running towards the goal of running on a  variety of terrain up to 5k barefoot

Transition to running fully in minimalist shoes

Ruck at least 1x a week

Eat reasonably with decent consistency so I don't gain and lose the same weight 2-3 times over the year.

Skills/ Training:

Attend a defensive handgun course.

Work on developing a variety of other skills as they come up by doing as much myself as possible.

Guns and Gun Junk:

Pick up a couple holsters and assorted other stuff to get squared away for what we have. (Specifically a nice Bravo or Raven concealment kydex holster for the Glock with TLR-1, a good OWB holster for the J frame, and an ankle holster.)

Purchase a DBAL and free float the barrel on project AR.  (The DBAL is almost funded I just need to do a bit more research then pull the trigger.)


Finally complete Project 870. At least the tube extension and sling. The light angle I've got to do some thinking on.

Get more spare parts. Beef up on core stuff (AR's and Glocks) and get some basic stuff (firing pin, extractor, ejector, springs, pins, etc) for other guns.

Finally get my (already sporterized) 1903 30'06 tapped and mount a scope on it.

If things work out and decent deals come along I would like to get a single shot 12 gauge and another .22 rifle. 

Subcategory Ammo: I am only doing this if prices get back to normalish. Would take my best whack at it and if I get half done be happy.
5k .22lr
1k 9mm
1k 12 gauge (mixed about 400 buck, 100 slug and 500 mixed small game loads)
2k .223


Food:

Build up to a 1 year supply of food for 4 people.

Can something

Continue with my garden this year.

Pursue fishing/ hunting as it fits with our environment and life. 

 Energy/ Other:

Get a better solar setup. A bigger panel with a power supply and a few small lights is the answer. Goal 0 makes what I am looking for. It will cost about $400. Probably 500 once I get the lights. This would have gotten purchased late in 2012 but the whole ban madness shifted my priorities elsewhere.

Get licensed to drive a motorcycle. Maybe purchase a used enduro/ adventure touring motorcycle.

Continue putting together and refining our systems. Firm up the bug out bags and the heavy (vehicle) bug out setup.

Re look and improve our cache situation.

Financial:

Continue being debt free and saving. Along these lines continue not doing stupid things. 

If we reach our food storage goal get back to putting away some silver and gold.

Long Shots:


Start on the AR Pistol.

Buy some land (this mostly depends on some other things).

As always input is welcome. It would be fairly useful now before these resolutions are solidified. 

Draft New Years Resolutions

So a few days ago Alexander Wolfe of TEOTWAWKI Blog reminded me that I usually do New Years Resolutions. Last years deployment threw off the cycle. Anyway I got moving on this a lot later than usual; so these are not as thought through as they could be. I am posting some ideas. In a week or a month these will be solidified into the New Years Resolutions I am going to run with.

Physical:

Maintain a consistent weight lifting program.

Run over 1,000 miles

Ruck at least 1x a week

Eat reasonably with decent consistency so I don't gain and lose the same weight 2-3 times over the year.

Skills/ Training:

Attend a defensive handgun course.

Attend a trauma based first aid class (I am due for retraining).

Work on developing a variety of other skills as they come up by doing as much myself as possible.

Guns and Gun Junk:

Pick up a couple holsters, pouches and assorted other stuff to get squared away for what we have. 

Buy 2 cases of .223 ammo.

Free float the barrel on project AR. 

Get more spare parts. Beef up on core stuff (AR's and Glocks) and get some basic stuff for other guns.

Finally get my (already sporterized) 1903 30'06 tapped and mount a scope on it. 

If this gun ban madness calms down start building an AR pistol.

Food:

Build up to a 1 year supply of food for 4 people.

Can something

Pursue gardening/ fishing/ hunting as it fits with our environment and life. 

 Energy/ Other:

Get a better solar setup. A bigger panel with a power supply and a few small lights is the answer. Goal 0 makes what I am looking for. It will cost about $400. Probably 500 once I get the lights. This would have gotten purchased late in 2012 but the whole ban madness shifted my priorities elsewhere.

Get licensed to drive a motorcycle. Purchase a used enduro/ adventure touring motorcycle.

Continue putting together and refining our systems. Firm up the bug out bags and the heavy (vehicle) bug out setup.

Re look and improve our cache situation.

Financial:

Continue being debt free and saving. Along these lines continue not doing stupid things. 

Once we are done with the food storage goal get back to putting away some silver and gold.

Long Shots:

Get a DBAL for my AR.

Buy some land (this mostly depends on some other things).

As always input is welcome. It would be fairly useful now before these resolutions are solidified. 

New Years Resolutions: January Update

I've decided that instead of just randomly reviewing my progress and changes in goals I will do it monthly. Accomplished goals will be lined through and changes/ additions and commentary will be in italics.

People:


1. Maximize family time. I think spending at least a hour of good undivided family time a day is doable on all but the longest work days. More on weekends. This one is coming along pretty well.

2. Take better care of myself. I need to work on getting at least 6 hours of sleep even when I get off work late. Also I need to eat more regularly (I have started to get busy and just not eat) and like most people could also consume more green stuff. Find a suplimentary (to regular PT) exercise program that I can really stick with. I got busy and this goal sort of ebbed/ flowed and then just slipped away over the past year. I'm not in bad shape but could definitely be in better shape.

3. Better prioritize tasks and be more efficient.

Money:

4. Become debt free- Should be done in by the end of March

5. Fully fund ROTH IRA's for Wifey and I.

5.1 Learn about how to analyze and value individual stocks.

6. Add at least $500 (ideally $1,000) to our emergency fund.

7. Buy some silver. It is somewhat flexible but am leaning toward 90% coinage. I hesitate to say an exact amount because as I noted last year price swings change those goals from being realistic to unattainable.

8. Start funding Walkers college education.

Of course we will also continue to not make stupid choices.

Skills and Education

9. Study insurgent/ guerilla/ partisan tactics. This has the added benefit of being 'red hat' stuff for work.

10. Get better at first aid/ trauma stuff. May get moving on this next week.

11. Shave with a straight razor. Sharpen it also. (implied task, get a straight razor)

12. Work on making antennas for world band radio’s and tuning into a variety of stations around the world.

13. Get better at using Excell. Particularly writing formulas to get the most out of what the program is capable of. This will help me with work, blog stuff, preps and life.

14. Learn more about IED construction, emplacement and use.

15. Read a couple of significant books. I wouldn't say classic but but old, noteable type stuff. In particular Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is on my list. Also read the entire Bible.

Alternates- Skills are an area where things seem more prone to changing due to factors beyond my control. I decided to come up with a few alternatives against that scenario.

Get better at making flat bread

Learn some HTLM

Get better with Powerpoint

Things:

Family/ Life:

16. Probably going to purchase another vehicle. A fairly low mile mid sized SUV with a decent sized 6 cylinder engine (3.5Lish or above) and 4WD. It goes without saying that we will pay cash.

Prep Stuff:

I did a couple of things differently here. I broke stuff down by category. Also if you notice there are numbers after the goals. Those numbers are a tenative plan on what order I will acquire this stuff.

Force Protection Stuff-

17. 1x bullet proof vest. Probably class II or IIIA concealable type-2

18. 3x gas masks-9

Firearm Stuff-

19. Folding stock for my AK and a US palm grip-1

20. 500 rounds of .38 special-5.1

21. 500 rounds of 12 gauge buckshot-5.3

22. 1 case 7.62x39 hollow points-5.2

23. AK spare parts-11

24. Buy more mags. In particular a few more Glock happy sticks and a half dozen each for the AR and AK. I am not in a bad place but if I happen to have a couple extra C notes lying around in the late fall this is where they will go- 12 This one might just have to get bumped up in priority with all the shenannigans that have been going on recently.

Food and Water-

25. 4x Berkley black filters-3

26. 1x Katadyn replacement filter-7

27. Nice solar oven-4

Energy and communication-

28. Bigger and better solar trickle charger (folding mat type)-10

29. Compact world band radio-6

Random

30. Get 2 spare Cold Steel folding knives (my EDC) and a leatherman for a rainy day-8. I actually got a Gerber at no cost from work which lets me make a leatherman I already have my primary backup multi tool.

I would have accomplished a couple other goals by now but with me deploying and Wifey going home we have so much happening that I am holding off on doing much of anything. For the immediate future I am just going to keep my life simple and hold cash. At some point when we both get settled that may change. Due to this not much will happen in terms of stuff for awhile.

Got AK Stock?

I am looking for a Romanian side folding stock for my AK. The wire looking one that you can just screw on. Ideally with a lever instead of a button. One Source Tactical used to carry them but don't have them in stock. I tried to get one through Gun Broker but their site hates me. Guns of America doesn't seem to have any either.

If anyone has one they would like to sell or knows a current source for them please help me out.

Thanks,

New Years Resolutions 2011

I am doing things a bit differently this year. Breaking goals down Suze Orman style by people, money then things seems to be a good way of categorization. Some goals are going to be conducted consecutively. For things I took a stab at prioritization.

People:
1. Maximize family time. I think spending at least a hour of good undivided family time a day is doable on all but the longest work days. More on weekends.

2. Take better care of myself. I need to work on getting at least 6 hours of sleep even when I get off work late. Also I need to eat more regularly (I have started to get busy and just not eat) and like most people could also consume more green stuff. Find a suplimentary (to regular PT) exercise program that I can really stick with. I got busy and this goal sort of ebbed/ flowed and then just slipped away over the past year. I'm not in bad shape but could definitely be in better shape.

3. Better prioritize tasks and be more efficient.

Money:
4. Become debt free- Should be done in by the end of March

5. Fully fund ROTH IRA's for Wifey and I.

6. Add at least $500 (ideally $1,000) to our emergency fund.

7. Buy some silver. It is somewhat flexible but am leaning toward 90% coinage. I hesitate to say an exact amount because as I noted last year price swings change those goals from being realistic to unattainable.

8. Start funding Walkers college education.

Of course we will also continue to not make stupid choices.

Skills and Education

9. Study insurgent/ guerilla/ partisan tactics. This has the added benefit of being 'red hat' stuff for work.

10. Get better at first aid/ trauma stuff.

11. Shave with a straight razor. Sharpen it also. (implied task, get a straight razor)

12. Work on making antennas for world band radio’s and tuning into a variety of stations around the world.

13. Get better at using Excell. Particularly writing formulas to get the most out of what the program is capable of. This will help me with work, blog stuff, preps and life.

14. Learn more about IED construction, emplacement and use.

15. Read a couple of significant books. I wouldn't say classic but but old, noteable type stuff. In particular Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is on my list.

Alternates- Skills are an area where things seem more prone to changing due to factors beyond my control. I decided to come up with a few alternatives against that scenario.

Get better at making flat bread

Learn some HTLM

Get better with Powerpoint

Things:

Family/ Life:
16. Probably going to purchase another vehicle. A fairly low mile mid sized SUV with a decent sized 6 cylinder engine (3.5Lish or above) and 4WD. It goes without saying that we  will pay cash.

Prep Stuff:

I did a couple of things differently here. I broke stuff down by category. Also if you notice there are numbers after the goals. Those numbers are a tenative plan on what order I will acquire this stuff.

Force Protection Stuff-

17. 1x bullet proof vest. Probably class II or IIIA concealable type-2

18. 3x gas masks-9

Firearm Stuff-

19. Folding stock for my AK and a US palm grip-1

20. 500 rounds of .38 special-5.1

21. 500 rounds of 12 gauge buckshot-5.3

22. 1 case 7.62x39 hollow points-5.2

23. AK spare parts-11

24. Buy more mags. In particular a few more Glock happy sticks and a half dozen each for the AR and AK. I am not in a bad place but if I happen to have a couple extra C notes lying around in the late fall this is where they will go- 12

Food and Water-

25. 4x Berkley black filters-3

26. 1x Katadyn replacement filter-7

27. Nice solar oven-4

Energy and communication-

28. Bigger and better solar trickle charger (folding mat type)-10

29. Compact world band radio-6

Random

30. Get 2 spare Cold Steel folding knives (my EDC) and a leatherman for a rainy day-8

What are your thoughts about my goals? Do you have goals? If so would you like to share them in a comment or a guest post?

New Years Eve

I had wanted to put out the my New Years Resolutions for 2011 today. However it doesn't look like that is going to happen. I dodn't work on them much prior to now and would rather think about it a little more and have good ones in a week then mediocre ones now.

In the comments on a previous post a fellow mentioned the idea of  selling the 1903 Springfield. While the specific issue of its peculiarity that was in qustion is figured out, the topic stuck in my head. A bolt action rifle with iron sights isn't so useful. Its capacity and rate of fire are low for a defensive weapon and lacking a scope and the easy ability to mount one means it can't be a sharpshooter type rifle. I could sell/ trade it for another more useful weapon like an AK or part of something else. Scoping it could also give it a new purpose for hunting or as a sharpshooter. I will mull the idea for awhile. Most likely at some point I plan to sell a couple guns anyway.

Not a whole lot going on here for New Years. Went out for drinks and appetizers earlier which was nice. Just kinda hanging out for the rest of the evening.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years.

New Years Resolutions Concluded

Well the year isn't quite over yet but it seemed like a good time to see how I have done on my goals. Lined through are completed.


My goals for this year.

Personal:

1. Pay more attention to my wife. This one is continual but I think it went OK.
2. Travel a lot. We did pretty good at this one. Went to Croatia, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic and Paris.
Personal Stuff:

3. We can use a few smaller things like a new TV and another laptop. The main push however is to get a reliable second car which we pay cash for.
Financial:

4. Stash some more Euro's. Say E400 or so. Didn't quite get to 400 but I am calling it close enough.
5. Contribute 10% of our total take home to retirement.

6. Stash at least a half an ounce of gold and 40 ounces of silver. Didn't get too far on
the silver. Sorta misestimated what we were capable of. Also prices going up did not help.

7. Continue to not make stupid choices.

Skills:

8. Take an automotive class. They offer them on base and I need to know more about car repair.

This one got replaced by brewing some beer which I did.

9. Be able to setup and trouble shoot a small solar setup. Sorta mute since I went with a solar charger and a bunch of eneloop batteries.

Preparedness Stuff :

10. A good radio that can pick up everything. Probably a Grundig.

11. Maybe a Berkey water filter and maybe some spare elements for it and the portable filter.

12. A basic solar setup.

Gun Stuff:

12. Buy a full case of .223

13. Buy a full case of 9mm.
14. Glock 9mm mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.

15. Some M1a mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.

16. A few more spare parts and at least one AR15 full bolt carrier group.

Also picked up a full case of 7.62x39 and another 10 mags for that gun.

Food Rotation:

17. Get a pressure canning setup and can something.

This one just didn'thappen. We can't get any of the stuff locally and paying shipping negates any financial benefits. I am willing to do it just for the sake of the skill but not with that hassle.

18. Get a dehydrator and dehydrate something. Did this.
And Just To Get To An Even 20......

19. Get a subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine and otherwise work on my self sufficiency/ preparedness library.

20. Join a gun rights organization.

Time for discussion. Things went pretty well. All the more expensive goals have been met. A couple goals just didn't pan out. I never got around to more spare parts because I ended up getting other stuff. On the whole I am happy with this years accomplishments.

Oh yeah and click on my advertisers links and buy lots of their stuff.

New Years Resolutions IPR #3

 Lined through are completed.

My goals for this year.

Personal:
1. Pay more attention to my wife. This one is continual but I can reasonably say it is going well.
2. Travel a lot.  We went to Croatia, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic. May make it to Paris just before years end.

Personal Stuff:
3. We can use a few smaller things like a new TV and another laptop. The main push however is to get a reliable second car which we pay cash for. The first car is still plugging along but I think when we get a better second one and it is relegated exclusively taking me to work and back its life would be greatly extended.

Financial:
4. Stash some more Euro's. Say E400 or so. A good chunk into this one. Will probably just finish it off in one shot at some point.
5. Contribute 10% of our total take home to retirement.
6. Stash at least a half an ounce of gold  and 40 ounces of silver. Just started on the silver. Don't think we will make 40 ounces but oh well.
7. Continue to not make stupid choices.

Skills:
8. Take an automotive class.  They offer them on base and I need to know more about car repair. 
This one got replaced by brewing some beer which I did.
9. Be able to setup and trouble shoot a small solar setup.    Sorta mute since I went with a solar charger and a bunch of eneloop batteries.

Preparedness Stuff :
10. A good radio that can pick up everything. Probably a Grundig.
11. Maybe a Berkey water filter and maybe some spare elements for it and the portable filter.
12. A basic solar setup. 

Gun Stuff:
12. Buy a full case of .223
13. Buy a full case of 9mm. (I am going to call this complete because it is funded)
14. Glock 9mm mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
15. Some M1a mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
16. A few more spare parts and at least one AR15 full bolt carrier group.

Food Rotation:
17. Get a pressure canning setup and can something.

This one just isn't going to happen. We can't get any of the stuff locally and paying shipping negates any financial benefits. I am willing to do it just for the sake of the skill but not with that hassle.

18. Get a dehydrator and dehydrate something. Jerky is good and so are banana slices.

And Just To Get To An Even 20......
19. Get a subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine and otherwise work on my self sufficiency/ preparedness library.
20. Join a gun rights organization.

Time for discussion. Things are going pretty well. All the more expensive goals have been met.

Oh yeah and click on my advertisers links and  buy lots of their stuff.


Thoughts?

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

 On the bright side I am finally starting to feel normal again. However between work and life nothing amazing happened this week. I did some cooking which was good. Wifey has been taking it easy so Miley and I have been cooking. Nothing too crazy but if you don't use those skills you start to lose them. I have also been reading a lot which is cool. Got all caught up on blogs plus also some select chapters of various field manuals. Learned some interesting stuff and was pretty entertained in the process.

Moved some money around and I should be getting a plate carrier and rifle plates this week. Also I have been looking at optics. Awhile back I was thinking EoTech but after a recent trip to the range I really like and shoot better using an optic that has some magnification. I LOVE the ACOG but alas, hangs head in shame, it is too expensive. I am looking at the IOR M2 scopes. Got to do some more research and run the numbers. Still might be awhile.

I also tore up our place and finally found my P Mags. Unfortunately I have a few less than I thought I did. Oh well that can be rectified later. Think I'm going to start using some at work to evaluate them.

I started working on next years Wish List which makes up at least part of the New Years Resolutions. Nothing new or huge there. Working on protective gear as well as some outdoor type stuff. Just kinda coming up with ideas now. Then I will weigh different categories and think about what I can realistically do in a year. More to follow in a month and a half or so. Come to think of it I need to look at where I am on this years New Years Resolutions. Don't have much time to finish things off.

My home brewed beer is better after waiting another week. They said it needed 3 weeks but 4 turns out to be more accurate. It is less cloudy and the carbonation seems to be more uniform. Also the bitter after taste has gone away. It is a relatively light, slightly sweet and refreshing ale.

For a slow week I guess it wasn't too bad. Next week is going to be pretty packed. Posting may be abnormal this coming week.

What did you do to prepare this week?

New Years Resolutions IPR #2

 Lined through are completed.

My goals for this year.

Personal:
1. Pay more attention to my wife.
2. Travel a lot.

Personal Stuff:
3. We can use a few smaller things like a new TV and another laptop. The main push however is to get a reliable second car which we pay cash for. The first car is still plugging along but I think when we get a better second one and it is relegated exclusively taking me to work and back its life would be greatly extended.

Financial:
4. Stash some more Euro's. Say E400 or so.
5. Contribute 10% of our total take home to retirement.
6. Stash at least a half an ounce of gold  and 40 ounces of silver.
7. Continue to not make stupid choices.
+I do not have any direct goals when it comes to saving money aside from those above. Depending on how Wifey's job goes (how many hours she gets) saving for the much needed reliable car might take 2-3 months or as much as 8 months. If the car gets purchased earlier we will be able to save more, in part because it means we would be making more.

Skills:
8. Take an automotive class.  They offer them on base and I need to know more about car repair. 
This one got replaced by brewing some beer.
9. Be able to setup and trouble shoot a small solar setup.    Sorta mute since I went with a solar charger and a bunch of eneloop batteries.

Preparedness Stuff :
10. A good radio that can pick up everything. Probably a Grundig.
11. Maybe a Berkey water filter and maybe some spare elements for it and the portable filter.
12. A basic solar setup. 

Gun Stuff:
12. Buy a full case of .223
13. Buy a full case of 9mm. (I am going to call this complete because it is funded)
14. Glock 9mm mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
15. Some M1a mags. At least 10 and ideally closer to 20.
16. A few more spare parts and at least one AR15 full bolt carrier group.

Food Rotation:
17. Get a pressure canning setup and can something. In reality we will almost certainly can more than one thing but it is a very clear is you is or is you ain't goal all the same.

18. Get a dehydrator and dehydrate something. Jerky is good and so are banana slices.

And Just To Get To An Even 20......
19. Get a subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine and otherwise work on my self sufficiency/ preparedness library.
20. Join a gun rights organization.

I would say my goals start at the top in terms of priority and work more or less downward from there. I put more small stuff on here than last time. I tried to outline everything I would like to purchase which costs over a couple hundred bucks. That is mostly because I am trying to purchase stuff in a more dispassionate manner and plan ahead.




Time for discussion. Things are going pretty well. All the more expensive goals have been met. I don't think the canning is going to happen. We would have to order everything including jars and have it shipped here. That really takes any cost benefit out of the thing and would in fact make it cost us money. Not something I am willing to do in that situation.

 The brewing kit is here I am just at an awkward busy time so won't be able to brew for about a month. Really wish I could do it this weekend but putting it into a secondary ferment and then bottling has a pretty specific time line. Some spare parts and the silver should be easy enough. Given that gold might have officially gone insane I'm just going to buy silver anyway.

Our big push right now is paying off my student loan. I don't think it is quite going to happen this year but it will be close. Also I have some other ideas and am working some stuff. A IIIA bullet proof vest and maybe some sort of an optic might be my future.

Oh yeah and click on my advertisers links and  buy lots of their stuff.


Thoughts?

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

It was a good week for us. We got a great deal on a bunch of knives and machetes. Also we went and finished the New Years Resolutions in terms of Glock and M1A mags. Finally feeling pretty good about the overall magazine situation. Also reading books on Afghanistan which is a prep of sorts. Doing some workouts in my spare time which if not a perfect program is better than nothing.

What did you do to prepare this week?

What Are YOUR Goals

I talk about my goals a lot. I talk about how I decide what they are, working through them as well as when they change or I strait up fail to meet them. It is sort of a way for me to organize my thoughts and goals as well as just chronicling my life.



What are your goals?

I am talking bigger and longer term stuff than the normal weekly life. Maybe you want to get a new significant piece of kit, a gun, pay off debt, get training, really get cranking into food storage or who whose what else.

I am interested in getting to know a little bit more about you and where you want to go. Also this might help spur some new posts on those subjects.

New Vehicle, Goals and Compound Awesomeness or Failure

We can cross another one off the list. We got a few year old midsized Japanese SUV. It is several years old but with just over 60K on the odometer it should serve us well for years to come. We now have a big, heavy vehicle with a lot of cargo room which is pretty awesome. It is real strait except a bit of crunch on the front bumper. Best of all we paid CASH. Well actually we paid with a check but you get the idea.

That was our big push for the year so now we can get going on moving from an OK money place to a good money place. Now we are going to push hard at paying off my student loan (the interest rate is low enough that it hasn't been a huge concern) and be entirely debt free. After that we can start saving for a down payment on a house.

I realized something over the last few days. When it comes to money decisions tend to compound upon themselves. I am not talking in a formal sense of either earning or paying compound interest though that happens also. For some reason or another it just seems to work out that good brings better and bad brings worse.

For example lets look at a good money situation. Jim lives below his means. Since he lives below his means it is easy to slowly accumulate various preps and still save money. Jim eventually puts away a nice emergency fund. Since Jim has money he can plan in advance to shop good deals in the off season and buy in bulk. Now those things like sudden car repairs aren't an issue. He can usually just do it out of the normal surplus but if need be takes the money from the emergency fund then puts it back promptly. Since Jim is getting good deals on stuff and buying in bulk he is saving even more money. When his job slows down he is able to have the emergency fund supplement unemployment and thus be OK. Jim is able to buy a nice little piece of land with some of this money he is saving. Things just keep getting better.

Bob lives right up to the very limit of his means. Since he spends almost every dime that comes in it is very difficult to do more than pick up a couple cans of food or a box of shells for his deer rifle now and then. Bob is so worried about how to pay for a gallon of milk on the 29th of the month that buying things in advance of genuine need is almost a laughable concept. When Bob sees a good deal he is rarely able to take advantage of it due to lack of funds anyway. The closest thing to a savings plan Bob has is the change jar on the dresser. When the car breaks he has to make payments to the shop or put it on a credit card which makes his tight paycheck to paycheck lifestyle even tighter. When work slows down things become downright ugly. Unemployment doesn't come close to paying the bills and the change jar was good for about a tank of gas. Bob sells a couple things he really likes as well as getting behind on some bills and running up debt till normal checks start coming again. Things just kept getting worse for Bob. Every little thing that happens puts him another step backwards. In the best of times he is just treading water. Bob gets stuff on credit because there is no way he could pay cash. Those purchases are a mortgage on his future work so now he is left with even less money and the same needs.

You might be thinking that Bob's story hits a bit close to home. I urge you to not despair or give up or fall into the "everyone lives like this" trap. Personally I drank the Dave Ramsey cool aid . It may not work for everyone but it seems to be working well for us. Feel free to get a big plastic cup of the stuff or not.

Are you compounding awesomeness or failure?

The Good Part of Saving

Living below your means is not fun. It means that you have less money to spend on general lifestyle and discretionary expenses. It does however occasionally have good parts.

Last year into the very beginning of this one our big push was setting up the emergency fund. While it didn't give us anything quantifiable, peace of mind is darn hard to beat. We have been planning to get a TV for awhile. Actually ordered one online and after we paid for it they decided not to ship it. Eventually we will get that cash back but the whole thing turned into a real big pain. In any case today we went out and got a new 40" Sony Bravia TV. We took it home at a steep discount for a bit over $800 which considering the lack of options here is great. It is really darn nice. Also it has a remote control that works which gives me more joy than you could imagine.

This year we have been primarily pushing to get a decent second vehicle.This mission is now funded. We have a line on a low mile SUV which, assuming it passes muster with our stern and reliable German mechanic could work out well. Regardless sooner or later something will come along that fits our fairly loose criteria.

When you live below your means you can save money and use it to accomplish goals. Living below your means sucks but accomplishing goals is pretty awesome so it equals out. Maybe you want to set some money aside or buy a neato rifle or a piece of junk land or a camper or whatever. This is how you get there in a realistic and affordable way. Seriously today I got a nice TV with cash and we are about to buy a car. There is nothing magical about it. We have a pretty average income and choose to live well below it. Like many things in life it is simple but not easy.

On the bright side we are going through our New Years Resolutions like a bag of cocaine at an early 90's SNL party. Going to try and finish up our current goals and then do some more financial stuff. 

Please excuse me while I watch my sweet huge TV.

Tires, Junkyards, Beer Brewing and Mags

Today I went to get a leaky tire fixed. I went to the automotive place and; skipping the details lets just say it significant will power to not go Patrick Bateman on them. Anyway it all turned out OK when I went to the junk yard. For a couple minutes of looking and a few more wrenching some lug nuts I got a new tire with a rim for $17. Really psyched about that.

I have been saving up my pennies and ad money so it was time to buy some stuff. Decided to just go ahead and get mags. I am not exactly sure what type of 9mm ammo I want to get and well who knows what could happen with mags. Anyway I ordered 10 Glock 9mm mags from CDNN investments. Depending on how I want to look at it they are either going to be mags for my next Glock,  to stash somewhere or just put away for a rainy day. Lately I have been feeling like my happy number of 10 pistol mags is a bit low. The idea of having a few more to stash here or there has been appealing to me.

I went ahead and got 10 US GI M1A mags also. While certainly not the cheapest .308 semi auto I do really covet the M1A and intend to get one. Ever since I saw a blurb about these mags at a sane price on Survival Blog I have been wanting to pick some up. I was going to get more like 8 but there was free shipping on purchases over $200 so it was an easy decision to get 10.  In any situation (massive gun control/ AWB) where I would be unable to eventually get a rifle to go with them the mags would increase significantly in value so I don't see a downside.

Maybe if  the rest of the year goes rather well I will make those same orders again. 

Also ordered World Made By Hand and FerFal's book. I wanted to get his book when it came out but if I recall the cost was like $35 or even $40. Too much for me to justify anyway. However at $25 it is something I can justify. Really looking forward to reading it.

Was all set to order a beer brewing kit but they wanted almost double the price to ship the darn thing. That was pretty disappointing. When companies ship to an APO they only pay shipping costs to New York State but it is used as an excuse to really stick it to us. I will do some more looking and if need be pursue buying one locally. Worst case there is a store like an hour away and that city has some nice restaurants to boot.

I am going to cruise the blogosphere a bit then pick Wifey up from work. 

Later

Just Askin

I am in the market for a basic home brewing setup. Don't want to spend an arm and a leg but I want stuff I can use for awhile and build upon instead of just discarding down the road. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

Well a case of .223 ammo alone made this a good week for me. I also dehydrated some pineapple. It is pretty good though I need to really figure out the exact right amount of time. I did a lot of cooking this week in the crock pot. Since Wifey is working these days our dinner choices seem to be crock pot, quick pasta or meat and taters kind of stuff and occasionally some sort of cheater meal. For a little while there we were slipping from eating real food as a general rule. We started eating out a bit more and then when our cheapness made up knock that off moved to easier stuff. Not that there is anything wrong with some good processed Americana like hot dogs now and then but too often just isn't good for you. This week we were better which is good. Today I made barley casserole which is pretty darn good.

We put away some more Euro's which is good.  Folks occasionally question that. Some of them likely weren't tracking that I am in Europe right now. I keep some Euro's around because that is what spends here. If I was in Japan I would have Yen and if I was in Canada I would have Canadian Dollars. Other folks don't seem to see the point in keeping cash on hand and favor silver or something. The thing is that you need cash. Yesterday I counted up our random change and took it to the bank to exchange for a fiver. One of the interesting parts of having one and two euro coins instead of bills is that having too many of them gets bulky and heavy fast. We do keep some onesies, twosies and change around for small purchases. Stashing a 10 or a 20 every week seems to be working pretty well. It isn't particularly likely that we will need them but like the case of ammo, when you need it you really need it!

 The next several weeks are going to see little to nothing getting done but that is life. Tonight or tomorrow night I will fiddle with the Shortwave Radio which is getting more entertaining as I can hear stuff now. Will write about that later.

Ammo, New Years Resolutions and Extra Magazines

Today I bought a case of .223 ammo. It is 75 grain match JHP's made by Prvi Partisan. For what it is I am pretty happy with the price. So that takes another resolution off the list which is sweet. I got to thinking about my other ammo resolution  

13. Half cases each of 7.62x39, 9mm and just maybe .38. Full ones if I am feeling rich. Decided to go in a slightly different direction. I am going to get a full case of 9mm, some sort of JHP ammo. After the rest of my goals have been met I may look at some 7.62x39.

Also as per #14 I will get 20 Glock 9mm mags before moving onto more spare parts or after that some M1a mags. Who knows what will happen and it would be nice to have enough extra mags that I could pass a few to a friend if need be or get another gun and not be short mags. As I discussed earlier it would be nice to be able to stash a few here and there just in case.

Oh yeah and since I made the jerkey #18. Get a dehydrator and dehydrate something.  is complete. Speaking of which I am doing pineapple slices right now.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

I have let this one go for a few weeks. No great reason why but things got sort of busy when I traveled for that week and I got out of the pattern of it.

Over the last couple weeks we got a bunch of clothes at the thrift store. I got  a pair of nice fleece jackets for 50 cents each.

Whatever money out of our entertainment fund we have not spent has been going toward the goal of stashing some more Euro's. At some point we will pull the difference out of the bank but at 10-20 Euro's a week over the course of the year it will be easier on the budget than just grabbing it all at once.

We got a bunch of flour as well as sugar and salt at the store plus some peanut butter and jelly.

Got a couple of interesting books at the library. One on war in European history, another on Pakistan and a third that is by Thomas Friedman, the title of which escapes me.

Really got the Grundig up and running. Will talk more about that later.

Today we saw running shoes on sale for 50% off. They happened to be Asics which are the brand I wear exclusively. They had my size so we snagged a pair. I got a new pair recently so I will not need another for probably 4 months but for a bit over $36 instead of $72 snagging my next pair was an easy decision. One of the real benefits of having a few bucks lying around is that you can take advantage of that sort of thing.

Well it has been a pretty decent couple weeks.

What have you been up to?

Making Jerky

So New Years Resolution #18. Get a dehydrator and dehydrate something is complete. A week ago we got some meat at the store. Went for a small batch since it was the initial test run so it was only about a pound and a half. I made a brine by combining teriaki, soy, a touch of salt, Worcestershire and a good sized clump of brown sugar.  It seems like the point of brine is to help preserve (salt) and just make it taste good. I then sliced the meat about as uniformly as I could 1/4 inch thick or so. The meat went into the brine and soaked for almost a week getting stirred as often as I remembered. You stir the brine so it stays uniform and all the meat gets it soaked in, you know it is soaked in when there are no more red parts in the meat.

Yesterday before dinner I tossed it into our 4 tray Excalibur Dehydrator.  Ours doesn't have a timer but for almost half the price it made getting one of these great dehydrators affordable for us. It is easy enough to just use the oven timer to keep track of time. If you want to start the dehydrator and have the timer turn it off there is a solution. Angela gave me the great advice to just plug the dehydrator into one of those Christmas Tree timers.

After about 6 hours the jerky seemed done to us. Tossed it into a bag and went to bed. This morning I tried a piece and it was definitely jerky. Tasted good and I look forward to eating some more. Next time I will try a bigger piece of meat in order to make a larger batch. Going to make a bunch of it for when I go to play in the woods. Speaking of that you should all be comforted to know that I have scheduled posts for that period of time. Not quite every day but more than every other day. There are some lighter days with quotes or pictures but hey, writing 7 weeks of posts in advance is hard.

I am going to cook breakfast now. Hammy eggs and toast here I come.