I just dropped a new video where I break down 10 of the harsh truths nobody talks about once you hit the big 4-0. It’s entertaining, eye-opening, and maybe even a little too honest at times—but that’s what makes it worth watching.
👉 Go watch it here: [YouTube link] click to watch.
Grab a coffee (or something stronger), hit play, and let me know if you’ve experienced any of these truths yourself.
Thanks,
M.D. Creekmore
It looks like my videos are either being suppressed by YouTube… or maybe they just suck. Honestly, I’m not sure right now. My last two uploads have barely crawled to a couple thousand views, while most of my earlier videos were hitting ten thousand or more on average.
So I’m scratching my head. If my videos really do suck, I want to know why — but please be nice about it. Tell me what you think I could do better in the next ones. Do I need to run around half-naked, scream into the camera, or just act ridiculous to get the clicks? (lol)
Anyway, today’s video isn’t doing worth a crap either, so if you’ve got a few minutes, go watch it and then leave your feedback in the comments here on the website (not on YouTube). I’d appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks for being part of this journey,
M.D. Creekmore
In 2019, a hundred dollars at the grocery store filled up a cart. Today, that same list costs nearly a hundred and forty. And it’s not just food — even deodorant has doubled in price.
The experts tell us to buy stocks, gold, or crypto to beat inflation. Wall Street wants you trapped in their system. But there’s a forgotten strategy that actually works — and it doesn’t depend on banks, brokers, or digital tokens.
🎥 I break it all down in this video — watch here:
👉 They Keep Raising Prices… Here’s How I’m Fighting Back
Back in 1980, John Pugsley published The Alpha Strategy: The Ultimate Plan of Financial Self-Defense. His idea was simple but brilliant:
Protect your wealth with tangible assets. Everyday goods you’ll always need — food, tools, clothing, household supplies.
Stockpile as financial defense. Buy tomorrow’s necessities at today’s prices and preserve your purchasing power.
Question traditional investments. Stocks, bonds, and even silver coins can be manipulated, taxed, or confiscated. Real goods are always in demand.
Mitigate risks. Yes, goods can spoil, go obsolete, or get stolen — but Pugsley explains how to manage those risks.
Just look at the past few years:
Laundry detergent → up 36% since 2019.
Toilet paper → part of a grocery basket that’s up 37%.
Eggs → up 16–25% in a single year.
Old Spice deodorant → from $4 to nearly $8.
Rice and dried beans → reported to have nearly doubled.
If you’d stocked up back then, you’d be sitting on shelves of goods at pre-inflation prices while everyone else is paying through the nose today.
Silver has held value for thousands of years. You can only stockpile so much gear, but silver lets you retain wealth in a compact form — and it gives you a way to barter outside their system.
It’s not about buying groceries with silver. It’s about holding an asset that beats paper or digital money, which can be created out of thin air.
If you want to dig deeper into this, grab a copy of The Alpha Strategy here 👉 The Alpha Strategy: The Ultimate Plan of Financial Self-Defense
And here are some tools I personally recommend for getting started:
This post and video are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research and consult with a qualified professional before making investment decisions.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
New video is up: Everyday Carry in Appalachia — My No-Nonsense EDC
Simple, reliable gear that actually earns pocket space—knife, light, pepper spray, holster, and a few rural must-haves. No paid sponsors—just what I use and would recommend to family.
Watch here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ywiexPO2E
Question for you: What’s the ONE item you’d add (or remove) from this EDC—and why?
I don’t recommend Berkey anymore. They’ve had quality-control questions and still don’t hold a recognized performance certification. Independent lab tests are fine, but that’s not the same as third-party certification that also audits manufacturing. When it’s my drinking water, I want both published data and a recognized cert.
I do recommend ProOne for home use and Sawyer for camping and emergencies. I don’t own every filter on the market (no one does), but I do own and use a ProOne daily. I also own a Berkey, a couple of Sawyers, and a few LifeStraws. I don’t recommend the LifeStraw straw for most people.
Home/Countertop: ProOne gravity unit (Big+ size for families). Reliable day-to-day, good capacity, straightforward upkeep.
Field/Travel/BOB: Sawyer Squeeze. Small, fast enough, and proven for bacteria and protozoa when used and maintained correctly.
What I skip: Berkey (no recognized performance certification), LifeStraw straw (awkward format for real-world use).
Start with your water and your use-case.
Municipal water: You care about taste/odor, chlorine byproducts, and the occasional “boil water” event after a main break. A quality gravity filter handles the day-to-day; keep a backup like tablets or boiling for rare virus concerns.
Well water: Think sediment, minerals, metals (like iron, lead), and sometimes bacteria. A gravity unit is a good countertop solution; consider testing your well annually so you know what you’re targeting.
Surface water (creeks, ponds, backcountry): You must address bacteria and protozoa at a minimum. A hollow-fiber filter like the Sawyer Squeeze does that. For viruses, plan to boil or chemically treat if you’re in higher-risk regions or after disasters.
Questions to answer before you buy:
How many people are you supplying?
How dirty is the source water (do you need to pre-filter)?
Do you need portability, or will it live on the counter?
How much daily volume do you actually use?
No recognized performance certification. Plenty of companies publish test results; a formal certification goes further by verifying claims and auditing production. That matters to me for something I drink from daily. If you already own a Berkey and plan to keep using it, at least test your water before and after a couple of times a year so you know what it’s actually doing.
This is what sits on my counter. Day to day it’s been solid: dependable flow, easy to refill, and straightforward maintenance. The company publishes lab data and has a recognized listing, which together give me more confidence than most countertop gravity options.
Real-world tips from daily use:
Break-in: Discard the first several liters until any initial carbon fines are gone.
Placement: Keep it on a stable surface with a bit of height so you can fit cups and bottles under the spigot.
Prefiltering: If your source water is cloudy, let it settle or pour it through a clean cloth or coffee filter first. That keeps the main elements from clogging early.
Element care: If flow slows, gently scrub the elements per the manual. Don’t use detergents.
Capacity: For two people, a Big+ is comfortable. For a family, fill morning and evening and you’ll stay ahead of demand.
For a packable, simple setup, I keep a Sawyer Squeeze in the truck and in my kit. It’s a 0.1-micron hollow-fiber filter that knocks out bacteria and protozoa when used properly.
Practical field tips:
Backflush often: Flow rate is everything. Use the syringe or a squeeze bottle to backflush after murky sources.
Protect from freezing: If the filter freezes wet, the fibers can crack. In cold weather, keep it in a pocket or inside your sleeping bag at night.
Gravity mode: Hang the dirty bag and let the Squeeze run as a mini gravity system at camp while you do other chores.
Pair with treatment if needed: For suspect water where viruses are a concern, filter first, then chemically treat, or just bring it to a rolling boil.
The tech works, but the format is awkward in the real world. You’re hunched over a stream or limited to sipping through a bottle. It doesn’t easily fill a pot for pasta, a kettle for coffee, or a bladder for hiking. A squeeze or gravity setup is simply more useful.
Tested to a standard usually means a lab ran the protocol and published a report.
Certified to a standard means an accredited body verified performance and also audits manufacturing and labeling.
I look for both: readable lab data and a recognized certification or listing when it applies.
New setup: Test your source water once so you know your baseline.
After changes: If your water utility has a major incident, or you notice changes in taste/color, test again.
Well owners: Annual bacteria and metals testing is money well spent.
TDS isn’t safety: TDS tells you dissolved solids, not whether water is safe. Use appropriate tests for microbes, metals, or chemicals depending on your situation.
Not priming/breaking in carbon-based elements and then complaining about taste.
Letting hollow-fiber filters freeze and trusting them afterward.
Running silty water straight into a gravity unit without prefiltering.
Never backflushing a squeeze filter and wondering why it’s slow.
Using hot water in systems not designed for it.
Storing filters wet and sealed for long periods. If you’re shelving gear, follow the manufacturer’s directions for storage and drying.
Own & use daily: ProOne gravity unit (Big+).
Own & use outdoors: Sawyer Squeeze.
Own but don’t recommend: Berkey (no recognized performance certification), LifeStraw straw (impractical format for how I use water).
Get a solid countertop gravity filter for home and a compact field filter for your pack or vehicle. That combination covers day-to-day life, boil-water notices, road trips, and short-term emergencies without breaking the bank or overcomplicating your setup.
Affiliate — ProOne Big+ I use
Affiliate — Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System
Berkey on not being NSF certified (company FAQ)
“Top Berkey Complaints” page (company site)
NSF/ANSI 42/53/401 standards overview
ProOne Big+ product page (system listing details)
ProOne G2.0 microbiological test report (PDF)
Sawyer Squeeze microbial efficacy testing (PDF)
LifeStraw personal straw product page (performance data sheet under Resources)
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I’ve lived a simple, frugal life for years — not because I had to, but because I chose to.
The freedom, peace of mind, and control you get from living below your means? You can’t put a price on it.
But even though I already believed in this way of life, these 5 books gave me even more of the how-to. They backed up everything I knew and added more skills, strategies, and motivation to keep going — even when everyone else said I was crazy.
These aren’t theory books. They’re practical, down-to-earth, and timeless how-to-do-it books.
If you’re living frugally (or want to start), my new video tells you THE BEST books to help you live better, live cheaper and survive when times get tough:
👉 Watch the video here on YouTube
I think you’ll see why I’ve kept these books on my shelf for years.
– M.D. Creekmore