M.D. CREEKMORE

Blog

How To Not Outlive Your Retirement [Saving For Retirement Beyond Your 401K]

by Brett Kittredge

Do you have enough money saved for your retirement? Do you even know how much you will need to retire comfortably?

If you are unsure, you are not alone. A recent study found that only 10% of Americans feel confident that they have enough saved for retirement and 45% are afraid they may run out of money in retirement. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to be a part of that statistic.

Being broke in normal. Being unsure about the future is normal. You don’t want to be normal. And you don’t want to rely on social security to pay your bills. Start your retirement plans by not relying on social security. Instead, treat it like a bonus in your retirement years – if it is still around.

If you want to live the retirement you have in your dreams, take control and don’t rely on the government to get by. Because that is all you do if social security is your only income – just get by.

While too few people are not saving enough for retirement, or maybe aren’t even thinking about retirement, it does not have to be like that for you. Regardless of how old you are, what you already have saved, and what you annual income is, you can, and must, save for retirement. It is only difficult in the sense that it takes commitment and a willingness to sacrifice today.

The best day to start saving was yesterday. The second best day is today. Don’t let another day go by. But at the same time, make sure you have a plan in place. Whether you are doing this on your own or with a financial advisor, make sure you don’t miss any steps.

Here are 7 tips to help you get started.

Know your why

The idea of saving and putting money aside – rather than spending it today to buy the newest product on the market – can be difficult for some. We really want that newer, bigger television, or maybe it’s something flashier like a new truck.

And it is easier when you don’t have a real understanding or purpose for saving. That is where your “why” comes in. Why are you doing this? What do you want your retirement to look like? Is it traveling around the world, spending time with your grandchildren, or just pointing your rocking chair toward the west? We all have individual goals in life. What it is doesn’t matter as much as understanding your why.

Saving will take sacrifice. There are things you’re not going to be able to do today or tomorrow. Are you going to be able to temporarily pass on something today because you have plans for your future? If you don’t know why you are doing something, it is much harder to make sense of sacrifice. This is a fun exercise to get you going. Do this first so you will know your why and start dreaming about retirement today.

Begin putting money aside as early as possible

Because of the beauty of compound interest, you are rewarded for putting money aside as early as possible. That is why you need to begin saving today.

Consider this, if you put $400 a month away each month from the time you are 22 until your retirement at 67, your retirement savings will be nearly $3.8 million (assuming a 10% return). Now, what if you wait just 10 years? Keep in mind, you will still be saving for 35 years. Your retirement account will be just $1.4 million, a full $2.4 million less. To reach that same $3.8 million by starting at 32, you will have to put aside more than $1,000 a month. At the same time, this requires you to double your contribution toward retirement.

Regardless of where you are in life, you need to begin saving today to get the most growth in your retirement over time. And as the numbers show, the earlier the better.

Put 15% into your retirement account

How much do you need to save each month? Your why can give you a good general idea for what you want to do, but a good general rule, if you are looking for a flat number, is 15% of your income. Here is why Fidelity recommends that amount.

That may seem like a difficult hill to climb, especially if you are not contributing anything today or if you have a low income without much wiggle room. But it’s possible. It just may require you to adjust your budget. Put retirement near the top, along with housing, transportation, food, and other key expenses.

And, it could vary based on where you are and your age. Certainly, the younger you are, the less you have to put away. And the reverse is true if you are older. Also, consider your retirement and what it looks like. Some people can live comfortably with half the retirement account of others. So while these principles are general, each retirement should be individualized.

Also, the government encourages you to save through the tax code. Your contributions, whether they are through work or a private account, can be made pre-tax, lowering your taxable income. And by extension, saving you money with every dollar you invest.

You may also choose to contribute to your retirement with post-tax contributions. You don’t receive the deduction up front in this case but can withdraw your funds tax-free in the future.

How do you know which is the best option? If your goal is to lower your taxable income today, and potentially help you qualify for additional tax breaks, or if you believe your tax rate will be lower when you are drawing retirement, which it will almost assuredly be, the pre-tax option is likely the way to go.

And the great part about saving for retirement is anyone can do it, and receive the same tax benefits. You don’t need a company-sponsored 401(k). You can open an individual retirement account, or an IRA, today, and begin saving immediately.

Take advantage of the company match

Most of us who don’t work for the government, don’t have the defined pension plans that were commonplace a few decades ago. But many companies do offer matches. What does that mean? Your employer will match what you put in your company-sponsored retirement account.

These may vary, whether it is dollar-for-dollar or 50 cents for every dollar you contribute. Most will also have caps at a certain percentage. But just imagine if you had an extra $100 or $200 every month in your retirement account. It all adds up and will help you reach your goal.

If your company offers anything, take advantage of it and make sure you are maximizing your contribution so you can maximize your match. The phrase free money gets thrown around too often, but for you, this is free money. So if you don’t take advantage of it, you are essentially throwing money down the drain. Everyone should be investing regardless of their income, so there is no reason to miss this opportunity.

Set a budget

A monthly household budget is one of the most valuable financial planning tools. But too many people ignore this crucial step. Everyone should have a budget, and it is should be regularly reviewed. And if you are married, make sure you are going over these numbers with your spouse, even if one partner generally handles bills or other financial matters. You’re a family, do this as a family.

With your budget, you tell your money where it should go each month. Start with your income, and then calculate your expenses. Your most important expenses – housing, food, transportation – will be at the top.

And if you aren’t saving for retirement yet, or you aren’t saving enough, this is where retirement fits in.

Are you saving 15% of your income? Plug it into your budget before you begin adding other items. You don’t need to sacrifice to the point that you can never eat out a restaurant for 40 years, but a budget is about prioritizing.

If you have a variable income, you can still budget. Just look at your monthly income over the past year, and assess what you brought home each month. You’re probably better to err on the side of caution so look at the lower months to give you a baseline. Meaning, what you know you will make each month even if sales are down or a bonus doesn’t come in. Use the baseline to set your priority items, and then pay for everything else after that.

But by putting it on paper (or a spreadsheet or in an app), you now have greater accountability with your money.

The trick is following your budget. One easy feature available with most online bill pay and retirement accounts is the automatic deposit. This makes these responsibilities easier and limits your ability to decide to do something else with that money.

When the money goes directly from your bank account to your retirement account, you will be less likely to notice the money leaving your account. If you aren’t disciplined enough right now, it makes sense to take advantage of this option.

Invest aggressively

Your age will dictate how aggressive you can be with your investments. But as long as you are 10 or so years from drawing on your retirement, take advantage of the interest you will earn in the market.

A conservative plan makes sense in the later stages, and there are some who are just uncomfortable with those years when your retirement goes down 20% or so, but the numbers don’t lie. Because if you are not in the market, you will never do much more than keeping up with inflation and will certainly not have enough for retirement.

But over time, the market will average 8-10% a year if your money is in high-growth, long-term funds. As long as you stick with it and don’t decide to sell the moment it looks like the market is heading south. In fact, that is the time you should be buying more.

Look at it as if stocks are on sale. So if there is a dip, know it will come back and you will be better off because you took advantage of it rather than backing out.

Just remember to start aggressive and remain aggressive. And don’t bother checking your account every day, every week, or even every month. You will likely get some type of quarterly report that you can review. But don’t stress when you lose 3% in one day. Better yet, don’t even look. After all, you’re not spending it tomorrow. It’s about the future.

Don’t go into debt

The best way to build wealth is to not be paying interest to the bank, especially on items that depreciate. Translation: avoid debt, except for your mortgage.

If you are in debt today, work tirelessly to pay it off as quickly as possible. Whether it’s student loan, credit card debt, a car, or something else, the money you are spending on that is money you can’t be sent to your retirement.

Car payments may seem like the norm, but they don’t have to be. Here is a number that will hopefully help you see what you are giving up by making a car payment every month. If you had a car payment of $400 per month for 40 years, you could have invested that money and would have upwards of $2 million in a retirement account.

Also, make it your goal to have your house paid off by the day you retire. It will just make retirement that much easier to not have that hanging over your head at that stage in your life.

Retirement should be an enjoyable time, not a time that is full of worry because of money. So begin today to make sure you have the retirement you always dreamed of.

Disclaimer: We are not financial advisers and this article should not be taken as financial advice. This is what has worked for us and might or might not work for you.

Ten Ways To Keep Warmer This Winter

by The Frugal Fraulein, you can visit her blog at Frugal Canning…
 
Since I opted to turn off the electric heat this winter and use wood I have learned so much! First, it can be done. I not only have lowered my electric bill but I am getting exercise collecting, cutting, splitting and hauling in wood.
 
It is true that there are other things that can be done to keep warm besides changing the source of your heat.
 
1. Wear layers of clothing. Your body creates heat and wearing layers contains this free source of heat. Did you know polyester underwear and long underwear is considered by survivalists to be the superior fabric of choice for undies? The reason is it wicks away moisture.
 
Both cotton and wool hold moisture which can lead to hypothermia. I choose to have many polar fleece articles of clothing. I have hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, vests, jackets, pants, pullovers, socks and a bathrobe all made from polar fleece.
 
My mother (who is 80 years young) now loves her polar fleece pants and loved the fact that she could hem them by simply cutting them off at the bottom. Polar fleece does not unravel or fray! If you are really cold, wear a warm hat as most heat escapes from your head and the brain gets the cold message immediately.
 
2. Throws and lap blankets. I have one on each of my easy chairs. If I feel chilled I pull one on and snuggle with Mister T. I have wool, down, cotton and polar fleece throws and again polar fleece wins the contest for being the warmest. Last Christmas I received a Snuggle which was one of the most popular gifts of the season. It is a great idea and design but the quality of fleece used is not warm enough for my taste so I use it in the warmer months.
 
3. Cover furniture with polar fleece. (Sounds like I am doing a commercial for polar fleece but I am not. If there is a polar fleece company that would like to hire me to do endorsements, of course, I am available.) I covered my sofa with polar fleece at first to keep it clean when I had two dachshunds.
 
What I discovered was it very warm to sit on the couch and I have noticed that the company seems to head straight for the couch and always comments on how comfy it is. I highly recommend a large piece of a good quality polar fleece for your favorite perch to keep you warm.
 
4. Socks and Slippers. I am not a fan of socks and would prefer to be barefoot. There is a huge difference in the warmth of my body when I wear socks so I have come to accept their importance to my well being in the winter months. Coupled with a great pair of warm slippers you will not feel drafts that creep around the floor. Since hot air rises, feet are subject to this cold air.
 
5. Down Comforters. For years I would not even consider a down comforter for my bed. Since most birds fly south for the winter why would down be warm? Silly me. Years ago when I still lived in New England I had the opportunity to go to a sleeping bag factory. At their outlet store I purchased a down sleeping bag before the zipper had been installed. This “blanket” was very toasty and held in my own body heat.
 
It was simple army green and I made a duvet cover for it. I had that blanket for many years and it finally met its demise to mold while being stored. Two summers ago I chanced upon a very good quality down comforter that was being sold by a woman who thought it was too warm.
 
Since I absolutely love a cold bedroom and have my window open at night 365 nights of the year, I was thrilled to steal it for $10. Again I have a duvet cover to keep it clean and I love the warmth I feel when I cuddle with Mister T (for those of you that don’t know, Mister T is my best buddy my mini black and tan dachshund).
 
6. Use Door Draft Stoppers. Door draft stopper or guards are filled tubes that keep cold air from creeping under doors. They can be purchased new or made easily by filling a tube sock or tube of fabric with rice, beans, sand or stuffing. They look a bit like a snake and really do the trick. If you have a dog like mine that likes to pull the innards out of stuffed animals don’t make yours with stuffing!
 
7. Close Doors. Keep the doors closed to rooms that do not need to be heated. Just heat the areas that you sit in during the day.
 
8. Do leave the Bathroom Door Open. Showers and baths create lots of heat but more importantly humidity. In the winter the house dries out and the moisture from the bathroom can help tremendously. Now I understand in some family’s privacy is important. Just leave the door open after showering and don’t use the fan.
 
9. Do Leave the Oven Door Open. Leave the oven door open after cooking and turning off the oven. Let that heat escape to warm the kitchen.
 
10. Do Open the Dishwasher When Washing Cycle is Finished. Once the dishes are washed open the door and let the dishes air dry. This will let the heat escape, allow the moisture to escape to humidify the house and save a bundle on electricity over a period of time.
 
Hopefully one or more of these suggestions will help you stay snuggie warm in the cold months. If all else fails go to the animal shelter and get a Dachshund. Dachshunds love to snuggle under the blankets and curl up and sit in your lap. They are loving, loyal, small and great substitutes for hot water bottles. Your other alternative is to go to bed early with a good book.

What are The Benefits of Doing 50 Pushups Every Day?

PUSH-UPS-TO-BUILD-MASS

The most practical benefit of doing pushups every day is that you will gain functional strength for your body. The muscles that the pushup works – your core, your triceps and biceps along with the deltoids – are often the most used body parts each day.

Functional activities such as lifting boxes, carrying objects or other activities become easier as you learn to activate all of the various muscle parts of your body. These muscles are strengthened because they are activated as a means of support for performing the actual physical act of a pushup. From an aesthetic perspective, someone with a strong upper body and abdomen can appear very fit.

There are very few exercises that activate and strengthen multiple muscle groups, and the pushup is definitely one of the best of them. Compound exercises, performed in ways such as 50 pushups a day, force your heart to work harder.

The heart must not only pump blood to fuel the arm and its movement downward but also pump blood into your abdomen’s muscles. The continuous pumping of the heart improves cardiovascular endurance and can have very tangible effects such as reducing body fat or improving heart health.

There is much discussion as to why the push up is more difficult to execute than a regular bench press motion. After all, one might argue that there is a similar movement going on between both motions.

The stretching of the back muscles and the tricep work together in a functional “stretch” of each muscle. When are you doing 50 pushups a day, you might feel a strange click or movement inside these muscles as you perform the exercise. While alarming at first, this is a beneficial move for your functional strength as it prevents injuries from occurring along with providing an aesthetic of strength.

What is the difference between doing pushups versus free weights?

In order to delineate the difference, one must first establish what a push up is. When you do 50 pushups a day, it is important that you obey proper form techniques in order for the movement to be successful.

Most people, when preparing to do pushups, will get on their knees and put their hands on the floor or some kind of surface to provide stability. The main goal of the pushup exercise is to create a flat, parallel movement to the ground which works each of the aforementioned muscles.

After placing your hands in front of you, ensure they are positioned shoulder-width apart and form a ninety-degree angle to the ground. While it is commonly disputed as to what exact position you must bend your arms, move them downwards while keeping your back in as straight a line as possible without your pelvis touching the ground.

After getting your arms to around 45 degrees, you can begin to withdraw from the position by “pushing yourself back up”. When you perform 50 pushups a day, it is important to check for form on each repetition.

This exercise as described has some very inherent limitations. The muscle groups that are worked are solely within the exercise, such as your arms – the triceps, the biceps, deltoids – and the abdomen. You cannot simultaneously engage lower body muscles such as calves, quadriceps or other groups that need to be worked on.

Free weights are superior to pushups in this sense because there are expansive compound exercises that allow you to work the entire body.

Furthermore, the exercise does not allow for you to carry more than your body weight. As you perform your 50 pushups a day, you are working against gravity in order to strengthen your corresponding muscles. Without free weights, the only resistance you will fight is your body weight.

This can sometimes prevent those with well-built strength from being able to continue to grow.

What should I expect after doing 50 pushups a day for a month?

When you perform 50 pushups a day for a month, you will have worked that muscle group for 30 days. If you have not done 50 pushups for a day in a long time, it is likely that you will see tremendous benefits. Consider the logic of such a statement – if you have not worked a muscle before, it is likely that the strange movement your body perceives will shock it into action.

In the first month, you might see extended weight loss around the deltoid, tricep and bicep region. Many obese and heavily stocked individuals often have fat that is concentrated in these areas, so it will improve your overall aesthetic and image of yourself.

Furthermore, you should be able to see at least some marked improvements in functional strength over this time.

When you do 50 pushups a day for a month, you will also be working a muscle that you have not worked before. The body does not typically respond well to being put into positions where this is the case. One might feel tremendous soreness in the upper body and abdomen area for some time in the first week.

After a few weeks, your body should be able to get used to the resistance or force being put onto these areas and eliminate the overstress that leads to soreness.
It is important to mention that repetitions may often bring about physical or mental fatigue.

At times, despite having run a good set of 50 pushups the day before, you might quickly grow tired of the exercise. In other cases, you might feel that you can run through the 50 pushups without a problem.

Solutions for these problems can include executing the proper form, but at a quicker tempo, or increasing resistance by loading free weights as you perform the exercise. If you are fatigued, consider shorter bursts of 5 sets of 10 pushups in order to meet your goal. The shorter bursts will help you focus on your exercises,

What should I expect after doing 50 pushups a day for a year?

You might encounter many of the same problems for a month when you do 50 pushups a day for a year. More often than not, the body will end up getting used to the repetitions and the corresponding force. One solution for doing 50 pushups a day for a year is to increase the volume that you do each day.

The only time that this should be your solution is if you are performing the exercise with the proper form and you do not feel physically fatigued or at risk of injury. Increasing tempo or resistance in the exercise can also go above and beyond the traditional route of doing 50 pushups a day for a year.

One might be intrigued by this option if they are bored or mentally fatigued, as it requires increased focus in order to prevent back damage. Often, many who perform 50 pushups a day will drop in form so changing up how you train each muscle group can be worthwhile.

The human body is notoriously slow. One can eat a lot of food and eventually gain the same amount of weight in a few days that they lost in a month. By doing 50 pushups a day for a year, you are encouraging your body to produce human growth hormone.

You are working with several muscle groups for the primary exercise as well as stability. When you engage a lot of muscle groups, you will release human growth hormones into the rest of your body. Muscle building can be particularly difficult for older men and women, as HGH production tends to decline as opposed to the high prevalence in young adults.

It is recommended that one continues to add other exercises to their regimen so as to not exclusively limit themselves to one muscle group. As a reminder, the muscle groups worked are mainly upper body and abdomen areas. By utilizing free weights, one might be able to execute other exercises for other muscle groups to promote holistic muscle growth over one year.

What To Do if You Can’t Do It Right Away?

If you cannot do pushups right away, it is okay. Many people are often heavily or morbidly obese, and it would be illogical to expect their arms to be able to hold up or stabilize a large amount of mass. Many experts recommend an abbreviated form of the pushup, where the person executing the exercise is on their hands and knees, rather than stabilizing their lower body with their feet.

Even doing 50 pushups a day with this exercise to begin will build up strength. The feet typically stabilize the abdomen, so there should be a renewed focus on ensuring that as you rock forward from your knees, you are contracting your abdomen or can feel the movement.

By simulating the upper part of the exercise, you are able to perform the exercise at a lower angle for increased ease. Many people, after building up strength by performing the exercise with this form, are able to graduate into regular form pushups as described in earlier sections.

It is important to take caution in how you perform these exercises because if you do not execute them with proper form or neglect to notice when an injury may occur, you can have significant issues with performing everyday activities.

The benefits of using Perfect Fitness Perfect Pushup Elite

Many people often think that performing 50 pushups a day can be boring. This is certainly the case for many avid gym participants, as they have done hundreds of repetitions each day. It is important to remember that as you execute these movements, the back and triceps are stabilizing your body.

Often, you might feel a chaotic movement or loss of balance for just a few seconds. The Perfect Fitness Perfect Pushup Elite (the link goes to Amazon.com where you can see the price – I’m not allowed to post the price here because it’s against Amazon policy) can be a great tool for your pushups because they force you to contract your muscles in order to maintain stability.

The grips allow you to stay steady and work on a better definition for the rest of the muscle groups that are worked in your body.

Much discussion has been given to ensuring that as you perform your 50 pushups a day, that you remember to maintain the proper form. Weight distribution is often a significant issue, as leaning towards one arm or the other can make your upper body appear disproportional.

This can often be spotted on those especially those who use free weights, as one side of the body is doing more of the lifting of the exercise than the other.

When doing 50 pushups a day with the Pushup Elite, the groups distribute the weight evenly to loosen the stress put on elbows and other joints that are often plagued by bad form when executing the pushup.

Beginners, intermediates and experts alike can utilize this product because it allows for different use. Beginners who cannot perform the regular form can maintain a higher angle of movement, better simulating the movement of a pushup.

Intermediates can use the Pushup Elite in order to stabilize their upper body or test their overall strength. Experts often utilize this product by elevating their feet and increasing the weight that is put on the grips.

Check out the Perfect Pushup Elite at Amazon.com

The 50 Pushups a Day Challenge

The pushup challenge is a simple, yet difficult exercise. Many people are often extremely busy and forget to do their pushups. Many blame this on mental fatigue, as they do not see immediate benefits or feel pain. It is important to push through all of these things and report your progress.

Take pictures of your body so that you have progress points and can physically see how your body is changing.

If you see abnormalities or one side of your body growing faster than the other, it might be worthwhile to change your form. By seeing yourself do 50 pushups a day, you can create consistency, better health, and a better life for yourself.

Prepper Fiction Recommendations (Must Read List for Preppers in 2020)

prepper fiction books

I would like to thank Wolverine for sending this list – it looks like I have a lot of reading to catch up on. If you have other suggestions please let us know in the comments below. All books listed are listed in no particular order and all links open to each corresponding book on Amazon.

Patriots, by James W. Rawles, Economic collapse scenario. Lots of useful information on tactics, food storage, fuel storage, retreat security, survival medicine, etcetera. I’d recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about survivalism for the first time, as well as for long-term survivors. It’s full of great information and is an eye-opener. I may not say that the survivors made the best choices possible in the story, but I learned from it.

Footfall, by Jerry Pournelle. Alien’s similar to elephants invade the earth. A good deal of how to survive in urban areas without the infrastructure we would normally have.

Lucifer’s Hammer, by Pournelle. A comet strikes the earth, many survival skills, and scenes. It also deals with cannibalism.

Tunnel in the Sky, by Heinlein. Survival in an unexpected, long term situation.

Sixth Column, by Heinlein. Survival after the enemy invasion of the US.

Farnham’s Freehold, by Heinlein. One man’s preparation and success in surviving a nuclear war.

Pulling Through, by Dean Ing. Post-nuclear war scenario, Mr. Ing manages to discuss a wide variety of pertinent survival skills.

The Stand, by Stephen King. All reports suggest the book is better than the miniseries on TV was, I didn’t watch the series. Starts out with a plague killing most people on earth, gets very supernatural. (MD Creekmore adds: King is a liberal/leftist prick and I refuse to ever read anything he writes again.)

Unintended Consequences, by John Ross. The first two-thirds of “Unintended Consequences” comprise a fictionalized chronology of various characters on three continents experiencing the effects of being armed – and being disarmed – from 1906 to the present. In the final third of the novel, set after Waco and Ruby Ridge, America’s gun-grabbers finally go too far.

Gun owners find themselves pushed to the point where they realize it’s either give up all their weapons or fight back. Individually, without getting together to form any giant conspiracy, they start killing their oppressors. A few at first… then by the hundreds.

Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank. The first (?) survivalist book. Nuclear war survival in rural Florida.

No Blade of Grass, by John Christopher? A plague wipes out all food grains over most of the earth. People fleeing London for Wales, also forming local alliances and groups.

The Sheep Look Up, by John Brunner. Survival in an ecologically damaged America.

Stand on Zanzibar, by John Brunner. Life in an oppressive police state, within an ecologically damaged world.

Malevil, by Robert Merle. Post-nuclear war survival in rural France. Interesting social dramas, not too good for survival skills.

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. Useful for understanding the people responsible for the problems.

Wolf And Iron, by Gordon R. Dickson. Post economic collapse. Lone wanderer scavenges and learns his way across several states. Finally sets up as blacksmith and farmer rancher.

A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller. A fascinating book about the long-term post-apocalypse story, about the value of books and knowledge.

The Postman, by David Brin. A great book about a traveler in the medium-long post-nuclear war environment, the establishment of local and regional governments, and the value of a traveling postman to carry news from one region to another.

Earth Abides by George R Steward. Pandemic survivors find each other and build communities initially based on scavenging. Inertia causes little of pre-disaster technology and culture to be passed on, causing great anguish to the main character.

Survivors by Terry Nation. Pneumonic plague strain spread by air travel kills off most of the population. Set in Great Britain, a survivor group failing under pressure from bad weather and hostile neighbors migrates to the south of France. Strangely enough, Brits will use guns if they can get them.

All Fools’ Day, by Edmund Cooper. A new type of radiation (yuk yuk) causes most of mankind to commit suicide. The immune are ‘creative artists of all kinds, lunatics, political and religious fanatics, prostitutes and pathological animal lovers.’ Set in Great Britain.

Harvest of Stars, by Paul Anderson: America where political correctness has become a religion and taken over. One must think ahead and be on one’s toes at all times in dealing with a police state; acting experience is a plus!

Vandenberg, A novel, by Oliver Lange. Life in the United States occupied by Soviet(or whatever) troops. Frightening.

Warday and Nature’s End, by Whitley Straub

The Ends of the Circle, by Paul O. Williams

Some Will Not Die, by Algis Budrys. Post pandemic in New York City Son of initial main char forms the “Reunification Army” to create the “Second Republic.” Guns, guns, and more guns and living on 20-year-old canned goods. Still not a bad story.

Only Lovers Left Alive by Dave Wallis. Set in Britain, virtually everyone over 19 commits suicide over a 2 year period. A street gang rises to the conquest of the London metro area but finds it tough going in the country when the canned good run out.

Out of the Ashes (Ashes Series #1) series, by William Johnstone. The first is excellent on establishing an attitude and the others each have a few tidbits in them. His Tri-states concept is developing almost a cult-like following in some areas. Most of the later volumes are just pay copy (Is there any other reason to write?) so you have to wade through a lot of storylines to pick out the good parts. He writes interesting copy so it isn’t a chore.

The Guardians – series by Richard Austin (pretty darned good until you get to around # 20 or #23, then they were done by ghostwriters and the characters just got too weird).

Deathlands – series by James Axler (survival value very little, but I think they’re darned good reading, especially the first 10 – 15 books)

Death Wind by William C. Heine. The plot is that a pandemic suddenly sweeps North America, killing within minutes anyone exposed to an infected person, even being downwind is sufficient. The story follows a Canadian family who retreats to the far North to avoid the plague. There are several elements that bear directly on survival. First, there is a sudden onset of the emergency with no prior warning.

The immediate response reaction is instructive. Second, there are the North country survival techniques. Third, there are psychological factors of being a survivor in a situation where most others die. And there is more, dealing with post-disaster situations, though I won’t go into that because it would spoil the book for you. It’s a page-turner, though of course not a survival handbook.

Path to Savagery by Robert Edmund Alter. The world after a minor nuclear war. The polar ice caps have melted, flooding the coastlines. North America is suffering from a drought and millions of people are dead. The hero is a “loner” who avoids interacting with the tribes that most of the survivors have joined. He has a Thompson sub-machine gun and the right attitude.

The Long Loud Silence by Wilson Tucker. Bio war wipes out the USA east of Mississippi. The story of an “immune” (all such are careers). Cannibalism is adopted by some survivors.

The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham. A meteor shower blinds most of the inhabitants on earth. A group of people who still have sight fight against flesh-eating plants while they try to survive.

Z for Zachariah, a fictional account of a young woman surviving the aftermath of a nuclear war on her parent’s farm. Very weak on science. She lives in a protected valley, and everything outside the valley is dead. Then one day a man shows up who invented a radiation-proof suit with a pushcart (since cars are radioactive). She hides in the woods, unsure of what to do. Finally, she shows herself, but not before he drinks from a radioactive pond. He gets sick, she helps him, he eventually tries to rape her, and she hides again.

It had some good points, such as hiding her garden, getting fuel from pumps w/o electricity, and what to do with her dog, since it could be used by the man to find her. (reviewer) read it in Jr. High School in the school library, so its at least 13 old, and intended for younger readers.

I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson. The basis for the Omega Man movie, a plague kills almost everyone.

EarthBlood (3 book series) and The Deathlands books by James Axler. The EarthBlood books are about an earth where some sort of biological agent has destroyed most of the plant life throwing the world into chaos. The DeathLand books take place 100 or so years after a nuclear holocaust.

Fire and Ice, by  Ray Kytle c 1975 D McKay & Co. It is the story of the effects of a Middle East War/Oil Crisis on a (liberal, although not for long) University professor and his family and friends. The oil fields are sabotaged/destroyed and Western Civilization gradually, then with increasing speed, grinds to a halt. Then, it becomes a story of survival, as the characters must contend not only with food shortages but looters, gangs and even the military. Then, the weather begins to change, affected by the burning oil fields.

Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny. A man has to make a cross country run in a post-apocalyptic America

Long Voyage Back by Luke Reinhart- the story of a family who survives a nuclear holocaust by sailing along with the coast of North and South America

Dark Advent by Brian Hodge- another story about an illness that wipes out much of the world population.

Swan Song by Robert McCammon- A post-nuclear war story.

If you’ve read any of these then please let us know in the comments below… Thanks…

I’m Coming To Your House When The SHTF!

No matter how prepared we are, supplies and space are finite. Providing for the needs of everyone showing up at our doorstep after the SHTF is impossible, but the question remains who should be turned away and what will you do if they refuse to leave?

How many people could you provide for and for how long? Most of us have only enough for ourselves and our immediate family. A family of four with a year’s supply, taking in just one extra person reduces their stockpile by 25%. Two extras and your down to six months at best. Three extra – you get the idea.

My family knows not to come to me looking for a handout. They are welcome to set up camp at my place if needed, but they know to bring their own food and supplies and to be ready to do their share of the work.

It’s true that there is safety in numbers, but only when everyone works together for the common good of the group. More hands make lighter work but there will be no room for slackers.

The thing with family is they often bring extended family and sometimes even their friends, who may not share your beliefs or work ethic. Should you take them in or turn them away? What will you do if they refuse to leave?

Most people think they are entitled and will feel no remorse or debt while sponging off you, and if you don’t give them what they want, don’t be surprised if they try to take it by force. They may leave but they will come back, possibly with reinforcements.

It’s best to keep your mouth shut and to look as poor and helpless as everyone else. Most people think I don’t have a pot to piss in or window to throw it out of – or even know where I live for that matter. Hopefully, they will pass me by thinking it’s not worth the effort.

In a sense survival is looking after number one, putting yourself first may seem selfish, but sometimes we need to make difficult decisions in order to stay alive. If it comes down to me or them – it’s them.

What will you do when unwanted visitors come to your door looking for a handout post-collapse? Will you turn them away? Or will you pull the trigger if they refuse to leave? Could you live with yourself in the aftermath?

What have you done to prepare for new arrivals who show up at your place looking for a handout? By the way, if you need help getting your preps together then please consider buying a copy of my book – The Prepper’s Guide to Surviving the End of the World, as We Know It: Gear, Skills, and Related Know-How from Amazon.com.

That reminds me; I need to finish digging that hole out back – never know when it could come in handy…

Warning for humanity: Globalists accelerating depopulation eugenics programs in response to populist uprisings in the UK, USA and around the world

(Natural News) In response to the sweeping victory of Boris Johnson in the recent UK elections — as well as rising popular support for President Trump in the United States — globalists are now accelerating their war against humanity that’s being waged through depopulation vectors involving vaccines, chemical contaminants, engineered food shortages and other means.

This doubling down on depopulation efforts is happening because globalists have finally come to realize they cannot force the world’s citizens to surrender to global authoritarianism as was once hoped. The very existence of the EU, for example, represented the beginning stages of the globalist-run “utopia” that’s long been promised by the socialists and fascists who currently run the world. They wanted to end national sovereignty, open all borders to unlimited illegal migration, consume the world’s currencies under a one-world currency and exert authoritarian rule so that all citizens of the world would be forced to surrender to unelected bureaucrats living out their Hunger Games fantasies.

But the victory of Donald Trump in 2016 — and last week’s victory of Boris Johnson in the UK — means the globalist dream is rapidly crumbling. And if the people of the world cannot be forced into obedience, they must be destroyed, according to the twisted philosophy of globalist tyrants. Hence, the efforts to exterminate humankind must be accelerated.

Those efforts include:

  • The widespread use of infertility chemicals in mandatory vaccines, causing birth rates to plummet.
  • The aggressive promotion of abortions, including post-birth abortions (infanticide).
  • The continued chemical poisoning of the public water supply with toxic fluoride, which is linked to brain damage and neurodevelopmental disorders.
  • The engineered saturation of the food supply with toxic, cancer-causing pesticides and herbicides, all designed to cause the premature termination of human life through cancer, liver damage and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
  • The rapid rollout of 5G networks, an elaborate electromagnetic weapon system that disguises itself as a telecommunications infrastructure. 5G radiation has already been scientifically demonstrated to cause actual personality changes, altering brain chemistry and generating toxic, cell-poisoning substances under the skin that compromise human health.
  • Planned financial apocalypse events that will destroy trillions in the savings and wealth of working-class citizens, effectively concentrating the remaining wealth in the hands of the elite.
  • Engineered bioweapons in vaccines, designed to spread infections and cause pandemics, along with the convenient media narrative that “everybody should go get vaccinated,” further accelerating the spread of disease.
  • An engineered food collapse leading to starvation and destitution. How is this accomplished? See the next point:
  • Terraforming of the planet by releasing particulate matter into the stratosphere, blocking the sunlight that powers photosynthesis in plants and food crops. Pursued under the false banner of “climate change,” this terraforming effort is actually an engineered mass extinction event designed to eliminate humans from planet Earth. See my sister site OblivionAgenda.com for video lectures explaining all this.

In essence, the global controllers not only have the means to destroy humanity; they now have the motive, too.

In exactly the same way a free, sovereign United States of America cannot be tolerated by Democrats, free citizens of the world cannot be tolerated by globalists. And just like with Democrats in America, globalists have decided if they can’t control the world, they will destroy it. For humans, anyway.

Mass killings are right around the corner, and this time it will be billions

Globalists have only needed humans to try to overrun free nations and place them under socialist control. That’s the only value globalists assign to illegal immigrants from Central and South America, by the way, or Middle Eastern migrants who have invaded and occupied much of Western Europe. In the long run, however, globalists don’t need these people at all… and they sure don’t need informed, aware human beings who might question the system and expose their nefarious plans.

That’s why mass killings are already in the works, and according to the Seattle Times, Washington State has just become the first state to legalize “human compositing” in order to get ready for all the dead bodies.

The term “human composting” is a misnomer. It actually involves degrading human flesh, organs and proteins using lye and other alkaline chemicals, then flushing the liquid goo into the municipal sewage system. From there, it joins all the human feces to become “biosludge,” which is trucked out of the sewage plants and dumped on orchards and food crop farms as a form of “free fertilizer” for farmers. (See my feature film Biosludged.com for the full documentary on this. You will be shocked.)

Thanks to human composting, Washington state will be liquefying the dead to feed the living, right out of The Matrix. Washington-grown apples, pears and other fruits will literally be grown in dead humans combined with “recycled” human feces, all under USDA approval, of course. It’s just one step away from Soylent Green.

Globalists, Leftists, and socialists are all pursuing an anti-human agenda

The upshot of all this is that globalists (i.e. Leftists and socialists) are pursuing an anti-human agenda that identifies human beings as the enemy. The extermination of human beings will, of course, begin with the Left’s political enemies. Christians are already being slaughtered around the world in huge numbers, but of course, the establishment media won’t report that. But let harm come to a single Muslim, and the media goes berserk…

This agenda pits anti-humanists against pro-humanists. That’s the delineation that now matters for our future, not a person’s political party, skin color, sexual orientation or country of origin. What matters is whether they are standing up for the future of the human race.

Who has already signed up to sell out the human race?

  • The entire left-wing media
  • All Democrats
  • The “science” establishment
  • Climate change alarmists
  • The tech giants, who also believe in transhumanism
  • The medical establishment and Big Pharma
  • Universities and public schools

What they are all pushing for is the extermination of the human race through depopulation, geoengineering/terraforming, the evisceration of individual human liberty (including free speech), the crushing of national sovereignty (which is why they hate Trump), the rise of transgenderism (a depopulation scheme to destroy fertility) and the widespread practice of abortions and infanticide.

Planned Parenthood, founded as a way to eliminate the “human weeds” of black people, according to its founder Margaret Sanger, epitomizes the anti-human philosophy that has now overtaken nearly every institution of our modern era. The desire to kill billions of people is now so ubiquitous across the realm of science that 11,000 “scientists” actually signed a letter demanding globalists eliminate billions of people from planet Earth.

This has become the rallying cry of the globalists. Exterminate humankind. Kill billions. Liquefy their dead bodies and feed them to the remaining few who are enslaved under techno-tyranny and authoritarian rule. This is the future that globalists (i.e. socialists) are now working hard to bring to fruition, and in their minds, “success” means a mass die-off of human beings, plummeting the world population to below 500 million people.

The most “efficient” method for achieving that goal? A bioengineered pandemic

Finally, it’s worth noting that the most “efficient” method for achieving global depopulation is to unleash a bioengineered pandemic by inserting live, weaponized viruses into vaccines, then faking the initial infection hysteria to create a news cycle that convinces people to go get vaccinated. Once the vaccinations begin, the pandemic spreads like wildfire since the vaccines will of course be laced with the bioweapon.

The ideal bioweapon for such a scheme would have very long incubation times, high transmissibility and very high fatality rates once fully activated in the body. These are difficult properties to achieve for bioweapons, since they are contradictory. Viruses with long incubation times, for example, tend to have very low fatality rates. That’s why a more elaborate “binary” weapon system may be used that combined latent vaccine viruses with chemical exposure that “activates” the latent viruses in the vaccines. Were you aware that 98 million Americans were already injected with cancer viruses via polio vaccines?

If you think this all sounds too bizarre to believe, you don’t know much about reality. In 1971, Lee DuBridge, the science advisor to President Richard Nixon, urged the president to lace America’s food exports with infertility chemicals to cause depopulation in Africa and other Third World nations. This was even documented by none other than the New York Times. The article is titled, “A Sterility Drug in Food is Hinted” and was written by Gladwin Hill:

As I wrote about this issue in 2017:

To achieve the sterilization goals, [Dr. Ehrlich] “urged establishing a Federal Population Commission ‘with a large budget for propaganda,’” reports the New York Times. He also called for, “the addition of a temporary sterilant to staple food, or to the water supply” in order to cause mandatory infertility.

Dr. Barry Commoner of Washington University in St. Louis added to the discussion:

Can we not invent a way to reduce our population growth rate to zero? Every human institution – school, university, church, family, government and international agencies such as Unesco – should set this as its prime task.

Lest you think such ideas are long forgotten, Bernie Sanders recently issued a eugenics call for mass abortions in countries populated by people of color, essentially arguing that brown and black people need to be aborted.

The extermination phase now kicks into high gear

In truth, globalists have been plotting the extermination of humanity for decades, and now, thanks to rising populism and the growing refusal of world citizens to live as prison camp slaves under authoritarian rule, globalists have reached the point where they feel forced to ramp up their extermination efforts to kill billions of innocent human beings.

And yes, that means you, too. This is their “final solution” that will dwarf the crimes against humanity carried out by the Nazis of the Third Reich. Today’s anti-human socialists want to kill billions of people, not just millions.

All voices who are attempting to warn humanity about this global atrocity are, of course, completely censored by the tech giants. That’s why it’s imperative that you visit these alternative information sources to stay informed:

– Brighteon.com is the free-speech alternative to YouTube. My channel there is called “H.R. Report”. Also, see Banned.video

– Censored.news is a real-time news aggregation website that brings you headlines from the most censored news sites on the web.

– Webseed.com is the upcoming new search engine that focuses on natural health, nutrition, GMOs, cancer remedies, vaccines and more. It launches late this year.

Stay informed and you just might stay alive. Don’t take the vaccines and don’t eat the pesticide-sprayed foods. Avoid 5G cities and get off the toxic medications. Only then will you have a chance to survive the coming extermination wave.