# Is the S is going to HTF soon?



## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Just wanted to get peoples take on the state of the United States right now. SO much going on that we have been witing for as signs of the things we have feared. I thought I would have more time and Im kinda scared to be honest with you all. My family is not ready, better off then most but not ready. Im not too much of a praying person these days but Im praying its not going to happen as soon as it sure dose look like its going to.What scares me is that WE ARE ALL going to have to make choices. If this were som kind of natural diaster then the choice was made for us, but if this ever growing cicil unrest continues and it comes to a head, what will we do? What will I do? Will i try to live as a sheep dog and most likely die along with my family or roll over and be a sheep to die a few days latter? Its all fun and games to talk about bugging out and how many rounds you have to shoot at paper targets but what do you do when the targets start shooting back? What do you do when your preps run out? Im being a buzz kill again but Im being real. What do yall think? Is BB just going off the deep end again?


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Im scared as well. I really could use a couple years. I was pretty certain we had time because it would be a slow drawn out type thing but things seem to be speeding up rapidly.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

I think the S started H ing the F a few years ago the more I think about it. I think it has started it can't be stopped and it is so slow it is gonna bite even a good many of us so called prepared right in the back side. We are all a bunch of frogs in the pan of water on the stove. I dont think we are gonna realize our imminent demize in time to get froggy and jump. Or certainly not enough of us are going to realize it enmasse and be able to do anything about it.


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## mamabear2012 (Mar 8, 2012)

I've been thinking the same thing. We are definitely not as prepared as I'd like us to be. We're planning on moving in the spring/summer and if things go south as quick as it looks like they're going to, I don't know if that's going to happen. I want my homestead up and running before it all hits the fan. I don't want to be in a crowded town house community. I'm pretty scared.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

I tend to think of this issue this way - what happens when an immovable object hits an irresistible force? We have normalcy bias moving towards the twin unstoppable forces of math and demographics.

Everything will proceed within the expected boundaries of normal (life as we know it now - this hardship is still within the bounds of normal) and then normal will stop being normal in a very short period of time as the math (AKA reality) comes crashing down and people realize that normal cannot continue any longer.

The trick is to figure out when the moment of impact will arrive. Liberals have so ruined the country that there is absolutely no way it can be repaired. The question is how to salvage some parts of it and how to benefit from the salvage operation while you cast other Americans aside to bear more of the brunt.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

> Everything will proceed within the expected boundaries of normal (life as we know it now - this hardship is still within the bounds of normal) and then normal will stop being normal in a very short period of time as the math (AKA reality) comes crashing down and people realize that normal cannot continue any longer.


I could not agree more with Bobbb even if I understood what he wrote.


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

biobacon said:


> My family is not ready, better off then most but not ready.


I'm (we're) in the same boat. Years of struggling to barely get by, a few expensive emergencies, job losses, and a host of other not-so-pleasant life experiences have pretty much taken it's toll. I suspect I'm not alone in that. So, I understand your angst.

I believe some aspects will happen soon. Certainly, to preserve themselves, the ruling class will take steps to mitigate danger to itself (read gun-control, redefinition of rights/liberties/etc...) Certainly we'll see more folks lose their homes and then, of course, some plan to halt foreclosures and keep / put people into homes will be "made available". The noose will tighten by way of the guise to provide the needs and necessities of individuals. Control will happen slowly, but it will happen. Once the economy starts the next downward spiral, certain "emergency" measures will be put into effect (I refer you to the fuhrers' executive orders).

Do we have more time? I believe the answer to that question is "yes".

The question that I believe *should* be asked, however, is this; Does it really matter? 
That answer, I fear, may be radically different.

(I've never, in my life, wanted so much to be wrong...)

God Bless.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

hope for the best, prep for the worst. That's really all anyone can do as I see it. 

I have no control over the financial crisis our country is in, and I can't prevent the POTUS from using our armed forces in ways that are wrong or force him to defend allies he would rather distance us from. I can't stop a drug resistant strain of TB or the next variation of bird flu, swine flu, or whatever else is coming next from going nuts and infecting a lot of people.


I'm grateful I'm not in the position of many who are just becoming aware of what the situation is, and how fragile our economy and the stability of our infrastructure is. I've had some time to get a little put back, so I'm thankful for that! Although even with that said, I still wish I was in a better spot and had made other choices along my own path. 

just do what you can, as you can!


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

Look at the hyperinflation which beset Weimar Germany. Inflation was a "normal" factor that people were used to until 1923 when normal was no longer normal.


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Im just thinking to myself as i set up another mortgage payment whats it going to take for me(Us) to get to the point where we say F#@* it Im buying 600 cans of green beans instead? No need to pay electric cause it aint going to be there next week, well hows 1200 bottles of water sound? What will force us to do that? It aint here yet but when do we "know" when it is? No real awnser just something I was thinking about.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

biobacon said:


> Im just thinking to myself as i set up another mortgage payment whats it going to take for me(Us) to get to the point where we say F#@* it Im buying 600 cans of green beans instead? No need to pay electric cause it aint going to be there next week, well hows 1200 bottles of water sound? What will force us to do that? It aint here yet but when do we "know" when it is? No real awnser just something I was thinking about.


I completely understand your question, and I would love to have some kind of insight to share, but I don't 

From what I've seen on youtube and people talking about their personal experiences in the collapse of Argentina, it was on them so fast they never knew what hit them.

Since many (most???) people live paycheck to paycheck, I think the vast majority are going to be in the dark until the hammer falls... and then it's going to hit them smack dab on the top of their head. And it only gets worse from there.

I would strongly urge anyone who's of the prepper mindset now to do as much as they can while they still can with dollars that are spendable.

buy TVP buckets from Costco. yeah soy sucks, but starvation sucks more.
buy a couple extra bags of food for your pets unless you have the same nose and hearing as your dog and can tell whenever someone is sneaking around outside...
buy extra ammo now, while it's still on the shelves. (no gun? no ammo? you might want to fix that ASAP as in RTFN)
buy water barrels, and fill them, and rotate them every 6 months

I think most people on this forum have those kind of basics covered, but many don't. If you plan on "getting around to it" it's generally safe to say you'll regret that you didnt get it when it was cheaper or maybe even available at all, that's my experience, so I like to trade short term discomfort for long term stability and security. If I spend $250 on 1000 rounds of 9mm ammo, yeah, that's $250 I could have spent at a poker game or goofing off somewhere else... but now I have ammo. What about 10 mag rebuild kits for black rifles at $10 each a couple months ago? I'd call that profoundly wise money spent based on what a 30 round mag costs today.

Do what you can when you can, and just take every day as it comes. Making progress is the key thing.


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## gatorglockman (Sep 9, 2011)

OP I would not stop paying your mortgage, etc to buy green beans my friend.

I do think we are in a paradigm shift of what we see as "normal" right now. Think about the late 20's through the late 40's. Vs the roaring 20's. Times were tough, uncertain and dangerous. We are going from a reasonable time of prosperity and comfort to more and more challenge and the train has no intention of changing speed/course for now.....the conductor is either asleep, ignorant or corrupt.

So will the SHTF? yup!...me thinks so. Will it be a ZPAW, I don't think so, more like a slide into C- performance by economy and state with potential overbearing govt intrusion or the opposite, not enough.

I think having your prep items but more importantly skill and wisdom to adapt will be what saves the day and why I am into prepping. None of us have enough to hide in a bunker for 30 years.....nor would I want to.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

gatorglockman said:


> OP I would not stop paying your mortgage, etc to buy green beans my friend.
> 
> I do think we are in a paradigm shift of what we see as "normal" right now. Think about the late 20's through the late 40's. Vs the roaring 20's. Times were tough, uncertain and dangerous. We are going from a reasonable time of prosperity and comfort to more and more challenge and the train has no intention of changing speed/course for now.....the conductor is either asleep, ignorant or corrupt.
> 
> ...


as I read his question, it's more about that one magical month where if you knew better you would NOT pay the mortgage, you would go buy food/ammo/whatever he's trying to find the flags that will signal that has come.

I agree with you, randomly choosing to stop paying a bill so you can get preps is a bad idea.

better ideas are trying to find bills you have that you can eliminate. For example:

do you still have a land line phone and a cell phone? do you really NEED both? how much do you save if you cancel the home phone you might rarely use anyway? (and keep in mind bundle offers usually save something like $10 but that's still a $30 LOSS if you're paying $40 a month for the phone service)

do you still subscribe to cable TV? okay, lots and lots of reasons to do that, however many are finding they can do away with it. There are a lot of programs available on demand free online, or you could go with a cheaper alternative like netflix or amazon.

Your credit cards? do you have the option of moving a balance from one brand to another? do either of the brands offer a zero interest rate on transfers? Just using made up numbers to illustrate the point.... why pay 20% on card A if you can transfer it for free to card B and pay 12% (uhhhh this is the point where you cut up and destroy card A, but leave the acct open, that way your overall debt to credit ratio is favorable!!!!) you need to analyze all of the fine print details, but for some folks, this is a workable strategy and they just aren't taking advantage of it, and it costs them money!

what other kinds of bills are able to be mitigated or avoided entirely? sometimes you can find solutions that still work but are significantly cheaper.


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## Homegrowngirl (Apr 19, 2011)

I am so far from being ready also. I just don't feel good about the upcoming year. The media keeps adding fuel to the fire, there has always been crime, but with the media reporting on everything like it's "new" crime. Well I'm rambling, but my point is that people who are against guns, politicians who want to take away our rights to own firearms are going to win. That is only one thing, another is the state of our financial situation. It seems like they don't want to come to any agreements, and they hold back on the reality of how bad things are. Then they instate Obamacare and the small businesses get hit the hardest, when it is the small businesses that keep us going especially in the smaller towns and communities. Jobs lost forcing us to move into more populated areas so they can keep better track of us.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

It's ALREADY HITTING!


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Dakine has it right. Many of us need/want the "magic month" to do the last minute preps. I would settle for a two week notice. I hope we get some warning. I have alot of stuff done but I'm waiting on the rest til I see the end coming. I know it is coming but this year or 3 years from now makes a difference(at least to me).


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## gatorglockman (Sep 9, 2011)

Magus said:


> It's ALREADY HITTING!


Hit it back


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

hiwall said:


> Dakine has it right. Many of us need/want the "magic month" to do the last minute preps. I would settle for a two week notice. I hope we get some warning. I have alot of stuff done but I'm waiting on the rest til I see the end coming. I know it coming but this year or 3 years from now makes a difference(at least to me).


My suggestion is to create a list of activities that you need to do in order to accomplish (as best you can) your goal of being adequately prepped. Then prioritize them. Then find the dual-use preps by which I mean some preps are clearly insurance (building an escape tunnel into your home in case liberal zombie hordes seek to overwhelm your home) and others are items that can be used (more canned food or stockpiled ammo). You can't really go wrong with implementing the latter strategy even if you guess wrong on the SHTF timing for you can, after the false crisis passes, eat the food you stockpiled, wear those clothes, shoot that ammo without immediately restocking.

The real trick, for me, is how to deal with the "there's no going back" type of decisions that might have to be made and which could have a powerful effect on survival in a worst case scenario versus being complete duds if you miscalculate scale of effects to come or are completely wrong about a SHTF event. This is why I believe that these decisions should, as much as possible, be left to the latter stages of an unfolding crisis when the factors in play are more clearly defined.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

For me prepping is a journey not a destination, enjoy the ride. I have been prepping for over forty years. The word isn't even that old. My parents were preppers as I grew up but they don't see that. To them, and me, hard times are real events and it is prudent to be ready. Whether it is bad weather or economic disaster. I had gotten ill (age 28 or 29) and lost my income. My preps were what kept my bellybutton from shaking hands with my backbone. I had my home paid for (age 27) so I did not become homeless. The potential right now for a national economic downturn, okay a depression, are extreme but a more personal crisis is always there. Strokes, cancer, and a list of medical problems longer than your arm beset someone every second of every day. Car wrecks, skiing accidents, etc are likewise abundant. Y2K and more recently 12/21/12 were just wakeup calls. They were just excuses to step up what we should have been doing anyway. 

Prep for three months, then six, then prep for a year. After you figure you have preps for a year then consider working towards two. Don't start with a goal of seven years, it is too daunting. Set a small goal, celebrate your success and then set another goal. When I built a house I focused on nailing one board to the next. I knew the finished house was the eventual goal but I allowed myself to feel elated by what I had accomplished. I didn't harp on the unfinished portion for that lead to depressing thoughts. When I put another case of corn or sack of beans in the larder I stepped back and smiled at myself. When I got the generator I patted myself on the back so hard I had to go to the chiropractor. Some steps are small and some steps are great. Sometimes you will even slide backwards. Remember that the backward slides are what we are prepping for.


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## Dude111 (Dec 28, 2012)

jsriley5 said:


> I think the S started H ing the F a few years ago the more I think about it.


I agree bud,started in 2008 and its about to get ALOT WORSE


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## Cabowabo (Nov 6, 2012)

I honestly need it to hold off a while longer. I'm not ready. If I can have 3-5 years then I'll be in a better position. Right now my survival if I survived any kind of SHTF scnerio wouldn't be pretty. 3-5 preferably 5-10 I'd be preppared and in a much better position to ride out the storm. Hopefully things get better for awhile longer...


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## cengasser (Mar 12, 2012)

I'd like it to hold off for a while. I could use more time. But in 3 years will I say the same thing? 
Things seem to be accelerating, maybe it's just paranoia. But I don't think so.
Something very ugly feels like its going to rear it's ugly head, if that happens in 2013, all we can do is the best we can. I won't go quietly. 
I'm not sure you can ever prepare enough. What is enough? How do you know? 
I'm getting a bit nervous, but will continue with the day to day, until the time comes that that is no longer an option.
My hope, as I've stated before, is to at least get a head start to home, and not have to take the hike I've been getting in shape for.


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Thanks all. Just wanted to talk about it.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

gatorglockman said:


> Hit it back


Eventually.BUT if we all hit it back at once, we can stop it.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Up until four years ago the move toward the SHTF scenario has been like the old Pac-Man game, incrementally small bites. This past four years it's kicked into overdrive, more like a shark feeding frenzy, the sharks are leaving remains but not much. Those who feel they are not close to being prepared enough please keep plodding away at being prepared as every little bit helps, don't get overwhelmed by the size and scope of what needs to be done because fear can be paralyzing. If you have to, get angry about it, get pissed that you are pushed into having to do things you wouldn't have to do if things were "normal" and put your shoulder to the wheel and don't look back. Don't let family or friends "?" sway you in any way as many of them can be the real dream stealers in ones life. If they think you're crazy doing what you're doing, so what! Feel sorrow for their ignorance, for in the end they will be the ones suffering (and probably knocking on your door saying "Please help me."). Just remember, who ever you bring into your home after the SHTF better be an asset and not a liability. You had better harden yourself to possibilities of turning away friends or family otherwise your preps will be short lived. It may be a bitter pill to swallow but it needs to be one of those things on your survival list. As to being "Soon", prep like it's coming tomorrow and pray it will somewhere in the years to come, but come it will and when it does it will probably even make our jaws drop due to the enormity of it all. God help us because most certainly our so called government, which is supposed to serve "We the people", will be trying to save their own butts.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

Bio, none of us will ever really be ready and we know it.

If we know we will never be completely ready but we have done what we can then the following is key:



Bobbb said:


> The real trick, for me, is how to deal with the "there's no going back" type of decisions that might have to be made and which could have a powerful effect on survival in a worst case scenario versus being complete duds if you miscalculate scale of effects to come or are completely wrong about a SHTF event. This is why I believe that these decisions should, as much as possible, be left to the latter stages of an unfolding crisis when the factors in play are more clearly defined.


We arent likely to have advanced notice of when the next turd is about to HTF.

You will NOT be completely ready when the next turd HTF

Nobody knows what will be the flavor of the month when the next turd HTF

CONCLUSION: live life right now as though the S has already HTF -- hasnt it?. Do what you've got to do to prepare for the next turd -- whatever that may be. If your current lifestyle doesnt prepare you for the next turd then CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE NOW -- BEFORE the next turd hits.

Guys, how long are we going to stand around knee deep in turds asking each other when the S is going to HTF? Get your scuba gear now cause its going to get that deep eventually -- if you wait for more flying turds it will be too late. Get a "shovel" too because if we are ever going to return to our former glory its going to take a lot of people out here "shoveling".

FYI: a "shovel" is a tool meant for action and what that tool is depends on what the turds are but it inherantly means action.


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Really, I have everything I need to survive at this point, but I can always think of something else I'd like to have. Prepping is a process. I don't think you ever get to a day when you say, "I'm done."


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

for some it has, for others it will and then there are others that it never will, just like the last G depression.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

kejmack said:


> I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Really, I have everything I need to survive at this point, but I can always think of something else I'd like to have. Prepping is a process. I don't think you ever get to a day when you say, "I'm done."


you'll never be done unless you have a Dr. or a good nurse and medicine close by, I mean within minutes. Food and other things are a necessady, but sickness,busted appendix,abcess tooth, snake or dog bite ect have to be addressed also.Everyone should have a list with all the Drs and medical people in their area and some antibiotics on hand..


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I've consistently thought it was just a few months away and I've been consistently wrong. Still, with the Fed printing more and more money out of thin air it's only a matter of time before the dollar collapses. I don't think we have years. I still think we have months.

The minute food stamp cards stop working I'd drop everything and buy as much as I could with the money I currently have. That means I don't pay my mortgage.

Over the last year or two I'd been praying regularly that God would give me a dream or a vision about the time of year that the collapse would take place. I went to bed one evening and closed my eyes. This came into my mind: I'm standing outside my favorite restaurant. It's been closed for some time. The outside windows have dust on them. I can see where rain drops have flowed through the dust. There are autumn leaves swirling in the parking lot. I thought that meant that the collapse was coming during the fall of 2012. Maybe it's coming during the fall of 2013. With all the weird weather and all the 70 degree days we had last March, we could have autumn leaves swirling on the ground during almost any season. I know this: a Denny's opened up recently a block away from that restaurant and business is down. There's also a Dunkin Donuts being built a block away. I definitely see that restaurant closing soon.


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## westbus (Dec 29, 2012)

There are two problems I see going on here:

First off, being a prepper is producing the wrong effect in a lot of people. It seems to be creating a growing sense of fear. Being a prepper involves imagining all sorts of bad scenarios in an attempt to put together contingency plans, and, yeah, that can be scary. However, the point is not to create fear, but to build confidence. Look at it this way, most people live their lives completely oblivious and unprepared for every day things that could go wrong; simply by acknowledging these bad scenarios, you are already better off than them, even if you've done nothing concrete about it.

Prepping should be a process of building confidence. That leads me to other thing I see that is wrong:

We really ought to banish the use of the 'SHTF' acronym. Why? Because it is absolutely impossible to prepare for "when the SHTF", because it is ambiguous and undefined. What is this hypothetical shit and what is this hypothetical fan? If you take a poll of 100 people, you are likely to get 100 different ideas of what SHTF actually is. Until you define it in concrete terms based in reality, you can't prepare for it and you will ALWAYS feel unprepared. 

In addition, you have to classify your SHTF scenarios in terms of probability. For example, I'm not prepared for a nuclear missile strike directly on my house. Yep, totally unprepared. But the likelihood of of that event occurring is so microscopically small, that I'm not even willing to consider it. I've got better things to do than worry about things that won't happen. Losing my job, however, IS something I plan for, because it IS something that could happen.

But a scenario like losing a job is fairly well defined, which means I can plan for it. For example, I would need some food storage, but I wouldn't need guns or a gas mask. I'm not fully prepared for a job loss scenario, but I don't let that produce fear and anxiety. The more I prepare, the less I should worry.

So, when your describing the country heading towards a SHTF state, what do you actually mean by that and how would that affect you personally?


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## laststanding (Mar 19, 2012)

You all need to come in off the ledge... Now is not the time to panic. I don't believe that Barry and his two idiot trolls Pelosi and Reid, are capable of building a bonfire let alone bringing our country down. There will be some short term hysteria whipped up by the media... But ultimately this crew will understand they control almost nothing... it's all an illusion... The real power will step in and swat these midgets. Plan and prepare for now. There will be challenges enough in the near future... Just not from the brillant Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke.... and how did we end up with these clowns anyway? I think I'll take my ball and go home. I don't want to play just now. I think I'll wait....

“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everyone stands around reloading.”
Thomas Jefferson


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

In my humble opinion it is much more likely to be a long, slow process than a one day to the next type situation. I think hanging on to your house at all costs is paramount. I would allow my electricity to be disconnected before I'd let the bank take my house. Unemployment benefits end, no earned income credit deductions,no child tax credits. Income from 17,000 to 70,000 taxed at 15%. I look for higher gas prices as well making it even harder for the working class to get to work. I don't know how people are going to manage it. I'm frightened, but if I've ever learned anything at all it is that you can only do what you can do and then you have to trust God to take care of the rest.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

Everybody has their own vision of what SHTF will be, the idea is to gather knowledge and skills to make living another day a reality. Having stuff is good, knowledge and skill is king. 

Who knows how long our or other countries economies can last before they fall. Remember, if another country falls, we won't be far behind.

I will NEVER consider myself "ready", I will learn more and put up what I can from now till whenever. 

Put on your tin-foil hat;  

The collapse will come in the fall of 2015, towards the end of B.O.'s reign, the economy will tank HARD, stock markets will dump, bank runs etc etc. B.O. will declare Martial Law, sign an EO to indefinitely postpone elections, bring in the UN, (attempt) to quell ALL resistance, and George Soros and his boys will be king of the world. BAM!! New World Order.....:beercheer: 

First they gotta disarm the American people, (they're working on that), The economy is ready to go,(just say the word and Bernanke will pull the plug). The rest will be history!!

NOT sayin I believe that, but.......
NOT sayin they could pull it off if it was tried, but.............
NOT sayin it is out of the question either, but.........:eyebulge: :nuts:


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## paduraru (Dec 27, 2012)

I think the SHTF started a while back. From outside US what happened related to 9/11 seems obviously SHTF, while now 12/14 Sandy gunban. 

You people are more prepared than you may think just to be aware. You seem to be part of the solution, so please persevere!


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

westbus said:


> First off, being a prepper is producing the wrong effect in a lot of people. It seems to be creating a growing sense of fear. Being a prepper involves imagining all sorts of bad scenarios in an attempt to put together contingency plans, and, yeah, that can be scary. However, the point is not to create fear, but to build confidence.


Agreed wholeheartedly. 
The problem, as I see it, is the unfortunate side-effect of "waking up", or "paying attention". People begin realizing how inept and corrupt the leadership is, and because that knowledge is new and constantly being reenforced, the result is fear of what they (corrupt / inept leadership) may do next.



westbus said:


> We really ought to banish the use of the 'SHTF' acronym. Why? Because it is absolutely impossible to prepare for "when the SHTF", because it is ambiguous and undefined. What is this hypothetical shit and what is this hypothetical fan? If you take a poll of 100 people, you are likely to get 100 different ideas of what SHTF actually is. Until you define it in concrete terms based in reality, you can't prepare for it and you will ALWAYS feel unprepared.


Another very good point. So appropriate, imho, I couldn't find a way to trim it to save space...

I honestly believe that the "SHTF" scenario (whatever it may be in the minds of whomever is conceiving it) actually exists as an easiest worst-case scenario. What I mean is that it's far easier to deal with the idea of a complete social collapse with very little or absolutely no government interference, than to deal with the notion of having to still satisfy the mortgage during hyper-inflation; keeping ones home and "BOL" if emanate-domain is exercised. What good is that 5 year supply of food in the barn, if the farm is taken for back-taxes?

We could rebuild society once the "Zombie Pandemic" ran its course. If government continues to exist but becomes (more) malevolent, however, we're screwed.

My point is only that I believe the notion of complete collapse is subscribed to because it's easier to deal with than the way things really are going...



westbus said:


> But a scenario like losing a job is fairly well defined, which means I can plan for it. For example, I would need some food storage, but I wouldn't need guns or a gas mask. I'm not fully prepared for a job loss scenario, but I don't let that produce fear and anxiety. The more I prepare, the less I should worry.


Sane advice.
Thank you!



laststanding said:


> You all need to come in off the ledge...


Yet more outstanding advice!!!!!!
(and I'm NOT being facetious! *REALLY!*)



laststanding said:


> I don't believe that Barry and his two idiot trolls Pelosi and Reid, are capable of building a bonfire let alone bringing our country down.


:rofl:
If it took* intellect* to "bring our country down", I would agree with you completely!

Unfortunately, it will take intellect to *avoid* it....

(I think we're screwed........)


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Actually SHTF is a good explanation even though it may seem over used, but it's easier to figure out than TEOTWAWKI which is not so crude. Either way one looks at it it's the end of normality, the end of getting up and going to work to earn enough pay to pay rent, buy your home, make car payments or put food on the table. SHTF is just a quick way of explaining a sudden violent paradigm shift that will turn everyone's life upside down. "S" particles will spread and hit people that think it would never happen to them, those that believe we are all just "Tinfoil Hat" wearers. I look for 2013 to be a year of increasing devaluation of our buying power, perhaps 3% to 4% per month. In many ways this has already started. Just as an example my wife just purchased an 18 oz container of ground black pepper that cost $16, about six months earlier from the same store it cost $10. Since my wife, and probably many of the guys here wives do the grocery shopping, we may not always be paying attention to the price increases that they see but in many ways this is the beginnings of a major SHTF situation, it's all those little bites which are incremental and not always visible that add up to a huge S load so as paduraru mentioned it's already happened to some extent.


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## laverne (Nov 18, 2012)

if I've ever learned anything at all it is that you can only do what you can do and then you have to trust God to take care of the rest.[/QUOTE]

This is the best and Hardest lesson to learn.


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## alwaysready (May 16, 2012)

biobacon said:


> Just wanted to get peoples take on the state of the United States right now. SO much going on that we have been witing for as signs of the things we have feared. I thought I would have more time and Im kinda scared to be honest with you all. My family is not ready, better off then most but not ready. Im not too much of a praying person these days but Im praying its not going to happen as soon as it sure dose look like its going to.What scares me is that WE ARE ALL going to have to make choices. If this were som kind of natural diaster then the choice was made for us, but if this ever growing cicil unrest continues and it comes to a head, what will we do? What will I do? Will i try to live as a sheep dog and most likely die along with my family or roll over and be a sheep to die a few days latter? Its all fun and games to talk about bugging out and how many rounds you have to shoot at paper targets but what do you do when the targets start shooting back? What do you do when your preps run out? Im being a buzz kill again but Im being real. What do yall think? Is BB just going off the deep end again?


Thanks for being real I know we can all get caught up in the bravado ( some of it false). The simple fact that you have voiced these very real concerns shows that you are thinking and being honest with yourself. I believe that no one will ever be as prepared as they want to be. I also believe that the main component to being prepared is the proper mind set. That along with the supplies you have will take you farther than you know. Personally I'm no sheep and at present I'm not a sheepdog either. If/when things fall apart I think I'd be more like a wolf looking out for my pack. Will I prey on others? No! I'll do my best to avoid unnecessary conflict. I think that the SHTF is happening in supper slow motion the powers that be are presiding over an orderly decent. And the sheep are too busy grazing to notice. Finally once the dust settles I would hope to behave like a sheepdog I believe that we should be as civilized as circumstances will allow. There is power in prayer so keep that up.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

I think it is already happening as well...a sorta slow down the drain shtf but it does seem lately it is picking up in speed as things fall apart. 

I cant change whats happening..I can only get ready as much as possible. 

...our minds are our biggest weapon..

for example, anything I can do to learn stragetic plannings & improve my critical thinking to gain more awareness, improving skills n learning new ones,..n all kinds of other stuff will only make me stronger..

 It is alarming how events seemily are happening alot...and big picture, geopolitical & financial news seems to add to my alarm bells..

I think we are going to see more violence like shootings as false flag events to justify gun control mesures..
something big will trigger martial law..but what?? 

Just a fyi : longshoremen on the east coast n west coast ports might be going on strike tomorrow...

I wonder what the teamsters say bout this? they know if the trucks dont roll...stuff doesnt get on shelves...

and ...were hitting debt ceiling next week..along with Fiscal cliff stuff...could get real ugly...could...


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## jmf42024 (Dec 24, 2012)

If you haven't watched the video 2016, do so. It explains his plans for us and it is all falling into place. His plans are to make us a third world country and we are ever so slowly moving in that direction. His mentors were communists.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

As for the Strike I heard it suggested here somewhere that perhaps the whole country should go on strike until the government decides to start listening to us again. Maybe We should all join the Longshoremen for a week. Somehow I don't think it would work but maybe jsut maybe.


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## the7wolf (Dec 4, 2012)

The S has already HTF. What we're waiting for now is the splatter effect. From wealth redistribution and unworkable economic policies that will destroy our economy to proposed gun-grabs, we are further along in this scenario than most of us could have thought 4-5 years ago. What could happen in 6-12 months to act as a catalyst?

I remember a couple of years back, before any of this prepping thing had even crossed my mind, having a conversation with a good 'ol boy here in Texas over guns. He was telling me there was no way the government would ever find a way to take away guns or indeed, gather enough groundswell opinion to even ignite the topic. I asked him what he thought would happen, with a highly liberal sympathetic media, if a few high-profile school shooting occurred and how that would change the public's perception of guns to a degree where gun-grabbing was a viable plan. He told me Americans love their guns too much and the 2nd amendment to allow a few high impact incidents erase almost 300 years of patriotism. I told him that he under-estimated the emotional knee-jerk reaction of parents who will buy any safety plan, irrespective of basis in truth, to keep their kids safe from a threat that statistically is less likely than being eaten by the family pet.

Yet here we are. We're one more, maximum two, mass shooting away from a grab on EVERY handgun. Forget 'assault' weapons, high-capacity clips. Have a shooting with a person dual-welding a couple of Glocks and they'll come for the handguns too. The economy collapses at a later date, food is too expensive or in very short supply, only criminal elements have guns, what do you think comes next? I'll be shocked if we have longer than two years before the no-turning-back phase.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

When you flush the toilet, look at the water, at the top it spins slower, towards the bottom it spins faster and faster. I think we are about half way down the shitter right now, but a little further down and things will start spinning so fast it'll be over in seconds. We ARE going down the shitter, it HAS been flushed, just a matter of time till we reach the bottom. Then get dumped straight into the cesspool.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

As to BB's original post, I don't believe that there will be any warning. There may be some signs in the bond markets, but nothing obvious until it is too late and we have time to think about it after the fact. The Powers That Be will continue to tell us that everything is fine until we are actually over the cliff face and have hit the first major ledge on the way to the bottom (and will probably try to keep lying to us even then). We all should just do what we can and roll with whatever happens to the best of our ability.


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## TexasMama (Dec 3, 2012)

Dakine said:


> hope for the best, prep for the worst. That's really all anyone can do as I see it.
> 
> I have no control over the financial crisis our country is in, and I can't prevent the POTUS from using our armed forces in ways that are wrong or force him to defend allies he would rather distance us from. I can't stop a drug resistant strain of TB or the next variation of bird flu, swine flu, or whatever else is coming next from going nuts and infecting a lot of people.
> 
> ...


WOW - your comments mean so much to me.

I pretty much had an emotional meltdown and crying spell the other day - I'd visited a fairly well known site - read a "DHS interview" and wound up just wanting to throw my hands in the air and say "why bother?".

Fortunately, I asked my adult son and my husband to both read the article and they were so comforting to me as they shared their impressions (one said it was like a bad tv movie script - the other one used the term 'tin foil conspiracy' and then went on to read more of the site today and came back and said, "that site seems to be trying to stir up people and get them excited but doesn't really give them helpful tips like X, Y and Z sites do").

I so needed that input because it is easy to become overwhelmed - particularly when you're first starting out.

My biggest "fear" right now is that we'd lose the internet - I have pages of printouts - but it is the ability to read what y'all post on here that helps me as we start to prep. Yes, I post a bit - but I read a lot more than that. Hearing the voices of wisdom from those who have been prepping a while keep us balanced and on focus.

I think the S has been HTF for a while...and like someone said - it's like the toilet how things speed up the closer it gets to the bottom...we can only focus on what we can do this year/this month/this week and ultimately - today.

I have told myself that if I only do ONE thing per day to help with prepping - whether that is canning something - or ordering fish meds - or organizing something else - then I one step closer to being prepared.

Will I ever be fully prepared?

Doubt it. But I will be "better prepared" than I was before we ever learned about prepping.

We're on something like week 8 or 9 and feeling better about it all the time.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

TexasMama, keep in mind that being aware is half the battle, you have made the transition to being aware that we are in trouble. Couple your awareness with the mindset that you WILL be able to deal with what comes along and you will be WAY ahead of the pack!! Remember, stuff is good, knowledge and skills are PRICELESS!!! Work on primitive living skills, when your stuff runs out, you will have the knowledge and the skill to continue to provide the necesities. 

Welcome to the wonderful world of prepping!!! 

Keep on preppin on!!


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Ive come to accept that I'll never have enough preps to survive a EOTWASWKI sitiuation. In this year coming up Im going to work on my skill sets. One time I was in the amazon and our guide was able to get every thing we needed from the jungle and a machette. Forget being like the people on Doomsday Preepers I want to be like that guy.


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## talob (Sep 16, 2009)

pandamonium said:


> When you flush the toilet, look at the water, at the top it spins slower, towards the bottom it spins faster and faster. I think we are about half way down the shitter right now, but a little further down and things will start spinning so fast it'll be over in seconds. We ARE going down the shitter, it HAS been flushed, just a matter of time till we reach the bottom. Then get dumped straight into the cesspool.


Good analogy, it seems fitting!


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

I think some of the perspectives differ because some people see a gradual decline into collapse and some see it at a sudden and complete collapse. A bit of both is probably going to happen. We're already clearly in decline when you take all the economic, financial, and social factors into account, but there could be a sudden fall off a cliff, pardon the word since 'fiscal cliff' is a catch word right now. 

Texasmama and all other people fairly new to prepping, just take a deep, slow breath and keep moving forward. Every thing you learn, buy, or do makes you that much more prepared than you were yesterday. Keep on keeping on. You're doing fine.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

pandamonium said:


> When you flush the toilet, look at the water, at the top it spins slower, towards the bottom it spins faster and faster. I think we are about half way down the shitter right now, but a little further down and things will start spinning so fast it'll be over in seconds. We ARE going down the shitter, it HAS been flushed, just a matter of time till we reach the bottom. Then get dumped straight into the cesspool.


This fits in with what some economists are saying only they put it as the locomotive has gone over the cliff and it just hasn't pulled all of the passenger cars over yet.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

pandamonium said:


> TexasMama, keep in mind that being aware is half the battle, you have made the transition to being aware that we are in trouble. Couple your awareness with the mindset that you WILL be able to deal with what comes along and you will be WAY ahead of the pack!! Remember, stuff is good, knowledge and skills are PRICELESS!!! Work on primitive living skills, when your stuff runs out, you will have the knowledge and the skill to continue to provide the necesities.
> 
> Welcome to the wonderful world of prepping!!!
> 
> Keep on preppin on!!


You've hit the nail on the head, the magic word is awareness, once one becomes aware it often unlocks many doors and alters long term mindsets. Mindsets often set up huge barriers to doing things because mindsets create a fear of anything outside of the container the mindset has built. But once a person takes the first fearful step after awareness they frequently come to the realization that God gave them the brains to figure out things for themselves, it becomes self reliance and when you come to understand that you will feel as though a huge burden has been lifted from your shoulders. What this awareness change is called is a paradigm shift and it is one that set my wife and me on a completely different path in life.


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

Viking said:


> This fits in with what some economists are saying only they put it as the locomotive has gone over the cliff and it just hasn't pulled all of the passenger cars over yet.


This is probably a more appropriate metaphor to what I believe we'll be facing.

The actual "failure" happened long, long ago (yes, before Obama, he's just exacerbating it).

Of course, this is just my opinion, but what realistically seems to be coming is probably better described as "economic strife". We'll still have to pay the mortgage or rent, and all the taxes, and we'll still have to buy food. We just won't be able to afford it. It has the effect of making us all *"Wards of the State"*. If you want to eat, you'll do what you're told. By apparent necessity, the government will have to control all resources, including where your paycheck (if you still get any) comes from (ie. *THEM*). The level of dependency is potentially so great that it borders on outright slavery.

Considering the mentality of decisions like "Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942)", this isn't something we can remedy with ARs, AKs, and shotguns. It's frankly not a scenario I see as even remotely winnable. ...at least, not at this point.

The frog, as they say, seems now sufficiently boiled....


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

So, how can the govt own us??
The 'Powers' have created many circumstances that have weakened our purchasing power, creating abundance of red tape, leading to economic woes for companies and businesses from all sides.
When we finally get to the real economic collapse, and most don't have jobs for one reason or another, all commercial and residential property will be bought by the elite after foreclosure, at maybe 10 cents on a dollar(guessing).
Those that own their property?? How will taxes be paid?? Homeowners paid?
See, they have thought this through for decades.
Even with years of food and supplies stored, there will be ways to get us to cry 'uncle'.

It's like the magician and the handkerchief trick...you don't know how many more times he can pull a bandanna from his wrist, but each time he does, *you know *he is closer to the end of the trick.


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

I don't have any idea when it'll hit the proverbial fan, or what the specific scenario will be, how severe it'll be, or any of that stuff, because I'm sorry to say I'm not Miss Cleo and I don't have a crystal ball. If I did, I'd make a KILLING on the stick market and retire to the Cayman Islands.

To me, preparing is a *journey*, not a destination. There are easily 101 things that can go wrong that you can't even anticipate, let alone adequately prepare for. You're NEVER going to be completely prepared for everything. You do what you can, with what you've got, wherever you are, and you trust God for the rest.


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