# I see more people



## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

going from making a real good living to just surviving lately. A family man who lives up the rd from me about 1/2 mile went to work this morning as he had for the past 22 yrs and was back home before 8 AM. The owner called everyone in and said"go home" We're closing the place. No one had any idea that this was ever going to happen, especially on a Tuesday morning.
I just talked to him and he seems to think that he'll get another job, but there are none here or within 40 miles that i know of, (even the mexicans are leaving) He does have a few lawns that he mows on the side, but lawns have stopped growing up here for the next 7 months. I said at least your wife works for the state so you'll still have a ck coming in and med insurance, but now I've heard that the state is talking about closing her place and out sourcing the work, she's been on the job over 20 yrs., I always thought that I wouldn't feel sorry for some people when the SHTF as they've called me paronoid, nuts,and farmer john for always having a garden, eating rabbits,burning wood, storing food, doing my own repairs ect, anyway, I do feel sorry for them and many others around here as the money gets tighter, wonder how long before they'll want to try eating a rabbit and be an old meanie like me?


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## tortminder (Oct 15, 2008)

*Choices*

Life is about making choices and then living with the consequences of those choices.

I have had many conversations with folks trying to suggest that they might want to put something back for a rainy day, (money, food, clothing, tools... whatever). Many times I was scorned as a "gloom and doom" peddler, even by members of my own clan.

Now that times are tough, (and, in my opinion probably gonna get tougher), I have no compassion or pity for those who made the decision to have the McMansion, drive the Land Yacht or eat out at Mickey D's or Old Country Buffet instead of learning the skill of scratch cookin'.

Hungry cousin? Eat your 52" plasma TV!


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## obikenobi (Mar 30, 2010)

One of my good friends and also the keyboard player in my band just lost their jobs recently. They had big corporate jobs that either got cut or sent to India. They have houses and families along with the usual bills. Both of them had to take contract jobs where they are hired for a certin amount of time, usually 3 to 6 months. But there is no heath care and no job security. They can't buy another job. 

My friend just sold his nice small comfortable house to buy another larger house in an upscale community right before he lost his job. I had warned him that he should rethink this decision because of the way the economy is, I remember saying to him what will you do if you lose your job and you have this brand new huge house to support. He didn't listen to me because his wife had him by the balls if you know what I mean. She wanted to keep up with the joneses. Now he is screwed and has to sell his summer house and toys to pay his bills. If he can even do that. My keyboard player is thinking of trying to sell his house because he can't pay both his exwife's allimony and his own bills. After seeing this it makes me real glad I own my vehicle outright however old and junky it is and I have a nice modest house with a low mortgage. 

I have never been in the mind set that most people are in today that you have to keep up with everyone else. Big house, big gas guzzing SUV, going out to eat all the time, going on vacations 2 times a year, etc.... They are the ones that are going to panic when everything bottoms out. 

I am going to start hunting again. Mostly birds. And I do grow a lot of my own vegetables. I cut back on everything I can. It's so hard when we see all our friends driving new cars and have big fancy mc mansions but I know they are all one step away from losing it all if the husbands lose thier big fancy corporate jobs. It won't take long for those high mortgage and car payments to drain any savings they have. 

I just keep on prepping because I know it's going to get worse before it's better. I wish the housing market was better so I could sell my current house and buy a smaller one in northen N.H. far away from society when it goes down in flames. I always hope for the best but expect and prepare for the worse. May God bless us all.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Must be all that "hope and change" Owebama brought!

We've been preppers for many years and it isn't all about TSHTF. A lot of time life throws you curve balls. It's best to be prepared for them.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

We've had a son and a son-in-law get laid off in the last month and a half. 

Best thing you can do is...DON'T get into debt. Some things, like homes and cars, can't be avoided, but do so as best as you can.

And if you still have a job...prepare for the possibility of losing it, regardless how secure you think it is.


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

*Poor me!!*

I just got my new home!!... all 12x30; of it!! lol.. prefabbed .. I have to wire it and plumb it...not a prob...cost..6 K... I figure to have it paid off in about 2 minths.. can heat it with a few broken tree limbs which are all around the place..

Less is best!! less is more!.. "IF" all goes well I hope to be debt free in the next 6 months... or as close as I can get to it..

I'm single but if that were to change she best be like me in this area.. my last home which I built had to have a huge master bedroom... it was almost as many SQ ft as my new place.. and ya know, when I went to sleep, I had no idea how big or small my bedroom was... it was just a longer walk to take a leak...

I believe a lot of people are coming to the same point I am.. I don't need the toy's, or the 60" flat screen... or the new car...my 08 Dodge ram is going on the block very soon...I have enough equity in it I can sell it for a song and still have enough to pay off my new mini mansion .. that's a good thing... my 94 Bronco is plenty good enough for my needs..

Now to finish the cabin and start thinking about the garden plot...

raining like hell here in E TX... God knows the land needs it.. Next Spring I'm heading to the Desert to explore.. and not worry about big truck payments or house payments...

It feels good!!..


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## VUnder (Sep 1, 2011)

I drive my old trucks, live in my regular house, plow my own dirt, and mind my own business. Like Jerry Clower said, some of them are so bad off that if they miss one payday, it's straight to the pennitentiary. I don't get caught up in that circus rigamaroo. I need to get with some like minded people. It is time now.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

I worked a unique schedule in the fire department - on duty 24 hours then off for 48 hours. That two days off presented a great opportunity to work a part-time job, and I did. Thing is, I never got myself into a position were I depended on that part-time job to make ends meet. 

I watched as most of the new hires soon bought new cars/trucks, nice houses, and settled down with their sweeties as newlyweds. Thing is, not only did they have to work part-time, but their wives had to work too to pay for all of it. An accident. A layoff. Anything could wreck them financially. No thanks. Too much stress and worry for me. Less is better.

I'm sorry to hear about working people loosing their jobs over no fault of their own. But they had the same opportunities as most of us did in preparing in advance for unseen calamities that life all too often throws at us. I hope many took advantage of them, but I doubt that they did.


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## Ponce (May 3, 2009)

While living in Anaheim CA back in 1999 I knew what was going to happen in the future and the first thing that I did was to do a WWW search for a new place.....I finally decide on this place out in the woods of OR and six miles from a one mule of a town, here we don't have local or state taxes and by already being the woner of everything that I have my yearly expenses (not counting gasoline and food) is of only $4,400.....what I get from my Social Security is three times what I need to live with

PS: Already have 7-8 years of food in storage and around 500 gallons of gasoline........my $4,400 I can cut it down to $3,600.

"Plan today for the way that you want to live in the future"... Ponce :congrat:


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## ilovetigger (Aug 10, 2011)

I have been a prepper most of my life in some form or another. Usually it was stocking up in bulk as I found things on sale. I have always gardened for fresh veggies, and a girlfriend turned me on to canning a couple of years ago. I can't seem to help myself anymore. I can EVERYTHING.........veggies, sauces, juices, jams/jellies, soups, meats, fruits, and whatever else I can think of.

My husband lost his job 3 years ago. We lost everything............house on the lake, car, boat.............but, we survived thanks to our preps and a large garden. They kept us fed for most of those 3 years. We have since moved to a bigger but cheaper home with room for an even larger garden. Rather than feeling sorry for himself, hubby took his unemployment as a sign to go get his Masters Degree. He too is one of the lucky few that has found, while only a contract position with NO benefits, at least temporary work. As long as he IS working, we are doing without to try to build our preps back up in case of another personal SHTF. We also have befriended a local family farm so eggs are farm fresh and our cow goes for processing this month.

Vacations.............What vacations? We are hoping to get our house paid off in the near future and continue to modify our bills to be the least they can be. TV is over an antennae with an already paid for lifetime TIVO subscription, house phone is gone, and our finances are kept TIGHT. Expenses are budgeted for with larger purchases discussed as to need vs. want. We continue to work toward being as self sufficient as possible. 

SHTF is different for everyone on a personal level and I am sure it will become even more global as our economy seems to be coming closer and closer to crashing around us.


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## horseman1946 (Oct 19, 2011)

My next door neighbor, who owns a perfect survival retreat, just bought a $200,000.00 home in a subdivision. They have 30 acres and a two storey farm house that is paid for, and they are going to sell. They are a one income family, and not a large income at that, and to get the subdivision house they had to get one of those weird mortgages where you pay for so long and then refinance.

The husband told me they would not be able to afford food if they bought the house. This is a train wreck, and they are just rolling right into it.

I can't understand this line of thinking, if you can even call it thinking. Knowing their finances as I do, and I have given them money, firewood, food, when they were on hard times, I can't understand how they got the loan.

My point is this, if people go into situations like this, eyes wide shut, and our banking industry goes along with it, when or how will this ever stop? Keep straining the system, and it will break.

As much as I like them, they are the people that will become the zombies WTSHTF, walking the roads looking for a handout.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

horseman1946 said:


> My next door neighbor, who owns a perfect survival retreat, just bought a $200,000.00 home in a subdivision. They have 30 acres and a two storey farm house that is paid for, and they are going to sell. They are a one income family, and not a large income at that, and to get the subdivision house they had to get one of those weird mortgages where you pay for so long and then refinance.
> 
> The husband told me they would not be able to afford food if they bought the house. This is a train wreck, and they are just rolling right into it.
> 
> ...


My cousin just did the same thing... *against MY advice* (for what it's worth, I suppose). She just had a baby 9 weeks ago, works as the apt manager for the building they live in (one of the perks is a free apt) & her husband is only part time employed at a hospital doing a job that will *definitely* be gone by *July*! :nuts:


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## VUnder (Sep 1, 2011)

It seems that the no thinking kind of thinking is still going on. That bank made that loan good on their books by passing it off on those people. It makes the bank look more soluble when money loans are in the names of qualified borrowers, regardless if they can pay or not. But, the borrowers reached for that candy when they knew better. I enjoyed it, because I was building those houses that were going up over the last several years. Living in my little place, building for young people that were going to be left with a 1600 dollar house payment each month. Or, recently retired people that have no kids at home, wanting the five bedroom three bath as an investment and you can't give them away now. At the time, the economy was a propped up house of cards, and now it is falling.

The people that work for a living are outnumbered by the people that vote for a living. Predictions say fifty percent unemployment this year. Well, over fifty percent get up each day and work for the government, so guess which fifty percent will be out of work? City of Shreveport had to turn down a street improvement bill because of too many obligations to pay retirements, so the people who pay the taxes and finance the whole show will still have to drive on beat up roads and pay retirements when they have no retirement of their own. There are 400 law enforcement in that parish, see them running around in groups of ten at times. All going to draw 40k a year when they retire. A jr high principal starts out at 100k, and think about the retirements of all the high dollar administrative people. The monkeys have voted themselves bananas. Now, you know which way these will vote at election time. So when half the workforce works for government, and only half the people work, because the other half is on welfare, then really, only a quarter of the working age population has a non government income. It has to collapse. The ingredients are already in the pot, it is simmering, just not quite done yet.


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## gatorglockman (Sep 9, 2011)

I think the thing that is most prevalent right now is people's ability to adjust their view/expectations/goals. I think the same thing happened to many in the early 1930's.... We simply can not live in the lifestyle we did 5 years ago and or that the media projects. Our cost of living is going up, our income has gone down and our nations expectations remain the same or higher....bad juju.

I suspect most people will eventually adapt in some form because of force (ie they have no choice). How they adapt is the scary factor for me. Can they adapt and overcome or will they just sink into despair.

I saw this coming years ago and took a second job to stay ahead of my needs and bills the best I could. Going on 3 years of working 2 jobs and working one or both 7 days a week. The first 2-3months kicked my ass (and I whined a lot), but after that I toughened up and adjusted to my routine and dug in. I say this to brag a bit (ha ) but to question if others will do what is needed to make ends meet.

It is humbling working in my second job (which is a basic retail job vs my daytime gig) when I see members of the community come in and give me "that look". I don't give a rip, cause my kids college tuition next week gets paid in cash by me vs a loan, etc.

Can these folks work at McDonalds and Wal Mart and whatever if needed to cover the bet the best they can or will they sit on the couch and pout is my question????


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

Jezcruzen said:


> I worked a unique schedule in the fire department - on duty 24 hours then off for 48 hours. That two days off presented a great opportunity to work a part-time job, and I did. Thing is, I never got myself into a position were I depended on that part-time job to make ends meet.
> 
> I watched as most of the new hires soon bought new cars/trucks, nice houses, and settled down with their sweeties as newlyweds. Thing is, not only did they have to work part-time, but their wives had to work too to pay for all of it. An accident. A layoff. Anything could wreck them financially. No thanks. Too much stress and worry for me. Less is better.
> 
> I'm sorry to hear about working people loosing their jobs over no fault of their own. But they had the same opportunities as most of us did in preparing in advance for unseen calamities that life all too often throws at us. I hope many took advantage of them, but I doubt that they did.


I'm in that predicament myself. I got into a car accident halloween night and it has proceeded to destroy my finances only because my husband and i are not financially set for unexpected emergencies. I'm not working. I've been looking for a job as a LEO but since I have no experience, it has been a challenge to find work. (Fresh out of PA municipal police academy) It pains me to get back into retail customer service, but I got to do what I got to do. Maybe I will be able to find security work on the side.

I was hoping this accident would knock utter sense into my DH about the "awesome" reality of emergencies.

Nope, still blind. 

It is as frustrating and painful as trying to quit smoking. My face in a brick wall. That's how I feel right now.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

VUnder said:


> The people that work for a living are outnumbered by the people that vote for a living.


Well said, VUnder.


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