recession skills?

koyote

koyote

Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
5,846
In this forum we... well, we play a lot. It's useful play, and for
some of us at some points it is very important to staying sane and
whole whether through a hurricane or through an overnight hike.

Right now I want to bring up the "impending recession"- for me it's
been very noticeable for a while, and I don't care what the media and
government economists say, I think it's been a bonafide recession for
well over a year (in some areas and for some of us, possibly 3
years), and I'd go so far as to call it a depression.

In my little corner of it, we've been using our skillset to help get
by. I very much wish we were out in the country where I could do more,
but even here in town, we've done a fair number of things.

We haven't (yet) gone for varminting for the pot, but I've been
tempted more and more each day to grab a few squirrel or jacks.

We have stopped using charcoal for the weekly barbeque fires, instead
using dried wood I've gathered up- we have a lot of peach, walnut,
maple.

We have always foraged for fun, and it's still fun, but it has a
noticeable effect on the food bills, too.

We often camp instead of using hotels when travelling. Part of that is
the pure fun of doing so, but it sure can be cheaper, too!

We do a fair amount of extra work to conserve money, as
well. Recentlywe got a pretty serious discount on a goat since we are
willing to do all the post slaughter work ourselves.

I can't say we're going all out for trying to live in a caretaker's
camp- I have a shop to run, now.

There's a lot of stuff to think about here. In the Great Depression,
we had a much larger rural population than we do now. Hunting for the
pot was a far larger option then than now- and not just because of the
demographics.

A lot of us are solidly urban, and practice skills for fun and SHTF
scenarios. And a fair number of us live out in the country and find
much of what goes on in this forum practical daily skills. We are in
between, living within reach by quick car or even bicycle trips of the
wild, or at least semi-wild. But we're in town and a fair amount of
our activities are circumscribed due to that.

So what are y'all doing? What are you planning for right now? And what
are your thoughts?
 
My dad had me late in his life but he grew up during the great depression... Hunting foraging trapping camping growing your own food and making your own tools, Things that we would consider survival skills where just living...
 
RescueRiley said:
My dad had me late in his life but he grew up during the great depression... Hunting foraging trapping camping growing your own food and making your own tools, Things that we would consider survival skills where just living...
Click to expand...

Same here. My Dad was born in 1925 and I was born in 1968. He used to trap and sell hides just to be able to purchase ammunition to hunt. That was before he was a teenager.

I don't think it matters who just won the presidency, one more little mistake and we will be in the crapper as far as the economy is concerned, we've been circling the drain for quite some time now.

It's fairly easy to say we're not in a recession and we're all just a bunch of "whiners" when the people looting the country don't really have to worry about the cost of fuel, food and rent. There is no way this country has stopped driving so much that regular gasoline is now $1.75 after a high of $4.25 per gallon. They knew who was going to get elected and they knew the gravy train of "speculation" was over and bad things were going to happen to them. Will it go back up? Probably so, but it will be for different reasons when it does.

The cost of gasoline, diesel, natural gas and electric drives the increase in food costs and the cost of everything else. The stuff has to get to the stores some how, after all. A lot of people didn't understand that when they were spewing nonsense about gasoline prices, etc.

I think it will probably get a lot worse before it gets better.
 
I have a garden I plant every year.
I make my own blueberry( pick'em myself) wine.
I have plenty of venison, game birds, and trout on hand.
I pick apples, pears,walnuts etc.
I load my own bullets.
The list goes on...
 
we do have some truck- greens and snow peas are very stable winter produce for this area, and easy to grow all over the yard.

While we do a fair amount of homebrewing, it's not really something that seriously cheapens the budget for the household.
 
I cannot do a whole lot since I live in downtown Houston but I was about to walk out the door to pick up a few supplies to make a batch of wine. I also have a few tomato plants.

On another note, I am looking to buy my first house (mixed feelings on if this is a good idea) but I plan on setting up a garden.
 
I just went through a lay-off at work. They got rid of 58 people out of a total of 140 in our department. I was lucky enough to survive the brutality....this time.

Which brings me to a point, if you are fortunate enough to still be employed, do everything you can to hold on to your job. Finding another will be tougher during times like this. If they ask for someone to do a project or some other crappy work, consider volunteering. Be pleasant, and I know sometimes it's hard, but I noticed those with bad attitudes made up a cross section of those told to leave. Thye may have been good quality workers, but when the chips are down, no one wants to keep a malcontent around.

Make yourself as indespensible as possible, and perhaps you may avoid the grim reaper when they start handing out pink slips. or, maybe you will keep your job another 3 months or 6 months longer this way versus being the first out the door.

I know this doesn't fall under a wilderness expedition or a SHTF scenario or a biblical flood situation, but, keeping your job and a paycheck is a survival issue during these rough times.

May all of you fare as well as possible during this economic debacle.

As far as answering this thread, my family has cut way back on spending.
Only the most basic necessary expenditures are made.

I haven't bought a new knife in over 6 months! if that's not tough times...well....
 
orrey45 said:
I cannot do a whole lot since I live in downtown Houston but I was about to walk out the door to pick up a few supplies to make a batch of wine. I also have a few tomato plants.

On another note, I am looking to buy my first house (mixed feelings on if this is a good idea) but I plan on setting up a garden.
Click to expand...

It could be a good time to buy if... local property values have already bottomed, you can get good terms on the mortgage, you have good job security regardless of the market ups and downs.
 
I had to move from the country to take a job in Portsmouth, VA. It bothers me to see how desperate some of these urbanites are, and to know that they would probably go dog-eat-dog if we had a major catastrophe. If that happened, I would do my best to get my family back to the country ASAP.

I planted a container garden at work this past summer. I took a lot of ribbing from the city folks, but they didn't turn it down when I shared with them.
 
Panama, that reminds me of a fellow in downtown Washington DC who planted a couple of tomato plants at the fleet maintenance yard. Same thing,they all joked with him, but when they ripened no one turned down a vine ripened tomato!

In WW2 everyone was encouraged to plant "victory" gardens, seems like a good idea whether war or peace, good times or not-so-good times.
 
It pains me to say this, but im not prepared...Money is way to tight to stock up on food right now. Ive got canned and frozen stuff but not much. I also live with my girlfriend and am scared i couldnt protect her if i had to. A recession isnt a zombie attack but it can be tough. I also lve in a small illegal appartment under someones house and in a realatively urban environment so making a garden or hunting isnt really an option. Also all i have to hunt with is 2 bb guns.

What do guys and gals think i could do to be more prepared given my situation?
 
Keep stocking up on the canned goods and bottled water bro. Look into gettin a firearm of some sort down the line.
 
I buy foodstuff that will last whenever I can. I have sold a big part of my collection of knives and need to pick up some .45 ammo and a rifle. I am thinking of doing some inside herbs and vegetable plants since I live in an apartment.
 
tjiscooler said:
It pains me to say this, but im not prepared...Money is way to tight to stock up on food right now. Ive got canned and frozen stuff but not much. I also live with my girlfriend and am scared i couldnt protect her if i had to. A recession isnt a zombie attack but it can be tough. I also lve in a small illegal appartment under someones house and in a realatively urban environment so making a garden or hunting isnt really an option. Also all i have to hunt with is 2 bb guns.

What do guys and gals think i could do to be more prepared given my situation?
Click to expand...

stock up on some of the more basic "homemade food" staples. A couple 20 pound bags of rice, properly stored, try to keep at least 20 pounds of flour on hand. Salt and Sugar in multipound amounts- we do a lot of brine preserving and buy salt in 50 pound bags, but anything over 5 pounds is good. For the sugar I'd go to a large discount store or check the sales and try to keep 20 pounds or more on hand.

Bread baking is a simple magic. basic bread is 4 ingredients- water, salt, flour, yeast. Learn to bake bread, then yu can extend it numerous ways. I've made bread with roasted garlic, onions, olives, cheeses, kale and aruglua and dandelion greens baked in.......

Get a better bb gun. For home defense it isn't going to do a lot, but a $100 springer that does over 800fps with .177 pellets will keep the pot stocked. theairgunstore.com currently has a crosman .22 CO2 carbine for $90. I prefer a pump for the serious budget, and a 1377 costs $50, an add on stock from the crosman online store is something like another 20.....

For firearms, I won't get into the caliber debate much, but I will say that *I* keep a .22 and a .32acp for personal defense, and I'm not feeling scared because of it. On a budget, an inexpensive used .22 pistol is a LOT more gun than none. I'd suggest a revolver or hunting auto with a 6 inch barrel and adjustable sights. But even a little baby pocket pistol is infinitely more than nothing. (It's just that the barrel length has a HUGE effect on the performance of the .22 and a weapon that can be used for hunting is for me far more important than lighter pocket concealability.)

Start with the bread, it's easy to stock up on ingredients. Plan a few things- how to cook and make sure of safe water when the power goes out.
 
I think things like victory gardens, wild food foraging (plants) etc. are all good ideas, but for my money, I would also spend more time perfecting archery skills, traps and snares, nets, etc. - all the 'quiet' food gathering techniques.

When it comes down to feeding your family, all poaching considerations are non-existent and if you're that desperate, so are others, hence the 'quiet' techniques.

Hope this remains an academic discussion. :(

Doc
 
Good point Doc......Those quiet skills are a must.:thumbup:

Baking brad is a great and easy skill to learn, good one Christof!!
 
I could have and perhaps should have brought up bows. We have a half dozen, and some of us can shoot. We also have a couple slingshots and two of us are good enough to have taken annoying scrub jays with them.
 
when i think about the economy, i just think...

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+1 on quiet techniques - air guns, snares, crossbows if you're not already a proficient archer

and gold if you can still get your hands on it
 
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