If you are worried about where to get supplies after your stockpile runs out when SHTF, you can try to learn more about bartering and the basics of trading in a post-collapse world. (h/t to TheOrganicPrepper.com)

The tips and information below come from Selco Begovic, a man who survived one year in Bosnia when his city was blockaded.

Begovic hails from the Balkan region, where residents struggled with harsh living conditions from 1992 to 1995. He lived there and survived for a year in a city without running water, food distribution, electricity, fuel or supply of any goods.

The area also did not have any organized law or government.

While the information below is from an interview conducted in 2018, the topics discussed are still relevant for preppers or those who want to start prepping in 2023.

Bartering after city lockdowns

According to Begovic, people started bartering weeks after the city was locked down. He added that ordinary folks only started bartering after several weeks went by because they did not immediately realize the severity of their situation.

As he tried to remember more about that time in his life, Begovic added that there were people who did not want to take money for goods. Instead, they asked for valuables like gold, jewelry or weapons for the items that they had wanted to trade with.

Some of these people were smart enough to realize that money was going to become worthless soon.

Even valuables, such as gold and jewelry, were only good in the first period, and you would only benefit from them if you had a connection to the outside world to exchange them for something useful.

Ordinary people needed several weeks to get used to their situation, said Begovic. The process went from buying goods with money to buying goods from people who still accepted money but at outrageous prices, to the moment when money was worthless and people only accepted goods for other items.

While rare, Begovic said you could sometimes find someone who would sell you something for foreign money, but with at least 20 to 50 times higher prices. To illustrate, if a pack of cigarettes costs around 1.50 German Marks outside the war region, Begovic could buy that pack for 40 German Marks.

US dollars and Canadian dollars had even worse value. The people who would accept that money had connections to the outside world, and some of them became millionaires because of that, said Begovic.

The same ratio was for precious metals and jewelry. For small and quick trades, the usual currency people used was cigarettes because of the large percentage of smokers in the area.

Sometimes, people would trade bullets. (Related: SHTF bartering must-haves: 13 Things that will be in demand after an EMP attack.)

How to determine the value of trade items and setting terms

Begovic said nothing was fixed. During the lockdown, the value of goods went up and down based on different factors.

If a United Nations (UN) food convoy was able to enter the city and a local warlord took it all, which Begovic said happened often, and the majority of the food was canned fish, within that month those types of canned food would be cheaper than the month before.

In other cases, if U.S. airplanes managed to “hit” with airdrops in their area, then meals, ready-to-eat (MREs) were going to be cheaper.

Begovic also said once a rumor was planted by rival groups, such as rumors about “poisoned” cans of cookies, people did not value such items highly anymore.

However, some things did not change value too much during the whole period, such as alcohol, because it was available. The value of other things was a matter of the situation.

If your child was sick and you needed antibiotics, once you spread the word, you can expect high prices because you gave out that information. Begovic added that usually, people knew the value of goods for that week, at least approximately.

The value of things and trading rules “on the ground” were similar to trade rules at normal life flea markets, said Begovic.

Some of those rules on the ground during trading were:

• If you need something, the price is going to increase. Begovic advised that it’s best not to look like you desperately need something to avoid this.
• You shouldn’t offer everything you have in “one hand” or on one try. Don’t go to trade with your best items altogether because you will seem desperate, and you are losing the advantage.
• Don’t give someone a reason to take the risk of attacking you because you have too many desirable items or too many things with you. Before meeting up with someone, Begovic advised that you should only bring a set amount of food or ammo. If you need more items, do another trade at another time with more of your items. Always remember that people will take chances if they calculate it is a risk worth taking.
• Do not volunteer information about how much of the goods you actually have at home to avoid any incidents.
• Do not trade at home, unless you trust the other person completely. This is important, especially if you are trading with someone you don’t know that well.
• Agreeing to trade at another person’s home might mean that you are at his “playground,” or he is stupid, and you are losing the advantage. Do not take the risk of trading on unknown terrain. Try to choose neutral ground where you can control the situation and give the other person the chance to feel safe, but not safer than you.

Begovic said the most important thing to do is to understand that when SHTF, the only thing that protects you from losing everything is you.

Trade will require careful planning. Start with information about a person who has something you need, then check and double-check that information.

Communicate with him, then send information to let him know that you want to trade. Clearly set the terms about the place and number of people where you’re going to do the trade.

Usually, there would be rumors or information about who was safe to trade with. Begovic said there was also information about people who like to scam others during a trade.

If you completed a beneficial and fair trade with someone, remember him as a safe trader for future trade. The rest is a matter of trust and your skills.

If you live in a nice town, Begovic said you might have access to a market where people can freely exchange their goods.

However, he never witnessed anything like that in Bosnia because a market like that requires an efficient system to back it. Bartering when SHTF is a high-risk situation because it is about resources, and there is no law or system in place to protect you and others.

Skills vs. items

In the long run, Begovic said skills were more valuable because you can not “spend” your skills.

If you had medical skills, you could expect that over time, people would know about them through the word on the street. After SHTF, you will have different opportunities to get something for that skill.

After an SHTF event, skills for repairing would be valuable, along with technical skills. Begovic added that skills were safer to trade because if someone attacks or kills you, they still can’t take away your skills.

If you raise animals on your homestead, you can trade eggs, dairy or meat for other items that you need. With a home garden, you can trade fruits and vegetables for other pantry staples like flour or cooking oil.

Sound off about this story on the Late Prepper Substack.

Before SHTF, learn the basics of bartering so you can find more supplies before your stockpile runs out. Watch the video below for tips on how to color-coordinate your pantry.

This video is from The Urban Prepper channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

• Prepping for collapse, famine and nuclear war: 12 Tips that will help you be more resilient when SHTF.
• Staying under the radar: Tips for efficient stealth prepping.
• Prepper skills: How to barter effectively after SHTF.

Sources include:

• TheOrganicPrepper.com
• SHTFSchool.com
• SurvivalFrog.com
• Brighteon.com

These events may seem daunting, but preparing before SHTF should help you get your supplies ready in case you are one day forced to deal with a long-term survival scenario.

Below are 12 tips to help you get ready for societal collapse, famine and nuclear war. (h/t to SHTFPlan.com)

Get some of your assets out of the fiat currency system

The fiat system, which is a rigged, debt-based monetary slave system, will crumble when disaster strikes. Learn how to efficiently use valuable currencies like gold, silver and crypto as means of exchange. These assets are more “honest” because no government can artificially inflate their supply, meaning no government can print gold, silver or Bitcoin.

Boost your physical fitness with cardio and strength training

Improve your eating habits and exercise regularly to stay fit. When disaster strikes, being physically fit will give you a significant advantage over non-preppers who are used to a sedentary lifestyle.

Keep in mind that bone density is essential for resilience and survival. You will also need stamina for the heavy physical demands of post-SHTF life.

Do whatever you can right now to increase your strength, endurance and bone density to improve your resiliency. Boost your fitness levels with cardio and strength training. Here are some tips to ensure a safe workout when starting a new routine:

Stay hydrated

Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day to maintain healthy hydration levels. Replenishing fluids during exercise is important for maintaining optimal performance, especially if you are working out in hot temperatures.

When you’re done, hydrating after your workout can help you recover and get you ready for the next training session.

Follow a nutritious diet

Following a balanced diet will help support your fitness program. All food groups are necessary to sustain healthy energy levels and get the most out of your workout. You need carbs because they can fuel your muscles before exercise.

Protein helps improve muscle recovery after exercise, repairs tissue damage and builds muscle mass. Regularly consuming healthy fats has been shown to help burn body fat and preserve muscle fuel during workouts, which helps your energy last longer.

Warm up before exercising

Warming up before your workout will help prevent injuries and improve your athletic performance. Warming up also helps improve your flexibility and reduce soreness after exercising. Start with some aerobic exercises like arm swings, leg kicks and walking lunges.

You can also warm up by doing easy movements of the exercise you’re planning to do, like going on a walk before running.

Cool down after a workout

Cooling down is important because it helps your body return to its normal state. After you exercise, cool down to help restore normal breathing patterns and reduce the chance of muscle soreness. Do some light walking to cool down after aerobic exercise or stretch after resistance training.

Listen to your body

It’s ideal to exercise every day, but if you’re starting a new workout routine, learn your limits. If you feel pain or discomfort while exercising, stop and rest before continuing. Pushing through the pain isn’t recommended because this can cause injuries.

Working out “harder and faster” isn’t always better. While the goal is to become stronger before SHTF, you should start slow to avoid serious injuries. Exercise regularly to make the most of it and improve your strength and stamina.

Learn how to use secure, private messaging technology

Secure your data and communicate using secure apps like Session. The Session app is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that minimizes sensitive metadata.

According to the Session website, the app was “designed and built for people who want absolute privacy and freedom from any form of surveillance.”

If you invest in Bitcoin, learn how to use privacy crypto. You can also boost your data security with Apricorn thumb drives with keypad encryption.

Before SHTF, get sat phones and radio comms as alternative means of communication that don’t rely on cell towers and can’t be used to triangulate your physical location.

Learn to grow and store/preserve food

If your property is secure, grow fruits and vegetables in a home garden, such as:

1. Lettuce
2. Green beans
3. Radishes
4. Tomatoes (by transplant, i.e. small nursery plant)
5. Zucchini
6. Peppers (by transplant)
7. Beets
8. Carrots
9. Chard, kale, or spinach
10. Peas

If you don’t have space for a garden or you want to grow more food but in a less obvious way, read up on guerilla gardening.

Acquire non-GMO seeds to use in your garden. Learn food preservation techniques like home canning or drying so you can preserve food for future use. You can also use preserved food for bartering. Ensure your overall wellness by also stocking up on various supplements like vitamin D and zinc.

Secure a reliable water supply at your house and bug-out location

Those in power may use water scarcity to control the population. Stay self-sufficient by securing a water supply in your primary location or your house, and in your secondary location or your bug-out location.

You will also need water treatment solutions such as a gravity filter or a high-quality pump filter/camping filter. If power outages are common in your area, find a reliable way to acquire and filter water without using electricity. Consider sources like surface water, well water and rainwater.

Stock up on off-grid emergency medical supplies and first aid items

If you or someone else in the family has a medical condition, like diabetes or hypertension, find a way to stock up on the necessary prescription medication.

Many medical supplies and first aid items will be very difficult to acquire after SHTF, so stock up on first aid essentials like ivermectin and antiseptic supplies such as povidone-iodine.

Learn how to live without electricity

While there is a very low chance of a total power grid failure, you should prepare for regional, intermittent outages that could plunge many areas of the country into total darkness.

Without electricity, water pumps will stop working. Gas stations will shut down and retail establishments cannot function. You won’t be able to use your refrigerator, freezer and air conditioning.

As the pioneers have proven, you can live without electricity, but it isn’t convenient or easy. Invest in hand tools like hammers and saws so you can build and repair things on your property as needed after SHTF. Get solar charging devices to charge small electronic devices such as cell phones and flashlights.

Practice dressing down

As a prepper you must learn how to be discreet. Be confident, but remain humble. Do not wear or carry signs of visible wealth like branded clothing or expensive bags and jewelry. Don’t drive a luxury vehicle and don’t flash wads of cash when buying groceries. Learn the “gray man” philosophy and blend in. When SHTF, knowing how to disappear or blend in may save your life.

Learn how to defend yourself

Guns are ideal for self-defense and for protecting your family when SHTF. Some say the easiest firearm to learn is a rifle. Meanwhile, others consider pistols as more difficult to deploy and require far more training than using a rifle because a pistol involves mastering sight picture, eye dominance and recoil control.

If you don’t know what kind of firearm to buy, get an AR-15 and a Glock 19. Consider getting ballistic armor if you are worried about violence targeting your household or community. (Related: Survival 101: How to protect your family during civil war.)

Have a bug-out plan

Prepare for the Marxist/communist “Activation Day” scenario and have a detailed bug-out plan. Store enough supplies at your bug-out location so you have a chance at retaking your home or farm if they are overrun after SHTF.

You don’t need to be paranoid, but as a prepper you must be ready to evacuate if needed. If money is an issue, consider getting a crypto “brain wallet” so no one can detect or steal it from you.

Move away from “death zone” cities

If your city is considered a “dead zone,” move as far away as possible. Look for a new location that reflects the culture and rule of law you agree with. Choose a local living area that reflects philosophies of resiliency, self-reliance, honesty, compassion and the right to self-defense.

Keep your passport up to date if you need to travel

Prepare a crypto wallet and memorize the seed phrase so you have a “brain wallet” that you can access from anywhere. Use untraceable  privacy coins to protect your privacy and avoid crypto confiscation attempts. Use crypto swap aggregation sites to trade Bitcoin into privacy coins.

Exercise, start a home garden and finalize your bug-out plan so you can survive when SHTF. Watch this video for tips on how to harden your bug-out location.

Join my Late Prepper Substack.

More related stories:

• Basic outdoor survival skills that will help you when SHTF.
• 8 Forgotten skills that helped the Native Americans survive harsh times.
• Survival 101: How to prepare for and survive a tornado.

Sources include:

• SHTFPlan.com
• Healthline.com
• GetSession.org
• Almanac.com
• Brighteon.com
• NATURAL NEWS

According to different surveys conducted recently, over 90 percent – roughly 280 million – of Americans are not prepared for an SHTF event.

But it’s never too late to start prepping, especially if you want to make sure you can protect your family and provide for their needs in a disaster or emergency scenario. (h/t to AllNewsPipeline.com)

Learn how to prep like the Boy Scouts

Like preppers, Boys Scouts have a motto well-suited for survival: “Be prepared.”

The Boy Scouts of America have an aggressive training program that teaches young boys survival skills. Their training starts from the age of six, when Scout Leaders cover different scenarios to help Scouts survive in the wilderness or at sea.

Scouts learn how to tie different useful knots, build a shelter, find water and food, and navigate without the use of a compass.

According to the Scout Law, a Scout must be:

• Trustworthy
• Loyal
• Helpful
• Friendly
• Courteous
• Kind
• Obedient
• Cheerful
• Thrifty
• Brave
• Clean
• Reverent

Why non-preppers should start preparing before SHTF

To put this in perspective, think of how many experts have warned that things may go south any day now. Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of America is prepared for a disaster.

Modern Americans are spoiled, and they have become complacent. Early pioneers and preppers did not have supermarkets or clothing and hardware stores.

Non-preppers also rely on modern conveniences like electricity, appliances, cars, roads, pharmacies and hospitals.

Pioneers had no choice but to become one with nature and cooperate with one another to survive. They learned quickly to prepare for natural disasters, droughts and long, freezing winters. They also had to always be prepared for that inevitable “coming storm.”

Many Americans have never been taught how to work together on common tasks or major community projects, like starting a community garden or building a church.

While prepping may seem too extreme for some, there’s no denying that it’s better to be overprepared than underprepared for disasters like a hurricane or a wildfire.

Before SHTF, you should learn how to be self-sufficient like a Boy Scout or a prepper so you can improve your chance of surviving.

Think preppers are exaggerating? Consider this: If a major earthquake hits California, it could trigger other faults such as the Madrid Fault in the Midwest, affecting at least seven states:

1. Southeastern Missouri
2. Northeastern Arkansas
3. Western Tennessee
4. Western Kentucky
5. Southern Illinois
6. Southwestern Indiana
7. Northwestern Mississippi

According to experts, Mt. Saint Helens is ready to erupt again, along with Mt. Rainier and the Super Volcano, the Caldera in Yellowstone National Park. There have been hundreds of tremors recorded in 2023 in a 100-mile diameter of the Caldera.

If you look up articles online, you will find reports about these pending events or other survival scenarios.

Prepping can also help you prepare for other challenges like:

• Financial challenges, like economic collapse or sudden unemployment
• Personal challenges, like a house fire, power outage, divorce, or the death of a loved one
• Social unrest and riots

Get started before SHTF

There are many ways to get started on your prepping journey.

When prepping your bug-out bag, don’t forget to include clean drinking water or methods of filtering and purifying water you find outdoors, like a water filter or iodine tincture. (Related: Beginner’s guide to prepping: 6 Things to remember for new preppers.)

You need clean drinking water to prevent dehydration. The average healthy person can live 50 to 80 days without food, depending on their stress level.

However, you can die within three to five days without water.

If you are new to prepping, start with something simple, like building a food stockpile.

First, buy a couple of extra cans of food and bottled water. This is ideal if your budget is tight and you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a week’s worth of supplies.

Just keep adding to your stockpile whenever you can. Discipline yourself and in time, you should have at least three to six months of food and water on hand. This should be enough for your family if you ever face a long-term survival scenario that requires bugging in, like an extended power outage.

And even if disaster doesn’t strike, you can still use up your food supply. Don’t forget to rotate items to make sure they don’t expire and replace things that you use up.

If space is an issue, you should invest in efficient ways to purify water in case you run out or looters steal your water supply. The Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommend electric or non-electric water distillers for emergencies or disasters since the distillation process kills viruses, bacteria and parasites, and it will help remove toxins and most all chemicals from contaminated water.

If you lose water pressure, water filters and reverse osmosis (RO) units are worthless. Alternatively, simply boiling water will only kill bacteria.

Water distillers, on the other hand, help remove all contaminants. If you have a non-electric water distiller, you can purify water from a polluted water source like your pool, a drainage ditch, a pond, a lake or a river.

As for food storage, you need long-lasting survival food like rice and beans. Together, these two foods contain all the nutrients your body needs, like amino acids, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Once cooked, one cup of rice will produce three cups of rice, the same with beans. You can store both beans and rice for a long time in a seven-gallon plastic bucket with a watertight, airtight screw-on Gamma Lid.

Other supplies you need include warm blankets or sleeping bags. These items will help you stay warm if you need to evacuate and sleep outdoors.

Make sure your bug-out bag also includes a tent and a sturdy tarp to pitch it on.

You should also prepare a basic first aid kit and a flashlight or a lantern and extra batteries. You will also need fire starting tools, a lighter, matches, a ferro rod and a striker to start a fire for cooking.

Additionally, you will need a way to cook food. If you run out of propane, you can cook on campfires.

Prep a backpack with tools like a knife, can opener, hatchet, rope, twine or paracord and a crank radio that doubles as a power bank for charging small devices like your cellphone or flashlight.

Before SHTF, start your research and find out which items and supplies you need for your survival stockpile.

Watch this video for tips on how to make waterproof tinder for your bug-out bag.

This video is from the Cahlen channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

• Learn how to live without electricity from the Amish community.
• 20 Wilderness survival tips that might save your life after SHTF.
• Bug out survival planning: How to get out of the city after SHTF.

Sources include:

• AllNewsPipeline.com
• TheProvidentPrepper.org
• Brighteon.com
• NATURAL NEWS

Ultimately, there is no solution that is 100 percent perfect for everybody.  But there are some general principles that I do believe apply broadly, and I will share some of those principles with you in this article.

First of all, when things finally start hitting the fan you don’t want to be some place that has a high population density.

In particular, you will want to avoid the big cities, and last year we definitely witnessed a mass “exodus” from the largest cities in the country…

Last year the counties that are home to LA, Chicago and New York City suffered the largest exodus of people in the country – while tens of thousands flocked to Arizona, Texas and Florida.

Crime has become a major problem in urban areas from coast to coast, and the level of violence in this nation just continues to rise.

In fact, the mass shooting that just happened in Louisville was already the 146th that we have seen so far this year…

Kentucky is the latest state in America to be shaken by gun violence, as the mass shooting inside a Louisville bank marked the 146th in 2023.

The US reached the grim milestone on Monday of more Mass Shootings than days on Monday, which has already surpassed previous years – following the fatal shooting that left five dead, including the gunman, and eight injured at the Old National Bank.

And theft is completely and utterly out of control in many of our inner cities.  It is costing retailers billions upon billions of dollars, and that is one of the biggest reasons why Walmart just decided to shut down four “underperforming” stores in Chicago…

Walmart announced Tuesday it will abruptly close four underperforming Chicago stores, citing millions in annual losses.

The company said its eight Chicago stores collectively have not been profitable since the first opened 17 years ago. This has amounted to a loss of “tens of millions of dollars a year,” according to a press release, losses that have nearly doubled over the last five years.

According to a statement that was put out by Walmart, the losses that those stores have been experiencing have “nearly doubled in just the last five years”…

“The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago — these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years,” Walmart said in a statement.

The problem isn’t that those stores weren’t popular.

The problem is that they were constantly being looted.

In San Francisco, Whole Foods is closing their “flagship store” just a year after it opened…

The Whole Foods Market location in downtown San Francisco is set to close at the end of business Monday, just a year or so after opening in March of 2022, KRON4 has confirmed. Employees at the store will be transferred to other locations nearby.

“To ensure the safety of our Team Members, we have made the difficult decision to close the Trinity store for the time being,” said a Whole Foods Market spokesperson. “All team members will be transferred to one of our nearby locations.”

San Francisco is an ideal location for a Whole Foods store, but “deteriorating street conditions” have forced company officials to make this move…

“Deteriorating street conditions” involving drug use and crime forced the store to close, according to one City Hall official quoted in the report.

The news didn’t shock some journalists and Bay Area residents, who blamed city and state leadership for the city’s growing problems with crime and homelessness.

Sadly, the entire state is rapidly falling to pieces, and that has resulted in California losing approximately half a million people over the past few years…

California’s population fell by 500,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022, Fox News previously reported.

“Sure San Francisco continues to decline rapidly, with Whole Foods closing just a year after opening due to rampant crime & drug dealing after SF lost ~8% of its population from 2020-2022, but hey, at least Gavin Newsom is lecturing Ron DeSantis on how to be a successful governor,” he tweeted sarcastically.

Of course most of my readers are not located in core urban areas.

But those that are living in the suburbs are not safe either.

When economic conditions get bad enough, many of the criminals in the big cities will be coming out to the suburbs to look for easy prey.

With that in mind, I am encouraging people to consider moving away from large metropolitan areas entirely.

If you are considering such a move, I would also avoid anywhere that is experiencing persistent drought.  That would include much of the Interior West, although some areas have been blessed with quite a bit of precipitation lately.

I would also keep potential natural disasters in mind when selecting a new destination.

Personally, I would not move anywhere close to the New Madrid fault zone.  If you do not understand why, there is an entire chapter in my latest book that explains this. I would also avoid both coasts.

The west coast is way overdue for a major seismic event.  Scientists assure us that it is just a matter of time before “the Big One” strikes, and you don’t want to be anywhere around when that happens.

On the east coast, there is the potential for a giant tsunami to completely wipe out our major cities.  In particular, the terrain of Florida is extremely flat and so there would be very little resistance if a giant tsunami were to start ripping across the state.

And unless you want to die a very quick death once a nuclear war starts, I would highly recommend not living near a military base or a nuclear missile silo.

Once you account for all of the factors that I have mentioned in this article, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of areas to choose from.

And the real estate in such highly desirable areas has become quite expensive. But the longer you wait, the more difficult it is going to become to relocate.

Global events are starting to spiral out of control, and I fully expect that they will accelerate even more during the months ahead.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “End Times” is now available on Amazon.com.  In addition to my new book I have written six other books that are available on Amazon.com including “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned)  When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending copies as gifts to family and friends.  Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible.  I have also started a brand new Substack newsletter, and I encourage you to subscribe so that you won’t miss any of the latest updates.

I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe.  I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article.  The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions.

I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is definitely a great help.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

Article cross-posted from The Economic Collapse Blog.

While it seems like an unlikely way to die, it’s certainly possible both now, and especially in times of hardship that restrict your access to a dentist, it becomes all the more likely to occur. Economic ruin, inflation, sudden loss of incomes, pandemics, and even skyrocketing crime rates can hinder your access to dental professionals, which can put your health in jeopardy. SHTF can hinder garbage cleanup and overall sanitation in towns and cities, making good hygiene habits more important than ever before. As a disclaimer, the article I’ve written is in no way a replacement for a trip to the dentist, nor is it to be considered professional medical treatment. I am not a doctor nor a dentist. I’ll be the first one always to encourage you to seek out a good dentist, to get routine dental checkups and cleanings to maintain good dental health. This article is based on my own personal experiences, as well as my family’s experiences of maintaining good dental health when we weren’t able to go to the dentist for years due to loss of income during a severe economic recession.

Dental infections can be deadly.

Many folks are prepared for common emergencies, such as fires or defending their homes from burglars. From what I’ve noticed, however, is the lack of discussion surrounding dental emergencies. This is unfortunate, because this is a threat that can occur at the most unexpected of times and can happen to anyone. Whether you’re living in an all out SHTF or are suffering from your own personal financial disaster, it can strike you or your family without a moment’s notice.

I’ll admit, if you’re living during a SHTF with a hungry stomach and bullets flying at you, the last thing you’re going to be thinking about is “Did I brush my teeth today?”

Nevertheless, dental care is akin to health care. It shouldn’t be brushed off, just as maintaining physical fitness shouldn’t be scoffed at either. You’ll need it at a later time. This isn’t as exciting as talking about self-defense or how to survive an angry mob, but it’s still just as important. Dental problems don’t just stop with a bad toothache, they can contribute to other problems with your overall health as well. A number of credible studies have shown a direct correlation between poor dental health and other diseases such as chronic inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, weakened immune system, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and heart disease, greatly increasing your likelihood of developing at least one of them. So it’s not going to pay to eat healthy and exercise unless you’re taking care of your mouth as well. A buildup of bad bacteria can contribute to poor health. Poor health can not only make you feel sick and ache constantly, but it’ll hinder your quality of life and your chances of survival. Tooth infections can kill you in a matter of weeks if left untreated.

My own family knew this, but due to a recession, combined with job losses and difficulty finding new jobs at the time, we couldn’t go to the dentist for years while we lived off-grid. So how did we make it for all of those years without professional care available and on a very limited budget? Without losing all our teeth or experiencing tooth and gum pain? Prevention.

Prevention is the best method.

If you are able to, I highly recommend going to the dentist on a routine basis. Your dentist will be able to help you prevent a majority of dental problems from becoming worse or affecting other areas of the body. He or she will be able to nip problems in the bud before they become exacerbated, or worse yet, develop into a full-blown emergency situation. If SHTF occurs suddenly, you wouldn’t want to enter it with the additional stress of painful tooth and gum problems. Because at that point, who knows when you’ll be able to see a dentist again. It could be years, or even a decade. So be sure to make regular appointments while times are still good to maintain your dental health.

When I was a small child, my family stressed the importance of taking care of my teeth properly to avoid future pain and decay. During our own personal financial disaster, they insisted that instead of just twice a day, I should clean my teeth and mouth after every meal, and very thoroughly too. To us, dental care was just as important as washing our hands and keeping clean. We had abided by routines to prevent these problems so that we didn’t have unnecessary dental expenses and costly bills. Sometimes we had to get creative and make our own toothpaste when money was really tight. I remember my grandmother would use baking soda with water to form a paste to clean her teeth. It worked for her, and it worked for us too. This is also an alternative to those who choose to omit fluoride from their routine.

Homemade toothpaste

Here is a homemade toothpaste recipe:

• 1/3 cup of coconut oil (contains antimicrobial properties)
• Three tablespoons of baking soda
• (Optional) you can add a few drops of peppermint or spearmint essential oil

Stir this mixture together and store it in a container at room temperature. This makes a cheap, natural and effective anti plaque and whitening toothpaste. A cheap jar of coconut oil bought on sale and a box of baking soda can last for quite awhile. The baking soda will eradicate any plaque that tries to cling to your teeth. This will also brighten your tooth enamel to a natural white color.

Make sure to brush your teeth at least twice a day, for approximately three minutes each time can help minimize tooth decay of course. You can opt to brush after each meal. You should wait at least thirty minutes to an hour after your meal to brush your teeth, or you could risk slowly eroding some of your enamel away. I suggest two types of toothpaste for the job; an anti plaque toothpaste, as well as enamel repair toothpaste. You can use the enamel repair one in the morning and the anti plaque toothpaste in the evening. Rather than just sticking to one type, this prevents plaque and tartar buildup while maintaining strong tooth enamel through remineralization, as well as preventing pains due to sensitivity.

Cleaning your toothbrush

Plaque bacteria and other germs can still linger on your rinsed toothbrush and cup. Like dirty dishes, your toothbrush needs to be cleaned each day, otherwise you’ll just reintroduce harmful germs back into your mouth.

You can take hydrogen peroxide (The kind that says 3% and can be used as an oral debriding agent. More on that soon). Fill half the cup with peroxide and dilute it with an equal half of water. Place the toothbrush in to disinfect both the cup and the brush. Let this soak for a few minutes. You can empty this later and rinse with water. This offers a safe and inexpensive solution to disinfect. If you don’t have peroxide available, you can use a drop of dish soap to clean your toothbrush, just be sure to run it under water for at least 20 seconds to wash away the germs.

Mouthwash

As for mouthwash, be careful what brand you get if you buy it at the store. Some can do more harm than good, such as stripping away your tooth enamel, which leads to pain and sensitivity, as well as destroying the natural good bacteria in your mouth. Choose a reputable brand of either regular or natural mouthwash based on what’s best for you and your dental situation.

I wouldn’t recommend any that are made in China, some of these contain pretty questionable chemicals and lack quality control. Natural mouthwashes can be effective and frugal solutions, if properly prepared. Mouthwash should be used last, after flossing and brushing. Here are a few of my favorite homemade mouthwash recipes that my family and I used during difficult times.

Mouthwash Recipe 1:

• One cup of water
• Three teaspoons of baking soda
• (Optional) You can add a few drops of peppermint or spearmint essential oil

Stir the solution around with a spoon vigorously. Pour a small amount (about the size of a shot glass) into a cup. Swish around your mouth for 30 seconds and spit out.

Mouthwash Recipe 2:

• One cup of water
• Two to three tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Simply mix together and pour a small amount into a cup. Swish around for 30 seconds and spit out. You do not want to add more apple cider vinegar than I recommended, as too much will be very acidic.

Mouthwash Recipe 3: Best for Sore gums

• One cup of warm water
• Two tablespoons of sage, preferably ground
• One tablespoon of salt
• (Optional) Raw Honey

Mix together and swish around your mouth for a few minutes. It’ll help reduce swelling of the gums and soothe any sores. This works nicely for any wisdom teeth that are coming in as well.

Mouthwash Recipe 4: (Not For Regular Use)

• One tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide for oral use
• One tablespoon of water

Mix together the solution and swish around your mouth for 30 seconds. This should be used after each meal and no longer than a week. This will disinfect your mouth and can act as a deep cleaning agent. As a bonus, it can remove plaque, tartar and stubborn calculus from your enamel while whitening your teeth. Do NOT use it longer than a week. Be sure to dilute it properly and do not swallow it. This is something that should only be used every once in a while, such as every other month.

Floss

I’d also like to add, despite the more recent controversies stating it’s no longer necessary to floss your teeth, please do not ditch this practice! Flossing gets out pieces of food that are wedged between your teeth that brushing and rinsing might not be able to dislodge. When you have bits of food stuck between your teeth, it can cause your teeth to try to accommodate it by trying to make room.

This not only leaves gaps, but can help force teeth to shift and crowd into each other, which can be painful. Neglecting flossing can cause bleeding gums and lead to gingivitis. Whether you use conventional floss or a water floss, be sure to floss at least once a day. Don’t forget to use a tongue scraper! It doesn’t pay to clean your mouth if you ignore your tongue, which also harbors food and bad bacteria.

Dental nutrition

Dental care isn’t just about keeping your mouth clean, it’s about giving your body what it needs to maintain the health of your teeth, blood vessels and gums. This means providing necessary nutrition through your diet, via food or supplements. A multivitamin is a good start to your day.

Some important vitamins and minerals I’d especially recommend for dental health (and your general health) would be Vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin D and Calcium. Vitamin C is excellent for your gum health, Zinc heals on a cellular level and can help heal wounds, including mouth sores faster. Vitamin D and calcium is a must-have for strong teeth and bones. Without these, you’ll be prone to scurvy, shifting teeth, bleeding and sore gums, gum disease, reduced healing, weakened teeth and other potentially serious consequences.

Home Remedies for Toothaches and Gum Problems

Disclaimer: This is not a substitute for regular dental care, nor is it medical advice. Following are some ways that have traditionally been used for home support.

Nobody’s perfect. Sometimes we can try our hardest to prepare and prevent, but bad luck will strike anyway. I’ve included a list of home remedies that can help for when it does.

1. Salt Water: If you’re experiencing toothache or gum pain, be sure to swish and rinse your mouth with a warm salt water solution. Add a tablespoon of salt to eight ounces of heated water. Stir until thoroughly dissolved. Swish in your mouth for at least a minute. Use 3% one part hydrogen peroxide, one part water solution for even stronger disinfection.
2. Ice pack: Pressing an ice pack or cold compress against your cheek can help reduce swelling and pain.
3. Honey: I’ve found that this is best for reducing gum swelling and pain. Pour some on a teaspoon and let it in your mouth for ten to fifteen minutes or longer. Honey has natural healing antimicrobial properties. It can help kill germs and quell pain. Raw Honey works best.
4. Garlic: Whether you have garlic powder, fresh garlic or crushed garlic tablets, it’s great to use to help combat potential infections. It has natural antibiotic and antiviral properties.
5. Clove Essential Oil: I haven’t personally used this yet, but it was recommended by friends who swear by it. They say it’s a great way to stop tooth pain and infections. Before using essential oil, it must be added to a carrier oil like coconut oil to dilute it. The proper ratio that’s recommended is ten to fifteen drops of clove oil per one ounce of a carrier oil of your choosing.
6. Enamel Repair Toothpaste: These can be pricey if you don’t get them on sale. This will help stop tooth pain that’s due to temperature sensitivities and weak enamel.
7. Tea bag: While peppermint tea bags work the best, green or black tea can help reduce swelling and inflammation. Just apply a warm tea bag to the affected tooth and leave it there for a while.
8. Vanilla Extract: I’ve personally never tried this, but my family members have and said that applying vanilla extract to the tooth and gum helped stop the pain.
9. Over-the-counter pain relievers: While not a natural solution, ibuprofen, aspirin, and acetaminophen can help reduce swelling and pain.
10. Natural Pain Relievers:  If you’re looking for a more natural solution, I’ve found that white willow bark tea, sage and thyme tea, as well as calcium supplements, can really help reduce pain. I’d recommend calcium citrate, but I’ve already taken antacids with calcium carbonate in addition to ibuprofen to stop severe pains due to other injuries.

Everyone is different, and some solutions that may work great for other people might not work the best for you. The important part is trying to stop pain, irritation, swollen gums or potential infections before it becomes worse. Pain shouldn’t be ignored, it’s your body’s way of letting you know that something is wrong. It’s best to try remedies immediately at the first sign of discomfort. Do not procrastinate, it’s best to catch this early and try to stop it before it turns into something much more severe.

If you try the listed remedies and aren’t seeing relief, and are experiencing symptoms such as a swollen face, swollen neck, severe throbbing tooth pain, tooth pain that spreads to other areas, bad taste and smell, you’ll need to see a dentist, because you have an infection. This can spread to other areas of the body and cause difficulty breathing. Head to an emergency room or dentist immediately.

Building Dental Kits and Dental Emergency Kits

Having a stock of necessary dental supplies, as well as a dental emergency kit is always a good idea. This doesn’t have to be some expensive venture. You can acquire a pretty decent stockpile by buying items on sale, purchasing items in bulk amounts, and using coupons or store discounts.

I always stock up on toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, tongue scrapers, mouthwash, hydrogen peroxide, raw honey, coconut oil, baking soda and apple cider vinegar (a very versatile product). You can order stainless steel dental kits online. These are great tools for inspecting all areas of your mouth, scraping plaque from your teeth and checking below the gum line for plaque growth and to prevent decay. These instruments can be easily cleaned and sterilized for repeated use. You should make a habit of doing your own checkup once a month to catch any problems early.

Emergency dental kits are always great to have on hand. You can buy premade kits or make ones for yourself. Here’s a list of important items to include in your kit.

• Tea bags
• Clove essential oil
• Sage powder (for sore gums)
• Salt
• Thyme (can reduce toothache while cleaning mouth)
• Raw honey
• Vanilla extract with alcohol
• Dental dressing or gauze
• Hydrogen peroxide 3% the kind that can be used as an oral debriding agent. It must be diluted, one part peroxide one part water
• Gloves
• Over-the-counter pain relievers
• Dental mirrors
• Plaque removers
• Headlamp or good flashlight
• Oral anesthetic gel
• Tooth Saver (to properly store a knocked-out tooth until you’re able to get to a dentist)
• Tweezers
• Temporary cavity fillings
• Waterproof case
• Antibiotics (Amoxicillin is a must-have for most tooth infections. You can purchase fish mox at online pet stores. This is great to have if you’re in the most severe type of SHTF where there are no medical professionals to help you. Adhere to the proper dosages for a human)
• Garlic (it’s great for infected gums and has natural antibiotic properties. Use large doses of garlic in conjunction with amoxicillin to kick an infection’s butt)

You may also want to stock up on cheap soft foods, such as applesauce, puddings, cream soups, pancake mix, instant mashed potatoes, and grits, as well as use a food chopper to prepare less chewy meals. Soft foods will be a godsend if you’re suffering from tooth and gum pain, not to mention other ailments such as tonsillitis.

Whether you’re bugging in during SHTF, planning a bug out bag or an INCH bag, or a professional medical emergency kit, emergency dental kits should always be included in your plans. It may come in handy when you need it most.

What do you think?

By following a thorough dental routine, we were able to avoid cavities, tartar, calculus, tooth loss, gum disease, infections, and yellow, unhealthy teeth during hard times for years. In the long run, it saved us costly dental bills, unnecessary pain, and stress, and it can do so when SHTF.

Do you have any special dental preps not mentioned here? How do you care for your teeth to prevent problems? Have your dental preps ever helped you through hard times? Tell us about it in the comments.

About Blackbird

Blackbird grew up in poverty in the rural Pennsylvania countryside during a harsh economic recession. She learned self-reliance from her family at a young age and is now a seasoned prepper of many years. She enjoys nature walks, reading, gardening, working outdoors, and drawing in her spare time.

Article cross-posted from The Organic Prepper.

The bottom line is, income will remain the same, decrease, or even disappear entirely for many of us. Meanwhile, the price of darn near everything will go up. Expect to pay more for things like keeping your utilities on, feeding and clothing your family, and keeping a roof over your heads.

Aside from that, those dollars you are carefully saving? They are only providing you with the illusion of security. The economic collapse will hit nearly everyone, and they’ll feel like they did something wrong with their finances. It will be hard to see that the flaw is not with their money management but the management of the country itself.

I wish I’d been wrong.

Here are some of the situations people are finding themselves in right now. Do any of them look familiar? Do all of them look like your current experiences? Be aware that if it hasn’t happened to you yet, that doesn’t mean it won’t. Don’t be smug because we all know that pride comes before a fall. Be humble and know that while different decisions could have been made, this economic disaster is creeping across nearly all socioeconomic groups, and it may only be a matter of time before it happens to you, too.

Wages are staying the same, and it isn’t easy to find work.

A lot of folks think that jobs are easy to find right now. They cite the signs that are up everywhere, announcing that businesses are hiring. As the mom of someone in her early 20s who is out there looking for a second job to increase her household income, I can tell you that just because there’s a sign out doesn’t mean the business is actually hiring.

A lot of places are required by their corporate headquarters to put these signs out to make it look like they’re thriving, but they aren’t actually hiring. Go in with a resume, and you’ll soon find out this is true. Obviously, it’s not the case with all businesses posting such signs, but it’s very much the situation in urban North Carolina right now.

Places that hire minimum wage workers are operating with skeleton crews, leaving too few frazzled employees to handle long lines and unhappy patrons. Have you been someplace like Walmart or Target lately? At least at our local stores, there’s generally one register with a human operating, and quite often, the line winds down the front aisle with dozens of customers.

Wages haven’t matched the increase of inflation. If you’re still making what you made a year or two or three years ago, you’re able to pay for far less with it. This leads me to the next situation.

Inflation means you are paying more for essentials like food, utilities, gasoline, and rent.

Our esteemed leader, President Biden, managed to read the teleprompter and tell us that inflation is all in our heads and doesn’t actually exist. He claimed proudly that in July, inflation was at 0%.

Speaking from the White House, Biden said:

“I want to say a word about news that came out today relative to the economy. Actually, I just want to say a number: zero.” He continued, “Today we received news that our economy had zero percent inflation in the month of July.” (source)

While that is the official statistic for July, it doesn’t reveal the true economic suffering. Over the past year, the official numbers for inflation are at 8.5%. And in the real world, we know that there’s actually more to the picture than the statistics show.

People are skipping a lot of things that they used to be able to pay for with ease due to the high prices. For example, a friend pointed out to me that on her last trip to the grocery store, a jar of mayonnaise was $5 on sale. A pot roast that used to be around 12 bucks is now more than $20.

A gallon of milk that was $3.04 in 2019 is now $3.55 (if you’re lucky.) At my local Publix, a gallon of generic milk is actually $4.41 as of the writing of this article. If you’re still making the same thing you were in 2019, things like that certainly belie the 8.5% bandied about.

And don’t even get me started on the high price of gasoline. My Jeep now takes almost $100 to fill up, whereas it took $60 just a year ago. Rent is out of control. The official numbers for the year are .5%, but around the country, people are reporting increases of anywhere from 25% to a whopping 70%. (See this article from the AP and this one from ABC.) Electricity costs are also skyrocketing. In Pennsylvania, the Public Utilities Commission reports increases of as much as 19%.

How on earth are you supposed to pay for food, gas, accommodations, and power on the same pay you got a few years ago, especially if things were tight then? People are getting evicted, getting their power shut off, and losing vehicles to repossession because they are unable to make ends meet.

Credit cards are maxed.

Speaking of being unable to make ends meet, Americans’ credit card debt has leaped from 846 billion to $887 billion between the first and second quarter of this year. In August, that number was reported to be $930 billion.

You may be saying, “Just don’t use your credit cards.” And that’s easy to say when you can pay your bills, purchase fuel to get back and forth to work, and have a paid-off mortgage.

But if you are a person who was living paycheck to paycheck before all this, what choice do you have? You can’t get to work without gas for your vehicle. You have to pay your rent. You need to keep your power on. If you’ve got an empty credit card sitting there, you’re probably going to use it for gas and food while you use your paycheck to cover rent and utilities.

And then, there will come a time, particularly if prices keep going up, that you can’t even make your minimum payment. There’s simply not enough income to meet the necessary output. So the first thing you’ll stop paying is your credit card bill as you struggle to keep a roof over your head and food in your refrigerator. And on and on it goes until you feel like you’ve completely made a disaster of your finances.

But was that disaster really one of your own making? If you’re in a lease, in a car loan agreement, and have this bizarre urge to…you know…eat food? The whole situation spiraled out of control before you knew it.

And then it gets worse.

Fees are piling up.

As I wrote in America’s Poverty Trap: How A Small Financial Setback Can Spiral Into an Inescapable Disaster:

If you bounce a payment by so much as a penny, then you are hit with a charge from your bank and, most times, a charge from the business that was taking the payment from your account. Most banks charge anywhere from $25-$38.50 when you have non-sufficient funds for a payment. Businesses charge in the same range, so that means that if one payment goes awry, you can lose $50-$77 in the blink of an eye.

Banks love NSF and overdraft fees. Why? Because in 2017, Americans paid $34 billion in fees for not having enough money to cover a payment.

But that’s not all. Some folks are paying literally 17,000% in overdraft fees annually.

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report that raises concerns about the impact of opting into overdraft services for debit card and ATM transactions. The study found that the majority of debit card overdraft fees are incurred on transactions of $24 or less and that the majority of overdrafts are repaid within three days. Put in lending terms, if a consumer borrowed $24 for three days and paid the median overdraft fee of $34, such a loan would carry a 17,000 percent annual percentage rate (APR).

“Today’s report shows that consumers who opt into overdraft coverage put themselves at serious risk when they use their debit card,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Despite recent regulatory and industry changes, overdrafts continue to impose heavy costs on consumers who have low account balances and no cushion for error. Overdraft fees should not be ‘gotchas’ when people use their debit cards.” (source)

And then there are the other late fees.

If one of the payments that went awry in your overdraft avalanche happens to be a utility bill, things get even worse for a person who is struggling. Particularly if you aren’t able to cover the bill in sufficient time to keep your utilities from getting shut off. How much you’ll be charged varies by company, but if they really feel like you’ll have trouble paying in the future, they stick it to you, making it nearly impossible to get your power or heat turned back on. Here are some examples

• PG&E: “To restore service, you must pay the full amount due. You may also be required to pay a deposit twice your average monthly bill to re-establish credit.”
• Coast Electric: $35-50 fee to reconnect service, $6.50 late fee, $35 NSF fee, and potentially even a $35 collection fee
• Talgov: $28.50 each for gas, water, and electric

They can be charged late fees by all sorts of businesses. Now they’re really in trouble.

How in the world can you bail yourself out when every payment you make to catch up comes with an extra $12 “convenience fee,” a reconnect fee, and a late fee, along with an overdraft fee from the bank itself? It just takes one overdraft to unleash financial quicksand from which there’s no escape.

The SHTF is NOW.

How on earth are people in this situation going to survive?

That’s a great question with no easy or socially acceptable answers. There isn’t anything you can do about decisions you made in the past. You can’t undo the lease you signed on a place that skyrocketed in price, and then you couldn’t afford to move. If you’ve already used your credit card to buy groceries until you maxed it out, what’s done is done. You can’t change the price of gas, groceries, and utilities.

In retrospect, it may seem like you made a host of terrible decisions. But when you made them, the situation wasn’t like it is now. Your bills hadn’t skyrocketed. You hadn’t lost your job or had your hours cut. Beating yourself up for those decisions will not help you survive this.

If you feel isolated and completely at fault, of course, you do. That’s part of the insidious racket. Those responsible for this disaster don’t want to be held accountable for just how bad things have gotten for so many. So like an abusive spouse, they make you feel alone, like everything is terrible only because of your personal mistakes or stupidity.

You cannot see yourself as a victim of the economy – that mentality doesn’t help anyone. But you should quite clearly know that you are not alone and some of these things were out of your hands. This is what a financial collapse looks like in many cases. Millions of people suffering from humiliation when they can’t pay their bills, embarrassed, bruised, and feeling isolated.

You can’t control the economy, but you can adapt, even now, when things seem beyond repair.

(What do you do for food when your power is shut off? Read our free QUICKSTART Guide to find out.)

What can you do if you’re in the midst of your own personal financial collapse?

The situation may not be completely “fixable” if you are one of the millions of people struggling financially. You may emerge with your credit razed, your self-respect beaten and bruised, and a brand new ulcer from worrying about it all. But please remember that people have faced extreme financial hardship many times in the past, and while they may not have come out unscathed, they did come out.

Some of these tips may help.

Talk to your creditors.

If you owe money that you cannot pay to credit card companies, call them. They won’t be able to waive it completely, but many companies will close your credit account, thus halting any additional fees and interest, and set you up with a payment plan. It won’t do your personal credit rating any favors, but then again, neither will defaulting, and that’s where you’re headed. Here’s more advice on contacting your creditors.

Cut your expenses radically.

Making radical changes to your monthly expenses may help you get through this difficult time and pay off your debt. Getting a roommate, cutting down to just one car for the family, and other strategies could be enough to get you through it. Check out this article.

Learn new ways to feed your family.

Check out our new product, a PDF of more than 500 pages that will provide you with strategies to feed your family, no matter what your situation is like. It’s currently listed as a “name your price” item, so you can pay very little to get this valuable book if money is tight. How to Feed Your Family No Matter What is a guide to producing, acquiring, preserving, and preparing food when it isn’t as easy as just going to the store to get more.

You may have to walk away.

If things are really bad, the advice above may not be enough to save you financially. There comes a time at which you simply cannot pay your bills. You may have to default, get evicted or foreclosed on, hand back your vehicle, and start over again. You can’t make money come from thin air. If you’ve done everything possible and you still can’t catch up, then read this article.

Find gratitude.

This may sound ridiculous when you are in the midst of losing everything, but finding a way to be grateful for some blessing will help you dramatically. Here’s a look at radical gratitude, a practice that has personally helped me beyond belief in improving my attitude, which in turn helps me to be more creative and more determined to overcome my difficulties.

Only people who have experienced true hardship can understand.

Sometimes it seems like nobody gets it when you find yourself in utter financial destitution. Others seem to think it’s your fault, and they often make this very obvious. Those people clearly haven’t had the same experiences. If they had, they would have more empathy.

We’re in a situation right now in our country – and actually the western world – where more and more people are finding out just what it’s like to hit financial rock bottom. It’s a horrible feeling, but it will not last forever. Please keep putting one foot in front of the other. Be willing to accept a hand up. One day you may be able to help another person going through this.

And if things are still looking good in your world, please be kind. Not everyone who is struggling “deserves” it. Remember that, except for grace, it could be your family who is struggling right now. If you can, help someone without strings. You cannot attach yourself to the outcome of what happens with the assistance you have given. Just know that you have done a good and kind thing, and let go of your attachment to it.

Has the economic SHTF hit your household?

Have you been affected by the increase in prices or other economic struggles? Are you on the verge of losing the lifestyle you have worked for to the economic collapse? Do you have advice for others facing the same problems? Share your stories and thoughts in the comments section. And please, be kind.

(Want uninterrupted access to The Organic Prepper? Check out our paid-subscription newsletter.)

About Daisy

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.

Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

Article cross-posted from The Organic Prepper.

If you can’t live without a cup of joe every morning, make sure you have a French press or a manual coffeemaker so you can brew coffee even if you decide to go off-grid. (h/t to TheOrganicPrepper.com) Here are five ways to brew coffee at home and while bugging out or camping.

French press

A French press is easy to use and you only need hot water and coffee grounds. You just add the coffee ground into a French press, pour hot water, then wait for seven minutes.

Once the coffee is done, press the plunger to filter the grounds out of the coffee. This method doesn’t produce plastic waste. If you’re using a wood stove, you don’t need electricity either.

The only downside to using a French press is that it’s not a very portable means of brewing coffee. It’s too bulky to bring in a bug-out bag, and they are usually made of glass, making them too fragile to pack in your survival bag.

But if you plan on bugging in at home when the grid goes down, a French press is one of the best and easiest methods you can use to brew coffee without electricity. (Related: 15 Ways to use spent coffee grounds on your homestead.)

Instant coffee packets

Instant coffee packets are a convenient way of making coffee after the grid goes down. Instant coffee doesn’t taste as good as freshly brewed coffee, but it’s a quick way to get your caffeine boost without needing bulky equipment like a French press.

When you’re bugging out, get some instant coffee, add hot water and shake your reusable water bottle before drinking. Alternatively, you can pour the hot water into an enamel mug and stir the coffee with a spoon. Include some instant coffee packets in your bug-out bag so you can quickly brew coffee while on the go.

Manual coffeemaker

A manual coffeemaker like an Aeropress is easier to pack in your bug-out bag and it’s less likely to break compared to a glass French press. To use an Aeropress, you first need to heat up some water. Once the water is hot, add coffee grounds to the bottom of the Aeropress and then pour the water into the tube. Place the tube over an enamel mug.

Stir the mixture and let it sit as long as you want, depending on how strong you want your coffee to be. Your coffee will be ready in as fast as 30 seconds. Drink the coffee as is for an espresso-style drink, or add hot water to fill your mug to make American coffee.

When you press down on the plunger, the coffee will be pushed through the bottom and into your cup. A manual coffeemaker like an Aeropress is easy to use and will produce a nice, smooth brew.

Collapsible coffee drip

If you prefer drip coffee and you don’t want to drink hot coffee sitting in plastic, consider getting a metal Snowpeak collapsible coffee drip. Stock up coffee filters so you can make coffee even during a long-term survival scenario.

A Snowpeak collapsible coffee drip will fold flat for easy storage when you’re not using it. The design was inspired by traditional pour-over coffee set-ups, and you can pair a collapsible coffee drip with a small camp kettle. To use a collapsible coffee drip, open it up, put it on top of your mug, place a clean filter and then pour hot water into the top to make a cup of brewed coffee.

“Cowboy” coffee

“Cowboy” coffee is the most low-tech method of coffee brewing on this list. To make cowboy coffee, boil water and then pour it into a mug with the coffee grounds resting at the bottom. Let the brew sit for a few minutes, then tap the side of the mug with your fingernail or a spoon to make all the grounds sink to the bottom of the mug.

Drink the coffee. Once you’re down to the last sip or two, the coffee will contain the grounds. Throw this away if you don’t want to drink gritty coffee.

Use the appropriate coffee brewing method if you’re bugging in at home or bugging out when the grid goes down so you don’t have to miss your daily cup of joe. Watch the video below to learn how to make coffee at home without a coffeemaker.

This video is from the Frozen In Time channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

• Why coffee is an essential prepper item – even if you’re not a regular coffee drinker.
• 13 Brilliant uses for used coffee grounds.
• For coffee-loving preppers: 2 Ways to make coffee without electricity.

Sources include:

• TheOrganicPrepper.com
• Aeropress.com
• Snowpeak.com
• Brighteon.com
• NATURAL NEWS