Outdoor Survival | Survival Kits | Survival Skills in Perilous Times

Survival Skills in Perilous Times

Survival Skills For a Precarious World

I am always on the lookout for survival skills and information that adds something new to the survival equation. Today I found an article entitled “Ten Survival Techniques in Perilous Times” that listed some tried and true survival techniques and also a few golden nuggets that I can add to my survival skills knowledge base.

As the author suggests, keeping some emergency money and change is always a good idea in case a crisis comes up and you suddenly have to get out of your town or city. Indeed, if you are driving any distance whatsoever you will need money for gas, tolls, food and water, and perhaps for a hotel room for a few days.

Having a “bug out bag” with a 3-day supply of survival supplies, equipment, tools, and gear is fairly common survival advice these days. What was different in this article was that the author included “entertainment” items such as books and card games. While this suggestion might seem kind of odd when you are facing an emergency, if you and your family have to camp out in the wild or stay at a hotel for a few days, you have to occupy yourself somehow without going insane from boredom.

Keeping Track of Your Important Documents

Keeping important documents in a waterproof container is another relatively common survival suggestion that I have seen elsewhere. But storing these documents in a fireproof container (such as a safe) is something that makes a lot of sense. The list of examples the author provided is also noteworthy: a copy of birth certificates, passports, credit card numbers along with pin numbers, investment documents, a copy of social security cards, property deeds, and bank account numbers.

Including an emergency contact person outside your immediate area in your survival plans is relatively novel. The logic here is that you should consider a contact person who is outside of your local area that you can call just in case calling on the phone to people inside the local area is not possible. This contact person can coordinate things with you and your family members until the crisis or emergency subsides.

Survival Skills is More Than Having a Bug Out Bag

Having a “bug out bag” is important if you have to abruptly vacate your house or apartment but this doesn’t really address having a stockpile of food, water, toiletry items, survival tools, and some money that is set aside in case you lose your job, get quite ill and can’t work, have an accident that incapacitates you, and so on. Some survivalists even go so far as claiming that well prepared people need to have a several month’s supply of toiletry items, food, water, paper towels, aluminum foil, vitamins, and so on—just in case an unforeseen emergency arises.

The idea that you should not put all of your financial eggs in one basket is very sound advice in our age of political and economic uncertainly. Would it really shock you if you were to learn that your social security benefits have been significantly reduced or that your retirement plan is only worth half of what you had anticipated? What happens, for instance, when a corporation or a company goes out of business and cannot continue paying your monthly pension? The point: diversify your revenue sources and investments if you can.

Develop Basic Survival Skills

Developing basic survival skills that our ancestors possessed is indeed something I have not seen very much in the survival literature. Learning survival skills such as sewing, baking bread from scratch, quilting, home repair, and gardening will not only help you save money, but will also come in handy in times of crisis when the “art of bartering” may become relevant once again.

Getting out of debt is great advice at the personal level AND at the federal level. Living beyond your means is not a solid financial strategy for you or for the government. You probably don’t have too much clout in changing the fiscal policy of our government, but you do have a great deal of control over what you purchase, how much money you save, and how much money you earn.

To help you get out of debt and start saving some money, the author suggests that you pay yourself ten percent of your income–and that you pay yourself before you spend money on other things. If you can accomplish this and you use this money for savings, getting out of debt, or for a “rainy day,” your financial security will certainly improve.

A Financial and an Emotional Insurance Policy

The author’s last bit of advice also made a lot of sense but was something that is not commonly discussed in many survival circles: take a passionate interest or one of your hobbies and turn it into a business. Essentially this is a back up business plan and a kind of an insurance policy in case you lose your job or need to increase your income. This idea can also help increase your retirement income.

The survival skills and techniques discussed above make a lot of sense, can provide some peace of mind, and substantially increase your ability to survive the precarious economic and political climate in which we live. Indeed, the more you can divorce yourself from reliance on the government and learn some solid survival skills, the more financially, emotionally, physically, and perhaps spiritually secure your life will be.

Survival Skills in Perilous Times