0 RW Visits Destiny Survival

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to be a guest on John Wesley Smith’s radio program. It had been a while since I had been on his show. You can find a link to the radio program on his site and a brief overview of the many topics we discussed including “underground preppers” here:

Are you becoming an underground prepper?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Detail: RW Visits Destiny Survival

0 Gambling with Nature - The Uninsured Loss

Life is a gamble. Sometimes you win but eventually you will lose if given enough time.  The cost sometimes out weighs the risks and you will need to be prepared if your gamble doesn't pay off. You need to be prepared for the consequences and accept the fact that your attempt to beat nature has failed.

For a decade and a half my gamble with nature has finally resulted in a big loss. There have been minor setbacks over the years but nature has finally won the battle. A recent storm has damaged my bug-out retreat beyond repair. Having lost more than sixty percent of the roof and close to 100 percent of the contents due to heavy rains that accompanied the storm, there is little left to do other than a salvage operation.

The overall dollar value of the place was fairly insignificant but is still hard to accept. Realizing that the cost of insurance would have been way more than the structure was actually worth, a decision was made to save the extra cost and take a chance. The cost of insurance would have doubled the cost of the structure and now the place is just an uninsured loss.

All my time and savings will now have to be focused on replacing the damaged structure and restoring my bug-out retreat to a usable state. Even though it wasn't a huge investment, it is still hard to accept the consequences of my actions by gambling with nature.

Got uninsured loss?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Detail: Gambling with Nature - The Uninsured Loss

0 The Prepper Retreat

The need for a prepper retreat should be governed by the use of some common sense planning. The majority of times your present home would be a much better place to “hunker down” if something goes wrong. There may be those times that “bugging out” will be required but that doesn’t mean you will need a separate retreat. There are several qualities for a prepper retreat that will be needed if it is to truly serve your needs and not be an extra burden.

Important Qualities for a Prepper Retreat

1. Accessible. - It’s been said enough times that this part of developing a prepper retreat should be a “no brainer”. Any place you may be considering should be readily accessible in any type of weather. If you can’t get there, it’s not going to do you much good.

2. Affordable. - Any place you may decide to use as a prepper retreat must be affordable. If the cost of a prepper retreat leaves you on the edge of bankruptcy, you may want to consider other options. One option is a group purchase. This allows the cost to be divided amongst more than one person or family. When making a group purchase, there will be extra costs involved for separate surveys and deeds. Everyone involved in a group purchase will need their own place. This was a major cost of my own prepper retreat but it has worked out well. There will be less conflict between group members as a result.

3. Arable. - . A prepper retreat should also have a significant amount of arable land. If you decide to homestead the property, being able to grow food crops will be of prime importance. Certain conditions, like a desert or rocky area, will not lend themselves to a sustainable level of crop production to make adequate food production for your family viable. It will also make it more difficult to raise livestock.

4. Access to Water. - A good source of water or easy access to water will be another necessity. If you have to haul water, you are going to have additional expenses and be doing a lot of extra work. Sometimes even a simple water well can cause unneeded problems that could have been avoided in the first place.

5. Defensible. - This may seem like an odd quality for a prepper retreat but it is a necessary one. If things get really bad, it can become one of the most important qualities that should be considered when deciding if a certain area will make a good prepper retreat. Does it give you the ability to defend yourself properly?

An affordable retreat with easy access that affords you a proper source of water and a significant amount of arable land that is easily defended will make a good choice. The main problem is finding a retreat with all of these qualities. This may not be possible and you may have to settle for something slightly less perfect.

Got prepper retreat?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Detail: The Prepper Retreat