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Sunday, January 31, 2016

The Economy and Our New Class

Sweetheart and I are co-teaching the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University (FPU) at our church again. This semester we had 49 adults sign up for the class and 32 showed for the first one. The rate of people showing up for the first class is about average, but the size of the class is about double what we usually teach.
 

Statically, after the third lesson [of a 9 week course] we should be down to about 20-25 committed people. As a husband, father, son, and friend, gaining control of your finances is one of the most important preparations that you can do to protect your family.

It's very cool to see people that have gone through the course, and to see that they are changing their future. Our church is even paying $25 of the $99 for the kit from the FPU organization, because they know that people are hurting in this depression/recession.

Imagine the good that could be done with a financially sound church body. Heck, we would do a better job at helping people than the government, and put the government out of the entitlement handout business!

There are many good ways to get a better handle on your finances. It takes discipline.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

PS-No update on rental house sale today.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

The Game or The Dance

We received our first offer on the rent house, which was rather insulting. The low ball offer was 40% below market value, we paid their closing cost, $500 home warranty, plus another $350 towards a new survey. Of course, we countered with very little give to see if they wanted to make a serious offer.


We counter with -$900 off list, no closing cost, $500 repair allowance, and to either pay for half of new survey or accept our old one when we bought the house.

They counter with 5K below our asking price, still want us to pay their closing costs, and move the $500 warranty into the repair allowance category. This was supposedly their best and last offer. As far as I'm concerned, they can keep fishing or take our last counter-counter offer. If they take the deal, they will walk into the house with at least 5-6 thousand of our equity.

We just lowered our list price by $2000, and will meet their "demands". Saying demands, makes it sound like a hostage situation....

The market will be getting warmer with spring right around the corner, and we have no problems waiting for another buyer, but would like to sale the house and be done with it.  I have no problems making the house into a permanent rental property, even though we'd like the equity out of it and less responsibility. We also aren't gonna give the house away either. I really hate this part of the process.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Friday, January 29, 2016

You Know That You're Getting Old

Okay, I'll admit that I'm getting old. I came to the realization when I started to shake my head in disgust at how other drivers were driving. I really like my music and over the years I've accumulated a small CD collection [200-300] and every so often I get the desire to add an odd album to the collection. For example, I'm looking for the Broken Bells self titled album which is a fairly recent release. No luck. I went to five different stores in the last few days.


I'm not big on digital music sales. I'd rather have the album in my hands. A computer or device crapping out on you and you've got a headache. Plus, if it's not in your possession, it's not really yours. I can see a time when an album becomes politically incorrect, and deleted from the cloud.

The first stereo that I had in my room was my Dad's old 8-track player. I was a hipster, at the age of 14, before it was popular!  Jim Croce and Chicago are two of the big 8 track tapes that I can remember.  From 8 tracks, I went straight into cassettes, then CDs. I really don't relish the idea of accumulating/replacing my music collection.

What are some of your fond music memories?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Thursday, January 28, 2016

DIY Off-grid Moisture Collector Idea

In my search to make our family water independent in case of a SHTF scenario, I was thinking about the movie Star Wars.


On the desert planet of Tatooine, where Luke's uncle was a moisture farmer, it got me to thinking about building my own moisture collector.

Power: Of course, it would need a power supply, either wind or solar, and a battery system to run the unit longer, but not necessary. Easy enough to buy off the shelf systems, especially solar. The wind turbine might require more thought.

Moisture Collector: Dehumidifier can be bought fairly cheap which is basically a moisture farmer. The water can be directed into a collector device with a Berkely osmosis water filtration system, then to a clean water area for storage.

I'll do further research into how they work, and possibly tinker with my own version. The more mechanical the system the better. Most of my preparations have been geared towards a long term grid down situation or EMP event.

Here is a link to a version already on the web.

A Youtube video on another version. LINK TO VIDEO


Just an idea for your thoughts.

Keep Right on Prepping - K




Wednesday, January 27, 2016

I Feel Slightly Retarded

I must have lost a few brain cells a couple of days ago, and that is without any drinks. I didn't sleep very well, and that might be to blame. In MRI, the "hand" is the area slightly above the knuckles and down to the start of the wrist. In Xray, the hand consists of the fingertips to the wrist bumps.


I scanned the whole hand yesterday, and the Senior Tech got a phone call from the radiologist. When a radiologist calls the clinic it's never to say "good job." It's kinda like getting a letter from the IRS or your wife starting a conversation with "we need to talk." Nothing good every comes from it.

We also have a protocol for scanning the brain with and without contrast that also includes the orbits [eyes]. These are two separate billable procedures, and I forgot how to place the order into our system. Granted, we probably do about 20 a year, and I only work the ordering side once the Senior Tech is gone, but I should know how to do this ordering procedure.

In short, I hate screwing up and feeling like a rookie. Today, I'll go in and take notes on how to order the single scan/ duel billing scan so that when it comes up next time, I wouldn't feel like a rookie.

Keep Right On Prepping - K


Tuesday, January 26, 2016

The Truth About Hillary From An Arkansan

As an Arkansan, this is entirely my opinion that is based in fact. Hillary is a liar. White Water, which was investigated as a real estate scam, and eventually led to the perjury trail against President Bill Clinton. The White Water Real Estate was a joint venture that crumbled after Bill Clinton lost the race for governor to Frank White in 1980. I'm sure that it was all "legal" since Hillary worked at the Rose Law Firm and was their council. Ever been legally screwed?
Benghazi, in which Hillary Clinton testified that  "Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night and decided they’d go kill some Americans. What difference — at this point, what difference does it make?" I matters because these are Americans that requested help, and because of her failure, they are dead. Ask the mothers and fathers of these people, if it matters?

Notice any similarities?
I really love this one (dripping sarcasm). Anyone remember when she visited Bosnia and had to avoid sniper fire? (LINK). “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”  Here is the CBS news report with link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pef5AUt-tic

It turns out that she "misspoke", the truth. A little lie to make herself look better? Here's the definition of narcissistic.

Currently? The Democratic presidential front-runner told a mostly black audience at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday that the situation was “not just as an environmental disaster and a health crisis,” but “a civil rights issue.” She implies that the water issue is racially motivated, but lets take a look at the all Democrat Flint water council.

From the city of Flint

Must be more black on black crime.



UPDATE: Survival Blog (James Wesley Rawles - Army security officer) has posted an excellent article about the major protocol breach by Unprosecuted Felon Hillary Rodham Clinton. Here's the LINK. I've also included the cut and paste web address as well. Please read this article.

 https://survivalblog.com/hillary-rodham-clinton-the-queen-of-codeword-compromiseamericas-1-unprosecuted-felon/

Keep Right On Prepping - K


Monday, January 25, 2016

A Primer for Low Information Voters

Please feel free to share this with your "special" friends...


Keep Right On Prepping - K


Sunday, January 24, 2016

Hamburger Dogs

Row, my brilliant ten year old, wanted to make a hamburger for lunch, but we didn't have any hamburger buns. We had hot dog buns, so naturally he made these....Salt & Garlic crusted hamburger shaped hot dogs!


He's gonna be a real problem solver!

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Glory Hole - Arkansas

Since most of the USA is in a winter wonderland, I thought I'd offer my own little version of Arkansas' Ozark National Forest coolest waterfalls. I'm not sure who took this photo, and I'd actually love to find out. Well done. Personally, I'd like to ride out a hurricane type down pour/blizzard event and photograph the results. It's on my bucket list...

Photo from Reddit - photographer unknown

More information by following the link.

Keep Right on Prepping - K

Friday, January 22, 2016

Snow Day Tradition

I've mentioned a few times that my Mom used to make homemade bread on snow days when I was a kid. Well, I decided to carry on that tradition with my kids, and today was a snow day with a little under 4 inches for our first snow fall of the year. This is a good amount where I'm located.



Row was up at 4:30 this morning excited about the snow, and had to wake up Red Ant. Sweetheart heard them in the living room playing on their Ipads, and of course, I had to sleep stumble into the living to ask them "who are you two?", considering that it takes forever to get them going on school days. "It's a snow day", Row replied with all smiles. I stood in the doorway for a minute. I thought to myself "it's a logical response, and it wasn't causing any harm", so I told them to be quieter, and I headed back to bed.

After breakfast, we built a snow fort, a snowman, slide on a few hills, and had a snowball fight. We need to be making memories for these kids. They aren't going to remember the Smash mouth action figure they got for their 4th birthday, but will remember the time Mommy and Daddy had a snowball fight with them and lost. I got nailed in the face a few times, and someone [Red Ant] actually made a shot down the back of my pants!





My bread recipe


Keep Right On Prepping - K


Thursday, January 21, 2016

(202) 415-4507 IRS Scam Number

I got the whole "the IRS is gonna sue you if you don't call back immediately, and give us your SSN and name". We always overpay our federal taxes, so I knew this was a scam and hat tip to Jane of Virginia for a post about this scam about a week ago. She is much more eloquent than I am, so here's the link to the article, and her adventure.

If you have any doubts about the phone number, you can do a reverse look up or Google it. My number showed it to be a scam. The IRS will only contact you by letter. Any other contact is a scam. Be aware.


Also, be on the lookout for Thanksgiving/Christmas clearance sales. Sweetheart uses pumpkin all year round, and at a 75% discount, with an expiration date of 2019, I bought 24 cans. Score! Kleenex was also on sale for 99 cents per box. We bought 18 to bring back or stockpile back up to 52 boxes.

Keep Right on Prepping - K


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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Kitchen Cleaning Post SHTF

Keeping the kitchen area clean after a SHTF scenario will be even more important. Can't have half the people sick from food poisoning while the harvest is at a critical time. One of the many chef that I worked under always had a very tight budget, even tighter when he opened his own restaurant. The only cleaning supplies that he kept for the kitchen were gallon sized pink soap and bleach. Of course, we had an automatic dishwasher, his name was Mark. Sorry, couldn't resist the joke, but we did have a commercial dishwasher and that made things easier to keep the kitchen clean.



Dishes or anything in the kitchen can be cleaned with liquid hand soap. It's mild enough on the hand, but tough enough for grease. Elbow grease goes a long ways into getting things clean.

Bleach is diluted into a 10% solution, with water, to make a "bleach bucket" for running clean up in the kitchen. We were usually given two towels for the shift. One for the bucket, and the other into the back pocket for an oven mitt, and final cleanup before going home.

We would occasionally make a small toxic solution of soap and bleach for the mop bucket. I'm talking about a dollop of pink soap and a one second splash of bleach. This does create a TOXIC GAS that can burn the lungs, but it does a great job on the floor! Don't do this.  Seriously.

Keep Right On Prepping - K


Mixing bleach with other cleaning products could produce hazardous gases! The key to using bleach safely is keeping it simple: Avoid mixing bleach or bleach-containing products with other cleaning products. And never, ever mix bleach or products containing bleach with ammonia or acids! For example, toilet bowl cleaners, which often contain acid, should never be mixed with bleach in a bucket, toilet, or anywhere. Always read and follow manufacturers’ directions carefully - See more at: http://www.waterandhealth.org/safely-mix-bleach/#sthash.4dkJDxmU.dpuf
Mixing bleach with other cleaning products could produce hazardous gases! The key to using bleach safely is keeping it simple: Avoid mixing bleach or bleach-containing products with other cleaning products. And never, ever mix bleach or products containing bleach with ammonia or acids! For example, toilet bowl cleaners, which often contain acid, should never be mixed with bleach in a bucket, toilet, or anywhere. Always read and follow manufacturers’ directions carefully - See more at: http://www.waterandhealth.org/safely-mix-bleach/#sthash.4dkJDxmU.dpuf

Mixing bleach with other cleaning products could produce hazardous gases! The key to using bleach safely is keeping it simple: Avoid mixing bleach or bleach-containing products with other cleaning products. And never, ever mix bleach or products containing bleach with ammonia or acids! For example, toilet bowl cleaners, which often contain acid, should never be mixed with bleach in a bucket, toilet, or anywhere. Always read and follow manufacturers’ directions carefully - See more at: http://www.waterandhealth.org/safely-mix-bleach/#sthash.4dkJDxmU.dpuf

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Dollar Store Find

Row and I went to the Dollar Store and found the oral care packages for $1.00 [versus the $6.00 at Walgreens] that include the toothbrush, tongue cleaner, mirror, and pick. I'm sure that I could have found a few more items that I need to fill or reload in my preparations [or hoarding as PP calls it], but time and money were lacking this visit.

What are some good dollar store finds for prepping that you have found? We can all be on the lookout for them...






Keep Right On Prepping - K

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Getting Ready

Red Ant has joined Cub Scouts , and it's that time of year for him to create his own pine wood derby car. I've stepped back a little and letting it be more of his car than mine. We went to Pop Pop's shop, and Red Ant got to work a band saw [with Pop Pop's hands guiding his] and a belt sander. Pop Pop also showed Red Ant how to use sandpaper and a block of wood to make the car really smooth. I'll be posting more pictures of the car as it develops. The car has a Minecraft theme, and I'll admit it is looking really good.

Pop Pop and Red Ant working the belt sander

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Friday, January 15, 2016

Opinions Needed On Books





A few days ago, Mrs. Frugal living on the Watkins ranch (Link to her blog) posted a comment that one of her books that she recommended was survival medicine handbook by Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy. I also encourage you look look at her series on 300 a month challenge.

The Doctor Bones and Nurse Amy book is on my wishlist, and that got me to thinking. Scary idea, right? What books would you consider essential in a SHTF situation. I'll go through my list:
  1. The Bible, which I'll need to be reading a lot more.
  2. Ball Canning Guide.
  3. Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners.
  4. Sun Tzu: The Art of War.
  5. Calendar (moon phases and Almanac)
  6. Personal Binder with frequently looked up items such as: how many crop rows per person and other trivial information.
These are just a few off the top of my head. What are some of your books that you would recommend for a prepper's collection?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Thursday, January 14, 2016

We Didn't Win the Lottery, But....

Our family didn't even match one number, but Sweetheart and I did do something right. We were talking with the kids last night about what they would want to do if we won the lottery. Money was no object. Row, our almost ten year old, said that he'd save it for college, "because, you know, it's expensive, and I want to make wise choices with my money." Smart young man.



Red Ant With Pincers, our seven year old tomorrow, wanted to give money to the poor "because they don't have any, and a big mansion!" He has always had a giving heart.

Sweetheart would pay off everyone's debt in our family, one time.

Myself? 10% to the church, and a scholarship program for people to take the Dave Ramsey class for free. I have grander plans too...Our parents would permanently retire. I'd buy 4 or 5 tour buses and tour the continental United States with personal tutor(s) for the boys education. Parents and siblings would be most welcome to travel along, in their own bus.


Bus One: Family
Bus Two: Parents
Bus Three: Family/ friends
Bus Four: School/Crew
Bus Five: Crew

It was well worth the $6.00 daydream...

Keep Right On Prepping  - K

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Keeping Clothes Clean in A SHTF Scenario

Clean clothes keeps you warm better, feels nicer, and don't assault your sense of smell. At our home, we have made our own dry laundry detergent (LINK) for some time, and all the ingredients will keep for a long time. Keeping the three ingredients from the humidity, and moisture would be your primary concern for long term storage.

from raisinglittletreasures.com

Let's face it. Laundry will be a chore that no one wants to do because of the time and labor involved. I've seen a low tech solutions where a five gallon bucket is used with a plunger (unused!). (LINK) A hole just big enough for the handle of the plunger to go through the top of the bucket lets the person agitate the clothes without losing the bulk of the detergent water. Another bucket of rinse water, actually probably a few, will help rinse the clothes.

The clothes can be hung really wet, and air dried for a long time, rung with a ringer, or a DIY wringer using 5 gallon buckets can be used. I haven't tried it myself but thought it was a genius solution. The laundry person sits on the buckets to force the water out of the clothes while plunging the next "load". (LINK)

Another low tech solution for when things go wrong.

Keep Right On Prepping - K  

Monday, January 11, 2016

Free Samples

I been looking into the free sample side of product advertising, and I'll pass along any products that I think might work for preppers. Today's free sample is from Muck Daddy. I haven't received my sample yet, but look forward to comparing it to Dawn dish detergent, Gojo, and Fast Orange products.

Here's the LINK to Muck Daddy.

Picture courtesy of their website
Keep Right On Prepping - K

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Prepper Life Hack

You've gotten your wallet/purse lost or stolen, but thankfully you had your phone in your pocket. Stash a little cash ($20 or $100 if you can afford it) behind the phone case. Out of gas and they are only taking cash?



 
Also, have all of your credit card/debit information (contact numbers and card numbers) stored on your note pad to swiftly cancel any stolen cards. It sure beats waiting and worrying until you get home to start the process.

All the Star Wars artwork is by Row, my soon to be 10 year old.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Saturday, January 9, 2016

A Trucker's Solution to Self-defense

A deceased friend of mine was an interstate truck driver for a few years, and liked to be on the winning side of any fight. The rules and regulations, plus the many states that he had to travel through required him to leave his handgun at home. He, and other truckers, have starting carrying wasp and bug spray. You know, the kind that can reach 20+ foot as a steady stream. Just food for thought...


Keep Right On Prepping - K

Friday, January 8, 2016

One Item For SHTF Stockpile

Row had to come home early because he was running a 100.8 fever and had a sore throat. Strep Throat was confirmed this morning by his doctor. Sweetheart is also out of town running in the Walt Disney 1/2 Marathon this weekend, and thankfully I asked for PTO at work to be able to take boys to and from school. While my plans have been drastically altered, they weren't a total wash.


On the way to the doctor's office, my thoughts were that if you could only stockpile one trade item, it would have to be antibiotics. You could practically name your own price in a SHTF scenario, or make some indebted friends. One of my many bookmarked sites is:  LINK HERE


Keep Right On Prepping - K

Thursday, January 7, 2016

A Good Southern Man! (States I Have Visited)

 An Air Force brat and a love of the south will get you this map...


Create Your Own Visited States Map


Keep Right On Visiting - K


Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Dental Care in A SHTF Scenario

Dental care is probably one of the least romantic topics of preparing for a disaster, but really important. A tooth abscess can lead to osteomyeiltis (bone infection) and death. Over the last six years I've stored toothpaste and all the other essentials for dental care for my own experiments. Of course, I've maintained the biannual check up and cleaning during this period since it's still available.


Toothpaste: The past six years it seems that the regular Colgate/Crest has stored the best. I also stored Mint Zing Colgate toothpaste that has a mint oil infused into the toothpaste, but that separated from the mixture. It can be fixed by massaging the tube before opening which seemed to remedy the problem. I would recommend buying the no frills Crest or Colgate for long term storage needs since that seemed to work best for me. I usually use about a tube of toothpaste every 3 months. Doing the math, four tubes will last me a year, and 20 tubes will be enough toothpaste for 5 years. I can find the toothpaste on sale for $1.00 a tube, so that's $20 total.

Toothbrush: The toothbrush doesn't have a shelf life, so catch your favorite on sale and stock up for 5 years worth. It is currently recommended to replace your toothbrush every 3 months, so 20 would get you the recommended amount. I personally think that the replacement rate is too often, but having too many is a good problem to have in a SHTF scenario. $20 will cover you for 5 years. Replace your toothbrush or boil/steam for five minute after being sick to reduce the risk of reinfecting yourself.

Floss: Floss also doesn't have an expiration date, so stock up at your next sale. I try to floss at least twice a day, but one should at the minimum floss at least once a day. I would also suggest in a SHTF scenario to step up your dental care and floss at least three times a day. The floss sticks work really well for kids! I would suggest 5 packets per year per person for the dental floss. Again, stock up when they go on sale and save!

Dental Pick and Mirror: Perhaps something really over looked that a person can do to improve their dental care is to spend about 5 minutes per week and use a dental pick, scaler, and mirror to clean those hard to reach places, and between the teeth. Over the course of a 5 year period, I would recommend 2 or 3 per person. Walgreens has them for sale for about $6.00, but I bought mine at the dollar store for $1.00. I should have bought more when I saw them.

Kids will need help, so add some latex gloves or remember to wash your hands before and after cleaning their teeth.


Dental Extractor: Sorry folks, the pliers in the shop will not do a proper job of tooth removal. This is the most drastic, and hopefully unused tool in your kit. Better info here at Doom and Bloom.



A person can equip (minus extractor) themselves for a full year of excellent dental care for about $16.00-$25.00. Remember to wait for sales to stock up. I keep all of my supplies in 2 small plastic totes with the oldest supplies on top of the other one. First items into the tote are the first ones used.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Stressors and Their Relief

When I'm stressed, I usually carry it in my shoulders and lose sleep. The lost sleep translates into being a lot grumpier than normal. So, what does this have to do with prepping? Preparation for the stress. Melatonin is a good natural remedy for having trouble falling asleep, and aspirin is good for the sore muscles. The most obvious is to share the stress with the spouse, and like most guys the area of communication needs some work. Prayer helps too...


If or when things get rough, how do you handle the stress? Are you able to cope without leaving the house if it was a SHTF scenario?  Some food for thought.

What would you need/want during a SHTF situation to help handle the stress?

Keep Right On Prepping - K


Monday, January 4, 2016

The Small Things

Occasionally I'll turn the music off at work, and put all distractions aside, and let my mind wander during the MRI scans.  Today was such a day, and I was thinking about the magnify glass that Santa brought me. It allows my old eyes to make out the date on the dimes. I'm always on a hunt for silver coins, and usually find at least one per jug of coins. Wheat pennies and any other coins of interest are saved and set aside, but back to the magnify glass.

I'll have to take the kids out and show them how to start a fire with one. Better yet, have them show me how to make a fire with one. I don't think that anyone showed me how to when I was young, perhaps it's a natural instinct? Sounds like a good opportunity to turn the TV off, get outside, and spend some time with the boys. Plus, it just might come in handy some day for them...

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Fixing A Hole

Today was a nice cool day to get some repair work done around the house. Our master bathroom had developed a leak and dripping through the ceiling sheetrock. I'll eventually get to doing the inside repair work, but I'll wait until the next round of steady rain to make sure that the leak has been fixed.


Once I know that the leak has been fixed, I'll move to scrapping the ceiling popcorn, and reapplying a new coat. Which means I'll need to paint the ceiling, and remove the old wall paper. Since I'm already removing old wallpaper, I'm sure that the wife would love a new color in our bathroom. It's just a few more dollars and another hour or two to add some new pulls on the cabinets, then some new towel holders.

This is a typical example of how a small repair blossoms into a minor bathroom remodel. We gotta make this house more marketable for the next buyer while increasing our enjoyment and raising the equity in this house with a little sweat.

A BIG "Thank You" for the generous donation that we got yesterday. You know who you are...

I'm checking into perhaps buying some more silver American Eagles since spot price is below $14.00. I'll see if they can take PayPal.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

PS- I have indeed ordered 7 more silver American Eagles. These will go into the direct transfer of wealth fund for the kids. The silver will pass into the hands of our kids without the government's taxes upon our death or whim.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

A Closer Look

My apologies to Linda for the confusing post about the [new to me] used truck. I was trying to be funny and misdirect people with the nicer truck that I'd like to own. Here's a closer look at my new F-150...

Small dent and scratch on rear panel

Enough room for the kids. Ross likes to jump out like a paratrooper while holding the seatbelt.

New steering wheel cover, the other one was picked to death.

Plenty of room for three small boys.

169K miles and solid


Upgraded radio, but I'd like better speakers...and a radar detector.

Plenty of power, but I try to drive like an old man to save on gas.

I'll clean the engine when the weather gets a little warmer. Anyways, get some prepping done because this is gonna be a rougher year for everyone. - K





















Friday, January 1, 2016

A New Year

Happy New Year. This looks like the year to get something done every single day. The world situation doesn't look very good.

The old Mitsubishi is headed to the junk yard as a parts car within a few weeks. I found a used 2009 Ford F-150 XLT that was a corporate lease vehicle with 169K miles. I was a little, okay a lot, skeptical about such a high mileage vehicle, but after the test drive and inspection I'm very happy. The inside was very clean with virtually no wear. The engine is solid without any leaks, burning oil, or losing fluids of any kind. The great part of it being a corporate lease vehicle is that all of the scheduled maintenance was part of the contract, so it had lots of TLC and all for $4999.00. Here's a picture of it below...


This will be the first white vehicle that I've owned.

The rent house price has been dropped again, and will probably be choosing another Realtor to take 7% to sale it for me. I'd like to get a lot squared away once the house sales. A lot of debt wiped out, and another used vehicle for the family. We are looking for a good used 3 to 4 year old Honda Pilot with under 45K miles as or primary family vehicle.

We've also got a pretty long wish list of things that we want done with the money. Paying off a loan, and a credit card, then saving 3-4 months cash for a rainy day are absolutes.

It looks like more gun control issues, so get those guns, 30 round magazines, and other things squared away this year. It's not going to get any better....

Keep Right On Prepping - K