The Late Prepper with JD Rucker JD Rucker

Many of us no longer need motivation to prepare for the future. Economic challenges seem to continue to pop up even as long-standing problems get worse. But if you need even more motivation to turn to your local community and away from China and our own government, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver just gave us another reason.

From Fox News [emphasis added]:

Silver also pushed back Thursday on criticisms from U.S. lawmakers about the NBA's business relationship with China, noting that the league is just one of many companies to work with the Chinese.

"From a policy standpoint, virtually every Fortune 100 company is doing business in China," Silver said. "We have an enormous, humongous trade relationship with China. Virtually all the phones in this room, the clothes you are wearing, the shoes you are wearing, are made in China. From a larger societal standpoint, this is something where we have to look to the U.S. government for direction."

"And if people are suggesting now that we should no longer have trade relations with China, and I don't think they are, that's a huge global issue where we will follow the lead from our government," he continued.

Basically, he's saying the NBA does it because everybody else is doing it. From his perspective, he's pretty sure we're not going to stop buying from China altogether, right?

Well, maybe should. In fact, we definitely should. As we approach a possible economic collapse, it behooves us make a concerted effort toward buying as hyper-local as possible, and it's not just to punish big companies or even China. If and when the supply chain completely stops in the United States, we will be forced to turn to local suppliers and producers. Best to make the change now. Call it practice.

By making this a practice, we will be keeping our dollars as close to home as possible. Today, we're a global economy with a strong domestic infrastructure. But those who believe we will eventually no longer be able to have everything we need delivered by Amazon or available at Walmart should move as many of their purchases as possible from local producers.

It's a prepper thing, but it really is an America thing as well. Adam Silver is right. We are massively tied to China and just about every big business in the nation is. As I called for in today's episode of The JD Rucker Show as well as the Late Prepper podcast, we need to move our dollars to the local community as quickly and completely as possible.

Secure your long-term food. Three options are available among our sponsors.

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When even the Biden regime and leaders of financial institutions across the globe are telling us there will be massive food shortages, believe them. It's not common for me to give that advice since politicians and banking leaders are in the business of lying, but this particular narrative seems to be as real as it gets. We're already seeing food shortages hitting here in the United States, and inflation is making it harder and harder to stock up.

Generally, I despise "fearmongers" because there is always an ulterior motive to their doomsday predictions, but I'm finding I've been forced to earnestly deliver truths lately that do not bode well for any of us. Food is becoming more scarce and prices are going up, which is why I am ringing the alarm bells and telling people to get prepared immediately.

Many of us are struggling just to keep food on the table today, so getting prepared for the future can be very challenging. Here are five ways we prepare our own family that can be cost-effective, helping us stay within budget. We use a dehydrator to store food we accumulate, but you can also use freeze-driers, canning, or other preservation methods. I'm not going to go into detail about any of those today. This article and podcast are all about ways to save money procuring food in this rapidly devolving economy.

Gardening

Let's get the caveat on this one out of the way up front. Gardening can be very expensive in the beginning. It all depends on your living situation. Some people have the space already available on their land or in their backyards. Perhaps they have the necessary soil and weather conditions to get a garden going easily. All they need are seeds, and those can be very inexpensive even if you go with my recommended organic-heirloom seeds.

For some of us, we have to get growbags, special soil, fertilizer, or even grow lights, all of which can be expensive. But if you have the space, time, and enough money to invest in ongoing food security, nothing beats gardening. Homesteading is so appealing because of the prospects of not being beholden to the system and gardening is an extremely important part of that lifestyle. To anyone who has the means of starting or expanding your garden, now would be a good time.

Farmer's Markets

Supporting your local community is always a good thing. I'm not a fan of having to use mega-corporations for supplies. Don't get me wrong. I'm not inherently opposed to big corporate giants; I'm a capitalist, after all. But many if not most corporations have gone "woke" in recent years and I don't like supporting those who directly oppose my worldview.

But buying food from farmers' markets is about more than just supporting local businesses. It can be far less expensive than grocery stores, especially if you're buying in bulk. The quality is hit-or-miss sometimes, depending on the farmers at the market. It takes a good eye for food to help you pick out the best produce and avoid getting anything you can't really use.

Instacart

No, I'm not suggesting having your food delivered as a way to save money. It's not cheap and unless you have physical or transportation challenges, services like Instacart are luxuries. With that said, price-shopping on Instacart or other services can be very rewarding because you can compare prices between different stores very easily.

You can also find sales that you can take advantage of, sales that are often not advertised in the junk mail ads they send out. We look for items we need on the homepage of Instacart, then we open up each individual store to see who has the best deals. This can be a time-consuming process if you need to buy a lot of food at once, but it can save you money and alert you to the big price breaks that may come in handy if you're stocking up.

Amazon - Walmart - Costco - Plus Don't Forget to Check the Sources

As dismayed as I get anytime I buy from the big corporate suppliers, I get more dismayed when I overpay for items I need. The big

If you're like me, you're concerned that some or all foods will soon be either too expensive to buy or not available at all. It's no secret that I am a "late prepper" who used to dismiss calls to get prepared. I never saw the need to be ready for whatever is to come because I didn't think things would ever get as bad as they are now.

I was wrong.

On today's episode of The Late Prepper, I discussed seven food items that new preppers need to stock up on as soon as possible. These are items that I and other, more experienced preppers believe are both necessary for long-term survival and that may be hard to get in the coming years, even months. Food isn't everything. We need to have a strong supply of potable water. We need medicines and other supplies. We definitely need a way to protect our supplies when someone tries to take them. But today we're talking about food.

Certain items will be harder to get than others. This is always the case, but it will be accentuated during an economic downturn or full-blown collapse. I took that into account as well as two other factors: price and usefulness. You could stock up on Doritos if you'd like, but I don't consider them to be very useful in a crap-hits-the-fan situation.

Rice and Beans

This is the no-brainer that every prepper knows and loves. The reason the combination of rice and beans is so important is because it hits all of the necessary qualities. Today, both are relatively cheap but in a near-future collapse scenario, demand will overtake supply and prices will skyrocket. They can be stored for very long times, up to 25 years or more in the right conditions. The nutrition is proven; combining them delivers the right amino acids to form proper proteins. Technically, you could survive on just rice, beans, and water indefinitely.

Canned Foods

For the sake of variety and having foods with mid-term shelf-lives, most canned foods are great. They are also generally inexpensive, though not as inexpensive as fresh foods that you can yourself. But the best part about canned foods like soups, meals, fruits, vegetables, and meats is that they're generally ready-to-eat without necessary preparation. They're better when heated, but they can be eaten right out of the can. Just be sure to have manual can-openers ready.

Wheat Berries

This versatile family of grains can help you meet your daily caloric intake easily. They are nutritious and when stored properly, they can last for decades. Definitely make sure you have a mill that can grind up your wheat berries into flour. We have one electric and one manual. We get ours from 4 Generations Organic.

Food Buckets

I often tell new preppers to get their freeze-dried foods last. Too often I see people going straight to ordering buckets of long-term food before they have enough regular food to get them to the long-term. Only after cupboards, pantries, refrigerators, and freezers are full should anyone move to food buckets. Once you get your short- and mid-term food covered, buckets can be cost-effective ways of getting a nice variety of long-term food. We recommend one of our sponsors for this, and they currently have a summer sale that just launched.

Milk, Butter, Eggs (and Cheese)

Fats are going to be the hardest macronutrient to acquire after the crap hits the fan. Most oils do not last longer than a year or two even if they're not opened. This is why we store plenty of powdered milk, butter, and eggs. Milk and butter also have other nutrients that are necessary for survival and if stored right, the can last a decade. As for cheese, we're just now testing out Bega canned cheese. So far, so good. It's expensive, but they claim their cheese can last a decade, so we're starting to stock up.

Dehydrated Fruits and Vegetables

If you can afford freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, that's the better way to go. It's definitely more expensive, but it's healthier, tastes better, and lasts longer. We are stocking up on dehydrated fruits and vege

The vast majority of my life has been spent in cities and suburbs. I have only lived short periods of time outside of areas like Los Angeles and New York City, so I'm what you might call a "city boy." But I am strongly considering moving my family away from the city and I'd suggest the same to those who have the means and the desire.

There are many reasons for this, but a new one has popped up in recent months that would never have swayed me in the past. I've heard over and over how bad things can get in the city in the event of major emergencies or terrorist attacks, but I've always dismissed them. Like I said, I'm a city boy so having access to things has always been important. But the past few months have taught me there's a good chance I won't want my family in the city when the crap starts hitting the fan, and that seems to be possible at any moment.

Case-in-Point: The radiological attack response drills that are going on in Austin, Texas, right now. I'll let Ethan Huff from Natural News describe the details below, but it's a compelling reason to consider leaving city life if possible. Many bad events can strike anywhere, city or not, but it seems very likely that a radiological attack would target the heaviest population centers.

As I said on the latest episode of The Late Prepper, it isn't all perfect in living more isolated. There are disadvantages and threats to country living that don't exist as much in cities and suburbs. With that said, it still seems like a safer bet for most. Here's Ethan with the details:

Dirty Bomb Drills Being Run in Austin, Tex., Ahead of Known Radiological Terror Cells Entering U.S.

From May 16 through May 20, the Department of Energy’s (DoE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is holding a drill in Austin, Tex., that involves the use of low-flying aircraft and a simulated radiological attack.

Called “Cobalt Magnet 22,” the exercise is supposedly taking place to prepare local, state and federal agencies for the possibility of a future radiological attack. Since these drills tend to go live, however, many want to know: Is this another false flag attack in the making?

At “various locations around the city,” an announcement from the NNSA reads, “the exercise will simulate a radiological attack, enabling response personnel to practice protecting public health and safety, providing emergency relief to affected populations, and restoring essential services.”

During the exercise, personnel donned in PPE (personal protective equipment) will reportedly be seen moseying around Austin with equipment as they pretend to monitor and detect radiation, presumably from a nuclear attack.

First responders “and others,” the announcement adds ominously, will also be “staged at various locations” throughout the Texas capital as part of the drill.

“The men and women of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team – or NEST – are trained to provide decision-makers with timely, actionable scientific advice during fearful events,” says Jay Tilden, the DoE’s Deputy Under Secretary for Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation.

“Saving lives and reducing the impact of a nuclear incident requires a full understanding of what happened, who will be affected, and what the optimal response should be. NEST’s bread and butter is providing that information to local, state, and federal leaders as rapidly as possible.”

Mayor Adler and other local officials: “This is only an exercise”

In order to quell the fears of area residents who are concerned about this latest government exercise mysteriously going live, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, a raging liberal Demoncrat with “Get vaccinated!” written prominently on his Twitter handle, wrote the following in a tweet:

“During a planning exercise next week, Austinites may see teams in protective clothing using radiological equipment, low-flying aircraft gathering data, and groups of first responders and other staged at var

One of the best parts about having a site dedicated to the economy in general and precious metals in particular is that we get to see what draws people to the site. Spikes in traffic follow bad economic news, but the mid-term trends are what we really find interesting. Over the last couple of months, even when there are no new updates on the economy, traffic has been steadily rising.

Much of the interest we're seeing is coming from "preppers." Unlike times of old, modern-day "preppers" aren't just the people living off the grid who can grow their own food, field dress a deer, and power their house with solar panels, wind turbines, and grain alcohol. Many people in cities and suburbs are storing food and preparing for economic collapse. One of the best ways to do that is to secure physical precious metals.

Invariably whenever I mention precious metals as a component of prepping, someone hops in the comments and notes that you can't eat silver coins. They're right. They often also note that in a complete societal collapse, it will be easier to barter with useful items than with precious metals. This may also be true. But there are three important reasons to consider adding more physical precious metals to the list of items you store at home.

Before I discuss that, I have to mention our sponsors. As my long-time readers and listeners know, I do NOT pick sponsors based on how much they pay. Some of my sponsors are actually quite stingy with their payouts, but I keep them because I believe in their products. Conversely, I've dropped sponsors who pay fabulously but whose products I cannot rightly endorse. This is why the precious metals companies we endorse had to go through a lot of vetting before I ever considering putting my name behind them.

We currently recommend two precious metals companies. This comes after over a year of being courted by nearly two dozen companies and individuals. After all, our audience is generally conservative and often has cash or retirement they'd like to use towards precious metals, so it makes sense that I get calls or emails on a weekly basis.

I chose one company to start. Our Gold Guy is operated by an America First patriot who knows the industry inside and out and is willing to make personal contact with those who are interested in purchasing precious metals. We recently added GoldCo, which is also a patriotic company. The reason we have two now is because they offer a wide range of products. As a bigger company, they may not give the personal customer service that my readers and listeners will get from Our Gold Guy, but sometimes people just want as many options as possible. Whether you go with Our Gold Guy or GoldCo, you'll be very pleased with your purchase.

The first reason to consider precious metals as a "prepper" item is because we may not be facing a full-blown societal collapse. If what we're seeing today leads to a major economic downturn or depression but not the apocalypse, then it behooves people to protect their wealth and property with precious metals. Gold and silver are generally considered to be the perfect hedges in a volatile market. Currently the chances of economic stability in the near future are slim. The chances of the economy rebounding before experiencing major changes in the long-term market are practically zero.

If the crap hits the fan in a hard way and we DO experience complete economic and even societal collapse in America, then it won't matter if your investments are in gold, silver, stocks, cryptocurrency, or anything else. Just as you can't eat gold, you can't eat your shares of Chick-fil-A. Those who argue that you shouldn't buy anything that can't have tangible value in a post-apocalyptic society aren't considering the other levels of downturn or depression that we may be facing instead.

Second, the dollar seems to be preparing to head in the wrong direction very soon. With the greatest potential in most of our lifetimes of the dollar no longer being

After speaking to pretty much every major long-term food storage company out there over the past four or five months, the trends are crystal clear. "Prepping" is becoming much more popular in America. The stigma that was manufactured by corporate media and "intellectuals" has been lifted thanks to a series of events over the past couple of years that have made many Americans very uncertain about the future.

Uncertainty can breed one of two things: panic or preparedness. The former will start manifesting in the coming months as so many people will suddenly realize things are not going to get better and chaos is about to take hold. Those who fall in the latter category will be as ready as they can be so they can avoid government breadlines and the anarchy that comes when store shelves are empty.

See Venezuela for a glimpse into our potential future.

When my family decided to start getting prepared last year, we made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. I had too much of some things and not enough of others. I didn't spend my limited funds the best way possible. Most importantly, I didn't have a proper plan in place. We've recovered, but I wanted to offer some advice based on our experience to our readers and listeners at The Late Prepper. I also strongly encourage those with insights or more experience to help out by posting comments below.

The information that I'm posting and that I discussed on the podcast is based on a few assumptions. First, this is a bug-in plan, not a bugout plan. You should DEFINITELY have a plan ready and practiced for such a situation in which you have to leave your home for extended periods of time, possibly forever. I'll cover that in the future, but for now I want to focus on bugging in.

The second assumption in this plan is that it's ONLY about food. You will need a plan for water, defense, medical, and other emergencies that will arise in a crap-hits-the-fan scenario, but for today I'm only focused on food itself.

Third, we're assuming a common living scenario. An individual who's living off-grid on 500 acres in Montana would plan very differently from a family in a middle class suburban home outside of Dallas. That type of plan, which is what I'll be describing below, is based on average levels of living and storage space, a backyard or patio of some sort, and limited ability to hunt locally for food.

The final assumption is that there will be no access to any food other than what's given out in the breadlines. In other words, this plan is geared around an economic or societal collapse. It may not be that bad, but I'd rather my family be prepared for a full collapse. If it's just a reversible downturn or temporary food shortage, great! Our plan is designed for having no access to food other than what we store. Let's begin...

Five Types of Food

Before I get into the five ways we separate out our foods, I should warn the more experienced preppers that this is a hybrid approach. I've combined different styles of prepping from multiple sources of information, so some of this will be very familiar and others may seem odd. We chose this method of separating our food based on two desires. First, we obviously want to survive. Second, we want to be able to eat fairly well. If there's one knock I have against many of the food plans in circulation today, it's that they really focus on the former and not the latter. I wouldn't sacrifice survivability for the sake of having a good variety of flavors, but it's definitely possible to have both.

With that said, here are the five types of food we are storing:

Early Stage Perishables (Short Term Food, Months 0-2)

This is what's in your pantry and refrigerator. It's the food you're eating everyday already. Most families have about two weeks worth of food. I strongly recommend bumping that up to at least two months. Obviously, you can't effectively store away two months of every perishable items since, well, they're perishable. My family's goal is to ne