Living Life in Rural Iowa

There is this idea that most of our global systems are infallible. Because we have always had food at our disposal, we don't like to think that our food systems will collapse. However, food supply systems rely on a few factors to keep moving.  Transportation is the most important factor in keeping a food supply system going. If there is a breakdown in transportation, food supply systems will either be delivered late or not at all. That creates problems for everyone after the point of breakdown. For example, docks and customs offices on the west coast are undermanned due to the pandemic and can not process the ships fast enough. Many food ingredients, packaging materials, and other goods have sat on ships for weeks (if not months) until they could be processed due to overwhelming demand, online ordering, and workers' shortages.  The shipping industry makes the global supply happen, so when something happens, delays happen. When a ship was stuck in the Suez Canel for six days, t

Food can be one of the spendiest areas in your budget if you don't have a handle on your spending. While there are several reasons that your money just disappears while at the grocery store, you are still ultimately in control of how is being spent. You can save a lot of money by just making a few adjustments to your shopping list and routine. You can save even more money by taking charge of your food supply and shopping around a bit.  While I have always been fairly frugal in my grocery shopping, I have easily blown my budget too. I started taking charge of my grocery spending and finding creative ways to lower my costs while increasing my output. These are also ways that I have used to not only save money but to get my food storage started and become more self-sufficient. However, if you are just looking for ways to save money at the store, these tips will help you immensely.  25 Ways To Save Money on Food and Groceries 1. Shop at home. Many people just go to the grocery store o

For those of you who get my emails, you know I focus more on preparedness than any other subject. While I believe strongly in the other topics I write about, preparedness is where my heart is at home. I still strongly believe in self-sufficiency. I believe that personal responsibility and taking care of yourself is the way to live. Preparedness, though, is how I feel the most secure when events happen.  I'm sure you have felt some alarm and that deep down gut feeling that tells you that you need to prepare. Things are not right. They are definitely not right now. Shutdowns and lockdowns were just a taste of what most preppers have been preparing for and were anticipating. This "pandemic" has been a guessing game since the beginning with the powers that be changing the narrative when the "facts" didn't suit them anymore. You can see the encroachment on our freedoms, rights, and liberties. You wonder how far the government can and will take us down the road to

I have lived in the Midwest all my life. Snow, snowstorms, ice storms, and blizzards are just a part of life. In fact, you can get a bit immune to them. You know almost exactly when the school is going to let out early or call it for the day. With the great advances in technology, you know when the storms are going to hit which gives us ample time to get ready.  Some storms are definitely worse than others. Some storms will only last a few hours and not really put any hitch into any plans. Some storms (aka blizzards) will interrupt your plans and life for a few days. It's pretty rare that any storm lasts for more than three days here, but I never rule out that possibility.  When a winter storm approaches and looks like it will be a bad one, I have checklists that I use as a plan of action. In Iowa, the weather can get nasty fairly quickly. With the technology we have, I can implement my lists quickly because I know when the winter storms are approaching. I do use these lists with t

When the coronavirus pandemic happened, one of the things people were not prepared for was to work from home. A fair amount of people did end up working from home. Many people are still working from home and companies are finding out this is a better solution for everyone. This is one area of preparedness that I think very few people give any thought to but needs to be addressed because in most situations you will be doing some kind of work from home.  As someone who works from home and away from home, I have always thought about what I would need to work at home completely. Since I work in a critical industry in my daytime job, I will probably never work completely from home. However, my writing/blogging job and my eBay business already require me to have certain equipment to work at home.  One of the first questions you need to ask yourself is what do you usually use at the office or your job. You should make a detailed list of everything you use every day and every week. For me, I w

One topic that keeps coming up on social media right now is that 2020 was the worst year and that 2021 has to be better. You also see memes and pictures that say that we need to go into 2021 quietly so it isn't a bad year.  This year has been different. As much as I hate all the memes and pictures on social media about 2020 being the worst year, it definitely has been a different year. In my personal experience though, I have survived much worse years than last year. That may be because I still have a job in an "essential" industry. That may be because, financially, this has been one of my best years. My family has pulled together and become closer. I have been very blessed in this last year.  I have no doubt that some of you were extremely challenged by the events of 2020. You had health issues come to the surface or had gotten ill from the coronavirus. You lost loved ones, your jobs, or your homes. You were isolated from family and friends. You had to learn to work from

Okay, you have a financial emergency happening. You may have lost your job or half your income. You may be working fewer hours at home. You may have overspent on the holidays. You may not be able to pay your bills. You may be facing a repossession or a foreclosure. You may be facing a divorce or other significant life change.  I have been faced with many of these scenarios. Life is not always easy even if you are prepared. Your finances may be good until something bad happens. You can have an emergency savings account and still have it wiped out faster than you can blink.  Life happens and some things are out of our control. However, with a good deal of financial situations, you may have had an inkling this was coming. Not to sound unsympathetic, but I usually knew I was making some wrong financial decisions when I made them. I wasn't strict enough with my budget. I wasn't making at least an attempt on the payments. I wasn't talking to my creditors. I have had some surprise