Two weeks rations (the Opportunity Box)

I now have fourteen days food in storage. The cost of the food is modest- no more than twenty pounds in total. The main cost has been the storage space.
Storage space is always at a premium when one is an urban survivalist and I had to buy a food hamper, eat the contents (yum) and then buy some plastic stacking boxes to replace them with. This cost was in the region of two hundred and fifty pounds but I now have a very social kind of survival kit. The boxes and the water may be easily shared with my friends and the whole thing can be moved at a moments notice. Best of all I expect my kit to save me money. I will never again run out of food and have to eat out because I have not had time to shop. I call this hamper my Opportunity Box because it is an opportunity to save money each time I shop. All I need to do is scan the shelves and stock up on any great offers available. When I find a good one I simply add it to my survival kit.
Survivalists are generally an anti social lot but I would prefer to have good friends with me than a bunker full of illegal firearms.
STUFF
4 Liters of water. This is stored in small portable drinking bottles and is not intended to last me the full two weeks. It is simply a convenience supply in case my home water supply is interrupted for a few hours. If a longer interruption is expected I may fill the plastic boxes (which have an airtight seal) and store another 50 liters in this way.
12 packets of noodles. These are cheap (17p each) and may be used to bulk out manky vegetables and make them more appetising.
12 Cans of baked beans. These are also cheap (20p) and a high energy food and source of protean.
12 Cans of kidney beans, canned tomatoes and peas. These can always be made into basic curry. Almost anything may go into a curry such as your neighbour's dog (joke).
Cheap rice and spaghetti for calories. Matches, candles and a wind up torch.
This kit also protects against unemployment and the coming hard times.
Take care.
NB I would advise the whole lot of you to subscribe to this podcast.

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Frugality and Survivalism

We generally find that Survivalists turn their back of consumerism and the whole 'sell your soul to the company store' ethic. Consumerism and Survivalism seem incompatible although it takes a little while to understand why.
The penny drops as soon as we begin to economise. Life not only becomes cheaper- it also becomes greener, less stressful and more suited to long term survival.
My own kitchen came to resemble a survivalists lair very quickly. My need for economy was so great that I cut meat from my diet entirely and lived on pulses and grains. These were bought in bulk (again for economy) and suddenly I found myself with three months food supplies.
Survivalists and economisers are both suspicious of easy promises. Survivalists rarely believe the government while economisers rarely believe an advertisement. Both are brothers under the skin.
Simple foods (rice, oats, beans ext) are healthier and cheaper that the alternatives. They may be dry stored for years as insurance against the zombie apocalypse and provide a hedge against inflation in the mean while. They are all round good news and well suited to campfire cooking.
Frugality also requires a low energy lifestyle. This saves money in the present while also providing insurance against economic collapse. If the peak oil guys are right then we will all be living a low energy life twenty years from now. The only difference is that the frugal survivalist has planned this all in advance.
The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family is live cheaply. The one skill we can be sure we will need after the Fall is the ability to live on a low income.

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The Callan Method

This is an English school in a box- costing me less than a hundred pounds in total. What does this get me in principle?
1. A location independent profession that is in demand in most of the more interesting areas of the world.
2. An interesting paying hobby for the U.K.
3. An aid to rebrandng myself. It is better to be seen as a teacher than a security guard.
4. A means of meeting women. It would be possible to run an adult school in a totally professional way and have more women than one knows what to do with. I would not game my students but some of them would certainly game me.

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Urban survival kit

This is an urban survival kit designed to fit easily into a briefcase and guard against most problems you may realistically encounter in a city.
1. Phone charger.
2. Post it notes, pens and highlighter.
3. Pound coins (for supermarket trolleys and so on).
4. High powered LED torch. This is useful in the event of a tube blackout.
5. London street map.
6. Dry socks. There is nothing worse than walking in wet socks.
7. Leather driving gloves. These gloves should be worn when giving first aid and at any crime scene. Not wishing to leave your prints at the scene of a crime is in no way suspicious behaviour and saves police time.
8. Toiletry bag to contain the items.
The whole kit cost less than thirty pounds and you may keep it in your glovebox or your work locker.

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