money or time

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by dystopia, May 17, 2011.


  1. dystopia

    dystopia Monkey+

    Excuse me if i seem clumsy at this, it's my second post. I need opinions on a subject. Is it better to work sixty to seventy hours a week without a set schedule and buy the things needed to prep or is better to work a standard forty hour week with a set schedule take a 25% cut in pay but do first hand the things needed for future. thanks for any advice.
     
  2. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    if you dont have any experience at surviving, all the books and supplies in the world wont keep you alive
     
  3. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    somethings i'm really good at and other things i little rusty at like my basic partoling skills i learned in the miliatary and my old job and i do go out and pratice them here and there when i have the time for them

    it really comes down to how much money to put into getting the skills that you need in the years to come at the time that you need them
     
  4. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    We all started somewhere here


    No need to apologise, we all started somewhere here on this site with questions or comments, and your question is worthy of responses.

    60-70 hours per week represents a 50% to 75% increase in your time and effort work inputs for only a 25% increase in reward. It seems to me to be only a marginally worthwhile employment deal, particularly when such a punishing time commitment may have adverse affects on your health, and the health of any relationship you may be presently in. I'm not sure that it would be a very sustainable arrangement for very long.

    Survival capabilities depend on resources (equipment, supplies, shelter, the capacity to provide for the future), the knowledge and skills to be able to use those resources effectively, and the attitudes and values that are necessary to be able to live a sustainable life in what may possibly become a hostile environment. They all require to a greater or lesser extent money, and the availability of time to enable their acquisition.

    It seems to me that a sustainable balance between working (for income) and living (to enjoy your life in the present and to plan and prepare for the future) may give you better life options in the short term, and in the longer term, than working yourself into the ground.
     
    dystopia and beast like this.
  5. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    heres a good skillto practice
    when you wake up this saturday and get dressed for the day...
    get in your car and drive to the nearest good sized wildlands
    park and lock your car, walk into the woods, and try to survive the weekend
    take no food, no water, no extra clothes, just what you normally
    have in your pockets when you go to work
     
  6. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    dys, your question is pretty broad. At the end of it all, you need to find the balance that makes you comfortable with your rate of progress. Ain't no way on God's green earth that you can either get rich or fully prepared for your "favorite" flavor of messy situation overnight. Set your priorities and go forward. Do it right, and you'll never be completely prepared, but always learning and gaining on the situations. The situations will change with time, too, and you'll learn to be flexible.
    In other words, the only opinion that counts is yours.
    [ghrit]
     
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  7. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Beast, that is a very extreme suggestion for a newbie. Preps for survival are not always preps for wilderness survival.

    Dystopia: For skills, start small. Buy a fire steel, and practice lighting fires with it.

    For long term survival preps, I would say start by working your 40 regular, and using a set amount of money to purchase food & store-able water. Start a garden. Read these boards. Cultivate self sufficiency skills. Overall, you have a great start...you have the desire to survive. You have tghe need to know and are asking questions. Great start!
     
    Brokor likes this.
  8. dystopia

    dystopia Monkey+

    WOW!

    I asked for advice and i got it. Sometimes i wish i could see the future so i could know what the right decisions were. I appreciate all the input, you've given me a lot to think about.
     
  9. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    "Beast, that is a very extreme suggestion for a newbie. Preps for survival are not always preps for wilderness survival"

    i said weekend, not a week...:p
     
  10. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Yeah, and he gets thoroughly lost in the woods, with literally no equipment, food or water and a weekend turns into dead newbie survivalist. Real good suggestion there. NOT. I stand by my statement.
     
  11. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    lol, i was jokin on thelast post
    i grewup in thewoods and forget most people really dont havea clue
    so please forgive when i say somethin stupid, i do meanwell
     
    dystopia likes this.
  12. Hispeedal2

    Hispeedal2 Nay Sayer

    Already a lot of great suggestions^^

    I will tell you where I am at- I was making good money, but recently decided to take a big cut in order to dedicate more time to prepping. What I think most preppers get to is the fact that its not a goal we are looking to achieve in prepping, its more of a lifestyle change. A completely different way of life. It's striving for independence. I guess that is why I am kind of optimistic. Because there is some sort of a movement going on to this sort of lifestyle.

    Now, I already have all the tools and a good amount of other preps stockpiled (my latest move was ridiculous). I am also 100% debt free- an often overlooked aspect is getting yourself in financial order. It makes sense to me at this point to start investing the time into a piece of land and making it my own. We did a bit of experimentation in both growing our food and preserving what we grew. We feel like our next step is to acquire land and start doing it on a larger scale.

    Only you can decide if this lifestyle change is something you want to do and when the best time is for you to make that switch.
     
  13. thebastidge

    thebastidge Monkey+

    Exactly- a lifestyle change. I have been working on this for a while. Some people get this when you explain- most nod their heads and their eyes glaze over.

    I am debt-free except for my mortgage, and working on that. I make pretty good money, but am considering several different moves- any of which will cut my income quite a bit. I'm not even necessarily getting more "leisure" time in these moves. Just a more satisfying work life that is more integrated into my family life.

    This is a key point I am looking for: integrated lifestyle. I want my efforts in one arena to complement, not compete with my goals in another aspect of my life. I'm trying arrange my life so the thing sI have to do and the things I want to do are largely the same. Keeping in mind the practical realities of keeping mind body and soul together.

    You can have a corporate job, and still be a prepper. You can have contingency plans, bug-out locations,and a hidden cache of zombie apocalypse supplies. You might even be happy.

    Personally I want to live a different lifestyle, and I want to raise kids in a different lifestyle than I was raised in. I don't want my kids learning conformity to the sound of bells and buzzers. I don't want them indoctrinated with Marxist tribal identity. I don't want my worth judged by how much time I spend doing something rather than what kind of results I get. I'm tired of tenure trumping intelligence. I'm tired of artificical and arbitrary goalposts set by people who don't understand what it is that I'm doing. I am tired of business situations that have to take stupid regulations and taxation into account before sound resource allocation. I'm tired of daily commutes, traffic, road rage drivers, shots fired in the night and cops responding to low class domestic disputes every week. I'm tired of separating recycling that gets dumped into the same landfill as soon as it is out of sight. I'm tired of smug liberals yelling at my because they ignored a traffic signal and nearly got run over on their bicycle. I'm tired of idiotic drivers who are too important to drive considerately or pay attention to traffic signals because they are late to work. I'm tired of people blaming "the corporations, the Jews, the rich" for all their problems while they smoke and drink themselves out of a job and buy crap for themselves and trheir kids, sit on their ass consuming mindlessness in front of the TV, and never, ever, do anything to improve themselves on their own initiative.

    A pox on all their houses.
     
  14. dystopia

    dystopia Monkey+

    To the Bastidge, I understand and stay safe.
     
  15. Gray Wolf

    Gray Wolf Monkey+++

    There is a balancing act. The situation changes if there are children in your life.
    They need time and attention from their parents, as well as the security that money and preps bring.
     
  16. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    welcome to my world bastidge, ive been here 40 years and lovin it
    warning tho, be damned sure your whole family is really with you
    my wife changed her mind after a few weeks
    thats the only part thats been not good
    its not so much fun when youre fightin the ones that are sposed to be on your side
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  17. thebastidge

    thebastidge Monkey+

    My fiancee is a professional technical writer, who wants to go freelance. She's on-board.
     
    hank2222 likes this.
  18. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    my problem now is a 50 hour work week and it can be at night or evening or a mixture of both ..so finding time it the hard thing to do ..when i do have the time i can never get that far from the work leash because of dealing with one set of people at another end who is not in the same time zone and outside the country ..

    so it hard to find the time some weeks to pratice the basic ..
     
  19. Clyde

    Clyde Jet Set Tourer Administrator Founding Member

    "No one really sits on their death bed, wheezing their last few breaths of air thinking about how much better life would have been if they had more money. Everyone I have seen is praying for more time and wishes they spent theirs better." - Former Pastor of mine.

    Clyde
     
  20. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Amen Clyde, That's what I have witnessed time and time again.
     
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