And so it ends….not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Although it impacted me far less than many people, it was still a long year. To my uninformed, cynical mind 2021 portends worse.
The polite and socially-acceptable thing for me to do is to wish all of you a happy New Year and wish you good luck for 2021. I say ‘screw that’. Luck is for rabbits. If you’re reading this then you’ve the mind to be the one who makes your own luck. Laissez les bons temps rouler.
Ah the meat tray. I’ve posted before about it. $20 for four trays of assorted dead animal flesh. A good way to get your animal protein for the next week or so, depending on how you cook and what your tastes are. As you also know, every other day or so I cruise the meat aisle at my grocer looking for the ‘remaindered’ meat….the stuff that is marked down 30% or 50% to sell immediately. Perfectly good stuff, but it needs to be used or frozen immediately. And then…on rare occasions…the two combine to create: the remaindered meat tray.
Normally $19.99….but knock off an additional 30% and now that deal looks pretty attractive. So…I’ll take ’em all. Why not? I’ve got a vacuum sealer and a freezer. So $14 each.
I literally have no room in the freezer now. Everything is repackaged, vacuum sealed, and ready to sleep until much later in 2021 (or beyond). Food security, baby.
Tam (aka ‘Our Lady Of Snark’), has a post about how the Current Situation has us swimming in stress hormones and that regardless of whether the stress is from being chased by a lion or having to queue for TP at CostCo, the physiological and mental results are the same.
No doubt, there are stressors aplenty in the wind these days. How do you avoid stress? Remove (or mitigate) the situation that you are stressing over. Do I stress about getting eaten by a T. Rex? No, because there ain’t no T. Rex anymo’. So if I want to not stress over, say, a toilet paper shortage the solution is…have plenty of toilet paper.
I’ve touched on this in an earlier post.
The solution is simple, it just isn’t easy – remove the source of stress.
Every year I stress about my property taxes. I worry that I won’t have the money to pay them and that I’ll lose my house. What eliminates that stress? Paying the taxes (or having the money to do so). So every month I force myself to set aside 1/12th of my property taxes and once a year I pay them for the upcoming year. And the stress disappears (for that year). I don’t worry about getting eaten by that T. Rex because, for that year, the T. Rex doesn’t exist anymore.
Realistically, virtually any single thing you are stressing about can be resolved with enough money..housing, food, health, security, etc….all fixable with enough greenbacks. But, addressing the issue directly is often the best choice… worried about going hungry? Stockpile food. Worried about not being able to make your car payment? Pay off the car or downsize it. Worried about your neighborhood being unsafe? Move or change the character of the neighborhood. Etc, etc.
I hate to use this word, but the secret to avoiding stress is…..control. If you can exert control, of almost any degree, over the situation then your stress is reduced. Sure there are situations you can’t completely control but you can exert some control. I can’t control if I’m going to suddenly have a debilitating stroke..but I can exert some control by eating well, watching my health, etc, etc. I can’t control the goobers in Washington in regards to guns, but I can exert some control by having my mag and gun needs met before they can start their shenanigans. I can’t control what 2021 is going to be like but I can control my supply of food, money, fuel, resources, information and all the things I need to mitigate 2021’s sting.. and that modicum of control reduces any stress I may have.
Probably the best example is my water heater. Years ago, I was informed there was a puddle under my water heater. A prior version of myself would have suddenly had the whole day go dark, and I’d have spent the next few days brooding and being upset wondering where the heck the money was going to come from for this repair and why was my life so crappy that I can’t even get the water heater fixed and..and…and…you get the idea. But, no, it was simply a shrug, “that sucks”, and write a check to the plumber off the emergency fund. No muss, no fuss, no stress. In this particular case, having money was what gave me the control over the situation and eliminated the stress.
Personally, I have not stressed about 2020 (or 2021) enough, in my opinion, to be experiencing negative physiological reactions. Or maybe I am and I’m not noticing it. But I don’t think I am. Why? Because I try to control what I can, and for those things I can’t control I prepare against. Between control of a situation, and being prepared against if the situation arises, any stresses I have are pretty manageable.
Of course…this only works if I’ve foreseen all likely outcomes. As I read on the interwebs, 2020 was the equivalent of stepping up to a crosswalk, waiting for the light, looking carefully both ways before crossing, stepping off the curb….and getting hit by a submarine. Didn’t quite see that one coming. But…by and large….yeah, not stressing.
The low hanging fruit of the blogging world is the reviewing the previous year and speculating on the upcoming year. Not being proud, here we go….
2020. Holy Drokk, where to start? From a survivalist standpoint is was a fairly validating year. I didn’t wind up needing to use any of the stored food or supplies. Even toilet paper needs were met handily just by the ‘on hand’ supply that exists outside of the stored stuff. But, the situation did give me the impetus to double-down on a lot of stuff. Most notably, the Preponomicon was thoroughly examined, revised, reviewed, and adhered to. While I was doing quite well on most things, I took this time to really polish off a few glaring weak spots and beef up what I already had.
Gunwise, it was a freakin’ Mardi Gras. If I told you what I spent on guns and magazines this year you would be aghast. But…I did what I believed was necessary for the continued safety and security of my future self. So..I regret nothing.
Financially, there was a little bit of a hiccup in March when things really hit the fan in terms of the Wuhan Flu becoming A Big Deal. I had to dip into cash reserves a tiny bit but then the income stream resumed it’s normal flow and I made up for it. In fact, 2020, despite my outrageous purchases, turned out to be a good year in terms of making progress on finances.
There were, of course, some down moments. Most notably the election. Because I had my doubts about a Trump re-election, I decided early in the year to get a start on going heavy on Uncertain Goods. Unfortunately, I was not the only one and between political maneuvering, race riots, a pandemic, and gasping economy, there were plenty of moments where things I wanted were either unavailable or grossly overpriced. However, I managed to get it all done with a bit of time to spare. Yay me.
All in all, 2020 was actually…and I hate to say this because it makes me sound like a colossal jerk…a really good year for me. I got a lot done, hit a bunch of goals, had virtually no hit to my income or finances, and pretty much skated through a year that left a lot of people crashed and burning by the side of the road. And…it wasn’t luck. By living below my means, getting the house paid off, not carrying debt, having multiple income streams, and keeping a cautious eye open for opportunities, 2020 wound up being, on paper, a good year for me.
What’s my prediction for 2021? The likeliest thing I see happening is economic uncertainty. Keep in mind, I say “uncertainty” but that doesn’t indicate good or bad. There could be an economic revival of sorts as the ‘dead wood’ is swept aside as businesses that were long past tenable finally disappear, leaving behind smaller, more agile, better run businesses to take up the slack. The void left by businesses closing is an opportunity for new businesses. The forced acceleration of the inevitable switch to more ‘telecommuting’ or ‘remote’ jobs may open avenues for people who have wanted to work for East/West coast companies but never wanted to leave Kansas. So, there is a perspective that says 2021 might be a good year.
But, then theres the other side of the argument….businesses close or reduce their workforce, long-term leases for business space dry up creating commercial real estate ghost towns, unemployment increases, .gov starts printing money for benefits, state and local .gov get carried away with their newfound powers in the name of ‘the public health’, the Trump tax changes get repealed, we all lumber through a prolonged recession….that sort of thing. Telecommuting means a broader pool of competitors for a job opening, possibly even outsourcing. A larger pool of candidates means employers can offer less compensation and be reasonably sure someone, somewhere, will take it. Could go either way. So….yeah, changes ahead….and those changes could swing in either direction.
And that doesn’t even touch on whether or not the new administration (or whoever is pulling their strings) finally gets around to the old chestnut of ‘reasonable gun control’ that has become a rallying cry for the left.
Personally, I think 2021 will be a year that is full of the consequences of 2020. I think the economic impact of the everything that happened in 2020 will ‘come home to roost’ in 2021. My personal plans for 2021 include reducing expenditures and maximizing income as much as possible, spreading my assets out into various forms…cash, savings, metals, etc., working on some sideline gigs that will generate some cash fairly consistently so there’s always something coming in, and overall just working on increasing my resilience against whatever is coming.
As you may recall, Remington went into bankruptcy a little while back and several of their subsidiary companies were picked up by other people. Most notably, Marlin was acquired by Ruger. I think this bodes extremely well for the continuation of the Marlin product line. However, I was so excited about Marlin becoming part of Ruger that I failed to see the forest for all the trees. To wit: Remington is out of business.
Or is it?
Remington, as I understand it, is now part of Vista Outdoors and they’ve begun the process of starting up the plant tog et back to making guns. But…I’ve seen this before in the gun industry… a company goes under, a group of investors (or a single investor) buys it up and thinks they’ll just pick up where things left off, and usually after a short while they go out of business. Examples? Hmmm…AMT (The AutoMag folks), Wildey, Lorcin/Bryco/Raven, at least half a dozen lower-tier AR manufacturers, etc.
The reason I was thinking about this was because if Remington is, in fact, no longer ‘a going concern’, then one of the staples of the survivalist’s armory, the 870, may be living on borrowed time.
Name two of the most common, most well regarded pump-action shotguns. You said Mossberg and Remington, right? Sure…FN and a couple other outfits make some quite nice pump guns but for probably 90% of the gun buying population, when they buy a pumpgun its either an 870 or a 500/590. Easy.
So, I’m curious if perhaps it’s time to recommend the 500/590 over the 870 simply on the basis of future availability. Certainly existing 870’s will have virtually all their needs met by third-party markets. Remington 870’s are like Ford 9N tractors…you can build one virtually from nothing but aftermarket parts and never use an original OEM part.
Personally, I’ve got enough 870’s tucked away to completely remove en entire taxon of waterfowl… the death of the 870 will be sad but effect me minimally. I know there are Chinese knockoffs of the 870 and yours works flawlessly, but anyone who buys a Chinese copy of an 870 with the idea it’s “just as good as” deserves what they get.
I suspect that Remington as an arms manufacturer might be a little ‘too big to fail’…with its long history, highly regarded (at least, up until a few years ago) product line of stalwart designs, and high aftermarket support, it would make sense for future owners/investors to try to keep some of the flagship guns like the 870 in production. But…who knows? These could be the same goobers that gave us the R51, RP9, and that crappy .380 they came out with.
As I think about it, I am getting more and more respect for Ruger. They’ve managed to run their business better than Colt, Remington, and Winchester if bankruptcies and sales of ownership are anything to go by.
Should be interesting to see what happens…I will definitely be watching to see what happens to Marlin under Ruger, but it’ll also be worth watching to see if the 870 continues to be on the market. (And hopefully with better QC than what was slipping out the doors a few years ago.)
Well, I’m not really a Christmas kinda guy..what with being a nonbeliever an all, but I recognize that a lot of folks get into the holiday so I’ll go ahead and cover my bases and wish everyone a merry Chrismahanukwanzika.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank a couple people who sent me Amazon gift cards as Christmas presents .Very thoughtful, guys…thank you very much.
2020 goes into the history books in another week and then we face 2021 with all of the unknowns arrayed before us. It should be an extremely interesting year.
BUT…thats a week away. In the meantime, have a nice holiday and let me know if you got any cool gifties.
Hit it, Placido….
Just to be clear, this man is complaining that his feelings are hurt because people are saying he’s not doing everything he can to get ammo out the door faster.
You know what? If I have a virtual license to print money like the ammo companies do right now, I take the offense and pout alllllllllllll the way to. the. bank.
Cry me a river, buddy.
No one was even hinting at banning rice, pasta, drink mix, frozen meat, or canned vegetables. But…they were talking about banning ‘assault weapons’ and ‘high capacity’ magazines. As a result, it made logical sense to focus on the acquisition of things that may not be obtainable if I waited. So, now that thats out of the way and the mags are resting in their new olive-drab steel homes, it’s time to reshift my focus back to where it was earlier – increasing resilience against the upcoming economic issues that seem to loom for 2021.
For me, that resilience-building is exactly three things: resources (money/metals) laid back, more food and necessary tangible goods, and alternate sources of income.
Once in a while someone asks if I’m really stockpiling food because I’m worried about some sort of shortage or famine. No, I’m not. I think that, by and large, it’s virtually impossible to starve in this country as a result of economic factors. I store food (and other things like TP, cleaning supplies, socks, soap, cooking oil, etc.) because if my life hits a hiccup where I suffer an income loss I’ll be able to use whatever income remains wisely since I won’t need to spend it on those goods. Coincidentally, those goods also come in handy if something Very Bad does, in fact, happen.
I’ve no idea what 2021 holds, but even if the Wuhan Flu thing gets under control, there are sill some major paradigm shifts that are going to have consequences. Probably the biggest is the ‘work from home’ model that we have moved into. For decades we have been told that with the advent of he internet we will all be telecommuting and that we will be able to work form home. It never happened on a big scale because there was little motivation for it to happen. It would have happened eventually, but the flu has forced that change to come much earlier. And now businesses are realizing that employees either weren’t 100% necessary, or they are realizing that if employees work remotely then they can hire cheaper employees from across the nation or across the world for the same results and less money. As a result, I see the jobs market changing radically. No longer are you competing with other job hunters in your region, you are now competing with job hunters from across the nation (and world). And with that kind of competition, the wages can be lower because someone will always be willing to work for less. So, to my way of thinking, while there never was a such thing as a ‘steady job’ there is now even less stability in a job. Physical jobs will be mostly unaffected…the guys on the garbage truck, the guys changing your oil, the fella delivering packages…they’ll be okay. But accountants, salespeople, consultants, the white collar stuff….thats going to be different. And since I can’t see how that’s going to shake out, I err on the side of caution and try to be ready.
So I’m finished with the ‘ban stuff’ stockpiling (unless something comes along at a screaming deal) and getting back to the basics – update the preponomicon and start continue increasing resilience.
It was brought to my attention in comments that CTD, home of the $100 Pmag, has been called to the carpet by the Texas AG for price gouging to the tune of having to refund $400k to customers.
Some linkage:
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/coronavirus/article242031861.html
BREAKING: Texas AG Accuses Cheaper Than Dirt of Price Gouging
I have razzed CTD for years for their computerized algorithm that raises prices to slow demand as inventory dwindles. Succinctly, as inventory levels go down, the automatic pricing raises the price to slow down the sales of inventory. The idea being that you slow down the sales of inventory so that you’ll get restocked before you run out of stuff. Problem is, in a panic buying situation the inventory is flying off the shelf so fast, and the next resupply is uncertain, that the price keeps going up up up….thats how you get $99 Pmags.
However, you also get them when someone just arbitrarily says “Quadruple the price of everything.”
Regardless, CTD just took a hit to their reputation that is going to be legendary in the gun community for years to come. I expect them to either make a statement denying the charges and saying they settled for $400k to avoid more costly litigation..or…I expect the to say nothing in hopes it all blows over.
Regardless, for those of you who never saw the earlier times CTD dropped its pants and bent the consumer over……….
ETA: I almost forgot to mention, CTD has also, during times of panic, cancelled existing orders that were already made forcing the would-be purchaser to either renew the order at the new higher prices or go elsewhere. Classy.
