Siege arrival and end of the year

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The bundle o’ Siege’s I ordered up from that megasuperawesome sale a few days ago showed up today. One or two will got out this weekend as holiday gifts. The rest…well….Zero needs lighting.

This recent purchase of a fairly substantial quantity of D-batt using devices means that I need to head up to CostCo this weekend and pick up more batteries. I picked some up last weekend and I was rather shocked at what D-batts cost these days. To be fair, I hadn’t bought any in a while but they still seemed egregiously expensive.

And, as 2018 limps to a finish, my goal is for 2019 to not be an expensive year. This year was a tad heavy on gun purchases. How heavy? Uhmmm….six carbines, seven Ruger 9mm pistols (I clearly lost track of how many on that one), four 12 ga shotguns, a couple Glocks,  and one or two pocket guns.But…also managed to sock away a chunk of Mountain House freeze drieds, put back almost 50k rounds of .22, and actually managed to put a bit of money in the bank.

At the moment, my preparedness goals for 2019 are extremely unsexy: pay off house, get money  in the bank, try not to buy All The Guns.

You’d think that wouldn’t be that hard, but you’d be wrong……..

 

15 thoughts on “Siege arrival and end of the year”

  1. Zero,
    Having paid off our home this year 13 years into a 30 yr. mortgage, the wife and I are now able to save another approximately 1200 a month (before insurance and property tax costs)….. I personally find that very sexy.

    You will too, once you do it.

  2. I see you’re over the moon about the D battery Seige lanterns, but what about the AA versions? I imagine a handful of Eneloops and a solar charger would keep the darkness at bay for YEARS, at a much lower operating cost compared to burning through disposable D batteries.

  3. COSTCO has an eneloop pack that has AA rechargeable batteries with C and D converters. I’ve used them for years and have been very happy with them. Sure you won’t get the time out of a AA that you get with a D but it sure is nice just storing AA’s.

    • Chris, You mean those plastic adapter things? Try those before going deep on them. They won’t power some stuff.

      Off the top of my head they don’t work in mag lights but do work in my SW radio.

  4. Have a Merry Christmas, despite being all naughty about hogging all of the shooting irons’ … My gains in that department were much more modest, a pair of conceal carry handguns was it.

  5. A word of friendly advice: if you want to achieve your goal, resolve now to not buy ANY guns in 2019. It may seem counter-intuitive, but abstinence is usually much easier to maintain than moderation.

    Plus, even if you buy no new firearms in 2019, it’s not like you’re ever going to find yourself outgunned.

    • I would echo Peter’s friendly advice, not to buy any guns in 2019. I too have been paying down the mortgage while also putting extra money in the savings account. Watching the balance owed can be sexy.

      If there is a good sale on ammunition it wouldn’t hurt to buy a little more. I buy a little gold and silver each year. If the price drops, I buy some more.

      Here is a link I like to watch:
      https://www.bullionvault.com/gold-price-chart.do
      You can toggle between gold and silver and one year and five year prices.

  6. I’m a reader, and while I have always been frugal, when buying books my definition of frugal changes. I don’t spend much to live on, so for several years 80% went to preps and books. I only stopped buying books ( mostly ) because I’ve got all I want on most subjects and the industry went Hollywood-like churning out really, really bad PC crap ( I’m talking non-fiction here ). Just change “books” to “guns” in your case. I look at it as the rewards we deserve living frugal, working harder and investing the majority for the future. Other preps don’t suffer, so these “luxuries” are not something to feel bad about ( my books are research, your guns are investments and tools, so neither are luxuries. The VOLUME might be luxurious ).

  8. Happy whatever you celebrate, everyone.

    This year was pretty much a holding pattern for me preps wise. Picked up a few things, sold off a few things, did a bunch of cooking with fairly shelf stable stuff (I include things that will last without refrigeration like squash and potatoes) which was helpful.

    Next year I need to take the bicycle mechanics class I was supposed to take this year… and stock up on a few spare bike parts. I’ll probably go ahead and spring for the 3” S&W model 60 pro that I’ve been looking at for a while. Hopefully, I’ll get more cross country skiing in this winter than I did last year, my skills are getting rusty in that department. That’s about it for me.

  9. 2018 guns. Spent too much on them.

    -Bought a Colt 1911 on a total whim. It does give me a common pistol with a group of friends and I could turn it into cash in a week for what I paid (or a nominal 10% loss).

    – For 2019 I am going to try to be more intentional and have a plan. Probably buy 3-4 guns.

    – You are doing the right things financially and while not “sexy” they will pay off big time. Like in a few years when you can buy a camping site and build a bunker on it.

  10. D size 1.5 volt rechargeable lithium batteries are a reality. Along with other standard battery sizes.

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