The Prepper $2,000 Coronavirus Challenge... how would you spend it?

[jgradyc]

I don't think gold and silver will be worth much in a SHTF situation. 1) It's hard to tell if it's real or counterfeit. 2) It's not useful if it's not valued as much as the barter item in question. If we went into an indefinite lockdown and food distribution stopped, would you trade your only 10 lb bag of rice for a $1,500 gold coin? I wouldn't. I wouldn't even want people to know that I had a 10 lb bag of rice. If I thought we were coming out of this situation before my food ran out, I might trade a pound or two of rice for a $1,500 gold coin. 

Gold and to a lesser degree, silver, are primarily useful as a way to transport wealth when fleeing a dangerous region. With a pandemic, there won't be any safe regions in the US and even if there were, they wouldn't let outsiders in. 

[Wingshooter]

9 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

I already made my list of suggestions that cover multiple scenarios.  

http://leveledsurvival.com/buying-list/

Bicycles could be advantageous in some areas. Though remember sticking to roads means staying close to people. Plus, if you are in rough country, you need to be in good shape to travel off trail and have the right type of bike. 

Cash is good until it isn't...then what do you do? I guess it makes ok TP and fire tinder.

Gold and silver are good as long as the people you want to trade with have their basic needs covered. A sane man isn't gonna trade food for gold if he is hungry. So precious metals are good if you are stocked up on necessities. I have some and wouldn't hate to have more.

Agree. We have several bicycles, but we also have 2 good horses. The horses will get you off the road but also are more visible

[Wingshooter]

 

13 hours ago, jgradyc said:

The coronavirus (CV) is unlike any SHTF scenario I've read about... it's almost SHTF in slow motion...  so I've decided to set a $2,000 budget and start prepping for CV.

I occurred to me that this is something we all should do, although our budgets might be different so I decided to start this thread. Let's assume that we already have several handguns, long guns, ammo, and a couple of weeks of food, but not much else. 

How would you spend the money? You can go over the budget a couple of thousand, if necessary.  

Oh, and what would you do that you wouldn't do normally?

I would start by getting more than a couple weeks of food. Water, generator, gas, cold and cough meds....

Edited March 18, 2020 by Wingshooter

[jgradyc]

Can someone recommend a good source/website to download survival books/guides, etc? I would like to get these and backup on an old tablet or flash drive.

EDITED TO ADD.

I'm particularly interested in perimeter home defense. My home is not defendable against even a small assault force. Frankly, no one I know live in a home that could be defended. 

Edited March 18, 2020 by jgradyc

[RED333]

59 minutes ago, jgradyc said:

Frankly, no one I know live in a home that could be defended. 

Sure, any place can be defended, just need more hands and more firearms to put into them hands. While not always easy, but it can be done.

[MacGyver]

If I had $2000 to spend - and didn't have anything on hand, I'd buy the following:

50 pounds of rice

50 pounds of various dried beans/legumes

A gallon of olive oil or two

A couple of bulk containers of spices from my local Asian market

A couple decent bags of onions/potatoes/a bunch of garlic etc.

I'd buy a big pack of batteries

I might buy a decent weather radio if I didn't already have one

And a $30 headlamp

Then, I'd pocket the other $1850 and save some more eating beans and rice a few meals a week instead of eating out.

Seriously.  This is likely to be an economic crisis that lasts a while. While it's fun to talk about survival planning for long term apocalypse-type stuff, I'm not really sure how practical it is.

 

[tacops]

2 hours ago, jgradyc said:

Can someone recommend a good source/website to download survival books/guides, etc? I would like to get these and backup on an old tablet or flash drive.

EDITED TO ADD.

I'm particularly interested in perimeter home defense. My home is not defendable against even a small assault force. Frankly, no one I know live in a home that could be defended. 

Perimeter Defense and Perimeter Detection are two different things.  Detection can be as simple as tin cans and fishing line, daisy chained driveway sensors set for zone coverage up to microwave sensors and assorted motion alarms.

As for the cash, put it in the stock market, there is a big sale going on right now.

Edited March 18, 2020 by tacops

[CalRW&B]

Agree with Shorty...

Several 7gal jugs to hold tap water, bleach, batteries, first aid/meds/scripts, several gallons of gas, lots of salt to preserve food, alternative cooking method...oh and barter items, booze, cigarettes, lots of cheap lighters....

If I had additional money...a stripper/hot nurse to take care of me when I’m sick...that would keep my blood flowing... :)) 

Edited March 18, 2020 by CalRW&B

[jgradyc]

Fortunately, we have a spring on our property and 2 gallons of Chlorox, which at 8 drops per gallon of water, will give us an unlimited supply of drinking water. 

To my knowledge, rice is no longer available anywhere. I'd also like to stock up on dried beans, but it's too late. 

[jgradyc]

Is water that comes straight out of a spring drinkable? I assume it was at one time, since it comes into an old timey cistern with steps leading down to it. I've never tried drinking it. 

[MacGyver]

24 minutes ago, jgradyc said:

Is water that comes straight out of a spring drinkable? I assume it was at one time, since it comes into an old timey cistern with steps leading down to it. I've never tried drinking it. 

Just about any water is drinkable for a time.  But, I wouldn’t risk it without getting it tested.

Now isn’t the time to be getting E. coli or some other amoebic dysentery.

8 drops to the gallon for clear water - maybe let it sit in an open container for a bit if the taste is noticeable to you. 

[Guest]

While they may not be great for transport, you can stash some extra water if you have plastic storage tubs.   Empty out the Christmas decorations or old clothes out of the way for the time being.

[Grand Torino]

I've got a million bucks worth off booze, smokes, TP and bullets so I think I'm set for trading if need be.

[TomInMN]

7 minutes ago, Grand Torino said:

I've got a million bucks worth off booze, smokes, TP and bullets so I think I'm set for trading if need be.

Given the current environment, that's what? Two bottles of whiskey, a carton of Reds, a 24 pack of cottonelle, and 100 9mm fmjs?

[TerryW]

I would start farming squirrels. Many uses for a squirrels.