Ep 134: The Prepper’s Guide to Building Wealth.

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Saturday, August 25, 2012 (I’m publishing Saturday’s episode a few days early)

I recently reviewed an article by Money Magazine which discussed many ways to build wealth. I mentioned to my audience that I should do a follow-up on that article discussing wealth building from a prepper’s perspective, so that’s what we’re doing today.

I came up with nineteen things for preppers to do. PLEASE add your own in the comments section. My list isn’t comprehensive, but it IS SOLID!!!

Get out of debt–Debt is a cancer. Kill it before it kills you. NOTHING good can come from debt, although some types are better than others. Holding a mortgage or a car payment is better than carrying a monthly credit card debt. If you are carrying more than $20k in debt–you are in bad shape. Get it together and act responsibly.
Buy a House/Own Your Home–Owning a house and building equity is essential. You don’t build wealth by paying someone else’s rent.
Store Food–Have food for a rainy day when food or money is scarce
Reduce Entertainment Expenses–Stop buying expensive movie and theater tickets. Stop eating out so much. Rent your movies from the library.
Plant a Garden/Orchard–Permafood comes back every year. Fruit trees and perennial garden veggies rule. Plan an annual garden as well
Don’t Be Showy–Putting on airs is the WORST thing you can do. Ostentatious shows of money are classless and are advertisement to criminals that you’re swimming in money. Knock off the attitude and stay humble. Wasting money to impress others is a waste of money in addition to showing how shallow a person can be.
Have a Self-Defense System–mace, guns, security system. Can’t get wealthy if others take it.
Don’t Base Your Financial Plan on the Wall Street Model–Wall St assumes an annual % of 7%. You gettin’ 7%?
Create additional revenue Streams–Start A Business. Make Money From a Hobby/Pastime.
Spend Less Than You Take Home–Sounds obvious, but many don’t.
Put Off Car Purchase Until Absolutely Necessary–You probably don’t need a new car. Instead, you WANT one. A waste of money and resources. Ever feel like you got the better of negotiations on a vehicle? Cars are a HORRIBLE investment and LOSE money. Buy them as infrequently as possible. Consider making repairs and buying used. Buying cars often is a sure sign of wasting money. My suburban has 135 k miles and going strong. I’d like to get 250 k miles if I can. The car’s health and repair needs will determine when I buy again, not a “feeling” I need a new car.
Have Investment/Savings Taken out of Paycheck BEFORE Taxes–
Consider a Bugout/Vacation Property–It could be fancy, it could be a hunting cabin, but in any case, having another property is a wonderful way to create wealth. How? If one property is affected by by a disaster or “situation” another home may be a great place to ride out a problem. Additionally, you can sell one of the properties for added cash when it’s time to retire or cash-in a nest egg.
Re-Purpose Vacations–Stop spending tons of money on a frivolous vacation. Do something productive and interesting. Stop trying to impress others.
Life Insurance–A minimum of 250 K in my opinion. How do you replace a spouse/loved one? You don’t.
Health Insurance–Illness without insurance will destroy you financially.
Homeowner’s Insurance–Everything you own could go up in smoke
Auto Insurance–An accident can ruin you financially. Don’t be foolish.
Take Care of Your Health–Nothing will burn through money like a serious illness. Lost wages, medical bills, treatments, co-pays, medicines. They will destroy whatever wealth you have. Staying healthy isn’t just good for you, it’s good for your wallet. Exercise. Stay Slim. Break a Sweat. Get off the Couch. Stop watching sports and life and participate in them instead.