Alan Urban

Ragnar’s Urban Survival

I just recently finished reading Ragnar’s Urban Survival: A Hard-Times Guide to Staying Alive in the City. This book is a good starting point for people who intend to stick it out where they are if disaster strikes. Ragnar touches on all the basic topics you will need to know in order to survive in the city, and shares some practical things you can do to start preparing. Here’s a preview of what’s in this book. Chapter 1: Basic Survival Philosophy. One of the more memorable lessons from this chapter is the Rule of Threes. For example, you should have … Read More

100 Items to Disappear First After The SHTF

by Alan Urban

When a major disaster strikes, people will rush to the stores and start buying all the supplies. These items will be the first to disappear.

Survival for Pregnant Women and Babies

by Alan Urban

If you or someone you know is pregnant or has a baby, check out these videos by The Patriot Nurse. Ever since the great recession began, some people have been afraid to have children. They’d rather wait until after the economy collapses and recovers. The problem is, no one knows how long this train wreck could last or how long a full recovery might take. And people have raised happy families in difficult times before. Unless you know for a fact that the end of the world is imminent, I see no reason to delay having children. You could wake … Read More

Top 10 Books on Survival

by Alan Urban

Update: Since I first wrote this post, many other great books have been released such as Surviving Doomsday, The Art of Eating Through The Zombie Apocalypse, and these urban survival books. So although I no longer consider the list below to be my top 10 books on survival, I still think they’re all very good. I haven’t read every book on survival (there are too many to keep up!), but I’ve read a lot. I went through my book shelf and tried to decide what I think are the best well-rounded survival books. After about an hour, I narrowed it … Read More

Survival Food for the Poor

by Alan Urban

I write a lot about survival food and supplies, but I’m also aware that most people are on a tight budget these days. Many of us are out of work and even most people who have jobs are struggling to make ends meet. All I can suggest is that people make a few sacrifices so they can get at least a one-month supply of food and water. It’s worth it. Look at it this way, if your financial problems get worse, at least you won’t have to worry about groceries for a month. I usually suggest people buy more of … Read More

How to Haggle After the SHTF

by Alan Urban

In first world countries, the prices in grocery and department stores are pretty much set in stone. You can’t convince the cashier to give you a better price. My wife and I visit the flea market on occasion, but even there the vendors don’t usually like to haggle. With most of them the price is what it is, take it or leave it. This will change quickly after a major economic disaster. Buyers will be strapped for cash and vendors will be more desperate to sell, so people will have to compromise on prices at flea markets and swap meets. … Read More

Unusual Survival Gear

by Alan Urban

On most nights I read in bed for a while before going to sleep. My wife usually falls asleep first so to be considerate, I turn off the lamp and use a book light. It occurred to me that I’ll be using this book light a lot if the power goes out. Then I thought, “If the power goes out, we only have one book light. What if someone else wants to read, too?” I decided to stock up on several book lights. Then I started brainstorming for other unusual survival gear that most people might not have thought of. … Read More

50 Things to Put in Your Vehicle Survival Kit

by Alan Urban

Disasters usually occur with little or no warning, which is why you should have a vehicle survival kit in your car at all times.

How to Shop for a Two-Way Radio

by Alan Urban

If there is a disaster in your area, there’s likely to be a breakdown in communication systems. Land-line phones could be down and cell phone towers might be jammed. If you and your family are at home and have decided to bug in, this might not seem like a problem. But what if your spouse is at work when the shtf, say in an office building on the other side of town? Or what if one of you needs to go out for supplies such as firewood and water? In such cases, you need to have a way to communicate … Read More

The Easiest Way to Purify Water

by Alan Urban

Once you and your family are in a safe location, your first priority in any disaster is water. You might be able to go a couple weeks without food, but you’ll only survive a few days without water. You can start storing water, but the problem with that is it’s going to take up more space than most of us have. A month’s supply for a typical family would be 150 gallons! If you do have the room, by all means, start now! Check out my post, Water Storage – Where to Begin? But those of us who live in … Read More

Want To Prep But Not Sure Where To Begin?