Debt – Contemporary Slavery…

Debt – Contemporary Slavery and Prepping for the Future
Gale Newell

We know – it’s a topic everyone hates. I hate it too. Prepping is about securing a homestead, about making a plan for your family, and about living in a day in which the economy fails and our legal tender (paper money) becomes utterly useless. It’s an enjoyable topic because we can bounce ideas off each other and imagine our independence and end of all the current societal foundations we’ve grown more and more tired of (politics, laws/regulations, constant monitoring and surveillance, etc.). But, as in all other walks of life, prepping also includes less enjoyable components. One of the most significant of these is talking about debt.

Debt is modern slavery. If you’re in debt to someone or some entity, you’re a slave to it. You’re not only paying them back for the amount of the purchase, you are also paying them interest on that amount owed. For example, if you owe $100 and the interest rate is 5%, you’ll pay $105 at the end of the month. Those five dollars, while it may seem insignificant, is going into someone else’s pockets. When we talk about procuring resources (very relevant to us preppers), you are literally giving away your monetary resources for free. It’s no different than giving away cans of food that could be used to combat your children’s or loved ones’ hunger. Think of debt in that context and you’ll realize why it is so important to get out of debt.

Debt is a serious illness

So what is the next step after we come to a consensus that debt is bad and seriously hindering our lives? Decide not to accept it. When a person is given a diagnosis of a terminal illness, do they fight it or accept it? You can accept it and continue living until the day you pass, feeling sorry for yourself and wanting sympathy. Or you can fightit with the entirety of your being, go down swinging, and scrap for your life until the very last day. Who knows, maybe the Lord while smile upon you and you end up surviving as a result. Getting out of debt should be viewed with the same type of passion. Debt is a disease, but certainly not incurable.

Which debt first?

Just a quick note about the debt payment strategy: focus on one debt at a time. High interest debts should be paid first, second highest interest debts paid next, and so on down the line until all your debts are paid off. Here is a great article about paying down debts and increasing savings from Forbes.com.

The power of red checkmarks

At the end of each month, your actions should undergo a review process. Use a pen and paper to write down every single purchase you made. If you have an electronic bank account and don’t see the need to write down your purchases free hand, you will soon. From the $5.00 Subway sandwich to the monthly utility bills, list the money leaving your account each month. After you get all the items listed, place a red check mark next to all those purchases you’d wished stayed in your account. Did you need those two beers after work? How about that $60 videogame? There comes a fine line between a want and necessity, so be careful. While yes, we’d love not to pay rent, but short of living on the street that is an example of a purchase you likely need to survive. In contrast, food is a necessity but going out to dinner is certainly not. Stay at home and cook at home. When you see a red check mark that isn’t a necessity, try and eliminate that purchase next month. You’ll be amazed at how much more money is in your account.

Before you can start the “fun” of prepping – planning a rural homestead, stocking up resources for the future, and scheming ways to defend your territory, debt needs to be taken care of first. You’re a slave until this is done and will continue to be under the watchful eye of those you owe your debt to. They want you to be unable to pay the debt back so you have to continue to pay them more and more in interest. Incinerate those leeches sucking your wallet dry by paying back that debt as quickly as possible. I cannot describe in words the feeling of being 100% debt free and reducing the amount you owe to $0.00. When it happens, you will feel it. Like a cool breeze rushing over you during a hot summer day, breaking the chains of debt will allow you to live for yourself and be well on the way to self-sufficiency.  The time is now. Will you continue waiting for the future?

Gale Newell is continually working on being a self-sufficient human being. She finds herself spending her summer days outdoors, whether that raising her own food in her organic garden or playing cards with friends and family. She is very much into grilling meals on her old-school charcoal grill and has since lifted her addiction to multiple television series. She feels freer than ever and is truly happy. She is prepared for the future and ready for whatever happens next.