As many of you know, my next book is titled Prepper’s Financial Guide. It will be out in February, 2015, but is available on Amazon for those who wish to preorder it. Preorders, by the way, are a great way to ensure you get the book at the absolute lowest price on Amazon. If the price drops between when you place your order and when it is ready to ship, you are charged for that lower price. And, of course, you aren’t charged a thing until the book ships.

John McCann is well known to many of my readers. He, quite literally, wrote the book on DIY survival kits. His other books are also not to be missed. They include:

Practical Self-Reliance: Reducing Your Dependency On Others
Bug Out: Reality vs. Hype
Stay Alive! Survival Skills You Need
The Layers of Life: Thoughts on Nature, Living, and Self-Reliance

I’ve long admired John for his skills, his writing style, and his honesty. He’s not one to sugarcoat things, that’s for damn sure. When I asked him if he’d do me the honor of writing the Foreword for Prepper’s Financial Guide, his immediate response was that he wanted to read it first. Made perfect sense to me, of course. I sent over the rough draft of the manuscript and once he’d read through it, here’s what he had to say.

Prepper’s Financial Guide – Foreword

First of all, I commend Jim Cobb on writing a book that fills a void in the plethora of other books that have been written in the Prepper and Preparedness genre. Prepper’s Financial Guide provides the reader with an entire dissertation on a subject that usually gets little, if any, coverage in books meant to provide you with information about preparing for a disaster. What could be more disastrous than the loss of your savings, or the devaluation of the currency that you depend on to purchase your needs?

Take heed of the information provided here. It is essential that you pay attention and learn the lessons that will help you prepare for a situation that could occur at a moment’s notice. I have long been an advocate of studying financial history as a means to protect myself from mistakes made from the past. The history of previous economic collapses is presented here and will illustrate that it has happened before, and most likely will again. When banks close and your ATM doesn’t work, what is your strategy for survival?

Many people today seem to want to follow the example of our government. If deficit spending is good for them, then it is good for you. It is, as our current deficit reflects, a recipe for disaster, both for our government and those who spend more than they make. Jim spends considerable time on presenting an approach for Debt Reduction, which is an important first step. He then describes the steps necessary to create a budget, to ensure that you don’t spend more than you make. The results will provide you with those additional finances for preparedness.

Currency is only worth something if people believe it is so. Currencies today are backed by nothing more than public support of its worth. Jim provides important information on commodity currency and fiat currency. I have always been a big advocate of owning some foreign currency in the event the U.S. currency fails. Jim takes time to address the currencies of other countries in order to provide you with options other than the currency of your own country.

As you will learn, currencies are fallible, but gold and silver will always be worth something. Precious metals, as well as minerals, are discussed and will provide you with important information to help you select those that will assist you in protecting your wealth.

A chapter I really like addresses Barter Skills, which I believe is an important aspect of preparedness. I have discussed this in books and articles I’ve written, and Jim does it justice. When money fails to be useful, the skills you have available, will provide you with a means to obtain what you need without money. It always has, and always will.

Of course, once you have valuable assets, you will need to protect them. If banks fail to open, your money will be of little use if you can’t get your hands on it. Your other valuables will also need to be secured and Jim provides various options for the protection of them.

Of course, money and skills are not your only means in which to barter or obtain wealth. Gardening and the preservation of that food is an asset. Producing your own honey, and harvesting your own meat provide assets. Many more types of activities are presented, which show you options that might be available based on your location or skills.

The bottom line is that this book is an important addition to the library of anyone who is concerned with emergency preparedness or becoming more self-reliant. Buy it; read it; and adjust your strategy, to ensure that your finances, and the ability to transact for those things you need in an emergency situation, are a part of your overall plan.
John D. McCann
Survival Resources.com