The Middle East and How it can Effect Us

If you've seen the news in the last couple of weeks, you are aware that the middle east is exploding in revolution and/or civil war. I would like to discuss how this will effect us. But first I would like to congradulate and show honor to those individules in the middle east who are standing up to tyrany, showing there faces (rare in the middle east) and willing to say "Enough!" to brutal governments.

Unfortunately, there is fall out that we must be concerned with. While different countries import and export different things with us, the middle east is known for one thing primarily; Oil. And when oil is even imagined to be threatened, oil prices rise. Now I haven't heared any threats to the oil field yet, but my local gas station price has risen .20 cents in a couple of days to $3.45 a gallon, and I don't think it's going to come down again soon.

Now I'm sure some of you are saying that yeas this is bad, but that price, or even a little higher is survivable. But, have you considered all of the other things whose priced will be skyrocketing at the same time?

Like food. clothes. Anything that has to be transported will now cost more. Think about it;
Food is grown and harvested-Tractors need gas
Then it is sent to say granaries - trucks need gas to get it there
It may or may not be proccesed there - more gas used
then shipped to canning/bottling plant - Even if by rail, oil must be used
Shipped to packaging/shipping center- lots of gas, plus gas or propane used in these plants to move the forklifts around
Shipping by rail to local distributors - oil
Trucked to local stores - gas
You drive to store and home - gas

Can you begin to see how much oil is used in getting everything you buy to you, and ordering online only stops you from driving, the UPS guy is doing it for you instead.

So, as preppers, what do we do?
My answer:
Keep as much gas in your vehicle as possible and drive as little as possible so that you use is minimized, and that you can stretch out the time between fill ups to give you the best opportunity to find cheaper sources.

Buy bulk food items now, before the price goes through the roof. I was comparing the price for honey, when all of a sudden the price shot up $4 a bottle. I should have bought anything before that point as all prices were cheaper than the cheapest I can find now.

If you were planning on making a major purchase soon, you better get off you butt and do it, before the price goes beyond what you were planning on being able to afford.

If you have disposable income, I would recommend investing in precious metals or oil if you can keep track of the market.

If you don't have a gun yet, get one. Start with a hand gun or shotgun. And get it quick, their prices are rising as well. (Oh, don't forget the ammo)

Band together if you can to buy in bulk to help keep the cost down, as most places give volume discounts.

See if you can come up with alternate energy sources. If you can heat your home without using the heated you will save money, cooking is probably not a big deal, but its good to know how to cook without a stove anyway. Electricity prices will be going ups as well, so try to use as little as possible. And for your info Refrigerators, microwaves, and space heaters are the high energy users not light bulbs.