One doesn’t need to be an economist or savvy in finance to see that prices are climbing. In a nutshell, inflation is the increase in the money base or the amount of money in existence. Rising prices are but a symptom of this process of devaluing our money.

This is a chart from the St. Louis Federal Reserve. It is the job of that branch of the Fed to track and report the money supply. As you can see, the money base has been inflating since the early 1970s when Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard, allowing unfettered money creation. Continue reading The Theft of Your Purchasing Power →

The internet is a vast wealth of information. The amount available appears to be virtually unlimited. With the scope and magnitude of change going on in the world these days, one might be crazy not to take advantage of the potential benefits. But with such a volume to sort through, how can anyone filter and retain what they hold most important?

In my quest to not have a depressing depression I have hit upon a way to accumulate many snippets of the information I find personally valuable. This smashing idea provides both the opportunity to be creative and the ability to take some of the apocalyptic urgency out of making big changes to our lifestyle. I am referring to how I record the pertinent new information I find into one or more "Smash Books". Continue reading A Smashing Idea →

Often we focus on what animals such as cows or chickens were fed prior to becoming our dinner meat or producing milk and eggs. But how often do we question what plants were fed before we consumed them? For those of us growing our own produce or acquiring locally grown food, it is relevant to know what the plants have eaten. What should I be feeding my food? Continue reading What Do You Feed Your Food? →