It's more important than ever to be informed.

There is something incredibly powerful about advance knowledge of an event. If you have an early warning, you can take important preparedness and safety steps before those around you even know there's an issue. You have a better chance of keeping your loved ones safe. You won't drive right into an emergency while it's happening.

Selco has talked about missing his window to leave the city when the SHTF occurred. If he and his family had realized at the time how serious the situation was, his story would be a whole lot different.

The secret weapon that I've used for years is a service called Alerts USA. This is a service that sends text message alerts directly to your phone when an event of national significance occurs. You get Homeland Security threat and incident notifications straight to your device. (Obviously, these are the unclassified warnings.) I have found this to be completely unbiased and factual. Here are some alerts I received a few weeks ago, for reference.

I don't know about you, but if I was in that area or had loved ones in that area, I'd sure want a heads up. I got the first message 15 minutes before it showed up on any news station.

I generally know something is happening long before the news is reporting on it. I was actually watching a live stream when President Trump was shot in Pennsylvania and within minutes I had a notification to my phone - this was long before any news source was providing information. I know because I was looking and trying to find out what had happened and how seriously he'd been injured.

Some of the notifications provided by Alerts USA are terror attacks, warnings and advisories, mass shooting incidents, travel alerts and embassy messages for major destinations, threats to transportation and critical infrastructure, emergency declarations at nuclear power stations, tsunami warnings, and much more. I've used this service all over the world to warn me of areas from which I need to steer clear.

I've also been able to warn loved ones about events happening in their areas. When my daughter had a doctor's appointment in Vancouver, I was recently able to direct her around an active event occurring in the city.

You can subscribe here for $99 a year. It is one of the most worthwhile subscriptions that I have, and I'm happy to continue paying for it year after year.

I can also vouch for their customer service. Over the years, I have changed phone numbers with ease, and I had one small issue with notifications. The assistance was prompt, courteous, and efficient. This is an American company with an American managing any issues you may encounter.

Of course, if you don't have a smartphone, this is not an option that will work for you, though they do follow up with an email.

No pressure - I just wanted to share something that has worked for me.

With events in the world speeding up and the election fast approaching, I didn't want to keep such a valuable resource to myself.

Have a great day!
Love,
Daisy