We all hope and pray that we will be ready when the time comes, but will we really be ready? I recently spoke to Prepper that is convinced that he is completely ready for anything that might happen, and I guess it is possible but not likely. Don’t fool yourself; you might not be as ready as you think! This is the topic of today’s post, so sit back and let’s talk about it.
I have to say that I don’t think that I will ever be ready for SHTF. While I do my best to prepare and direct every penny I can spare to preparing, there is just so much that you could need. I mean between the Water and Food and Medical supplies alone a person could spend a fortune, not to mention the time and space that it would take up to accomplish it. Now I don’t know about you, but I have a very tight budget so just going out and buying everything I could possibly need is financially out of the question.
In all honesty, I really don’t think it is even possible to calculate every possible scenario as well as everything you could possibly need for them. You would also have to factor in old Mr. Murphy, because you can bet that he is sure to make an appearance at the worst possible time. He is known for messing up even the best laid plans, no matter how hard you try. If you thinking that you are 100% prepared and are ready for anything, then you better think again. A persons arrogance has led to the down fall of many men and cost the lives of millions throughout history. Don’t let it happen to you! Preparing is a direction of travel and not a destination. If you have reached your destination, then you need to back track because you have definitely taken a wrong turn somewhere. I’m sure if you look close enough, you can find something that you forgot to prepare for, and there are just too many possibilities.
OK, so if there are so many possibilities, then how do you prepare for anything? The answer and approach that I have taken was to make a list of as many scenarios and versions of scenarios that I could. Then I sat down and started listing what I would need to survive each one. Now I have to tell you that this is very time consuming, as there are so many out there. The time you spend doing it however, will be time well invested and will pay off big time when SHTF hits. Once you have created the list of supplies that you will need, start looking for overlapping items like food and water. Then add them to a new list called “Master list”. What you are looking for here are items that you will need in many different emergencies. You will find that there are many items that will fall into the category and by identifying them; you can build a list that will fill the needs of many scenarios. This is where you start when it comes to getting the supplies you really need the most. Now be prepared because this list will be very long.
Take the other items that do not fit into any other Scenario and prioritize them by which scenario that you think is the most likely to play out in the near future. This is something that you, as an individual, need to decide for yourself. Once you have all of the items on your Master List, then you can start on this one. Some people work on filling their master list and maybe add one or two items from this secondary list each month. One of the big questions that I get a lot is “How much do I need of each item on my list?” As I always tell them, it depends on what it is. You wouldn’t want to go out and buy 500 pounds of beans, only to have SHTF hit and you not have water or medical supplies for surviving. Start with buying a Months’ worth of whatever it is that you are getting at the time. Do this for each item on your Master List, and then do it again until you have at least 1 years’ worth of preps for all of the items on your list. Then move to your secondary list and start adding items from that list. You just need to keep going from there. Please don’t forget to revisit your list often, as you are sure to think of new items that you may have missed before. This is how most of the experienced Preppers that I have met have done it. After a little trial and error many have found that this process works best.
The point that I am trying to make here, is that you will never have everything you could possibly need in an SHTF situation, even if you lived to be 200 years old. The best you can possibly hope for is to come as close as possible, by constantly scrutinizing every aspect and every scenario you can think of Only then will you be able to say that you are as close as possible to being ready for SHTF. Notice I didn’t say that you were completely ready, but close. Prepping is like running on a treadmill that never stops, it can be stressful, but you have the security of knowing that in the end, you did your best.
Well, that is it for today and I hope I have managed to somehow help you become better prepared for what lies ahead in this world. Until next time, may God bless you and yours and keep on prepping!
-The Sargent-
Good Article.
Bottom line. You will never be fully ready because more than one event will occur in succession and if you do not conserve
your supplies you will run out. Many believe that they will be able to run out to the supermarket or order on the internet to replace supplies. Not so fast.
The government has already made contact with companies that supply food (survival food) that they will take their food in a national crisis.
I agree completely! In my case, as I live in Minnesota, I began by focusing on that which is most likely here. Heavy snow, maybe blizzard conditions in the winter, tornados in summer. The preps for these possibilities do apply to other scenarios, but it gives me a point to aim for. I’m doing pretty good, and yes, I am regularly adding to my list. You’re right Sarge, it’s a journey.