I recently got a comment on one of my other articles that I felt I needed to take a little more time to respond to. The reader asked:
How are you guys going to feel if you reach the end of your lives and the fan’s still clean and you’ve spent all your time worrying about when it’s all going to blow up?
First, I don’t think any of us really spend all that much time worrying about when things are going to go bad. I know I don’t! We’re not all paranoid freaks who sit here praying for the end of the world. In fact, I think that these days it’s the people who are not prepping who are the ones with a problem.
To some extent we are all living through a SHTF moment right now. I don’t think anyone can argue that our country is heading in the right direction; if things continue down this path then you may one day be eating your words. But even if things get better, does that mean you shouldn’t be prepared to help yourself and your family in a time of need? Doesn’t be prepared for whatever the future holds make sense?
Do you think the guy who lost his job 9 months ago, and can barely afford to feed his family, is not living through his own SHTF moment?
But what if that guy was a prepper?
Would he not be better off than most?
We prep because it’s the right thing to do; it’s what our great grandparents did, and it’s what most of the civilized world did before there was a Walmart on every corner.
Prepping isn’t just about preparing for a cataclysmic end of the world event. It’s about being prepared for those small events in life that can feel cataclysmic if we are not prepared.
Nice. I recently heard it put this way:
Do you have a fire extinguisher in your home? What about a smoke detector? Would you feel bad or foolish for having them, even if you never had to use them as intended?
Luck favors the prepared.
Good points! Most people have car insurance, health insurance, many are getting AFLAC as well.The word insurance describes what these things are and it is the same with prepping; it’s insurance. If things never get bad the supplies can still be used, food still eaten, etc. Always better to be safe than scrounging for things when they can’t be found.
What if an emergency never happens? What if you gather these supplies and never need them?
So what? Consider yourself fortunate. You were prepared for the worst and the best happened.
At a minimum, you were able to sleep better at night, secure in the knowledge that you would have food on the table regardless of what happened in the world. I wouldn’t consider that a waste of time.
If there is not a major SHTF time and the world ends as we know it, there are always going to be natural disasters where SHTF bad and you will need to survive for 3-6 months before things start getting back to normal.
No I believe that prepping is the right thing to do. I don’t want to have to rely on the government to give me food or shelter when I can take care of myself pretty well. Things might not be great, but they will be a hell of a lot better than sitting in some emergency shelter with all those others who have the attitude of “well are you going to take care of me or not” and then having to listen to them bitch about how bad it is.
Nope prepping is a good thing – just in case – you never know when you are going to need it.
SIWN
Well put, I’ve fielded this question more than once from friends in the past. I may have to quote you next time.
The SHTF happens on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
I have lived through every hurricane in Houston since Carla in 1961. Each time power is knocked out for periods up to 3 weeks for some.
Hurricane Ike totally wiped out some areas along the coast and caused massive power failures. The traffic lights did not work for days and we had massive gridlock in some areas plus no groceries or gas. Cell phone towers were offline and cell service was disrupted on a grand scale.
Power was restored gradually and police came in from other areas to maintain civil order thus we did not have the looting. After power was restored at my local Kroger store, we all went down there because they had Internet as well as some groceries. It was well over a week before they were fully restocked of the food that had bought and there were lots of empty shelves.
Yes I had helped empty those shelves before the storm hit. I also keep food on hand at all times, but stock up more during hurricane season.
I don’t worry about it. I just prepare for it.
The shit does hit the fan.
There is no doubt in my mind that things could get much worse than they are now. For example the climate in defenitly changing, and not for the better, that obvisous. It is also a fact that the world’s fresh water supply in deminishing, which is the most serious problem we face. The bees are slowing disapearing, which is a real agracultural problem. If any one of those three things occur it would be catostrofic, let alone all three things happining at once, which they are. We who want to be prepared are not the nuts. The complacent people who think that what is happening to this planet is a made for T.V. movie, they are the real nuts. To borrow a phrase from Dennis Miller, Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong. P.S. Sorry for the spelling !!
Like I always say:
“I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”
I LOVE THIS ?….I find preping fun…Lol is that crazy. My garden has better food than stores. Canning your own with friends and family….priceless. Watch ur TV, I shot mine 10 years ago when I learned the glass is great to flintknapp….do it with a breeze glass is nasty. Fishing,camping,hunting,hiking, learning edible plants is fun to me. Thats what I do on vacation…Lol I have seen some awesome places in the USA!!! 20 years of vacations havent cost me as much as my bosses only vacation 20 yrs ago…and he only went for a week. Most mine have been 2 weeks. Most of us dont want anything to happen, we just have fun doing it. But I bet there were 1000’s of people in japan the 1st few days that wished that had a sm pack in their car.
Do you want to be live people in Bolxi Ms. or New Orleans??? Durning the next Katrina or do you want to remember the lessons from Camile??? Lol
time will tell. those who are prepared will pull through and those who aren’t well……… they will see. there is nothing wrong with being prepared I think!!
all of life is a what if. the way I look at it is, it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. being prepared is being independent, not waiting on some one to help you out.
In the military I was always told, and now live by…”It’s better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it.”
Everyday the shit hits the fan. It’s just that some days are worse than others. Being prepared means being able to calmly and rationally deal with whatever comes our way. This is a much better way to live than having a constant crisis. And having stuff on hand is better than keeping your money in a saving account at 1/10 of 1% interest.
I don’t look at as shit hits the fan. Its just smart have things to help you. If have desk at work do have only one pen and one paper clip! Just because I think its smart to have plain does mean I am mad man. I was raised on farm in Kansas 50 miles form town so we had stock up on thing. we had to plan for bad weather. I have question whats your plan if lose your job tomorrow?
how are you gonna feel if you reach the end of your live and you didn’t die an accidental death or become dismembered and you’ve spent money month after month for most of your working years paying for the insurance? are you going to be upset that you took that insurance policy?
Ask someone that was dismembered how they would have fared financially if they hadn’t spent a little every month to make sure they had a financial-plan-B. Ask family members that lost their breadwinner if that little bit of money spent every month is now paying off by giving them a bit more financial stability instead of becoming destitute once they lost their breadwinner.
Your question seems even sillier when changing out “preparedness” with “insurance”, even though they’re the same things IMO.
Like Al, I’ve been through a few Houston hurricanes and floods (in the house twice). The west coast gets earthquakes and fires, the central plains gets tornadoes and flooding, and the northern states get blizzards. There’s many cities with chemical factories and/or refineries. Have you looked up how many nuclear reactors are across the world? http://bit.ly/NuclearReactorsAroundTheWorld
To me, being prepared is PROVING you love your family enough to ensure they’re provided for, good times as well as bad.
for britain to survive the next 4-5 yrs we need to borrow 640 million pound, and i do believe we will go under like greece its not if the shtf but when
A perfect response. I particularly love the last two short paragraphs. Also, so many great comments.
My wife doesn’t think I’m crazy yet and she understands why I/we prep. Plus, like Steven Davis said above, it’s fun. I too really enjoy prepping. Hell, I was a prepper long before I even knew the term existed. I’ve honestly been doing it for more years than I care to count, but only discovered all of you a couple of years ago. Your fantastic ideas (even some of the crazy ones) are so helpful. Don’t ever stop learning.
Good luck to US all!!
Well i’ll sure have a lot of spam for my last meal
name one person who was hurt by being prepared? can,t do it? now try some who were. it,s just anoyher no brainer
name one person who was hurt by being prepared? can,t do it? now try some who were. it,s just another no brainer