By Brian Duff How to start prepping is a question that many have asked, and many more will ask. It is an important question, because disaster can strike anywhere and at any time. Whether it is a natural or manmade disaster, everyone should be prepared for the worst. As Zig Ziglar stated, “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” Step 1: What Do You Have to Protect? The first step when deciding how to start prepping is to identify what you’re protecting. You may be protecting your family, friends, home, supplies, a combination of them all, or something else entirely. Whatever it is, that is now your mission. Step 2: What Do You Have to Protect It From? With step one decided upon, you now need to know what you’re protecting it from. Disasters, both manmade and natural, take on many different forms. Therefore, you will want to consider what problem you are most likely to encounter. If you live in the mountains, it’s doubtful you’ll experience a major hurricane. However, you may experience floods, blizzards, and wild fires. Manmade Disasters Don’t forget to also incorporate manmade disasters. Economic downturns, terrorism, and other such events, while not from Mother Nature, can be incredibly disastrous. One only needs to read the government’s report on EMPs to understand how terrible manmade events can be. Don’t Get Tunnel Vision While the big events, such as EMPs, are in some ways entertaining to plan for, they are not the norm. Normal events are the lesser but often impactful events. For example, losing your car to a 100-year flood has the same effect as losing it to a thief. Which one is more likely to happen? Step 3: What Do You Have to Protect It With? Now, you’ll need to identify what you must use to protect it. If you’re protecting your home from thieves, you can install an alarm, get a dog, etc. This will require you to assess your situation, and formulate possible scenarios with appropriate responses. As you do, you’ll determine if you have what is needed to respond to the threat. Step 4: Create Your Plan Once you have the first three steps figured out, you’ll be able to develop your plan. One obvious fact is that it’s important to make your plan before you need it. Planning after the fact does little good for you or your family. Know What You’re Planning For Prior to planning, you will need to have a general idea of what you are planning for. That’s where the first three steps come in. With that general idea in place, you have an understanding of your plan’s requirements. Fill in Your Plan With that understanding, you will need to gather any additional information that is relevant to your plan. Once that information is ready, you’ll be able to fill in the holes of your plan. Then gradually, your preparedness plan will take shape. As it does, you’ll address any other issues you identify along the way. Step 5: Review Your Plan When you think your plan is ready, review it. Look for areas that may not make sense, that may be confusing, or that may be ineffective. Revisit those areas that you identify and take a swipe at revising them. Bring in Others After a few reviews, your plan should be fairly solid and ready for others you trust to review too. Have them, review your plan and provide constructive feedback. Discussing and debating the plan and potential options together is a great way to improve it. Have a Realistic Point of View When reviewing the plan, make sure you do so from a realistic point of view. Far too often, we believe that something will happen in a specific way, regardless of the situation. The truth is, you need to expect the unexpected and prepare for the impossible. Do Not Assume In other words, there should be no assumptions made about the capabilities of the risk you are facing. A bad guy can scale the wall you thought impossible. A fire can jump the break you cut and thought wide enough. Remember, Murphy is always waiting to jack you up! So, don’t assume your situation will always unfold the way you think it will. Lastly, never forget, you’re just one prep away. If you have any other information, suggestions, or thoughts about how to start prepping, please leave a comment below. Stay safe, secure and prepared.
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By Brian Duff Many people believe that prepping on a budget is impossible. They have the misconception that preparedness requires a lot of money. Because of this misconception, some choose not to prepare at all. After all, why spend money on something that may or may not happen? Fortunately, there are many ways to improve your preparedness that are either free or do not require a lot of money One Step at a Time The preparedness mindset can often be overwhelming to the novice prepper. All it takes is just one Google search to be inundated with predictions of the end of the world as we know it (aka TEOTWAWKI). Fortunately, throughout history, these predictions have largely proven to be false. Just as fortunate is the fact that most current and future doom and gloom predictions will likely be proven false. This means that the odds of a cataclysmic event significantly impacting you is not very likely. However, as with purchasing insurance, you do so for those times when the odds catch up with you. Ultimately, you have time to become prepared even if you are prepping on a budget. Take it one thoughtful step at a time. When you do, every prep completed will be one step closer to being truly prepared. Information Knowledge is just as important as material items. After all, what good is any piece of equipment if you don’t know how to use it? Fortunately for everyone, there are volumes of free information on the Internet. Therefore, when prepping on a budget, take advantage of the free resources available to you, such as this blog. By doing so, you’ll be able to more efficiently and effectively build and use your preparedness supplies. Free information will also provide you with alternatives to many of the costlier preparedness hurdles. The information is there for the taking, so use it to your advantage. Planning Your Preparedness Strategy Saves Money When people first begin preparing, many try to do everything at once. This becomes frustrating because they don’t have the time or money to accomplish everything. Therefore, you need to think about and plan a preparedness strategy. By doing so, you will be able to prepare more effectively. In turn, the increased effectiveness will allow you to prepare more quickly and at less cost than would have otherwise been possible. Inventory Your Supplies You may already have a great deal of supplies and not realize it. Therefore, it’s important that you take stock of what you have. By inventorying your supplies, you can avoid buying items that you already have. This keeps costs down and shortens the time it takes to become prepared. Inventorying your supplies requires physically going through your supplies, which increases your familiarity with them. This will allow you to optimize the amount of your supplies and become more familiar with their use. Know Your Budget When prepping on a budget, you should first know how much you can spend. Knowing how much you can spend requires analyzing your income and expenses and setting a budget. Once you have a budget figured out, you’ll be able to determine how much you can spend on your preparedness. Save Money When You Are Able There are many ways that you can save money. If not already doing so, use coupons, or shop in discount and second-hand stores. Truly consider your needs over your wants. Remember, going into debt when preparing is not the answer. Going into debt reduces your freedom and forces you to take a step back. Food Commercial survival foods are nice to have but costly and unnecessary. When starting out, or on a limited budget, commercial survival foods may not be the best option. When buying food items that you normally eat, purchase extra. A few extra cans of food each week quickly multiplies into a large food stockpile. When using this method, it is important to eat and rotate what you buy. Ideally, you should eat the items that are expiring the soonest. Water Water is one of life’s necessities. Therefore, you should try to save up as much as possible. By saving your used drink bottles, you can store up a decent amount of emergency water. Just make sure before filling the bottle that you thoroughly wash them. Once refilled, store the bottles in a dark place, such as a cupboard, closet, or basement. Water stored this way should be used, rotated and replaced every six months. You should also consider buying water filters, which will be needed should you exhaust your water supply. The water filter will aid with the removal of impurities and bacteria if you must refill your water from a questionable source. Shelter When it comes to shelter, there are many options. The first option is where you live. Whenever the situation permits, remain in your home. You’re already paying for it, and this is where you are most comfortable and established, so take advantage of it. Next, you should have some sort of shelter ready, should you have to leave your home. This shelter can be your car, a tent, a tarp, etc. Ultimately, you’ll need something to keep you out of the elements and provide as much comfort as possible. Doing so can be done inexpensively, such as buying a $10 tarp rather than a $100 tent. Light A dependable light source is needed in the event you lose power. The good news is that LED flashlights are now affordable and last longer than before. Remember, flashlights need a power source. So, don’t forget spare batteries, or buying flashlights that are powered by solar or other alternative means. Aside from flashlights, candles are also affordable sources of light. When buying candles, avoid buying scented ones. You’ll find unscented tend to be less expensive. Also, when buying candles, don’t forget to pick up lighters, matches, or something else to get your candles, stove and fire lit. Summary These are some of the high points when prepping on a budget. The key to all this is to avoid being overwhelmed at the beginning. Odds are, TEOTWAWKI won’t happen tomorrow, next month, or next year. Stay the course, gather reliable information and make solid plans. Once you do, you will be on your way to improving your preparedness one step at a time. Each step you take will put you one step closer to being prepared. Lastly, never forget, you’re just one prep away. Stay safe, secure and prepared. |
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