Look at all the natural disasters that have happened in this country over the years and all the people that have been displaced and you should be asking the question: Is prepping a good idea for us?
I try to research all the worst-case scenarios and disaster preparedness actions for keeping my family and pets safe and fed no matter what type of crisis comes my way. I hope you realize that prepping is and should be on your mind well before a crisis comes crashing down on you.
Is It Worth Prepping?
I realize it’s a lot of thought and work, however, I feel it is definitely worth it.
There are many ‘nay-sayers’ out there that will try to convince you that prepping is a waste of time and money. “Don’t worry, the government (FEMA) has your back!”
Is that your solution? Getting on the FEMA line? Good luck with that!
This year, in this country alone, millions will be forced to leave their homes and businesses due to some kind of natural disaster.
What are you going to do if one of those people is you and your spouse and kids?
Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged; you really are making progress by learning what steps will help you prepare for the worst and take action. You’re already much better off than you were a few months ago when you started. Just think of where you’ll be after a year!
Avoiding Survival Prepping Mistakes
You are going to have some setbacks along the way, but don’t let that discourage you either.
Making decisions on what to and what not to get, how much is this going to cost, is it all worth it are valid questions to ask yourself.
Making mistakes is part of learning anything, and it’s better you do it now than in a crisis scenario when every decision may become a life or death situation.
Here are ten prepping mistakes some make (and I have) so you don’t have to:
1. Talking too much about what you’re doing
There seems to be a natural desire within all of us to share what we are doing. The urges get even worse when we’re excited. We want others to know about our lives and share what we are doing.
Now is the time to be a little selfish.
The problem with letting others know what you are doing is that those same people might become your worst enemies in a crisis. If they haven’t prepared and their kids are hungry, they’ll remember that you have stockpiles aplenty and come knocking on your door.
Trust me; I’ve already seen it happen. I tried convincing my family and some close friends that they should be prepping too. Their reaction was to say, “I know whose house I’m going to when things get bad.”
Are you expecting company???
Remember things are going to be bad for you also. Do you want to share your kids’ food with some lazy neighbors?
I can’t stockpile enough to take care of my family and everyone else too; neither can you. So be careful who you share with.
2. Obviously fortifying your home
There’s a lot of prepping information out there that talks about fortifying your home in the case of an attack. Unfortunately, too much of it is written using the wrong assumptions. They either expect the power to be on or expect everyone to be blind.
If you saw a house surrounded by a ten-foot-high cement wall dotted with security cameras, what would you think? There couldn’t be a more obvious sign that you are turning your home into a fortress. That must mean you have something inside that’s worth guarding.
Like talking too much, obviously fortifying your home just makes you a target.
You should fortify your home, but do it in a way that isn’t obvious. That way, you won’t be inviting the curious.
3. Having a conspicuous bug-out vehicle
Some of the bug-out vehicles that people are coming up with are really rather funny. Oh, they’ll probably work out fine … that is, they’ll work fine until people realize what’s going on. Then they’ll invite an attack.
Take, for example, an armored car that someone made out of a Chevy Suburban. It even had a cattle catcher like the old train locomotives. That bug-out vehicle looked like it could take on anything.
Then again, that cattle catcher isn’t going to do them much good if people park a dozen vehicles in the middle of the road. They might be able to push one aside, but there’s no way they can push a dozen aside.
So keep a bug-out vehicle, preferably one that you drive every day. Just don’t make it look like a bug-out vehicle.
Just have your ready-to-go bug-out bags already in the trunk of your plain-looking vehicle.
If nobody in your city has a four-wheel-drive truck and you do, your preparedness is going to be a bit obvious.
4. Not having a bug-out plan
Lots of preppers are planning on staying put instead of bugging out. I agree with that. You have more resources in your home to help you survive than you would anywhere else.
Even so, you still need a bug-out plan. There may come a time when it’s impossible for you to stay at home. When that time comes, you need a plan so that you can get out, and you need a place that you can go to. Otherwise, your family may end up in a ‘bad way’.
5. Buying equipment, but not learning how to use it
Really? What good does that fancy equipment do you if you never learn how to use it? I’ve seen this happen. Some preppers like to brag about their fancy equipment … that’s still in the original wrapping.
And then the power goes out and three days later they do not know how to start that generator.
If you’ve got it, then learn how to use it. I don’t just mean trying it once; I mean becoming truly proficient. You need to be able to use it without really thinking about it; that’s proficiency.
6. Not training
This may seem like a duplication of the last one, but it really isn’t. Learning how to use things is one thing; having a plan of action and practicing it is another.
Take firearms, for example. There are lots of people out there who have guns but rarely shoot. They must think that shooting is instinctive or something. When faced with an adversary, they’re not going to know what to do.
And that is the number one reason I do not condone the ownership of firearms. Most people will not properly train themselves and will wind up making the gravest of mistakes.
7. Forgetting Plan B
If you need something to survive, then you need a backup for it. The backup doesn’t need to be the same – and probably shouldn’t be. But it needs to be something that will accomplish the same goal.
Take water purification, for example. What are you going to do if your fancy water purification system goes down? You need something else that you can use should the worst end up happening.
Critical equipment is just that: critical Which means you absolutely have to have it. But like anything else designed and built by man, survival gear can fail. When it does, you need something else that you can count on. Otherwise, you might not make it.
8. Not including your family in their prepping
Prepping needs to be a family activity. When the crisis hits and there is confusion and fear in the air, your whole family is going to need to work together to survive. If you’re the only one who knows how to do anything, you’re going to have a hard time and quickly lose your patience.
Spread the workload around, and get everyone involved. That will also help them get through the shock that often sets in when things do go bad.
9. Planning on going it alone
Unless your name is Rambo, you can’t make it on your own. You need to find other like-minded individuals and make plans to work together.
Houses burn down, flood, and have roofs blown off.
That might mean that you or your neighbors have to abandon homes and gather together to find other means of shelter.
Survival is an all-consuming game. There’s a lot you’ll need to do. On top of that, you’ll need to be able to defend yourselves. Having others by your side will make that much easier to do.
10. Waiting for a “better time” to get started
Let me answer this one simply … there is no better time!
The time is now.
The longer you wait, the worse things will be. So the only good option is to start now.
Well, there you have it, the top ten mistakes preppers make. I hope you haven’t made any of them, and I hope this letter will help keep you from making them.
So, how is your home? Is it ready for a catastrophe?
