Prepping is a Waste of Time and Money: Prove Me Wrong

[Chuckie]

No one can be prepared for everything , people need to be reasonably prepared for those things which will most likely and realistically impact your life. Have ample food and water on hand to get you through emergency events which occur every year due to weather . Keep a gun and ammo on hand for emergencies and no I am not just talking about intruders in your home. I have a small dog I love and yes I will dispatch a coyote or a bobcat to prevent my dog from being a potential meal , skunks carry rabies and armadillos dig leg breaking holes for humans and livestock .

A word on keeping extra food , DON't buy anything you won't actually eat, if you're not rotating it and actually eating what you have you're doing it wrong.


Keep some cash on hand for emergenices its a good idea, but If you have a pile of gold and silver coins on hand thinking the apocalyspe is coming and you'll be the warrior king of south central Oklahoma you're doing it wrong again.

A final word about guns, I have a few but I am not looking to arm all my neighbors with AR15 rifles and that idea is plain dumb.

of course YMMV and do what makes you feel good even if its stupid.

You brought up a good point about keeping a little cash on hand.

While living in Simi Valley California-NTM during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, power was out for several days and most businesses closed their doors. Security systems were out, ATM's didn't work, and Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals were down. The only grocery stores open were little Mom&Pop places that wouldn't accept any form of payment except CASH.

For those that have Gold/Silver bouillon or coins stored for use during an emergency, or plan on doing a barter for supplies - good luck. Cash tender has been used for Centuries and I'm pretty sure most people are not going to change from this familiar payment method even if they knew how (i.e. what denomination and how many gold coins, or how many cartridges for a pound of coffee or a can of stew?).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Northridge_earthquake

 

[WoodsCraft]

You brought up a good point about keeping a little cash on hand.

While living in Simi Valley California-NTM during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, power was out for several days and most businesses closed their doors. Security systems were out, ATM's didn't work, and Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals were down. The only grocery stores open were little Mom&Pop places that wouldn't accept any form of payment except CASH.

For those that have Gold/Silver bouillon or coins stored for use during an emergency, or plan on doing a barter for supplies - good luck. Cash tender has been used for Centuries and I'm pretty sure most people are not going to change from this familiar payment method, even if they knew how (i.e. what denomination and how many gold coins, or how many cartridges for a pound of coffee or a can of stew?).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Northridge_earthquake

The big problem with PM’s is this, a silver dollar can be worth anywhere from $40 up. A $20 gold eagle well you’d be a fool to spend it on $20 worth of goods and no one is going to say well it says $1 but its really worth $50

I leave the PM’s as an investment/ hedge against inflation and its only a small investment at that. Same for guns they are in most instances a poor investment when adjusted for inflation.

Ammo on the other hand is an awesome investment if you look at the cost to purchase over the last 5 years.

Just make sure you have plenty of room to store it all.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Prep for what? That is the overriding question. Most folks can easily prep for a tornado, there will still be charities and services that can help. Power outage, get a generator. Riot prep is also somewhat easy. Pandemic? Covid was a big nothing, best have biohazard suits, soap, disinfectant for something just north of severity of that, a very good supply of food. That leaves most of us with the really bad scenarios that are more real than ever (nuclear war, economic collapse, chemical catastrophy, emp, etc. Two years of supply for most, except for nuclear war, land outside of the city all are more specialized. Nuclear War is about the scariest, since it will effect those everywhere, even those that have bugged out, even worse it depends on the type of nuke used and how deployed. Gasoline goes bad in 1 to two years, have a backup generator at your home? If it is natural gas fired you may be out of luck much faster than you think if the natural gas stops flowing. Also, what happens if you do prep only to have it destroyed by the event (a nuclear miss for example) or you die early on from an accident, not bugging out fast enough for those in the city, or not quick enough on the draw. Not saying prepping is a bad thing, or a waste of money the most valuable prepping tool is between one's ears and developing skills that will be in demand (assuming you want to have "community."

 

[JEVapa]

Prep for what?

SHTF, zombies, and democrats

 

[THAT Gurl]

of course YMMV and do what makes you feel good even if its stupid.

Lol ... This has been my life motto -- I've just never seen it in writing before! I'm gonna have to get a t-shirt made.

 

[Gadsden]

SHTF, zombies, and democrats

Is there a difference?

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Is there a difference?

SHTF is different, zombies and democrats are synonymous with zombie the more correct term.

 

[Chuckie]

Prep for what? That is the overriding question. Most folks can easily prep for a tornado, there will still be charities and services that can help. Power outage, get a generator. Riot prep is also somewhat easy. Pandemic? Covid was a big nothing, best have biohazard suits, soap, disinfectant for something just north of severity of that, a very good supply of food. That leaves most of us with the really bad scenarios that are more real than ever (nuclear war, economic collapse, chemical catastrophy, emp, etc. Two years of supply for most, except for nuclear war, land outside of the city all are more specialized. Nuclear War is about the scariest, since it will effect those everywhere, even those that have bugged out, even worse it depends on the type of nuke used and how deployed. Gasoline goes bad in 1 to two years, have a backup generator at your home? If it is natural gas fired you may be out of luck much faster than you think if the natural gas stops flowing. Also, what happens if you do prep only to have it destroyed by the event (a nuclear miss for example) or you die early on from an accident, not bugging out fast enough for those in the city, or not quick enough on the draw. Not saying prepping is a bad thing, or a waste of money the most valuable prepping tool is between one's ears and developing skills that will be in demand (assuming you want to have "community."

You as well as some others keep asking "Prep for what?" Anyone with even the least amount of 'common-sense' between their ears can figure that out without having to ask!

Tornado? - prepping would be installing a tornado shelter. Power outage? - prepping would be to get a generator. Grocery supply issues? - prepping would be to stock extra groceries ahead of time. Natural Gas stoppage? - prepping includes having alternative methods of cooking (BBQ, fireplace, etc.). It's not 'rocket science'!

Look around at your location and decide what problem(s) is/are most likely to occur and then make preparations to keep you and your loved ones safe and comfortable during the event. Obviously Oklahomans do not have to be too concerned about things like tsunamis, volcano's, or MAJOR earthquakes, but things like tornado's, ice storms, and [in some areas] flooding are real events.

If you are jittery about things like nuclear war, EMP's, Zombies, civil anarchy, economic collapse, etc. then that says you've been lead around by your nose ring by scripted-reality shows like Extreme Prepper, which were filmed just entertainment.

 

[T. MIKE SMITH]

I don't really prep, but if I see a good buy on stuff we use regularly, I do but extra and aways have a good stock of almost everything we enjoy eating- can, pasta and items with long expiration expectations- not the date on the can. When I lived in the county 10 miles from a store, I hated to be out of something when it came time for supper.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

You as well as some others keep asking "Prep for what?" Anyone with even the least amount of 'common-sense' between their ears can figure that out without having to ask!

Tornado? - prepping would be installing a tornado shelter. Power outage? - prepping would be to get a generator. Grocery supply issues? - prepping would be to stock extra groceries ahead of time. Natural Gas stoppage? - prepping includes having alternative methods of cooking (BBQ, fireplace, etc.). It's not 'rocket science'!

Look around at your location and decide what problem(s) is/are most likely to occur and then make preparations to keep you and your loved ones safe and comfortable during the event. Obviously Oklahomans do not have to be too concerned about things like tsunamis, volcano's, or MAJOR earthquakes, but things like tornado's, ice storms, and [in some areas] flooding are real events.

If you are jittery about things like nuclear war, EMP's, Zombies, civil anarchy, economic collapse, etc. then that says you've been lead around by your nose ring by scripted-reality shows like Extreme Prepper, which were filmed just entertainment.

I agree with much of that, there are many events which common sense would dictate prepping, Tornado, power outages etc. Many people will spend $15 K - 25 K on a Generac, which runs off of Natural Gas, may not work for major disasters or if it gets really cold. Things start to get sketchy fast as disasters increase in scale.

BTW, the Zombie apocalypse one is about the best to prepare for, since their are concerns with general mayhem (riots and civil anarchy), Contamination Concerns (NBC) and EMP or Solar flares.

And yes, you will spend a lot and need deep, deep pockets to have something you may or may not need.

My point on prepare for what? As you get more specific, more money, and in the end you may never get to use it.