Category: Survival Mindset

Prepping On A Budget, by VRP

I once worked with a woman who only gave her dogs bottled water to drink. When asked if she could drive a vehicle with a manual transmission, she replied, “Oh no! I’d rather walk!” Seriously? There was no pioneer spirit there! In post SHTF, people like this may find it difficult surviving, much less finding bottled water for their dog. Preparing for emergencies or post SHTF can be overwhelming and expensive, but there are many ways to prep on a budget. Two years ago when a derecho (Editors note: a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm) came through our area, the …


The Costs of Survival, by F.R.

For many, the costs involved in preparing for any kind of emergency, whether man made or natural, is too high for most people to afford. It can be expensive to accumulate the things that would be necessary to give us some options in an emergency situation. I have always been cost conscious and have striven to get the most for my money, so this struggle is not new to me. Even if we had lots of money, it is still wise to try and get the most bang for our buck. When I first started preparing, I made some purchases …


Surviving Financial SHTF and Becoming Debt Free, by K.D. – Part 2

Meanwhile, I made another spreadsheet. This spreadsheet listed everything we owned, and I do mean everything. Well, it included everything except our house. We were underwater and basically renting anyway. Since we were at war with the banks, everything was in the fight, including all of our preps, everything. After all, this was our SHTF situation to deal with. We prioritized our “stuff ” from 1-5. An item identified with a one was among the most useful to our survival, and those things that were least useful were given a five. We then began selling the items listed as fives …


Letter: Psychological Preparedness

Hugh, People often can accept and understand, mentally, some horrific issue they have experienced, and yet they cannot accept it psychologically. Police, who have been shot and survived, have been interviewed, and almost invariably they will state that they could not believe that someone was actually shooting at them. Mentally, they could see what was going on; they could see the gun and hear the shots, but psychologically, they simply could not comprehend that someone was actually shooting at them. I think the same psychological dynamic goes on in the whole collapse/economic depression scenario. You may have intelligent people who …


Surviving Financial SHTF and Becoming Debt Free, by K.D. – Part 1

We recently experienced our own financial SHTF situation. Well, that’s true, if you could call six years “recent”. Before I get into our situation, I think a little history would be appropriate. The wife and I had started prepping together in 2002. We actually were taking baby steps prior to that but when the economy trashed we went all in. I thought that was it. There was no way we, as a nation, could just print money and keep the ship afloat. Early in 2009, I realized we may actually have a bit more time. If every civilized country in …


Seven Survival Tips for the Modern Feminist, by J.

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Hello, my name is J, and I’m a recovering feminist. Sure, that may sound like a joke, but I am being completely honest and forthright when making that statement. In this article, I will explain my background and rational for this topic of choice as well as clearly spell out seven survival tips for the die-hard feminist. These tips can be put into action right now. It is my hope that at least one die-hard feminist will read this article and consider prudently preparing for the unexpected now. You may ask yourself, what the heck does feminism have to do …


Letter Re: Your Friends

Good day, DD’s post was full of stark and poignant remarks and possibilities which resonate with me greatly. It was much like “Why I Won’t Be Charitable When SHTF” by Chris Carrington. I have previously discussed preps with close friends but in hindsight regret this, given that loose lips costs lives. To redress the balance, when opportunity is arising, I’m backtracking by stating that I got a little over interested in the subject and have since come to realize that such a situation is highly improbable (while still emphasizing the importance of preps) and have been compelled to give a …


Prepping from a Wheelchair, by The Petite Prepper

Howdy, friends. I am a 57-year-old, pint-sized, handicapped, widowed prepper. My awakening happened in 2011, when Congress voted yet again to raise the debt ceiling. I had desperately hoped that our elected leaders would do the right thing and get our government spending under control. When they didn’t, it dawned on me that they probably never would (was I right?) and that our nation was on a collision course with disaster. I started asking God to show me how to get off this runaway train before it goes over the cliff. Well, friends, there is no getting off. Not only …


Two Letters Re: Your Friends

Hugh, Take 25 minutes and watch the old Twilight Zone episode called “The Shelter”. It is a great example of the behavior described by DD in his/her article. – P.S. o o o This is an excellent insight into the mentality of the sheeple, but I did find some flaws about the tactics of those who would lay siege to a well-stocked house or retreat. How would these besiegers maintain a siege very long without starving, or in winter without freezing? I don’t think such predators could afford to play a long game like that, nor disable equipment or kill …


“Yuppie” Turns Prepper, by J.T.

My conversion to become a “born again&rdqu o; prepper started in the summer of 2011, when I was settling down to bed and surfing the net with my iPad. Performing some calculations on the national debt, as a Certified Public Accountant, I understood one thing– all the money in the world from every country wouldn’t or couldn’t be enough to even make a dent in its reduction, let alone a complete pay off. At that time, I had even calculated that approximately 18% of the Gross National Product (GDP) was used to pay just the interest on the national debt… …


Average American Preparation Begins, by C.H.

I am writing this article to inform other average Americans of how I began prepping, in hopes that my suggestions will be helpful for those who are just beginning. I began prepping after watching numerous shows on the National Geographic channel in connection with current news channels. Recognizing that America is vulnerable in several aspects (i.e. our power grid, internal terrorists, and weather events), I began to visualize how unprepared my family and I were in the event of a national emergency. Now you may be saying to yourself “in the event of an emergency, our government will take care …


Not Ready Yet!, by Sara

I started prepping back in 2008, when the financial crash hit our family hard. We were going about our business, both my husband and I working ourselves to death enjoying the “American dream”– a mortgage, a couple of car payments, kids in college, and a disposable income that was quickly gobbled up each month by luxuries that included the latest iPhone, every child having his or her own computer, rib eye steaks for dinner, rounds of golf, and things like this. When the financial free fall started, we were not prepared. We lost everything! On top of that, my husband …


Your Friends, by D.D.

Most people don’t see the need to prepare. To them, these funny stories about the end of the world (in one form or another) are nothing but a passing amusement, at best, or the ravings of paranoid doomsayers, at worst. Still, though, they have a backup, fool-proof plan, just in case they are wrong. This plan, of course, is to come to your house. As soon as they hear of any of your preparations, they casually invite themselves over: “If anything does happen, I know where I’m going…” They speak as if you’re preparing to carry their burden, too, and …


How to Make a Rope Out of Plastic Bags, by Zac T.

Here’s a little about me. I am a graduate student striving towards my Master’s in Public Health, which means I spend most of my time studying infectious diseases, what food people need during emergencies, and how to fight bioterrorism. When I am not pondering these problems, I enjoy backpacking, lifting weights, and growing bell peppers. You wander from aisle to aisle, flashlight in hand, down what used to be your local tool supply store. When the first case showed up over the mountain about three months ago, most of the stores in town were looted pretty heavily. This place is …


Letter Re: Feeding Farm Animals

Thank you for the article on kids feeding farm animals. It certainly can be dangerous around the farm or ranch. It can even be deadly. But your comments on acclimating kids to handle these chores is spot on. I am 68. When I was 10 or 11, I was tormented by three geese at a neighboring farm. My older brother kept a horse there, and so I was there frequently to help care for it. I had to figure out on my own how to handle those geese. I had to do so out of sight of the owner, who …