Letter Re: Halfway Preppers

Dear SurvivalBloggers:
What is a halfway prepper? Some people think it is a lazy prepper. Well, if you’re lazy you’re not getting prepped. A halfway prepper is someone who gets things done slowly but isn’t going to let life pass them by. Is prepping worth losing friends (I try to make them see the light), missing date night with the wife, missing out on your favorite sports, living as a recluse? When SHTF things will change but I don’t want to miss those things.We have to continue to live in the world as we prepare for the future. I know I fall in this category with a lot of other people. Sometimes life gets in the way of prepping and we need to take a break. I want to move to the American Redoubt and have a survival group with rehearsed plans and member responsibilities and 30 years worth of food stored up, with an arsenal that would make the Marines proud. But that just isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Just over three years ago I started prepping for the first time. I keep an eye on what’s going on in the world for my job and I could/can see very bad times ahead. I started my prepping with firearms of course since they are so much fun and it was a great hobby the wife and I could do together. Being the halfway prepper I bought the least expensive firearms I could fine. Some people might say that’s a problem and I should have gotten the best on the market. I feel that I’m not going to be more accurate with a more expensive gun and I couldn’t afford a second for the wife. We try to go shooting at least twice a month to stay proficient. We have gone shooting at night and practice malfunctions and magazine changes. We haven’t done any formal shooting classes but that’s on the “to do” list for this halfway prepper.

Next I looked into food and water, we started to buy a little extra canned food and bottled water every month. About the time we started stocking up I convinced the wife to move out of West Texas and head to the Redoubt. I started looking for a job in the Redoubt and after a year we sold our house. My job in Texas was working for the government as a contractor, we were living very comfortably. After we sold the house we moved in with some friends. We overstayed our welcome with the first friends and had to move in with some other friends. After living with friends for over a year, we decided to stay and find a house. The job search hit a dead end, with only one chance of a job (our year grant job) in the Redoubt area. We wanted a house that would be a great retreat but in West Texas all the good qualities aren’t there for properties. We found a house with a little land and a well that met our needs at a very low price. We decided that my wife would go to school and a get a degree in the medical field, while I hold on to this job until the contract ends s and then we will move to the Redoubt. So the halfway prepper in me decided to settle…for now. I still look for job openings in the Redoubt. If your hiring let me know.

Next came the challenge of prepping since we finally had a house and a place to store things. Well, this is where we are at the moment. We have enough ammo for the guns saved up and have started on food storage with about three months worth. I’m looking into getting a Flojak so we will always have water since that is the biggest deal where we live. Then there’s our survival group or lack there of. We had a good group that we were starting up but one member left and the whole group fell apart. And my wife’s family is nearby and the rest of the group didn’t want to take them in. The wife said she could never leave them if they were close by. Her family understands what’s coming but doesn’t want to put anytime or effort into prepping. So now we will have to prep for the family as best as possible. The problem is that I’m a halfway prepper. We want to live life comfortably and don’t want to make it to hard on life while prepping. So every week we at least do one thing for prepping to keep us going in the right direction, use the solar oven for practice, build solar power system, build garden, chicken coop, take the family shooting, rotate canned food, use hand crank washer, et cetera.

My main and final point is that it is okay to be a halfway prepper. Remember you are halfway there. The more you do little by little the closer to your goals you are. You will never be 100% prepped, as long as you are trying you will be better off than most. Someone else will always be more prepared then you in some aspect. Don’t be discouraged and frustrated. Just make your goals and work toward them. Just keep getting better day by day. You know what you need to do to get ready. Don’t be lazy and do nothing. Be a halfway prepper and gradually get it done! Don’t forget to live now while you prepare for the future. Look to God and take care of your family. – Z.T.