Why Preppers are right

[argentus]

We don't prep for societal collapse; we prep for Tuesday. Lose your job? Well, you're not gonna go hungry, and you've got six months' worth of savings on hand to rely on without having to dip into the retirement. It's something my mother has always taught me, you don't ever want to have to go hungry or worry about keeping the lights on.

Exactly right.  Where I live, we get a barge from the U.S. once a week.... er... except when there is bad weather, and ...er  .... except when the muses of the open ocean are in discord.   In my country, our power comes from diesel generators.  We, my Bride and me, got a loan a decade ago and installed solar/wind power.  It works.  I saves us a lot of money.  We grow what we can and harvest that from the sea which we can.   I can no longer freedive to 80 feet.  

I figure we have about two years worth of food for the three of us.   I rotate the food.  FIFO.  We could live off the land, but it would be tough.  Not impossible.   

I hope you all young 'uns think about forging a life of simplicity.  Rural might be less exciting, but more supportive.   You can always commute from rural to the city for concerts and sports and such.

[Hypntick]

Exactly right.  Where I live, we get a barge from the U.S. once a week.... er... except when there is bad weather, and ...er  .... except when the muses of the open ocean are in discord.   In my country, our power comes from diesel generators.  We, my Bride and me, got a loan a decade ago and installed solar/wind power.  It works.  I saves us a lot of money.  We grow what we can and harvest that from the sea which we can.   I can no longer freedive to 80 feet.  

I figure we have about two years worth of food for the three of us.   I rotate the food.  FIFO.  We could live off the land, but it would be tough.  Not impossible.   

I hope you all young 'uns think about forging a life of simplicity.  Rural might be less exciting, but more supportive.   You can always commute from rural to the city for concerts and sports and such.

Is societal collapse possible in my lifetime? Absolutely. Is it as likely as someone in my family getting sick or the car breaking down? Not really. However, in preparing for the little things, you find yourself prepared for some of the big things as well. You've got food for a few years, you're probably going to be around after it. You have a plot of land out in the country near several local farms, which makes for good bartering when it comes down to it (I stock salt and alcohol), allowing you to trade for other items as needed. You grow your own crops, not because you have to right now, but because you want to, and it helps you stay out of the grocery store aside from some milk and maybe a root beer on occasion. If I had the funds, I would start a full-on aquaponics setup, but I don't, so I can't. However, that's the dream. I get 100% of my food sources from those I raise or those I can barter for. While, at the same time, only really planning on Tuesday, it's a mindset that many people don't see or can't get behind. Shame, if more of us were appropriately prepared, a societal collapse would be a minor blip on the radar. I imagine that in previous times, when society did collapse for a small part of the world, those who were prepared managed to weather the storm with much more comfort and possibly even had extra stock to help their neighbors.

[MichSwampbuck]

Is societal collapse possible in my lifetime? Absolutely. Is it as likely as someone in my family getting sick or the car breaking down? Not really. However, in preparing for the little things, you find yourself prepared for some of the big things as well. You've got food for a few years, you're probably going to be around after it. You have a plot of land out in the country near several local farms, which makes for good bartering when it comes down to it (I stock salt and alcohol), allowing you to trade for other items as needed. You grow your own crops, not because you have to right now, but because you want to, and it helps you stay out of the grocery store aside from some milk and maybe a root beer on occasion. If I had the funds, I would start a full-on aquaponics setup, but I don't, so I can't. However, that's the dream. I get 100% of my food sources from those I raise or those I can barter for. While, at the same time, only really planning on Tuesday, it's a mindset that many people don't see or can't get behind. Shame, if more of us were appropriately prepared, a societal collapse would be a minor blip on the radar. I imagine that in previous times, when society did collapse for a small part of the world, those who were prepared managed to weather the storm with much more comfort and possibly even had extra stock to help their neighbors.

You are smart with storing up salt. You will die just as surely without salt as you would without water, it just takes longer and is not a pleasant way to go. Plus, you will need mega-amounts to preserve meats and other foods without refrigeration.

I have pickling and kosher salt saved, but iodized table salt is important too as iodine is hard to get in the wild, unless you are by an ocean.  I have a plan when I run out, the Morton salt works and mine are within traveling distance to the north west. I should scout the area before the SHTF, get to know the folks around there and have a network ready. Things will have to get hotter in the pot before I jump out though, so the timing is critical.