Today’s article is a repost of an article written by Rob Richardson of Off Grid Survival called 7 Very Real Reasons to Start Prepping.

 

 7 Very Real Reasons to Start Prepping

We often get comments and emails from readers asking how they can convince their friends and family to start prepping.

From friends and family members that truly believe the government will save them during a time of crisis, to those that have been brainwashed into believing that preppers are all  tinfoil hat wearing nutjobs, prepping can often be a touchy or even taboo subject to talk about.

Here are 7 reasons that might help convince your friends and family that it’s time to become a prepper.

1. Unemployment

According to the most recent numbers, the actual unemployment rate in this country is close to 22%. The average time it takes to find employment is at a record high of 39.2 weeks. Even those that see little value in prepping for a SHTF situation should understand the need to prep for the possibility of being hit by unemployment.

Prepping isn’t always about preparing for an end of the world scenario. It’s also about being prepared for those small scale events in life that can feel cataclysmic if we’re not prepared

2. Economic Problems

You don’t have to buy into the possibility of a total economic collapse, but you should at least realize that our country is in big financial trouble. With over 16 trillion dollars in debt, and unfunded obligations that make the actual debt number about $120 trillion, it doesn’t take an economist to see that we are in for some major trouble in the months and years ahead.

3. Natural Disasters

A number of people woke up real quick after seeing what happened during Hurricane Katrina. In under 24 hours, the city of New Orleans became a prime example of how quickly civilization could break down. Before our eyes we got a glimpse of what would happen during a full scale collapse; as people took to the streets to loot, riot, rape and even murder their fellow citizens.

4. It’s just like buying Insurance

Some people find the subject of prepping to be a little bit out there. When I come across these people, I often ask them if they have health or vehicle insurance. In my opinion, having a dedicated section in your budget for prepping is no different than buying vehicle insurance or a health insurance policy.

5. Shooters, Lunatics and the Extreme Fringe of Society

While active shooter situations and terrorist attacks are still pretty rare, it’s a phenomenon that does seem to be increasing in regularity. From the recent mass shootings to the growing number of terrorist attacks around the globe, these events do happen and they are something that we need to be prepared for.

6. The Cyber Threat

Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on cyber technologies; but according to Cyber Security expert Eugene Kaspersky, co-founder of the Kaspersky Lab, that dependence has left us extremely vulnerable. In fact, he is warning that emerging cyber threats could spell “the end of the world as we know it”. The threat is real, and the threat has the ability to set the world back 200 years in a matter of days.

7. The Pandemic Threat

According to Jason Tetro, a microbiologist and coordinator for two research centers at the University of Ottawa, the Emerging Pathogens Research Centre (EPRC) and the Centre for Research on Environmental Microbiology (CREM), “the world is becoming increasingly more likely to see a major (pandemic) event.”

When that happens, it will affect our infrastructure severely. By not having the human resources to work, protect and maintain our antiquated infrastructure, things will begin to rapidly deteriorate and leave us even more vulnerable to attack.

 

Do you live in a state that is too liberal and/or oppressive?  Have you given any thought to moving to a state that is more in line with your values? More and more people are doing just that; voting with their feet.  In this article I’ll cover some of my own struggles and list some resources that might help anyone else who might want to move to another state.  I also ask any of you who might have input to please add it, so that those of us considering voting with our feet and moving to a new state might have an easier time of it.

As some of you might be aware Trudee and I started looking for a new home last fall.  The goals were a lower house payment and, hopefully, ten acres or more.  We haven’t had much luck, mostly due to the fact that I work from home and need a low latency high speed Internet connection.  Since we’re looking in more rural areas because we want 5+ acres, satellite is often the only option and satellite just won’t work for my job.

We started looking for houses on ten or more acres and dropped it down to five when we weren’t finding anything.  We started to find some properties, but as soon as we would tell our Realtor to book a showing, she would tell us they accepted an offer.  We have now gotten to the point where there isn’t a single house on the MLS in our price range, with any acreage, that doesn’t require extensive fixing up.

I’ve grumbled about not liking Minnesota for years.  It’s just too liberal for me.  Last week Trudee made a comment along the lines of “maybe this is God’s way of telling us we should move out of state.”  I’ll not get into the reasons why I want to move out of Minnesota, as that isn’t what this article is about.  If you’re truly interested, send me an email or post in the comments.

We had a couple serious conversations about it.  We did a bit of research to find which states are more conservative and found this poll from Gallup ranking the top ten most conservative and liberal states.  Last week, Jack Spirko from The Survival Podcast talked about this subject in a listener question episode 1078.  He also mentioned he was starting a new forum called Walking to Freedom, a place that will list ten of the most oppressive states and ten of the most liberty loving states.  This forum will be a place to speak to others in states you’re looking to move to and from.

Jack posted an article titled “You Don’t Have To Live Like This” the next day.  In it the author is telling his readers that many people are leaving states that are not business friendly for states that are.  He lives in Florida and is making a case for people to move there.

Looking for a house in Minnesota is hard enough!  We look on the MLS, take a look at the property on Google Maps to make sure it’s something that meets our requirements and then I check to see if high speed Internet is available.  If it is, we ask the realtor to book a showing.  We’re often told that the seller, often a bank, has accepted an offer.   I have a hunch that people are making offers without seeing the house in person because Trudee keeps a close eye on the MLS.  The houses that we do go see are often not a place we would live for various reasons.

 

How Do You Vote With Your Feet?

In Minnesota, I know the parts of the state that are more rural, the parts that are a little too rural and have a general area of where we would like to live.  Researching another state would be a must, and this is where a forum like Walking to Freedom will come in very handy.

Let’s say you find an area you would like to live and even find a house for sale.  How do you go through this process when you can’t go see the house in person?  Once you find the house, Google Maps is a huge time saver.  We have used it to rule out several homes.

We went to see seven or so houses, and after seeing them in person we ruled five out.  One was ruled out due to lack of internet and one we were out bid on.  My point is that the realtors put the best pictures of a house on the MLS.  We had to set foot in five to rule them out.  How would you go about ruling out houses?  Trudee mentioned possibly finding a realtor willing to walk through the house with a smart phone running Skype or a similar program that would let us see the house and interact with the realtor.  Can you think of any other options?

If you work from home and need an Internet connection with less latency than Satellite, finding a viable ISP may be problematic as well.  It took me a week or two of searching to get familiar with the Internet Service Providers that service different parts of the state I live in.  Just doing a Google search often only yields the big names like Comcast or Century Link, and might not list a perfectly viable but smaller ISP.  I have found a newer technology called WIMAX, which is a wireless connection, sent much like a cellular signal.  Since these WIMAX antennae are often located on water towers or other things of similar height, the signal doesn’t have to travel to a satellite and you can see speeds of 5+ Mbps with low latency.

Because of our situation, we may end up staying in Minnesota.  Heck, we may end up staying where we live now!  What about those of you who live in states that don’t hold the same values you do?  Would you consider voting with your feet?

 

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Today we have a guest article written by Marie Ortiz.

 

Mothers make for the best preppers, plain and simple: we are always prepared for daily emergencies. We prep every day for ourselves, our children, and husbands. We make sure that every member of our family is aptly prepared for whatever the day might bring.

Part of the reason why mothers are so great at organization and planning is because we have experienced the horrors of what happens when we are unprepared. Our family relies on us for stability, and we have the means and know-how to take it to the next level: survivalism.

Listed below are some basic instructions for mothers who are interested in prepping. Note: this is only a simple outline, prepping is a lifestyle and requires intensive daily work and preparation.

 

Make a Plan

The first step to being a survivalist is to make a plan. As mothers, we are natural planners and preppers, so this part should be a piece of cake. It’s crucial to make a family plan in case of emergency and familiarize everyone with it. The most critical part of a disaster is how you respond to it in the first few minutes.

Make a list and create two sections: things you must buy and things you must do. For example, having clean water is essential for survival, so plan for a water softener installation at your home. Buy a fire extinguisher. In the “do” section, plan to replace your batteries in your smoke detector and teach your family members about emergency procedures.

 

Make an EDC

EDC stands for “Every Day Carry” and it’s what most of us moms have on our person anyway: it’s what we refer to as a “diaper bag”. While you can buy a survival kit at a store, it is much more rewarding to be able to customize your own.

A good entry-level EDC consists of things like your phone, a knife, spare cash, and a watch. To be even better prepared, include a flashlight and a multi tool. If you would like your EDC kit to be more comprehensive, include medicine, alcohol wipes, and other medical tools.

 

Start Couponing

You’ve seen television shows about extreme couponers. If it’s really as easy as they say it is, give it a try. It can help you stock up and get organized.

Granted, in a “bug out” situation where you must leave your home, you’ll leave most of your stash pile behind. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help your neighbor who might not be as prepared as you. In the event that you must hunker down, you’ll have enough food and supplies to last at least a year.

 

Prepare Your Car

If you are a mom of two or more, your minivan is probably already stocked with your everyday needs. But here’s another idea: when your car gets to ½ a tank, fill it up. You never know when an emergency situation will happen. You’ll want to have a full tank of gas.

 

Get in Shape

As mothers, we always hear that “it’s never too late to get in shape.” If you’ve been procrastinating on starting a workout regimen, now’s the time to get serious.

If you can’t fit in a workout routine to your schedule, implement a healthier diet for you and your family. The Paleo Diet is a good idea for survivalists. It’s also referred to as the Caveman Diet, and consists of fish, grass-fed meats, eggs, vegetables, fruits and nuts.

 

Start a Garden

This is a great way to learn about being self-sustention; it’s also a good way to learn the seasons for growing plants.

The more knowledge you possess about planting and growing, the better you’ll fare when you’re out in the wilderness on your own.

 

About Marie

Marie Ortiz is a prepared mother. She is a social media coordinator by day and blogger by night. She is a mother to two girls and is always working on new ways for them to develop and learn. She likes to share all of her discoveries along the way. When she is not perusing the Internet for inspiration, you can find her at the local farmers’ market. You can check her out at www.DIYMother.org

 

 

“…have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

 

Since man walked out of the Garden of Eden, we have kept all kinds of animals as pets.  I believe owning a pet, having dominion of it, gives you the responsibility to feed and care for it come rain or shine.  In our preparedness walk Trudee found this link covering Disaster Preparedness for your pets.  If you have pets I strongly suggest you read it, as I’ll only touch on a few points, and add some info I think is lacking.  I want to make one special note, you can get free window decals from the ASPCA that you can use to list the number and type of pets in your home.  This is a good idea just in case of fire when you’re not there.

 

Pet Food

We store two 35 pound bags of dog food in a 30 gallon metal garbage can. We have a plastic bin that we keep the food we’re feeding them with near the kitchen.  When that runs out, I take the top bag and dump it in the plastic bin.  When we get a new bag of food that goes to the bottom of the metal can.  If you have big dogs you may think of keeping two metal cans.

 

Bugging out

I have said it before, staying home is the best option for the vast majority of events.  But if you’re forced to bug out, please have a plan for your pets.  When we went through CERT training, the emergency manager stated that they would allow pets in, however if they were not chipped, they would be on the spot.  Keep in mind that not all shelters will allow pets, so finding a shelter, relative or a hotel that will allow animals is a good idea to do now, before it is needed.

We have a small BOB for each of the dogs attached to our BOB.  It contains an extra collar and leash, collapsible bowl, some vacuum sealed food and toys.

We also have one of the larger metal cages that, in an emergency, we would stick in the back of our SUV, safely containing the dogs.  Keeping them safe and out of the way would let us keep the doors open without worrying that one or all of them would take off, avoiding an even bigger problem.

 

Pet First Aid

If your pet is on medication, you should try to have a few extra weeks set aside, and be rotating it.  There are several first aid classes available, just search for one in your area.  I was also able to find this page online that covers some general steps in pet first aid..  There is also a smart phone app for $4.99.  I have not used it but there is a seven minute long video that explains the app in more detail.

 

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Thank you all for the prayers and encouragement for the radio interviews.  I had the first one Thursday afternoon! I was so nervous that I don’t remember some of what was said. I didn’t run out screaming, so I am calling it a win!  LOL  I will post a link to the interview when there is one.  Thank you all again for your prayers and support.

Today I am going to post two smaller articles, ideas for which came from reader emails.  I thought I would share their questions and my opinions with the rest of you.

 

Do you Need a BOL When You Live In A Rural Location?

The first question comes from Alison, who asks:

“We don’t live in the city; we live north of it by about 30 minutes, on a lake populated mostly by seasonal folks, and there is a limit on development, so about 25 permanent residences and 30 cottages.    Do we still need a bug out location?  Or can we consider home our “go to place”. 

 

This is a great question.  My response;

“I think in the vast majority of situations staying put no matter where you live is a better idea.  The more urban you are the sooner you need to bug out.  But I think no matter where you live, you should have a bug out plan.  It doesn’t have to be land you own.  I wrote about this in the article I wrote below, look for the section called “No BOL? You still have options”. 

The name of the article is (–LINK Bugging out or Battening Down–) the section I reference is pasted below:

“No BOL? You still have options

Since you don’t own a BOL you’re not tied to one piece of land. Pick a destination in each direction; north, south, east and west. This gives you two to three directions to avoid trouble. I would pick a smallish town, big enough to have a hotel and use the hotel as the BOL. Why a hotel and not a camp or park? If your family is separated, you can call the hotel and see if they are there, you can tell the attendant that your family is on the way and leave a message for them. Once there you can either rent a room, or move on to another temporary BOL.

If things get bad enough to force you to bug out, the most important thing is that you’re no longer at home. Keep in mind that you’ll not be the only one with the idea. That’s why I think a small town is a good choice. It’s important to have a plan ahead of time, as you won’t want to be paralyzed with trying to figure out where to go.”

 

Alison gave me a bit more information on her property and I am a little jealous!  It sounds ideal to me.  I believe the more urban you are, the sooner you will need to bug out.  However there are many events that could force someone on a rural, well stocked, ideal property to need to flee.  Having a place in mind to bug out to if things go sideways is always a good idea.

 

Being Away From Home Longer Than Anticipated

 

Photo credit: alice-palaceMargaret sent me an email letting me know about some civil unrest they are seeing in Canada that is similar to the “occupy” movement we saw in the states.  She said it was taking its toll on commuters, and sometimes causing one to be away from home longer than expected.  She said we need to:

“”think ahead, think of alternate routes, have a bit of extra change for a coffee, keep a blanket and granola bar in the truck, make sure food and water are out for the pets at home and keep cell phones charged.”

Margaret brings up some excellent points, whether it’s increasing civil unrest, an unexpected detour, or other reason, we can often be delayed longer than expected and we, being Prepper’s, should make plans for times like these.

 

I am also a believer in Murphy’s Law:

“Anything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong.”

Because things often do go wrong, often at the worst possible time, I try to plan accordingly.  I am a firm believer in car kits.  They are something I think everyone should have.  Just about anywhere you go, your car isn’t too far away.  This is a simple way to make sure you have some supplies on hand for delays keeping you out longer than you expected.

Margaret also brings up a good point about pets at home.  Some pets can have food and water left out all the time.  Unfortunately, ours can’t.  They eat at a fixed time twice a day and wouldn’t stop eating if we were to leave food out.  If we have to be away from home much later than the time they normally eat, we try to have someone here to feed them.

What other unexpected events can pop up?  How can you mitigate them with a little forethought and planning?

 

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!  And thank you, Margaret, for the comment!

The following article was written by Michael Snyder on 2-1-2013 and was originally posted here on his blog The Truth Wins. I want to thank Michael for selecting Prepared Christian. I feel honored to have been mentioned.

Rise Of The Preppers: 50 Of The Best Prepper Websites And Blogs On The Internet

Are you preparing for the collapse of society?  If so, the truth is that you are definitely not alone.  The number of preppers in the U.S. has absolutely exploded in recent years.  It has been estimated that there are now approximately 3 million preppers in the United States, and “Doomsday Preppers” is currently the highest rated show on the National Geographic channel.  In fact, you could be living next to a prepper and never even know it.  All over America, families are transforming spare rooms into long-term food storage pantries, planting survival gardens, unplugging from the grid, converting their homes over to alternative sources of energy, taking self-defense courses and stocking up on just about everything that you can imagine.  The re-election of Barack Obama and other recent events seem to have given the prepper movement even more momentum.  For example, in January the U.S. Mint broke all kinds of records and sold nearly half a billion dollars worth of gold and silver coins to the public.  Not only that, Americans bought enough guns during the last two months of 2012 alone to supply the entire armies of China and India.  When it comes to prepping, nobody can match the passion that Americans put into it.

So what are all of these people prepping for?

Well, the truth is that no two preppers have the exact same motivation.  There is a general consensus among preppers that our world is becoming increasingly unstable, but when you sit down and talk with them you find out that there are a whole host of different civilization-killing events that various preppers are concerned about.  Some are preparing for the collapse of the economy.  Others are extremely concerned about the potential for crippling natural disasters and catastrophic earth changes. To other preppers, the rise of the “Big Brother” surveillance grid that is being constructed all around us is the greatest danger, and many of them warn of the tyrannical agenda of the New World Order.  Terrorism, killer pandemics, EMP attacks, World War III, martial law, solar megastorms, asteroid strikes and societal chaos are some of the other things that many preppers are worried about.  There are even some preppers that are not worried about any “threats” at all – they just want to get “back to the land” and want to become less dependent on the system.

Whatever the motivation, it is undeniable that the prepper movement has gotten very large and that it continues to grow.

In fact, there was a recent article in the New York Times about preppers that was actually written by a prepper entitled “The Preppers Next Door“…

To the unprepared, the very word “prepper” is likely to summon images of armed zealots hunkered down in bunkers awaiting the End of Days, but the reality, at least here in New York, is less dramatic. Local Preppers are doctors, doormen, charter school executives, subway conductors, advertising writers and happily married couples from the Bronx. They are no doubt people that you know — your acquaintances and neighbors. People, I’ll admit, like myself.

I was absolutely amazed that one of the key mouthpieces of the establishment, the New York Times, would publish an article that was mostly positive about preppers, because the truth is that prepping is essentially a huge expression of a lack of faith in the establishment.   Even the article admitted as much…

PREPPING IS THE BIG SHORT: a bet not just against a city, or a country or a government, but against the whole idea of sustainable civilization. For that reason, it chafes against one of polite society’s last remaining taboos — that the way we live is not simply plagued by certain problems, but is itself insolubly problematic.

And that is exactly right.  There are millions of us that are entirely convinced that the world around us is becoming increasingly unstable and that “the system” will not be there to take care of us when everything falls to pieces.

With each passing day, even more Americans lose faith in the system and begin prepping.  If you are one of those new preppers, there are actually dozens of great websites out there on the Internet where you can get an education about prepping for free.  The list of websites and blogs that I have compiled below contains more articles and resources than you could ever possibly need.  Hopefully many of you will find this list to be extremely helpful.

The following are 50 of the best prepper websites and blogs on the Internet…

1. Survival Blog

2. American Preppers Network

3. The Survival Mom

4. SHTFPlan.com

5. Survival 4 Christians

6. Urban Survival

7. Backdoor Survival

8. Off Grid Survival

9. Modern Survival Online

10. The Survivalist Blog

11. The Suburban Prepper

12. The Great Northern Prepper

13. Prepper Website

14. The Survival Podcast

15. Doom And Bloom

16. Provident Living Today

17. Prepper.org

18. Prepared Christian

19. SHTFblog.com

20. Survival Cache

21. Modern Survival Blog

22. Rural Revolution

23. Preparedness Advice Blog

24. Prep-Blog.com

25. Survival And Prosperity

26. TEOTWAWKI Blog

27. The Neighbor Network

28. The Apartment Prepper

29. Armageddon Online

30. The Berkey Guy Blog

31. The Home For Survival

32. My Family Survival Plan

33. Prepography

33. Prepper Dashboard

34. Bacon And Eggs

35. SHTF School

36. Canadian Preppers Network

37. Maximum Survival

38. Survivor Jane

39. Prepping To Survive

40. SaltnPrepper

41. SGTReport

42. SHTF Wiki

43. Jewish Preppers

44. Survival Magazine

45. Survival Week

46. Prepper Forums

47. Survivalist Boards

48. Tactical Intelligence

49. The Prepared Ninja

50. Common Sense Homesteading

The sad truth is that our world is becoming increasingly unstable in a whole bunch of different ways and we all need to learn how to prepare for the difficult years ahead.

Unfortunately, most Americans simply are not prepared for much of anything.

For example, a large percentage of Americans do not even have enough savings to get them through a single financial emergency.  According to one recent report, approximately 44 percent of all households in the United States are just one unexpected event away from financial disaster.

Most American families do not have much food stored up either.  One recent survey discovered that 55 percent of all Americans have less than three days supply of food in their homes.

Could that possibly be accurate?  Do people really keep that little food in their homes?

Another survey asked Americans how long they think they could survive if the entire electrical grid went down and there was no more power for an extended period of time.  Incredibly, 21 percent of those who responded said that they would survive for less than a week, and an additional 28 percent of those who responded said that they would survive for less than two weeks.  Close to 75 percent of those who responded said that they would be dead before the two month mark.

So who are the crazy ones?

Are the people trying to become more independent and self-sufficient crazy, or are the people who have complete and total faith that the system will take care of them no matter what happens actually the crazy ones?

I don’t know about you, but I would prefer for myself and my family to at least have a chance to survive if society melts down for some reason.

What about you?

Are you a prepper?

Do you know some preppers?

Do you believe that people should be prepping?

Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below…