Thursday Q&A: What Should You Being Doing Today
I put up my post yesterday in the afternoon to experiment with what works better and … it didn’t. My question to you is what time is best to send out email?
But today I’m synthesizing several individual questions into one - what should you be doing today to prepare for what’s coming? Understand that this comes from my point of view on what is important (which include things like financial responsibility) and what is going to be happening. These things are something I covered and will cover in the future. So here’s a number of steps I’m recommending for preppers to take:
Keep Stockpiling Long Storing Foods - Wheat crops coming up are bad, food inflation isn’t going away and as we “ice agers’ warned we’re entering a mini ice age that has collapsed growing seasons into half the time needed to grow food. What I mean by food isn’t survival buckets which are unhealthy and over priced (but if you want them go for it, they are the longest lasting) I mean putting rice and beans and lard etc away. I will be buying a 25 pound of rice later today. This equals hundreds of servings of rice and I have a lot stored now. In an emergency I use rice as a base for smaller portions of nutrient dense foods that don’t have as many calories. I also freeze butter (real butter) to get healthy animal fats and use that to make sauces. If you’re on a budget look for things like canned tomatoes and other veggies to make sauces with - at least then you’re getting vitamin C. Honey and salt are in my mind necessity in emergencies. Salt has spiked way up so get it now. Honey is always expensive so you need to budget for it.
Get To The Range - Life gets in the way but makes sure you’re sighted in and all your guns are functioning, your ammo is good etc. If you’re still looking to purchase guns pull the trigger (pun intended) on the purchases - we preppers talk about the “best gun” a lot but don’t let that paralyze you while trying to figure out who’s right. Go to a guns store, handle a few and buy one that fits your budget. Remember to include things like ammo, holsters and cleaning equipment, I put aside an extra hundred for ammo and hundred for holsters and cleaning. Nice holsters can wait - you can just ask for a Uncle Mikes holster for the meantime. Eventually you’ll want a better on that will cost around $50-80 bucks but the $10 Uncle Mike holster will be rugged enough for most use.
If you’re in an area where guns are illegal or you’re a prohibited person think about what you might be comfortable using. Paintball markers with “riot balls” or rubber training balls seems to be the default for many.
Start exercising - It’s never too late to start getting in better shape and even if you think WW3 will start tomorrow you will be ahead of the game if you start a stretching program. I like dumbells and such but find routines that don’t require equipment or that mimic things you’ll be doing anyway in emergencies. For example I have a backpack full of textbooks to mimic the weight of my bug out bag. I wear it while doing dishes, vacuuming and twice a week I just pace for an hour or two in it.
If you’re looking for a place to start former (and underrated) “rassler” Stevie Richards (Mike Manna in real life) has a 15 minute yoga workout anyone can do and make time for and will at least stretch you out:
If you’re not able to get a gun and have some sort of staff or sword replica then incorporating them into workouts will help you get used to them. It can be as simple as this:
Just remember to stretch before working out and don’t overdo it. Many people are discouraged by not seeing results right way when working out but in fact you’re getting a little better each day.
Take Advantage Of Deflation - In an depression you have high inflation then sudden deflation as demand collapses. This aspect is the most devastating because businesses overpaid for goods and now can’t sell them for profit or even to break even. This is why economies collapse as everyone goes out of business. For preppers this is a time to stock up on things like clothes that are a size or two smaller (we’re all going to lose weight soon) belts, extra socks etc.
Bed Bath and Beyond for example had been told suppliers won’t ship to them without guarantees on payment - which BBY can’t make partly because they can’t be sure they can even sell the goods. I’m going to assume you’ll see some deep discount as they have to close stores in the next few weeks. Look for store closings and overstock deals in the coming months to get great bargains.
Weeds Out Your Untrustworthy Friends - And family. Some tough decisions are going to have to be made in the coming months and years. You need to be surrounded by people who won’t make it tougher, including:
Addicts
Thieves
Gluttons who won’t control themselves. Let’s leave it at that.
Entitled people
Violent radicals.
I leave it to you to determine who you need to weed out - these are my bottom line people I’m ditching. You might add to this.
Just because someone is fun to be with in good times doesn’t mean you can trust them when push comes to shove. Not to be super mean but this clip from My 600 Pound Life encapsulates your experience with entitled addicts, thieves and gluttons:
Now imagine there is civil unrest and shortages and you’re saddled with this woman. Is that doable? Here’s a woman who “needs” an external person who’s going through his own things (like being done with this relationship) to basically put everything on hold just to … stop eating too much? This level of co-dependence is dangerous in emergencies. Imagine having her in your bunker.
That’s what I’m doing this week.
That clip was amazing. The reason she eats and has gained weight is because of other people! On this note I wanted to tell you that you partially motivated me to lose weight. I knew I had to drop 25 lbs before my plastic surgery but your articles and common sense reasoning encouraged me. Thank you!