# getting family on board



## centralcaprep (Mar 8, 2013)

I have been preparing for years, but i just cant get my wife on board. She doesnt follow politics, or whats going on in the world. unfurtunately i do and i see where things are headed. Every time i try to talk to her about it she says she doesnt want to think about it. Im afraid when it comes down to it she is going to be more of a liability then a help.


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## kilagal (Nov 8, 2011)

Well you are the only one that can decide if you want to stay or run before it gets bad. But you will have to look at it a little different if there are kids involved in the marriage. 
On the other hand have you just sat her down and showed her how much groceries have gone up lately? If you are the one doing the shopping instead of her drag her along. If she is the one doing the shopping have her keep track for even a month of the same things on paper even if she doesn't buy them. And just writes the prices. Then explain how prepping can save money by buying loss leaders and sales. If she gets that then just do it anddon't discuss it if she has her head in the sand.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I hate to use the religious angle since not a lot of people want it shoved down their throats. If you are religious point out how God has told us to store food for hard times. That it is His will we be prepared. Stories like Noah and Joseph point to these things.

Again, sorry for bringing this up if you are not religious. Not trying to start a debate or an argument.


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## PreparedRifleman73 (Nov 2, 2012)

Grimm said:


> I hate to use the religious angle since not a lot of people want it shoved down their throats. If you are religious point out how God has told us to store food for hard times. That it is His will we be prepared. Stories like Noah and Joseph point to these things.
> 
> Again, sorry for bringing this up if you are not religious. Not trying to start a debate or an argument.


Thanks, not religious myself but I think my wife would appreciate that


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## lilmissy0740 (Mar 7, 2011)

centralcaprep said:


> I have been preparing for years, but i just cant get my wife on board. She doesnt follow politics, or whats going on in the world. unfurtunately i do and i see where things are headed. Every time i try to talk to her about it she says she doesnt want to think about it. Im afraid when it comes down to it she is going to be more of a liability then a help.


I also know not everyone likes Glenn Beck. But you can get his tv/radio station for free for 14 days if you go to theblaze.com. On there you will be able to get her to watch some very interesting shows. If you have kids, last night was a show on how they are changing the curriculum in schools and dumbing our children down, he has a special you can watch called Rumors of War. There are very high ranking people on there with lots of information to back them. Also watch Independence USA, it is funny but it shows how some people are prepping. If she doesn't like Glenn I. USA doesn't have him on there, he is not on all the shows. If you don't want to do that and you have Sirius XM listen to channel 125. 
I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but you have to open her eyes up and let her see what is going on around her.

I love the idea of keeping a grocery journal, have her look at her pay stub from Dec and Jan and figure out how much per dollar her hard earned money is going to taxes.


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

My wife wasn't on board either. But I explained to her that we have life insurance so if something terrible happens the family will have support. I prep so if something terrible happens and we happen to live through it we have support. We have 2 small children and I asked her how she would feel if she had to put them to bed hungry and unfed for days on end. So now she doesn't actively participate but she doesn't grumble and that's always nice.


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## 8thDayStranger (Jan 30, 2013)

The whole North Korea thing has gotten my wife on board. That and the fact that its getting tornado season. This weekend will be our first big prep shopping trip. She coupons so my coffee table is full of them. Tonight we plan. Tomorrow we execute. She thought I was a little crazy when I started talking about this a couple months ago but now she's asking questions and getting involved. Even helped me make a 6 month goal list. I put it on an excel spreadsheet that tracks our on hand vs our goals. She printed the list and started digging through coupons so maybe this weekend will be a big haul.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

> She doesnt follow politics, or whats going on in the world.


Good for her. I bet her life is more peaceful than the rest of ours too. I am not religious at all, but I am a strong Christian (those two things are unrelated by the way) and you inferred (maybe) that your wife is too. If so there are a lot of scriptures that lead us to prep and be self sufficient. If that is the case let us know and we can point you to some of them.


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## runningYank (Mar 7, 2013)

kilagal said:


> *On the other hand have you just sat her down and showed her how much groceries have gone up lately?* If you are the one doing the shopping instead of her drag her along. If she is the one doing the shopping have her keep track for even a month of the same things on paper even if she doesn't buy them. *And just writes the prices*. Then explain how prepping can save money by buying loss leaders and sales. If she gets that then just do it anddon't discuss it if she has her head in the sand.


This.



mojo4 said:


> My wife wasn't on board either. But I explained to her that we have *life insurance so if something terrible happens* the family will have support. I *prep so if something terrible happens and we happen to live through it we have support.* We have 2 small children and I asked her how she would feel if she had to put them to bed hungry and unfed for days on end. So now she doesn't actively participate but she doesn't grumble and that's always nice.


and this. I had the same problem and finally got my wife on board about a week ago, and my situation was far more frustrating then yours.

My wife is highly intelligent, has a degree in history and political science, had 2 parents that grew up in the Great Depression, AND listens to people like Glenn Beck. And she STILL had her head in the sand. Due to our changing work schedules, we both do shopping when we can; every time I would stockpile something, she would make sure it got back into circulation and didn't buy replacements. So, I went back to something I did when we were newly married and had no money: every time she went to the store, I would ask what she bought and how much she spent. My wife refuses to plan or work with a budget or look at bank statements, then same as now. So this was my method for keeping things under control. I wrote the numbers down and would remind her that she spent more then previous week/month/whatever. After a while, she got tired of it and told me that 'things just cost more.' I agreed and showed her the numbers. That started a dialogue that woke her up. I showed her the numbers and she finally connected the dots.

Prepping with food, firearms training (one of our hobbies when we were in college), supplies, etc, is exactly like keeping car insurance, life insurance, home insurance, full tanks of gas in the cars, 401K, college fund for our son, etc. It is for when Shit happens. or to avoid Shit happens. or to make life easier for us later.

2 weeks ago, when I figured out how mow much we would get back from tax returns, I suggested using $1000 of it for prep stuff. She blew a fuse. Today, she called me from Costco and we talked about buying a $320 fire/gun safe and a $3000 generator. My wife is starting her own lists of things to add to the pile. It just takes perseverance. And a 'hammer'

Put the conversation in context of something your wife knows and understands. 'Prep' some things she will understand, then hit her over the head with them


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## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

My family(well not all but most)and friends just kinda "snicker" when I buy my "extras" or get on my soapbox.But I keep on stocking up and prep as much as I can afford right now.But guess where THEY will run to when TSHTF?????Right my house!


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

gabbyj310 said:


> My family(well not all but most)and friends just kinda "snicker" when I buy my "extras" or get on my soapbox.But I keep on stocking up and prep as much as I can afford right now.But guess where THEY will run to when TSHTF?????Right my house!


My dh doesn't laugh too much; he's mostly on board. The older kids, are not so much at all. They laugh at my carrots that 'used to be food', my pop bottles full of water, and the 80 lbs of sugar I bought this last weekend. But guess who expects to be fed and watered no matter what? Eventually they'll get it; if not, they'll age out and move out. Meanwhile, we do what we can and add to the stores. As for friends, I have a few that are at least open to prepping, but I don't yak it up with just everyone. I have not told my cousin who lives just up the road, for instance...we have totally different worldview anyway.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

An emergency fund can be a $1,000 in the bank or a $1,000 in the pantry. Currently, the "time value" of food exceeds the "time value" of money because the cost of food is going up faster than the value of money. The $1 spent on food today will cost more than $1 in the not-too-distant-future. 

Sure, it's five cents here and five cents there; however, it adds up quickly. I suppose, for some people, it comes down to this basic question: If you had to choose, would you rather have money in the bank or food in the pantry?

Unfortunately most people have neither. They're the ones you see on TV after an event screaming that no one is helping them.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

My parents are in the closet about being preppers. They laugh at my DH and I for having weapons and food storage. But they do as well. I was chatting with my dad about how he should clean his guns and stock a bit more ammo and he rolled his eyes. But if my DH talks to him about the same thing dad runs to the store and buys more ammo! 


But they don't want to get on board the crazy train with us and move to BFE. It is going to kill them when they find out we are moving to the mountains next month. You'd think they'd be all for it the way my dad talks about wanting to move back to Kansas and start hunting again and have a little farm.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

My mother, her 2 live in care givers (she has epilepsy), my sister and grandfather are all preppers. My husbands family, only his youngest sister and her family of 5. We have talked with his other sister and his parents but they refuse to do anything. They are of the 'it won't last long' mentality. My son has family in Tennessee who are just getting started. 

We were kind of thrown into it by hubs disability and bro-in-laws disability. My grandfather has always gardened (he's a Depression kid) and that was my normal. 

We've tried the 'what happens if the power is out during a snow storm for a week like last time?' thing and all they say is 'it won't last long, we have gas and 4wheeldrive.' We have up months ago.


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## victor (Dec 1, 2010)

centralcaprep said:


> I have been preparing for years, but i just cant get my wife on board. She doesnt follow politics, or whats going on in the world. unfurtunately i do and i see where things are headed. Every time i try to talk to her about it she says she doesnt want to think about it. Im afraid when it comes down to it she is going to be more of a liability then a help.


I have the same problem, I look at it this way, as a man it is my job to be the defender and protector of my family, my wife is sheltered and that's ok. When Sandy hit us in NJ she relied on my prep and even though she didn't admit it she was real happy that we had most of the creature comforts. Every week I add something to my supplies . Sandy showed me that I was not as prepared as I thought I was.


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## victor (Dec 1, 2010)

ksmama10 said:


> My dh doesn't laugh too much; he's mostly on board. The older kids, are not so much at all. They laugh at my carrots that 'used to be food', my pop bottles full of water, and the 80 lbs of sugar I bought this last weekend. But guess who expects to be fed and watered no matter what? Eventually they'll get it; if not, they'll age out and move out. Meanwhile, we do what we can and add to the stores. As for friends, I have a few that are at least open to prepping, but I don't yak it up with just everyone. I have not told my cousin who lives just up the road, for instance...we have totally different worldview anyway.


I agree I've given up talking to people who mock me for being prepared, they think we are untouchable and secure even though the news everyday say we are on the verge of a world meltdown, not to mention the threat of an EMP which I heard is real close to going down


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## Transplant (Jan 10, 2013)

centralcaprep said:


> I have been preparing for years, but i just cant get my wife on board. She doesnt follow politics, or whats going on in the world. unfurtunately i do and i see where things are headed. Every time i try to talk to her about it she says she doesnt want to think about it. Im afraid when it comes down to it she is going to be more of a liability then a help.


My suggestion to any husband that is trying to get his wife on board is point out the rising cost of food. Have her save the grocery receipts for a couple of months. She will realize then why it is a good idea to stock food at the lower prices of today and sale prices. Once she starts on food well guys it is down hill from there LOL. Seriously that is how I got into prepping. Hubby lost his job and I got paid once a month so I had to shop sales and stock for the month because once the money was gone it was gone.

Start simple don't go into BOBs or guns and ammo. Start with something she deals with on a daily basis...food. Once she starts stocking food move to first aid supplies. You can deal with the guns and ammo until it is time to buy her a gun then let her pick so she can get one to fit her hand. It took hubby 32 years to talk me into owning a gun again. It took the fact he works 35 miles away and sometimes 14 hours a day for me to give in and get a hand gun. Like I said start simple and don't overwhelm her.


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## ksmama10 (Sep 17, 2012)

I need to figure out how to put food and supplies back while keeping 4 teens, and 2 young adults from grazing through it faster than I can afford to shop. The older kids sorta get the idea of creating a home store; nobody likes running out of something they want or need...but they all seem to think we can just go buy more between pay periods if they graze through the extra bags of tater tots for instance. They attack that when they want an evening snack, and reason it's only fair, since they didn't like(or eat) what I made for dinner. I guess I need to locate the freezer key and get my dh to put a door on the storage room, and install a lock on that.


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