# Your current prep footing...



## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

Some of us are totally unaffected. Some of us aren't directly affected but are concerned and stepping up preps. Some of us are devestated by the current economic and personal situations and are already in a form of a survivalism mode.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

I needed to vote for two:

I _am_ using my prep supplies

& I _have_ stepped up my preps also


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## SaskBound (Feb 13, 2010)

Financially, we have one partner with a secure job, and one who has really just returned to full time work ofter a lengthy (1.5 year) period of under-employment. We have always lived within our means, and while things were pretty tight for awhile there, we are okay, and have not had to dip into emergency savings or supplies. 

We are pretty comfortable with where our food preps are at, and are just replacing things as we use them for the time being. We are trying to expand our medical supplies some, but our main focus right now is getting our land prepped (trees planted, irrigation system installed, etc) and our butts out there. I can't say we're frantically doing much of anything, but we do feel a certain urgency to get relocated. Of course, that is job dependent, and might still take quite some time...


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

I like Cherry Pepsi, but not DIET Cherry Pepsi! 
(I smiled to find it on the list, though!)

We pretty much live on our preps, but if we come into extra money it goes into more preps and supplies. We produce most of our food, so it's things like beans, sugar, salt, and spices (other than the herbs we grow) and non-food (medical supplies, general supplies, etc.).

We try to balance our sustainable life with actually having a life...taking a breath and going on that long bike trip or camping trip or canoe trip, etc., and not being so worried about being away from home.


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## mdprepper (Jan 22, 2010)

My Husband is laid off again, and I work part time (no extra hours available), we are using our preps. We have been for a while. When I can I do try to get extra.


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

This is an essential reason why most of us prep-for hard times. 

At a butcher shop today I saw a man who walked in from what must be a decent distance to buy a few slices of bacon. The clerk picked him out some nice slices and dutifully weighed, wrapped them and marked them. The customer carefully pulled out his money to pay for the bacon, made a comment about it being neat that they sold seasonings in smaller amounts and looked as if he wanted some and left.

People are hurting.


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## ditzyjan56 (Oct 3, 2009)

*stepping it up*

Just started last year and am trying to prep for 12 in my whole family. I think I am doing ok, but worry that it won't be enough if :shtf:. So I am working on the list of haves and have nots. The spreadsheet posted on here was a lot of help in organizing my supplies.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

I like to keep my preps to myself and family...

So ... no way am I'm telling you ...


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

Andy-those who keep it to themselves are generally the best prepped-In contrast, I have a few things.


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## PS360 (Sep 10, 2010)

Not much activity, I’m just slowly amassing the things I need. but I have all the expensive stuff.


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

I haven't been buying a whole lot more lately, but I've been working on developing several skill sets (blacksmithing, bladesmithing, etcetera) and doing some planning. I really should be working more on stocking up on some stuff, though.


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## simplelife01 (Oct 18, 2010)

We use ours regularly, but so far we prep more than we consume. We are still in the early stages of our overall preparations.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

prepping more than you consume...I like that, simplelife01! Good way to put it!

By the way, welcome to the forum!


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

we're pretty well stocked for a long long time but still purchase some seasonings and things that are on a real sale like half to 3/4 off. that's where the canner comes in handy.


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## Herbalpagan (Dec 8, 2008)

We've been working on this for a while. Our goal is to have 3 yrs of food and supplies for 6-8. With food prices and living expenses going up it's not as easy as it first was. We also have been improving our infrastructure (sheds, tools, small animals, fruit trees) for long term sustainability. We've accomplished a lot, but still have a lot more to do.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Were movin along at a steady pace, although there ain't nothin that be a sure thing, my employment is perty secure as is momma's.

We work on preps each week. Keep addin ta the food stocks, buy equipment as we find good deals on it. Gonna spend the winter addin more shelves an rearrangin so stuff is easier ta find an track.

Course were always addin stuff ta the freezer, smokin more meats an cannin some meats as well. Like ta do as much cannin in the cool weather as we can cause I hate heatin up the kitchen if we don't have ta!


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## SnakeDoc (Nov 10, 2009)

We keep plugging along. Things have been tight, but we have both kept employment. Our son moved back home and is having troubles finding steady work. 

I grab whatever I can and am skipping lunches and selling plasma which gives me about 70 more buck per week to prep with.


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## simplelife01 (Oct 18, 2010)

With so much cost and time involved my biggest concern is being able to focus on all aspects. Such as becoming self sufficient, being off the grid, constantly prepping enough, and of course most importantly protecting it.


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

It can be done inexpensively.

Contact me with a PM and we can discuss it.


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## Lonewufcry (Jul 26, 2010)

With a family of five we have no choice but to prep on a budget. But it can be done every month we add a little more to our lists. And most of the training we do is offered by local organizations with little cost to you the prepper.


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## Ron22 (Oct 30, 2009)

*Still trying to figure it out...*

I'm kind of stuck.... 12 years ago when I was prepping for Y2K, I was doing okay. Had some decent food supplies, trade items, a good mix of firearms and ammo, seeds, tools, canning supplies, etc... Then I got laid off my job. Y2K came and went and I either used or because I needed money, little by little I started to sell things off.

In 2001 I came back on active duty. I still had not gone so far that I couldn't have come back fairly quickly but moving around due to orders made it more difficult (not impossible). Then I went through a divorce and ended up losing a lot. I ended up selling my gun collection and that was really kind of the final nail from my perspective.

I still had quite a bit in the way of camping gear, and my books, but that was pretty much it.

I really didn't think much about prepping until last year. I had an interest but wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. Only really started paying attention again the last few months.

Now the problem....I'm still on active duty and I just arrived in Afghanistan so it complicates things. I talked to both my mother and brother while I was on leave before I left. While I was on leave I purchased a 12 gauge shotgun and 500 shells as a start. I also ordered a signifigant amount of non-hybrid seed. These items are at my brothers. One of his friends is a prepper and they have already had some discussions, but I don't think my brother is making to many preps right now. He and his wife are just trying to pay the mortgage and raise their kids.

There are things I can buy and ship to my brothers house. I can have my mom take my credit card and purchase things also. Problem is that I still have debt, including my truck. If I focus on the debt I can pay it all off in about 6 months. I had then planned on saving money for a down payment for a house when I retire the end of next year.

I'm wondering will things hold together that long :scratch

If they do then I have some time, but based on what I'm seeing now, I'm wondering if I will. If I put any kind of significant money into preps, then I have no down payment. If I save the money and we hit hyperinflation then the money is worthless and I'm stuck there too.

Any ideas?


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## BoyScoutSurvivor (Aug 18, 2010)

I have been trying to increase my preps but I have been encountering problems with money. I had to quit my job so I could go to college (I am not doing a 9 hour commute for only 7.95 dollars an hour). I am trying to make every dollar count as much as possible. I look for good sales and try to buy the most important items for surviving that I still need. For example I waited till the gun I wanted came on sale and was 40 dollars cheaper. I still spent over 400 dollars after I bought the gun, scope, ammo, and other misc. items, but I did save some money by waiting for it to go on sale.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

I've left this one alone for a while to see where it went. 
My input for what it is worth
Food and goods only go so far, skill sets and knowledge go the furthest, 
Living where you feel you can survive SHTF counts for lots
Skill or at least information is for the most part free, these are best gathered in times of financial drought, when finances are better get the things that you are sure you need.
Can you start a fire with out matches or a lighter at least 3 ways??
Can you recognize local edible plants ???


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## HarleyRider (Mar 1, 2010)

My preps are like this: I don't have as much as I want or need, yet I have a whole lot more than when I started.

I'm covered pretty good for the 1st year; now I am working on the 2nd year.


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## SaskBound (Feb 13, 2010)

Ron22 said:


> I'm kind of stuck.... 12 years ago when I was prepping for Y2K, I was doing okay. Had some decent food supplies, trade items, a good mix of firearms and ammo, seeds, tools, canning supplies, etc... Then I got laid off my job. Y2K came and went and I either used or because I needed money, little by little I started to sell things off.
> 
> In 2001 I came back on active duty. I still had not gone so far that I couldn't have come back fairly quickly but moving around due to orders made it more difficult (not impossible). Then I went through a divorce and ended up losing a lot. I ended up selling my gun collection and that was really kind of the final nail from my perspective.
> 
> ...


Ron, I am not convinced it has to be an either-or sort of thing. Why not prep some, take a little longer to pay off your truck, and still save for a down payment, but on a longer timeline? That's how we've been approaching things. Over a few years, you can get a really significant stockpile, by even just buying 1 can or bag extra on the weekly shopping trip. I am talking $5 a week, here.

We are splitting our funds into prep, accelerated debt repayment, and fun. Fun gets a lot less than the other two, but we've still managed to save up enough for a trip every second year or so - we're off to Cuba next week. My husband and I talked it over years ago, and decided that while it is important to us to be debt free and prepared, we do not want either of those things at the expense of living our lives to the fullest right now, while we are relatively young and healthy...


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Ron22 said:


> I'm kind of stuck.... 12 years ago when I was prepping for Y2K, I was doing okay. Had some decent food supplies, trade items, a good mix of firearms and ammo, seeds, tools, canning supplies, etc... Then I got laid off my job. Y2K came and went and I either used or because I needed money, little by little I started to sell things off.
> 
> In 2001 I came back on active duty. I still had not gone so far that I couldn't have come back fairly quickly but moving around due to orders made it more difficult (not impossible). Then I went through a divorce and ended up losing a lot. I ended up selling my gun collection and that was really kind of the final nail from my perspective.
> 
> ...


 There comes a time when decisions need to be made about lifestyle choices and while having some supplies stored somewhere is great ,are you going to be able to get to them if /when SHTF, from the look of things the US economy still has a ways to fall before it bottoms. Skills on the other hand are always with you, I would be inclined to split the difference between debt reduction and some preps. See what you think/feel the future holds as far as the need to buy a house and saddle yourself with more debt, maybe a homestead location??
_in the mean time skills and knowledge can be learned /gained usually just for the effort_


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## ironhat (Oct 21, 2008)

We had to live off our storage during the Carter mayhem years. There were a lot of pinto beans eaten but now my wife has developed an allergy to beans. Now what?! That's a big hole in our storage in terms of usefulness.


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## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

ironhat, that is a huge hole, however, is she allergic to all beans including soy beans? Soy beans aren't something you'd want to test because I guess there can be a really bad reaction, however, some people very sensitive to soy beans aren't affected by TVP and TVP is a cheap and great long term storage item (for women, not men.)


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

ironhat said:


> We had to live off our storage during the Carter mayhem years. There were a lot of pinto beans eaten but now my wife has developed an allergy to beans. Now what?! That's a big hole in our storage in terms of usefulness.


Is your wife allergic to or intolerant to beans, because beans are hard to digest and that can sometimes be counteracted by digestive enzymes, Which everyone should consider adding to their prepps because enzymes come from fresh vegitables, also L-glutamine (NOT Glucosamine)is helpful in "gut" restoration.


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## Herbalpagan (Dec 8, 2008)

"bean-o" adds those helpful enymes and can be found in most stores. it really does work, my doctor suggested it.
We aren't big bean eaters at our house, so we had stored plenty of regular veggies and fruits as well as lots of peanut butter. We work hard to find canned meats that can be added to dishes instead of beans.


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## ironhat (Oct 21, 2008)

SurviveNthrive said:


> ironhat, that is a huge hole, however, is she allergic to all beans including soy beans? Soy beans aren't something you'd want to test because I guess there can be a really bad reaction, however, some people very sensitive to soy beans aren't affected by TVP and TVP is a cheap and great long term storage item (for women, not men.)


We're afraid to try SN. Her throat closes up and can't swallow. At first we thought it was a fluke and the second time it was worse. Then, she was eating someone's veggie soup after being assured that there were no beans in it. After getting half way through the bowl she saw some lentils. It was worse again. Soy is something that she has had an intolerance to since menopause because of the pseudo-estrogens. They give her hot flashes.
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Tirediron said:


> Is your wife allergic to or intolerant to beans, because beans are hard to digest and that can sometimes be counteracted by digestive enzymes, Which everyone should consider adding to their prepps because enzymes come from fresh vegitables, also L-glutamine (NOT Glucosamine)is helpful in "gut" restoration.


We have used Bean-o on a regular basis even while the allergy was developing as described above.
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Herbalpagan said:


> "bean-o" adds those helpful enymes and can be found in most stores. it really does work, my doctor suggested it.
> We aren't big bean eaters at our house, so we had stored plenty of regular veggies and fruits as well as lots of peanut butter. We work hard to find canned meats that can be added to dishes instead of beans.


You might better watch the heavy use of peanut-butter. Nut allergies are rampant!

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. You used to be able to get antigen therapy which, when used for a couple of months straight it would allow you to use the offending food once every fourth day. That company stopped importing them back in the early '90's. Too bad. They covered environments as well.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

We've been stocking up as we can but we spent much of this past summer developing skills. We learned a lot about how to garden and how to can. We also bought pretty much all the canning supplies we'll need for a long time.

Also in the spirit of bettering yourself, I try hard to make myself valuable at work. I learn extra things and take on extra responsibilities and it just paid off. I recieved a formal letter from our HR lady yesterday informing me that I just got a fairly substantial raise. As long as the world holds up, I now have that much more money coming in every week to prep with and save.

We still have a ways to go but we're slowly getting there.


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## Ron22 (Oct 30, 2009)

SaskBound said:


> Ron, I am not convinced it has to be an either-or sort of thing. Why not prep some, take a little longer to pay off your truck, and still save for a down payment, but on a longer timeline? That's how we've been approaching things. Over a few years, you can get a really significant stockpile, by even just buying 1 can or bag extra on the weekly shopping trip. I am talking $5 a week, here.
> 
> We are splitting our funds into prep, accelerated debt repayment, and fun. Fun gets a lot less than the other two, but we've still managed to save up enough for a trip every second year or so - we're off to Cuba next week. My husband and I talked it over years ago, and decided that while it is important to us to be debt free and prepared, we do not want either of those things at the expense of living our lives to the fullest right now, while we are relatively young and healthy...





Tirediron said:


> There comes a time when decisions need to be made about lifestyle choices and while having some supplies stored somewhere is great ,are you going to be able to get to them if /when SHTF, from the look of things the US economy still has a ways to fall before it bottoms. Skills on the other hand are always with you, I would be inclined to split the difference between debt reduction and some preps. See what you think/feel the future holds as far as the need to buy a house and saddle yourself with more debt, maybe a homestead location??
> _in the mean time skills and knowledge can be learned /gained usually just for the effort_


I appreciate the responses. Good ideas. I'm in Afghanistan so pretty much a 100% of my salary goes towards something. I'm on a Forward Operating Base so no place to spend money  If we want anything we order it online or ask friends or family to get it for us back home.

I've had some of this floating around in the back of my mind, but always thought I would just work on it when I retired. I've talked about these things with my mother and brother and they don't think I'm crazy (which is a good start )

Quantitative Easing is just another way of saying run away inflation. I think it's already starting. I believe there is a real possibility that if it [the economy] gets away from the Fed that we could be in hyper-inflation before the end of next year. My income is going to take a big drop when I retire the end of next year. I really don't believe that we have a few years... but I'll be happy if we do 

My goal for when I retired was to be debt-free with enough money in the bank for a down payment large enough to get a house payment under what I would be paying for rent. As long as I was able to accomplish that goal then I haven't worried about anything else until recently.

Not an extravagant house I should add. I'd actually rather have more property. Something I could have a garden on, like we did when I was a kid. A couple of horses to ride. Some space to raise a calf every year for the freezer. A few chickens for eggs. Basically a homestead location  Any debt that I saddle myself with for a house will be something that I can easily handle on my retirement income. If things got so bad that my retirement check stopped, I don't think anyone will be coming to foreclose on me  Other than a house, the goal is to remain debt-free.

As far as skills... I hunted and fished as both a kid and as an adult, although not in the last several years. (I've spent almost all my time overseas recently) We had a garden when I was a kid and I had a small garden in my backyard when I lived in the city as an adult. I spent a lot of time with my grandfather growing up. He made his own butter and cheese, kept honey bees, and farmed. I learned a lot from him  I've taken care of livestock (horses, cows, chickens, hogs). I was Boy Scout. I can use a compass and read a map  I'm certified in first aid and CPR. I've had extensive firearms training in the military including tactical training. I have basic carpentry and masonry skills (a big chunk of my family works in construction and I used to work for them as a teenager). I continue to read and study what I can. Some things I may be a little rusty on, but I'm confident that I'm going to be able to accomplish the things that I want to do IF I have time.

Basically what I've decided to do is to restructure everything. I've decided to put money into preps now... at least enough to catch up some and get some of the big ticket items before the prices start to take the big jumps I'm expecting to happen. The debt can wait a little bit.

I've shifted my priorities to significant preps now. My mother and brother have agreed to help. My brother has a wife and two kids. We'll be responsible for taking care of our mother together. I have more income so I suspect that I'll be providing more in the way of preps initially. Most will be stored at my brothers house, since he lives out in the country and our mother would go there if there were a really worst case scenario. I could end up there also depending on the situation (obviously if I'm still on active duty, I probably won't be going anywhere) My brothers place is not ideal although it's better than in the city. If we get enough time, I suspect I'll end up in a better location. In which case, everyone would come to my place.

My mother has my credit card. She can buy whatever is needed and I can just pay the bill online when it comes. As luck would have it, I'm one of the first from my unit to get R&R so I should be back in the states the end of next month. I should be able to make any additional preps I need to at that point and then return to debt reduction. I still have to make sure that I'm debt free by the time I retire.

I've already bought heirloom seeds enough for a small farm. I'll pick up tools to work the ground with used when I'm home. We'll need to stock up on canning supplies as well.

Water is not a problem, but the source could be, so I'm getting a water purification system large enough to support all of us and then some.

I purchased a 12 gauge while I was home along with 500 rounds of birdshot, which will also be good for small game. In addition I've ordered 400 rounds of 00 Buck which will work well for home defense and deer which (at least for now) are plentiful in our area). I asked my brother to go with my mom and pick up a 22 rifle and a 9mm pistol. The 22 rifle is cheap to shoot and good for taking small game. I ordered 2000 rounds of 22 LR. The 9mm is one of the more common weapons being used now. It will also be easier for most women to use. I ordered a 1000 rounds of 9mm Ball and 100 rounds of JHP to start with that.

I purchased a course at Front Sight just before I found out I was going on this deployment and didn't get a chance to use it before I left. I'll be attending when I get back. The price of the course will include a Springfield XD 45. I'll get 45 ammo with my next order. At least a 1000 rounds to start.

I'm still debating what rifle to get. I'm leaning towards something in 308. I could also end up going with a 30-30 or 30-06 which are common rounds to hunt deer in my area. I could still decide on 5.56. I carry an M4 now with all the bells and whistles. I could still go that direction also.

Looking ahead I ordered reloading equipment also along with dies for the most common calibers. In the short run, I can maybe save a little money re-loading my own. In the long run in a worst case scenario... who knows?

My mom is going to look into getting a Sam's Card and start buying up bulk canned goods. Enough food for 4 adults and 2 children for 6 months initially. I think over the next several weeks things will come together and we'll have most of our initial preps finished by the mid January.

Lastly I'm looking at purchasing a $100 dollar face value of junk silver. Every indication is that inflation is going to take off and the price of silver is going to also. Having some "hard currency" could come in handy at some point in the future.

I've been lurking here for a bit reading different threads along with surfing other preparedness sites. I'll post again from time to time as my preps come together.

Any suggestions I would be very happy to hear. Thanks!


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