Frugal Village Forums banner

What do you think about preppers???

Tags
preppers
2K views 15 replies 15 participants last post by  judembc 
#1 ·
I am a mini prepper due to inflation or a possibility of hyperinflation. My Dh thinks I am insane and if I had the money we would have a bunker, root cellar, and 10 years worth of food. Maybe I am crazy. Does anyone believe in a possibility of hyperinflation or an economic collapse?? We live about 90 miles from New Orleans after Katrina we could really see how people react when there are no resources, we also saw how the government will not be there to help you. We have to stock up anyway on supplies since we are not far from the Gulf for storms and that's the excuse I use. Just want other opinions.
 
#2 ·
I don't prep as the people on doomsday preppers do, I honestly don't feel there is a need for a bunker. I do see the importance of having a stockpile as an extension of my emergency fund, so if my husband lost his job what money we have in savings can be used for expenses other than food. I live in an area that is prone to power outages because of hurricanes and ice storms. I feel it is important to be prepared for natural disasters, despite where a person lives there is some type of a natural disaster their area is subject too. We all witnessed the lack of speed our governement moved to help victims of Katrina, and should keep that in mind. Unlike the preppers I have seen on the few episodes of doomsday preppers, I will help my neighbors. My immediate neighbors are all over the age of 80, during a power outage I have and will continue to check on them and feed them if needs be. Considering I live 100's of miles from my grandmother, I hope there is a kind hearted soul in her neighborhood that would do the same for her.
 
#3 ·
Justpeachy that is very nice of u...

227melissa I don't see a recovery for the economy..yes I would have more if my personal fianances would allow... I am having to start again on my stockpile...we have lived on it for awhile and now it is depleted and the prices have doubled. so it is a bigger burden 4 us.

For the first time in my adult life I really do not have hope for the future.....I worry for my kids....
Yes people also think I am crazy.. I have seen a drastic decline in my lifestyle in the last 5 years I have always been frugal but now it is a necessity for us as a family.
 
#4 ·
I have aways been one to think ahead..I lived out in the country for many years so have always stockpiled...Even after I have moved to town I am still pretty much a stockpiler...Prices have gone up so much the past year that I only buy what is on sale now for my stock but hope to get a handle on it soon with summer comming on will be able to get a garden again and try to have it built up some..
 
#5 ·
I have lived on or close to the Texas Gulf Coast since I was born. So I grew up being prepared for a hurricane. My prepping has grown from there. I too worry about our economy and inflation. I have a fabulous stockpile and it warms my heart to know that I paid pennies on the dollar for the majority of it.
 
#6 ·
I think prepping can be both a good thing and bad.

For one, as everyone is mentioning -it's not just the end of the world that you might need your stockpile for, but it is always good to have a fail safe in place for your own family in the event of a personal disaster, not just a global one.

But I think that some people are taking things to the extreme. When you hear about people that have put their complete lives on hold (and that of their family members too) so they can devote 20 out of the 24 hours in a day to prepping- I think that is a bit over the top.

I am all for being prepared and having plans & options. But my concerns are with all these massive preps that are being done - no one can predict when and where you will be if and when disaster strikes. What if you are not close to your bunkers, your stockpiles, all your prepping. What then? People are presuming that they either will be, or they can get to them. Neither is a given or a guarantee. Then all that planning & prepping has left the person as vulnerable as the rest of us. And maybe even in worse shape, as they tell us they have spent all their monies and available resources on all the prepping that they have already done.

On the other hand, these same people are learning vital survival skills that could become necessary for survival in our future world, just as we know it now. They are learning to shoot firearms, live off the land, treat medical conditions without the luxuries of modern medical science.

So, no matter how to put it -this is how I see it - planning & knowledge can be the greatest asset in the world, and it can also be the cause of the death of me.

There truly are no easy answers...
 
#8 ·
I am not a "prepper" the way some folks are, but I am cautious enough that I check the Preparedness forum often to pick up ideas.

Living where we do, we need to be prepared for storms, wildfires and earthquakes. Storms typically leave us without power for 3 or 4 days (sometimes a week). An earthquake would leave us cut off from civilization (or what is left of it - the "big one" here would be a magnitude 9) for weeks.

You mentioned economic collapse. I don't know when it is going to happen, but I am convinced it is inevitable in my lifetime. The way we run things is unsustainable, which by definition means an eventual collapse.

We don't "stockpile" as such, but we do keep enough supplies on hand for the more normal emergencies. For the "long emergency" (i.e. economic collapse - see the book by that title), a stockpile isn't going to help once it runs out. Our survival strategy is community self-sufficiency and skill-building.
 
#9 ·
I am sort of a prepper. I plan for short-term "events".


These are the types of "events" that happen (or might happen) where I live:

They had a 100 yr flood 16 years ago and the county I live in were cut off for a few weeks because the roads were blocked by landslides and flooding.

The West Hills in Portland are a fault line. They are about a mile from my house.

The Columbia River is about a mile the other direction. We are at 20' above sea level. If a dike breaks, we will be swimming.

Mt St Helens isn't too far away either.

Mt Hood isn't active at the moment but is overdue for an eruption.

In the early 1960's, there was the Columbus Day Storm storm that knocked out power for a few weeks.



The long term "events", well, I figure that we won't be alive or want to be alive for the aftermath.
 
#10 ·
Have a pretty good size stockpile here. Since I live in an area where getting to a store is just a matter of a short walk I do not worry as much about prepping. However, seeing what happened during Huricanne Katrina and 9/11 made me reconsider the idea of actually keeping a stockpile. For me knowing I have a couple weeks worth of food - sure a little odd for meals - keeps me more relaxed when it comes to any unplanned bills.

The stockpile gives me the time needed to wait for really good sales and a sense of security. Watching a couple of doomsday prepper shows does make me want to learn some skills such as building a fire without matches or being able to identify plants that are edible from the woods nearby. Realistically I do not have the resources to have a year or more in food and supplies. Think everyone should do whatever they think is best for their situation. If I was living in an area where my nearest neighbor was a mile away you can bet that my stockpile would be larger and more complex than what it is now.
 
#11 ·
I am in awe of preppers. I'll be the one knocking on people's doorsteps begging or offering services for food. I love having a pantry but have not been stocking mine lately, ate through my small stockpile during tough financial times. How others can plan, prep and NOT touch it is impressive to me. Just like credit on a credit card I saw it as "cool, extra food, eat more" instead of "save it for emergency!" So then I spent more money elsewhere, eating through my stockpile and not buying groceries.

So ya I would be a prepper if I could get into the mindset for it. I think it will take a real emergency for me to wake up.
 
#12 ·
Having been without power for 10 days after a major, unexpected ice storm 3+ years ago, I don't so much 'prep' as stockpile. Luckily power was back on/still on about 10-20 miles away, and most roads were clear within the day, but it got me thinking- what if? What if -something- happend that closed out all options of stores for days or weeks (or months)? I don't need to have 3 years of food in the house, but I'd feel a lot better with 2-3 months. Not sure how long we could live off what's in the house this moment, probably 3-4 weeks. Would like to up that a bit, but don't feel a need to go crazy.

I worry most about EMPs, natural disasters, pandemics (where we might wish to be in the position to STAY in the house, even if stores are still open). Doesn't dominate our lives, but a real concern. Inflation scares me a bit too.
 
G
#13 ·
Yes, I think most people that identify as preppers are a little crazy, but I would be polite enough not to say that. We've lost power for a week before and had to deal with some natural disasters, but I don't see the point in having my own bunker or a 10 year supply of food. While I don't have a very positive outlook for our economy, I also don't believe that the zombie apocolypse will come to pass, either.
 
#14 ·
I don't consider myself a prepper but I do stockpile against inflation (and sure, hyperinflation too, why not). Living where I do, I've seen the price of food just about double in the past 3 years. Some foods like eggs have doubled in price in about 4 months. Even aspirin doubled in price from 2011 to 2012. And 'economic crisis austerity measures' reduced our income by about half. If I hadn't stockpiled, would we have gone hungry? No... but we would have risked nutritional deficiencies. Thanks to the stockpile, we can spend our entire food budget on a few vegetables if we have to, because we have dry goods to get us through.

Of course no one should expect to be able to stockpile enough to last through an economic collapse, but it does mean you only spend money on fresh foods and extremely good sales.
 
#15 ·
I don't consider myself a prepper. I'm more into sustainable living and skill building as KeithBC mentioned. I would like to be able to grow or produce as much of what we eat or use as possible. I think it's fun to do this.

For instance, last spring and again this spring, we tapped our sugar maple trees and made maple syrup. Now that we know how and have the equipment, we don't have to worry about stockpiling sugar.

DD and I are experimenting with growing several different cooking herbs this year. We've planted lots of fruit bearing plants too. We grow dent corn and grind our cornmeal and grits. We're experimenting with growing other small grains and need to figure out a good threshing method.

I would also like to play around with oil seed crops and pressing oil for cooking.
 
#16 ·
I don't consider myself a prepper, but I've always been a super organized personality and try to be prepared for the next step.
We've had some ice storms in the past few years where we've lost power for a week or more and each storm I learn something else "we should do next time."
I love reading everyone's ideas & tips I learn so much from them.
We're fortunate to have a huge pantry which is always stocked & hopefully we'll be able to help extended family if anything happens.

Of course if a massive disaster were to happen where most family/friends, etc. lost lives I'm not so sure I'd want to be left behind.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top