Remember, The Most Important Preps Don’t Cost Money

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By the author of The Dark Secrets of Survival and  the online courseOne Year in Hell

I read the latest statistics here about inflation, salaries, expenses, and whatnot.

In a bunch of information, I read one of the most interesting statistics for me, and it is info that people here spend around 45 percent of (average) salary on food only. And it is like very essential food, not fancy or dining out.

Statistics are a funny thing, so it makes sense also to mention that majority of folks get much less than the average salary. But there is also a percentage of people (politicians, and others on the government ‘tit’) who receive salaries 5-6 times larger than the common folks. So “average salary“ is a funny number actually.

But, statistics work that way.

You do not have to be a mathematic wizard to realize (based on these numbers) that a huge number of people are struggling every month to cover expenses only for food, and covering anything else is like science fiction for them.

Those are folks who work and got some salary for it.

The unemployment rate goes from 30 to 50 percent, depending on who you ask –  government or nongovernment sources.

So, there are a lot of hungry people here. The government and statistics do not mention them.

I am not sure about the numbers in your region and the place where you live, but I am positive that there are no good numbers anywhere today, only bad numbers and statistics.

Everyone everywhere is struggling.

Where are preppers in all of this?

I see us through the prism of two important things:

1.) What to do (from the physical side of things)

2.) What to do (from the psychological side)

The physical side

This is clearly a time when you need carefully to think about what you are doing with your own money. Actually that time is here for quite a while already.

Also, this is a time when you carefully need to think and re-think something that I mentioned many times, and that is necessity vs. comfort (luxury).

You as a prepper should know what is really necessary and essential and you should aim for that. These are not times to throw money away on not necessary things.

Keep in mind that the survival industry is also a selling industry, so no matter how something in the Preppersphere looks cool for you to buy, you need to think twice about whether you are going to buy it. Because maybe you can find it for free somewhere, and also keep in mind that buying prepper stuff just to get peace of mind usually only lasts for a short amount of time.

Choose carefully.

On the other side, I do not necessarily advocate sitting on your money (if you have some amount).

In times like these holding a certain amount of money for quick solutions when SHTF makes sense, and for regular expenses while there are still regular expenses. BUT if you are sitting on a bigger amount of money maybe it is time to invest it in something that is more “shielded” against troubles.

(How can you get your food preps better squared away? Check out our free QUICKSTART Guide to learn more.)

Remember that the best preps do not require money.

Since many of us live from paycheck to paycheck if we are lucky enough to have job-we do not have the “troubles” of handling larger amounts of money.

If you are asking yourself, “what can I do these days? I can not afford to invest anything in my prepping?“ then remember that best preps do not require money.

The best preps are skills and plans. Start with those that are free, if you are beyond those steps then go back and again.

• Recheck your plans and strategies, stashes, and preps…for example go again through your plans about what to do if the SHTF, how and with who. Go through it with your family, and simply do it in the spirit of the latest events worldwide. Maybe you did not plan for something that is happening now. Talk and discuss and work on your plans.
• Test and retest. There is nothing like bringing it as close as possible to the real stuff, so after you went through the steps mentioned above, and noticed or not changes, do exercises like going through the bug-out route, or testing how fast and when you can meet with your family members if something bad happens. Simply check what works and what does not work with your equipment.
• Learn… Yes, there is still time to learn stuff, and yes there is lot of stuff that is actually free. Invest time in learning new skills that you find useful for the coming SHTF.
• Exercise. I know it is easier to say than to do, but it is free. Work on your fitness. You’ll be thankful for it one day.

The psychological side

There is a local saying here from one of the public figures that goes like this (paraphrasing):

“Daily problems about politics, hate. and the nation’s problems are for the people with very low income. People who have a bit better income discuss nice furniture, gardens, and similar. People with average income discuss healthy food, nice living, etc. Folks who have very good income talk only about love and highly spiritual things.”

The message of this is that if you are living normal and wealthy life you do not give s..t about hate, problems, fear and similar or you simply discuss those topics from the point of philosophy.

If you are very poor, or hungry, you live in fear and you can be easily manipulated and driven into hate, rage, and all the bad stuff.
You are dependent and you can easily be manipulated by a lot of things, with promises or fear.

Guess what? There are more and more poor and hungry people, and there is more and more manipulation, hate, promises, and fear. So, as a result, there are a lot of bad things possible to happen, since in my opinion there is a larger mass to be manipulated.

You may be saying it is not true from the point that lot of wealthy people are into hate and wrong things. But the point of the saying is basically, are you dependent and scared?

Now, what you as a prepper could do?

You need to keep that common sense and healthy judgment. Don’t allow yourself to be led in the wrong direction and manipulated.

No matter how times are bad, how low is your salary, or how big are the promises, you, as a prepper in your own core need to be free to judge not based on fear, but on facts and information that you collected alone.

Otherwise, what’s the point of being a prepper or survivalist?

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What are your thoughts?

Do you agree with the saying that Selco mentioned about how the people who are more desperate are the easiest to manipulate with hate and fear?

How are you proceeding with preparedness if money is tight? What can we do when we can’t afford to buy preps?

Let’s talk about this in the comments.

About Selco:

Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution. 

In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today.

He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless of what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations as Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months.

Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard, and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world.