Why I Prep . Why do you?

Hello all. I hope all have had a good week so far. I recently authored a thread about meeting a member and knowing she was a member and how I should proceed to let her know I was. I enjoyed the thread and the crazy replies. Since doing the work I spoke of in my other thread ( prepper closet). I have been asked to build another for a neighbor. This is what leads me to this thread.

If I was asked once I have been asked a hundred times, Why do I prep? To put is as simple as I can and as easy as I can. I prep for the unknown situation, and to have a good stock of supplies on hand. I have found it in the long run saves us tons of money in food cost's. Whatever situation might arise, I think I'm ready or as ready as one human can be. Food, water, clothing, alternate heat and energy sources. Alternates living sites (mountain cabin).

I prep because I also grew up pretty damn poor. I think alll I had up till about 12 was a hand me down from a older brother. That left a mark on me. I pride myself on being self reliant and able to live with or without the extras we surround ourselves with ( tv, computer, electric, radio). I really don't buy into the "end times" stuff that's the rage at the present. I prep for the things we can't think of to prep for, if that makes any sense. I have been this way for a long time. I probally started in earnest when I was about 31yrs old. So ATS, why do you prep?

reply to post by openyourmind1262


I prep so my kids and grandkids will have something to eat
when times get rough!

I like to be prepared because I'm tired of seeing people waste time/money on frivilous things and then cry or pout when they lose power for an hour or get a flat tire and rely on a cell phone.

I prep because I don't want to be that person.

I feel it's always better to be prepared than to be caught off guard in any situation.
Maybe my training taught me that.
Maybe my love of the outdoors taught me that.
It makes sense to be prepared for the unknown...even just a little.
In my opinion, It doesn't make sense to ignore the writing on the wall.

Either way, it's just a good feeling to know that if something happens, I don't panic.
I guess it's just part of being aware of my surroundings.
No matter where I'm at, I try to think of the best possible route...in or out.


Now I just have to help others to start relying on themselves...

I prep because of storms, mostly. I live in an area that has hurricanes in the summer and ice storms in the winter. I also live fairly rural, almost a forest setting, so our power goes out often, as our power lines are above ground and there are so many trees that when one goes, so goes the line.

It's also a great feeling that if some disaster does strike, my family has enough food to last until we can resupply. I figure even if it's not used for a disaster, it's food purchased at today's prices, not tomorrow's and I have learned so much about food storage.

With all that's going on in the world, if there were ever a true global disaster, most people I know would starve to death in a grocery store parking lot, as they believe that's where food comes from!

I prep because I was always taught to be prepared from a younger age...I guess it's instinct eh...remember folks,you should rotate your water every 6 months.

I prep to be prepared for the unexpected. Any number of events could disrupt the power supply, water suupply, transportation, and all the other things most people take for granted each day. Also, our government has shown time and again that when one of these events takes place, they cannot be counted on to provide aid in a timely and efficient manner. That is why I want to be in a position to take care of myself, and help those that I can, if the need arises. Our great country was founded by men and women who planned for the worse and took care of their families and each other. More people should once again practice these principles so they can be as self sufficient as possible if the time comes when the SHTF, whether it be a natural or man made event.

I prep to save money. I was forced to eat foods I absolutely HATED as a child. I have been in financial highs and lows throughout my life. I now have enough foods I like for approximatley 18 months. I can also make foods I like but don't store well with basic ingredients that do. I can go months without buying anything if need be, but presently I choose to buy many things because I have the money and the food is available at the market. There may be a time when for any number of reasons, neither is the case. Also, I can see my financial situation changing for the worse already. My hours have been cut from one job, my second job has been eliminated. My third job is part time but steady. It's a small town and not a lot of options. My property taxes have doubled in the last year, I can't afford health insurance and my income is going down. I know that I will be fine food wise, property taxes will wait a couple of years. I only have to figure out how to pay for a small amount of electricity and gasoline. I can do without cable, the internet and cell phones. I don't have to have property and auto insurance and I can get rides from friends if need be in exchange for a cake or fresh bread.

For the price of a good cell phone you can buy a generator. For the extra money you save by making coffee at home instead of stopping and getting a 5 buck coffee, you can stock a pantry in one year. The pantry should be things you normally eat so there is no waste. Maybe the couple bags of instant milk aren't feasable to need to drink. Having food on hand will save you money because you will eat more at home instead of the crap in the restaurants. Why would someone not have a pantry of everyday foods? The more you save the less you need to earn. Buy on sale, make a game out of it, it's better than the Xbox will ever be. Don't go crazy, don't buy more than you can rotate. If you want some long term storage foods after that, then buy some. What you save will easily pay for the longterm storage foods over time if you do it right.

reply to post by rickymouse


I agree. Having a good store of all food stuffs save money by the month. I garden & can. We can meat, all sorts of meat.
I have found a good variety is best. I am the youngest of six brothers & sisters. I am the only one that prep's. My sister recently asked me why I needed three generators? I asked her " Why do you need a phone that cost's $700 and a vacum cleaner that cost's $600 dollars?

Hope they serve her well if the shtf. Like I told my wife, we have to account for the relatives & friends that ridicule us now, they will be the first ones to knock on the door in a shtf scenario. Being prepared for a disaster is not a silly idea. Being prepared is just good prudent thinking. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. We have a property in the mountains of N.C. High & deep in the woods. Stocked/ Ready.

You know if we do have problems in the near or far future, a lot of folks aint gonna make it. It is a sobering thought when one thinks it could get really bad really quick for a multitude of reasons. If we have a scenario to where society collapse's, we all will be faced with choices of shear life & death. That stranger that needs food, could be the stranger that wipes out you & your family for the supplies youi have. A sobering thought indeed.

reply to post by GothamKnight


You are completely right. The government has been saying everyone should be somewhat prepared for disasters. People don't listen to them, people think it won't happen to them. It can happen anywhere. Nobody is listening to the experts and then they have to learn the hard way. I think these last two generations have gone crazy, feeling they are entitled to everything just because they pay taxes. Taxes are for roads and bridges, and to make sure the dishonest are punished for stealing or conning the honest people. So much for the government protecting the honest, they have failed miserably at that. That is because we have put people in these upper jobs that are spoiled and want more than they need.

A lot of things can happen. A very big bout of food poisoning can cripple the country's available food supply. An ancient plague could still emerge, something that is buried for ten thousand years as spores can sicken a whole country before we even have a chance to learn to stop it. A simple mutated virus can kill a lot of people and make trips to the market impossible because they are closed to stop the epidemic from spreading. We are hauling everything all over the world. A slow acting pathogen can be introduced to crates of good from overseas and poison a lot of people.

A nuclear disaster can cripple the food supply routes or even an earthquake can disrupt the natural gas lines to an area for a week or more. Don't even need an earthquake, a sinkhole or just settling of the earth rapidly can break a big natural gas line. So now you have no heat in the northern states, got a backup electric heater? Got some tools to drain the water pipes if the power goes out for a week?

I was just raised that way by depression-era parents, and I'm grateful to them for doing it, because it has served me well. Once upon a time, I was ridiculed for Y2K prepping, although it was really just my regular prepping. So, yeah, Y2K turned out not to be such a big deal, but when my husband lost his job later that year, it helped tremendously by not having to buy groceries until he was re-employed. Whether or not anything happens, I will live this way till the day I die, because it's just common sense. Props to my parents, who also taught me to use and rotate supplies so that there's practically no waste. As someone mentioned above, it's a great way to save money.

I first learned about prepping when I lived in hurricane country many years ago and have built on that knowledge and those principles ever since. Now I live in Winter Storm and potential Tornado territory but the essentials are always the same. Back then, I focused primarily on the 72 hour rule but, stepped up my efforts once I had kids 6 years ago. I still have plenty of room for improvement and I address the "plan" with the transition of every season .

Its a constant evolution...

I prep because I hate risking my life by going out on ice-covered streets, just to buy a box of disposable diapers in the middle of a snowstorm.

I prep because of my interest in history, my interest in the stock market, and because of my research into the collapse of complex systems.

I prep because I believe my civilization peaked in 1970. It has been in decline ever since; lately that decline has begun picking up steam.

reply to post by tovenar


I damn sure agree with that last paragraph. Sometimes I think we peaked before I was even born.

Preparation is a state of mind. All the guns and dried food won't do a damn bit of good unless you are prepared to access the brutal savage in all of us.

Spreading apocalyptic fear and paranoia is just a clever advertising model to sell all the crap that appeals to the paranoid and scared. A shtf event is nothing you can really prep for but keeping some can goods and a good long gun only makes sense.

Originally posted by olaru12
Preparation is a state of mind. All the guns and dried food won't do a damn bit of good unless you are prepared to access the brutal savage in all of us.

I don't think the "brutal savage" is necessary or even helpful in a lot of situations. It isn't always a "winning attitude." I think the Don Corleone character would fare a lot better than a professional wrestler would, in any given survival situation.

Spreading apocalyptic fear and paranoia is just a clever advertising model to sell all the crap that appeals to the paranoid and scared. A shtf event is nothing you can really prep for but keeping some can goods and a good long gun only makes sense.

Agreed. Real prepping is behavior that increases your flexibility in a future crisis. The few people who know about my plans will ask me which SHTF scenario I plan for. The answer is easy: all of them. A few hundred feet of paracord would be helpful in just about any crisis.

Disaster preparedness is all about the risk of being wrong. What if I'm wrong, and SHTF turns out to really be a terrorist attack? Or a UN-led invasion. Or most shocking of all, what if SHTF never even happens at all? How do you make preps for every single one of those outcomes? By increasing your flexibility.....

I prep, because I did not originally know I was prepping!

I love to can. I can everything I can get my hands on, grow, whatever. It was for having healthier food to eat than most store bought crap. Then I learned about living in the country the hard way. Snowstorms, loss of power, ect.
Started keeping a supply of common sense things in the house, and a wood stove.

Then I found this site, and learned about prepping. I still don't call my self a prepper, but I am prepared for the normal "problems" of my region. And thanks to ATS, maybe some abnormal ones as well.

its not so much prepping here .. its more way of life as get nearly everything from my garden , the jungle , fishing ... theres only a few little luxury items I stock up when make my annual trips downriver .. which if push came to shove I can easily do without the little luxury items ... no shops out here and no roads nearest village is a days walk through the jungle ...

Originally posted by tovenar

Originally posted by olaru12
Preparation is a state of mind. All the guns and dried food won't do a damn bit of good unless you are prepared to access the brutal savage in all of us.

I don't think the "brutal savage" is necessary or even helpful in a lot of situations. It isn't always a "winning attitude." I think the Don Corleone character would fare a lot better than a professional wrestler would, in any given survival situation.

Of course the "brutal savage" is inappropriate in most situations but when rational and logic evaporates into chaos and anarchy; only the strong will survive. The reptilian brain will kick in and we will no longer even recognize the civilized behavior we once took so much pride in. It will be a wonderful pleasure to eat your adversaries.

In my prep pantry I have a sign hanging up on the wall. It's something my mom said to me when I was about 17 years old. I really can't recall as to why she said this to me.


" (Desperate people, do desperate things. Don't ever forget that. Ever.") Even the most even keeled person you ever meet can become desperate and do desperate things.