disaster prep vs financial security - how well do YOU balance them

[TonyDedo]

As a younger guy still establishing himself in the world, I've always been concerned with the conflict of disaster prep vs. financial security. On one hand, I’ve been inundated with checklists of things I ‘need’ to have in case of an emergency. On the other hand, the sensible side of me worries that I don’t ‘need’ these things, certainly not more than I ‘need’ money in the bank or a 0 balance on my credit card. And I suspected that many of my peers who brag about their well stocked homes and fancy bug out bags may have not been making the best financial choices. Well, I finally got evidence of my suspicions.

A client of mine is a firearms enthusiast and very concerned with disaster prep. Every year when we meet, he’s sure to give me a rundown of the latest steps he’s taken to prepare for ANY disaster that may befall. Now, he’s by no means the most extreme example I’ve heard of, but this guy had done his homework. Tucked away in his rural NH home, this guy would probably make it though the downfall of modern civilization without breaking a sweat.

He was prepared for any disaster, no matter how unlikely or remote – except for losing his job. Unfortunately this happened shortly before Christmas, and he’s already at the end of his rope. Come to find out, he had burned though most of his savings and then financed the rest of those stockpiled goods, home improvements, and survival gear. And now, save for the small stash of gold and silver coins in his basement, he doesn’t have a dime to his name. Should banks fail and modern currency become worthless he has plenty to barter, but Bank of America doesn’t seem willing to barter grain or ammunition for his home equity loan payments. He’s got plenty of gear to hunt and fish for his good, but can’t afford to pick up a loaf of bread at Stop & Shop.

It’s really a sad situation, and should be a lesson to all of us here. We should be prepared, yes, but prepare for the most likely of scenarios first. What’s more likely, that SHTF, or you get hurt or lose your job? And which are you better prepared for?

 

[coastie]

Pay the bills first and then go after the disaster stuff. YOu can build a kit to last you a month fairly inexpensively. A months worth of supplies will get you through 99.99% of what can happen. Once you do that then try to get six months of expenses saved. YOu dont need the super duper double barrel AR with all the fixings, the BOV that can climb Everest while making a latte or most of the other stuff. ONce you get the cash put back then make a list of the stuff you want. I would start with training, adding long term stores, improving your arsenal if needed etc. While you are saving the expenses, you can do things like read up on survival topics, go hiking, learn your AOR etc. THese cost nothing. I have a friend in a similar situation as yours. Sad thing is he is refusing to unload any of his gear and will be foreclosed on. Guy has 19 ARs. Selling 8 of them covers his mortgage for a year.

 

[OPM]

Tucked away in his rural NH home, this guy would probably make it though the downfall of modern civilization without breaking a sweat...

Dose not sound like it to me. If he was truly prepared he would have enough to live without a job. After all in SHTF there might be too few jobs, or none at all for awhile. Sounds more like he is one of those “hero in his mind” types. I’ll be John Conner after the apocalypse losers. I do not know the guy, so I’ll admit, I am assuming a lot. But that is the impression I got. Besides, getting a job is not difficult – getting a well paying one that you like/love – is!

Buying toys is easy and that is what a lot of preppers love and do.

 

[Andy in NH]

Here is one man's view of what to do if things get tough (or even if they don't).

IMO, he puts your question into great perspective. The podcast is HR., Min's. long.

Survival Podcast Episode 603: 12 Planks of Modern Survivalism

Topics:

-Prepare for Everything Including Nothing Going Wrong

-Debt Is Cancer Kill It

-Grow and Produce Some of Your Own Food

-Tax Is Theft Pay Only What You Must

-Stored Food is a Safe Investment

-Understand Disaster Probability and Commonality

-Green Energy Is For Independence Not Saving Polar Bears

-Own Land and Make It Produce

-Utilize Pragmatic Preparations

-Have a Means of Defense

-Have Full Documentation for Any Disaster Need

-Develop Your Own Plan

 

[sean128]

Also, look into alternate means of making an extra income. These jobs can be gradening, driving elderly to there appointments, Cab driver, Hobby shows, can drives, Storage Actions, Online stores,etc.

All it takes a good imagination.

Sean

 

[ShadeWPI]

Tony,

The issue isn't Disaster Prep verse Financial Security, it's the definition of Disaster Prep.

I think you'll find most here consider preparing for an extended job loss, injury or illness that prevents work part of disaster prep.

Depending on your job and its inherent securities, Unexpected Expenses, Illness, Injury and Jobloss are often the most likely disasters a family will need to endure, and should be prepared for first.

Storing Food, Fuel and other emergency supplies can part of that preparing for these disasters. Having 6 months worth of food stock piled eliminates the need to maintain 6-months of grosary bills. Since you can dip into other supplies in an emergency, you don't need to maintain as much cash to pay bills in the event of those emergencies.

As several have pointed out, gardening, hunting, trapping, alternative energy, etc can all reduce expenses when reacting to such an emergency, but you still need to have the financial backing to meet those expenses you can't sustain on your own.

Even in the event of a major of services, expect that banks are still going to try to collect on your mortgage (that's their main source of income) and the government is still going to try to collect taxes (again, it's their main source of income) have cash on hand to ride through that or wait until both collasp for lack of an ability to sustain themselves. Either way, it's going to take time.

 

[calsdad]

There seems to be a huge amount of people who think that buying themselves a bunch of "stuff" will somehow let them survive whatever apocalypse might come their way.

Read some history books: usually having a bunch of "stuff" hanging around is not the way to survive a disaster. The people who survive if they are caught in the middle of the maelstrom usually do so by using their brains and their wits, thru luck, or - by just getting the hell out of dodge. Look at the videos of the tsunami in Japan - there are people standing on top of concrete industrial buildings or on top of small hills taking videos of the whole thing who are just fine. Yet all around them there are people who are most likely dead - simply because they either didn't know the tsunami was coming and stayed in their homes - or - they just didn't have their heads on straight when it finally did come.

I was reading the newspaper this morning and there was a story which talked about an elderly woman who - when the tsunami was coming, headed out of her house and up a hill with her husband. Her husband only had slippers on his feet and turned back to get some shoes. She hasn't seen her husband since the tsunami hit. Lesson: Get your priorities straight. African bushmen go their whole lives without shoes. So you can probably survive a few days without them. Alternatively - I see lots of people walking around wearing nothing more than slippers these days. It's a trend on men I have noticed for the last 10-15 years. When I was a kid you wouldn't be caught dead - as a guy - wearing flip flops or sandals. Now you see men wearing them all the time. It's the same thing with those idiots who wear the pants that fall down around your ankles. Sandal and ankle pants wearers are lining themselve up to die in the next disaster the way I see it. Disaster survival can be something that just becomes an integral part of your life if you think about it a little.

I have bought a lot of guns and ammo over the last few years. If I was to get myself in a situation where I needed the money - I know I would be able to sell the stuff. I might not be able to sell it for what I paid for it (although I do consider guns and ammo an "investment" and I try to buy low so if I am stuck selling in dire circumstances I can at least stand a reasonable chance of recouping that investment).

I've been thinking about buying a Berkey fiter system for a while now. I can justify it because the SO constantly drinks bottled water - so we will be able to save money by just filtering our own - and - we will have a water filtering system in case SHTF arrives.

The biggest problem is most people don't see disaster coming - until it's too late. I think of this as a "priorities" issue. It's a mentality a lot of people just don't have - I think they just REALLY can't perceive when a situation is about to get really bad. To them it's all just a movie that will turn out all right in the end. They think they have time to go back and get a pair of shoes - or they think they don't need to sell those 8 AR's to make their mortgage payment (Coastie's example). I think this is the result of leading a sheltered modern life in a lot of cases. People have just never been exposed to true hardship so they don't have a clue how people end up there.

 

[In God We Trust]

All you really need to survive a likely disater scenerio is knowledge. With that you can survive by knowing how to forage, fish or hunt a meal and build a fire. Beyond that, have a store of food and water. Start out small and build on it when you can. A few extra cans a week. I don't think the .gov is going to collapse or the zombies are going to rise.

Also you can only shoot one gun at a time. Buy a cheap WASR or even a shotgun and a have a couple hundred rounds on hand. You are not going to be waging a guerilla war in the mountains. Chances are that if you are in a firefight where you need more than 2 magazines, you are probably going to wind up dead anyway.

Also, here in MA and NH, unless you live within a few miles of the coast, I can't think of any likely scenerios where you will need to "bug out". Unless you enjoy camping (which is a good way to learn to survive) you can skip the fancy bug out bag and survival gear. No matter what happens, I plan on riding it out in my home. I am too old and lazy to be sleeping in the woods getting eaten alive by bugs or freezing my ass off. This is my Alamo, and I'm not leaving period. A big tarp and a cheap backpack will do just fine in a pinch. I got a nice pack at walmart for $10.

If you shop around, you can get nice functional stuff for short money. You don't need the best. As has already been said, knowledge is the best thing to have.

 

[P-14]

Family comes first. That means their survival and well-being on a daily basis. To that end, a job and a cash reserve (in green money) should be everybody's priority before the doom scenarios even enter into the equations.

I lost my first real job in 1993 after 11 years at Union Carbide in Buffalo. It was devastating. I have a wife and 2 daughters and had a house and car payment at that time. Fortunately, I found a job before my severance ran out. And, the job was better than the one I left.

At that moment we deliberately gave a priority to keeping a liquid cash reserve solely for the purpose of surviving the next job loss. Over a 3 year period of time we put what we thought was 6 months of actual living expenses in the bank. This would last 12-18 months on austerity. And, the finanancial advisor said this was a good and valid economic goal.

When I lost my job in 2004, is was a shock, but not a financial crisis.

Whatever your plans are for the SHTF, you have to consider ALL scenerios and weight them as to which are the most likely to occur. Clearly, job loss is more likely than an earthquake, terrorrists, a leftist takover of the government, or other nightmare that we all wrestle with.

Today, the guns and SHTF stuff is considered my "hobby." The cash reserve is for the family. It's still there today. Take care of the family first. And, don't be afraid to move where the work is. That's why we're in Boston now.

 

[shadyduk1979]

Like the OP i too am young and just starting out. My father taught me simple rules of prep,

Step one prepare for job loss financially by keeping enough money set aside for two months without changing your standard of living this way should you lose you job, you will have more than two moths worth of money because you will drastically cut back on spending.

Step two: prepare for basic human needs during a two week period. If you get in serious trouble after step one, at least you have food, water, heat, light and basic first aid

Step three: add to step two as you can, should you lose power, job, or SHTF you stand a chance of surviving

You can make it is complicated or as simple as you want but it is much more likely that everyday will be the same as the last. If not, at least you have planned for it.

 

[Mr.T]

I started out life spending as much as I was earning and developed debt quite quickly. But over the years I've gone from being on a first name basis with the collection agent, to my wife (who has always had great credit) and I having ratings that get the lowest rates available for the few times we've refinanced our home or purchased our vehicles.

So it can be done, no matter how bad it seems at the moment. When you use a credit card, ONLY charge what you can pay off each month - don't pay interest, fees or penalties. Debit cards are safer to avoid debt, but properly managed credit cards are safer to protect your money when something happens - card stolen or lost, disputing a purchase, etc...

As far as stocking up, many of the previous posts have covered the wise steps to take. The only thing I would add is that, you don't need to have everything on your own if you can't afford it yet, but buy what you can afford and store. My wife thinks I'm nuts as I keep increasing our backup supply of tunafish from 4 cans, to 8, to 12, to... every time I see a sale. But the expiration dates are over a year out, and it's an easy source of protein that everyone in my family enjoys.

And in a true crisis, do not discount the value, and power, of the barter. Filling half your basement with toilet paper, and little else, may seem as crazy as Noah building his ark hundreds of miles from the nearest body of water, but the value of that "investment" will be quickly apparent when you see what the rest of your neighbors are willing to trade you to get a few rolls for their family's needs because they have run out.

 

[GM-GUY]

http://daily-survival.blogspot.com/2010/12/from-beginning-prepper-to-fully-stocked.html

I have a more detailed list I think I got off survival blog, but can't seem to find it now on the site. Anyway, this shows you how to get started cheap and easy, then build as time/money allows.

 

[OPM]

http://daily-survival.blogspot.com/2010/12/from-beginning-prepper-to-fully-stocked.html

I have a more detailed list I think I got off survival blog, but can't seem to find it now on the site. Anyway, this shows you how to get started cheap and easy, then build as time/money allows.

I cannot tell if you are joking. I hope you are.

Step 1 is 100 and Step 2 is 1000 and Step 3 is 10000. Is this list for mentally ill rednecks? For 1 to survive according to Billy-Bobs list you need 1K of ammo, but for 10 living in the same shelter you need 10K?!? What the smell of more people attracts more zombies in equal amounts per capita? The 1K of “food” is retarded. What kind of food??? Unlike water, the type of food you get matters a great deal and so are the specific amounts. Properly chosen – 600Lb is enough. Randomly picked – even 2000lb might nutritionally starve you. 1K gallons of water??? Is this guy planning to take Roman baths while people around him die from dehydration? 350 gal is enough for a year, and as I mentioned in the “So with everything that has happened in Japan” thread, in Northeast you only need about 3 months for emergency and the rest you should be able to collect. Why would your fuel needs for heating the same space and cooked somewhat larger portions go from 1K to 10K? Why do you need silver for “brief disaster”? “100 silver dimes and 100 dollar bills”?!? WTF? He must be joking. And what does “bills” mean? A bunch of $100 bills or a bunch of $1, $5 $10 and $20 to equal $100. What about meds? How about tools? Cloths? Etc. etc. etc.

Dude I sincerely hope you were kidding. However, next time please put a smiley face or something to let people know it’s a joke. Lately it seems these “survival gurus” are popping up everywhere and unfortunately 99.9% of them know nothing about hardship or life in general. And unfortunately they make normal people who what to be responsible look nuts by association. Surviving or prepping is first and foremost is about commonsense. It’s simple - just think things through and take appropriate steps. If you cannot do that – no matter how much shit you store – you probably will perish if things get truly dark.

 

[GM-GUY]

That list is not as detailed as the list I pulled down from the web 6 months ago (4 pages). The idea with the 100 level is to be bare essential prepared: 100 cans of food/4 people = 25 per person/3 meals day = 7 days of food. The money is to be in $1 bills as that gives you the ability to buy stuff and not need change. The dimes are OLD silver - worth alot more than $0.10 each.

The ammo is (I think) along with the dimes meant for trade.

The original writer meant it as a way to keep people from being overwhelmed and thinking they could never 'get there'.


You are right - if you use this one document to prepare you're screwed - but if it sets you on a path where one step is taken at a time - it has performed far more than any list could.