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Is prepping a good idea?

Planning ahead and anticipating possible risks and needs is a great way to lessen the effect that an emergency or disaster may have on your life. Preppers are wise people who understand that change is a constant in life.

theprovidentprepper.org - Be Part of the Solution: 14 Compelling Reasons to Be a Prepper

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The media often paints preppers in a less than appealing light because of a few extreme preppers that make an impressive, but a non-realistic story. Real preppers are quite different than Doomsday Preppers. What are today’s preppers actually preparing for? Modern preppers are preparing for a time when life as we know it may get a little challenging. Preppers are getting ready to be self-reliant regardless of the challenges that life may throw their way. These challenges may take the form of anything from a winter power outage to an earthquake to an unexpected financial challenge to the complete collapse of civilization as we know it. Each prepper is getting ready for risks that are specific to their geographical and personal risk factors. To learn what risks you may want to prepare for visit our post Prepper Risk Assessment: What Threats Should You Be Prepared to Survive.

What Exactly is a Prepper?

A prepper is someone who has the wisdom and insight to look to the future and prepare for possible events that may impact his or her life. These people build knowledge and skills, gather supplies, and join together in communities that work together for the benefit of all. Preppers take reasonable steps to prepare for the future while also making time to enjoy the present.

Most Preppers Are Not Preparing for One Catastrophic Event

While some preppers are preparing for “The End of the World as We Know It” (TEOTWAWKI) or the great Zombie Apocalypse, the vast majority of preppers are just getting ready to take care of their families regardless of the circumstances they may find themselves in. Planning ahead and anticipating possible risks and needs is a great way to lessen the effect that an emergency or disaster may have on your life. Preppers are wise people who understand that change is a constant in life. We are preparing for events that are fairly likely such as natural disasters, power outages, and financial challenges which are just a part of everyone’s lives. We are self-reliant.

Compelling Reasons You Should Be a Prepper

We encourage you to join us as we prepare to take on the challenges of life. Perhaps understanding the benefits of becoming a prepper may help convince you to join the ranks of The Provident Preppers.

1. Preppers Embrace the Motto “Be Prepared”

The Boy Scouts of America teaches our youth to always be prepared. Being prepared is interpreted to mean that you are always in a state of readiness, in both mind and body, to do your duty. Scouts are encouraged to be prepared in mind by thinking through possible situations beforehand so that they will understand what to do and be prepared regardless of the accident or event that confronts them. In addition, scouts are taught to be prepared in body so they are strong and physically able to do what needs to be done. They need to have the physical resources to take care of important basic needs. We completely embrace this concept as it is taught to our young boys and understand that it will help them become great men. Preppers are adults who recognize the value in these concepts and choose to be ready both in mind and body to take care of themselves and their families regardless of the challenges that come their way.

2. Your Great Grandparents Were Preppers

Have you considered the fact that many of your ancestors were preppers? Historically, being what we call a “prepper” significantly increased your chance of surviving through the winter. Stocking up on supplies and preserving the harvest was a necessary part of life. Victory gardens were the norm during World War II and those who grew them were considered heroes in the war effort. Many who lived through the great depression learned a great appreciation for the value of stocking up, becoming self-reliant, and being prepared. Yet in our society of “just-in-time inventory” and “fast food” lifestyles, everything that we need seems to be readily available as long as we have the cash or credit to pay for it. Perhaps we should consider exactly how those supplies magically appear and what may possibly disrupt this potentially fragile system. Prepping isn’t crazy or insane. It is a treasured part of your heritage and we would be wise to embrace prepping like our prudent ancestors did. We are preparing for the thousands of little things that life throws our way each and every day. For example, we have a 3 to 6 month supply of foods that our family eats every day. This means that I never have to take a last minute trip to the grocery store to buy a missing ingredient. This family storehouse enables us to easily weather a financial trial such as a job change, unexpected illness or medical bills, car repairs, or a spontaneous family vacation. A power outage at our home is nothing more than adventure. We have fun lighting devices that take care of lighting our world. We have backup heating and the ability to cook both indoors and outdoors. A generator and fuel are ready at a moment’s notice if we decide to use it. A power outage is no sweat at the Jones’ home. We are ready for all the little events as well as any larger catastrophic events that may appear.

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4. Prepping Makes Life Easier

Life is full of stress and worries. When you are prepared, it can reduce that stress. That full pantry means that you always have the ability to whip up a meal or have a chocolate bar to nibble on. Prepping means you take fewer trips to the grocery store allowing more time for the things you like to do.

5. Preppers Build Relationships and Strengthen Communities

Preppers are a great asset to the communities in which they live. They are self-reliant and have the necessary skills and abilities that strengthen their community. Preppers reach across the barriers of age, race, culture, socioeconomic status, and religion as they unite to help each other every day, as well as when disaster strikes. Many preppers participate in amateur radio networks or are trained members of local Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). When disaster strikes, preppers are not only ready to care for their own families but they are prepared to reach out and bless the lives of others. Other preppers grow gardens that produce an abundance of produce to share with neighbors. Some are trained medical personnel or first responders. While other preppers are the little grandma down the street who bakes amazing bread and cookies that will dissolve the resolve of the strongest dieter.

6. Prepping Brings Peace

Some preppers operate in the fear mode. They stockpile anything and everything because they fear what may happen in the future. Fear is not a good reason to become a prepper. Security does not come from the “stuff” that you own. We prepare because it brings great peace. We do not know exactly what our future holds. Like many others, we prepare for religious reasons, and because it just makes sense. As we watch the events in the world unfold, there is great peace knowing that we have done everything that we reasonably can to prepare, and we can leave the rest in God’s hands. There is great comfort in knowing that our basic needs of shelter, sanitation, water, food, and fuel are met. Because we prepare, we do not fear the future

7. Preppers Can Do More with Less

It is possible to pull out a credit card and purchase a prepackaged food supply and expensive toys just to stash them away for “someday”. This expensive approach to prepping is the exception and not the rule. Prepping is much more that purchasing “stuff” to put away just in case something happens. An interesting change occurs as you progress along your preparedness journey. Preppers learn to value resources and reduce waste. We become great problem solvers and do-it-yourselfers. We learn skills that enable us to be much more self-reliant that we thought possible. Preppers tend to buy in bulk and stock up at sale prices which leads to a significant reduction in the food bill. Cooking with basics such as beans and rice is cheap. By practicing the principles of food storage and home production, many preppers find that they have a well-stocked family food store and eat better while spending significantly less at the grocery store.

8. Preppers Work to Be Free from Debt

Debt is a burden that has a brutal taskmaster. Preppers strive to live within their means and work hard to stay out of debt. They come up with ingenious ways to accomplish important goals while living within their budget. The skills that preppers acquire often lends itself to part-time jobs to earn additional income. Financial stability, money in savings, and a stash of handy cash or precious metals is the worthy goal of many preppers. A debt free life provides unique freedom. It can mean an early retirement, increased disposable income, or the freedom to leave employment that you do not enjoy.

9. Prepping Builds Self-Confidence

Preppers take opportunities to gain knowledge and develop skills. Preppers are constantly considering “what if” scenarios that allow them to carefully consider possible options and mentally play out the best course of action. Self-confidence is a natural consequence of learning and developing these skills as they strive to become ready for anything. As you involve children in this process, they also have fewer fears and develop great confidence in their ability to handle the storms that will arise in their lives.

10. Prepping May Make the Difference Between Life and Death

Realistically, most of the time your preparedness efforts will increase your comfort and reduce the level of inconvenience when life gets tough. Personally, that is a reason enough for me. It is possible that in some circumstances your preparedness efforts will make the difference in your ability to survive. Preppers take steps to mitigate risks. We live in earthquake country. Tall furniture and shelves have been secured to the walls. Water heaters have been carefully strapped to the walls. We participate in mock earthquake disasters. If we ever actually have an earthquake, we have taken steps to reduce the likelihood of resulting injury or death. As we review history, we see that the choice to preserve the harvest helped people get through the winter. A failed crop didn’t mean a higher bill at the grocery store, it meant hunger, illness and perhaps even death. It is possible that your family food stores may prove to be just as valuable today.

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11. Preppers Are Not Dependent on Government

Have you taken note of some of the things that the government is doing to prepare? They are stockpiling supplies. Many public officials are silent preppers. Perhaps their actions speak louder than words. Preppers do not depend on the government to save them. They clearly understand the importance of storing provisions that will enable them to be self-reliant. They choose not to fight the battle for the scarce resources the government may or may not be handing out.

12. Preppers Have What They Need

I alluded to this earlier, but the thing I like best about being a prepper is that I don’t usually run out of anything. We know what we need and stock it and rotate it. One of the great things to learn in life is how to do without. While this is a highly valuable lesson, I personally prefer to have what I need to make my life more comfortable. I like having my toilet paper and have no desire whatsoever to learn to live without it. Preppers typically have a backup for their backup. They have built solid relationships with a network of like-minded people that can share skills and supplies whenever needed.

13. Preppers Are Wise

If none of the above reasons compel you to become a prepper, join us because you are smart. Enjoying today while spending some time and resources to prepare for the future makes perfect sense. It is the smart thing to do and wise people will make it happen.

14. Preppers Are Part of the Solution

When life does get difficult, preppers make a positive difference for all of society. Because they prepare in advance, preppers stimulate the economy and production demand during times of abundance. When the abundance is gone and things are tight, they don’t compete for the limited resources (largely because they don’t want to be in the middle of such fights), thus allowing more to be available for others. Additionally, preppers generally desire to help others (and have the skills to do that) and are community minded. Because they are prepared and won’t need to spend all their time, emotion, and energy scrambling for survival, they will be the ones making life better for everyone else.

What Are Preppers Preparing to Survive?

Preppers are preparing to minimize the challenges that life throws at them. They do this by carefully evaluating their risks and understanding their vulnerabilities. Then preppers take steps to mitigate the possible damage those risks may cause.

The most common risks that preppers are preparing to survive include:

Natural Disasters – Earthquakes, drought, floods, heat waves, hurricanes, landslides, solar flare, tornadoes, severe winter storms, tsunamis, volcanoes, wildfires, and other events Mother Nature’s power unleashes on us. Man-Made Disasters – Cyber-attack, EMP (electromagnetic pulse), nuclear events, terrorism, war, or any event where people create terrible events to cause misery. Financial Challenges – economic collapse, recession, depression, hyperinflation, unemployment, underemployment, or any other event that impacts financial livelihood. Personal Challenges – a house fire, legal issues, power outage, chronic illness, serious injury, disability, divorce, death of a loved one, or any challenge unique to your personal life. Social Unrest – Arson, assault and battery, burglary, gang violence, home invasion, homicide, riots, robbery, theft, or any event where you feel unsafe and need to take steps to protect yourself and your home. Health Hazards – Epidemics or Pandemics or communicable diseases where it may be important to self-quarantine for safety. You may have noticed a distinct difference in this post between the media portrayal of Doomsday Preppers and the majority of the preppers who aren’t crazy … they are smart! We are not motivated by fear but by wisdom. We have the foresight to look to the future and realize that there are challenging times ahead. Then we take reasonable steps to prepare for those challenges. Life can be a battle for scarce resources. Stock up on valuable resources while they are both inexpensive and available. There is a difference between hoarding and stocking up. Preppers stock up. Learn critical skills to improve your life today and in the future. Build relationships and strengthen your community. Today is a great day to decide to become a prepper. Explore our site for great posts that will help you on your journey to preparedness. Here are a few links to get you started:

theprovidentprepper.org - Be Part of the Solution: 14 Compelling Reasons to Be a Prepper

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