Prepping for Down Range

Some of the best prepping items are those that are not only highly useful but also inexpensive. It’s always nice to get a whole lot of bang for very little buck. It’s even better when one of these highly useful, inexpensive items can be a life saver.

Fire is essential. Just to name a few of the benefits, fire can provide added warmth in the cold, purify water, signal for help, keep predators at bay, and is also a morale booster. The benefits exponentially outweigh the cost and weight of fire starters. There are three different methods of fire starting that I keep in my GHB, and the total cost of all three combined was less than $20.00. There are other methods of getting a fire going and I do suggest that at some point in your prepping journey you learn them. There will (may) come a day when the “easy” ways to start a fire are exhausted and knowing the more difficult, manual methods cold save the day, or night. In my opinion, the following tools will be more than adequate to serve as fire starters for a GHB in a short term situation.

First up, a basic lighter. Lighters provide an instant flame. Some lighters can be refilled. Some can maintain a flame for an extended amount of time without having to hold down the tab/button/whatever. The Zippo lighter fits this bill well and has been around for decades. They are great lighters if you are willing to do the little bit of extra required to keep them squared away. If you’re looking for something simple, like what I have in my GHB, the Bic lighter is just fine. Scripto is another brand of similar make. Either way, you can get a 5 pack of these lighters for about a dollar a piece at the big-box-stores. Having an instant flame takes a lot of the work out of the equation. All you need is something to burn and you are up and running in no time. Yes, the lighter is easy and takes no real skill, but, why does this need to be more difficult than your situation already is? Work smarter, not harder. Or better yet, work smarter and harder and things get even better.

The second fire-starting tool I carry is a container of waterproof, windproof matches. The container is slightly longer than the matches themselves and large enough in diameter to hold about 25 matches. There is a striking strip on the exterior of the container and an o-ring on the screw-on lid to keep the contents dry. I guess the o-ring would allow for regular matches to be included without fear of them ruining from moisture inside the container. I’ve got a couple of different brands of these and they appear to be generally the same. I was in a Walmart a few weeks ago and saw that they had a good many of these in the camping/outdoors section. The brand was UCO and it came with 25 stormproof matches in an orange water proof case. I paid roughly $7.00 for the little kit. That’s hard to beat when I see online prices of the same item for $15.00. Depending on what brand you go with, you may have to scrape off a thin layer of wax to get to the actual strikable match head, but, that’s not exactly a strenuous task. From there you just strike the match on the provided striking strip and you have a flame. Easy-peasy. I think 25 matches would serve well in a GHB that’s meant to get me home within anywhere from a day or two up to a week.

Finally, I do have a ferro rod in my pack as well. There is a reason it is number three on my list. It is the last of my tools that I would choose to utilize. It does create sparks which could then ignite a flame, but it is more difficult to use than the previous two. You will need something like a knife that has a good edge on the spine to get a good strike. There is a technique for using them correctly and the internet is loaded with videos showing the best ways to get a fire going with a ferro rod.

Spend a little while online watching videos on building fires and the different stages of getting a fire going and then go out and try it for yourself. Be careful. Be safe.

Don’t just prepare. Prepare to thrive.

Now that you can breathe decent air and you have the right clothing to keep you sheltered from the elements, let’s move into water. In the rules of three that were covered several posts back (September 9, 2021), we discussed the need to have anywhere from one half to a whole gallon of water per day per person. The amount of water needed increases as the physical activity increases. If you are having to use your GHB, your activity has certainly increased and you need more water. Make one whole gallon your new minimum. Now, consider that you’ll likely be on foot with a pack on your back as you journey home and that half hour drive could easily turn into more than a day (possibly two) or travel. A gallon of water weighs 8 lbs. Therefore, two gallons would weigh….. 16 lbs. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t think adding that much extra weight to my pack is a good idea. It’s a lot to carry. A leak could get everything inside the pack wet. There is only so much weight that I plan on carrying when there are other options available to lighten the load.

If you are at your place of work when the SHTF, grab those bottles of water you have stashed under your desk, or in your locker, or wherever else you stashed water and drink a bottle or two. There, you have already added to your bodily water intake. You’re one, or two, bottles ahead and you haven’t even left yet. Refill the bottle and put in into your pack. If you have more bottles available, why not grab them and drop them into your pack? If you have extra space in your pack, you may as well make sure you are making the most of it.

You’ve probably already mapped out the route you’re going to take home. If you have not, you need to do so. Along that route, make note of any available clean water sources. These could be spigots on buildings, municipal water sources like towers, etc. These could be places to refill your water bottle along your route. If you can refill your bottle as you travel, the requirement to carry multiple bottles is lessened. Keep in mind that some of the spigots on the sides of buildings don’t have knobs that can be turned by hand. Some require a tool that inserts into a slot to become a removeable knob of sorts. These are called sillcock keys. They are sort of like a miniaturized version of a four-way tire iron. Each of the four ends is different to allow fitment to different sillcocks (or spigots) that do not have built-in knobs. They don’t weigh much but can greatly increase your available water sources that would otherwise be unusable. Put the key in and turn. When your done refilling the bottle, turn the water off and take your key with you. Easy-peasy.

Another option is to carry a water filtering device. Sawyer Mini, Lifestraw, and Katadyn are three water filtration devices that I often hear mentioned. Basically, these are lightweight filters that you can use to pass dirty, contaminated water through to filter out the junk and have clean drinking water. Keep in mind, they can filter out debris and bacteria, but my understanding is that they cannot filter out chemically contaminated water. If the water has been contaminated by chemicals, don’t even try it. Just move on to another source. These devices work in different ways or come with different features so do a little homework and pick the one that you think will serve you best.

Clean water is essential to life. Make sure that you have enough on-hand, or accessible, for any situation where you may have to put your GHB into use.

Don’t just prepare. Prepare to thrive.

This can be a fairly sensitive subject these days with all of the wide-ranging COVID vs mask related opinions and “information” floating around. Let me say clearly, right off the bat, this post has nothing to do with COVID. That being said, let’s begin.

For many years I have read articles suggesting that a mask of one form or another be factored into your preps. There is a simple reason for this. Refer back to the “Rules of Three” I posted about a few posts back and you’ll notice the one about air. Three minutes without breathable air and the rest of your prepping plans could deflate (pun intended) rather quickly. Clean air is crucial for survival. If you have had to resort to your GHB to get home, things have probably gotten pretty bad. There could be fires burning all sorts of nasty that you don’t want to breathe into your lungs. Even grass fires can put off enough smoke to make breathing seem nearly impossible. There are plenty of forms of pollution (dust clouds, smoke, vehicle exhaust, etc) that a simple mask can help alleviate.

A mask can be as simple as a bandanna tied around your head and covering your nose and mouth. Some preppers suggest using a shemagh which can provide coverage for not only your nose and mouth, but also the head and neck which would help shield from the sun as well. Or, if you prefer, you can go with something simple and just get one of the fine(?) COVID masks we have all come to love so dearly (Insert as much sarcasm as you’d like.) My preference is more along the lines of the tubular fabric sleeves that can be pulled down around my neck when not pulled up to cover the lower half of my face. I have worn such a mask for years, beginning far prior to the COVID situation, to keep debris and a such out of my airways as I have mowed lawns, sawn wood, and various other forms of air quality reducing labor.

Whatever you come up with to use a face covering, make sure to pack one in your GHB. You never know when a situation will arise that may require you to cover your face to filter out the garbage. Keep in mind though that no mask (other than maybe an actual gas-mask) will totally purify the air you are breathing. Just do your best to find what will serve you the best.

Don’t just prepare. Prepare to thrive.

Depending on what you do for a living, where you work, and any dress-code requirements you may have to abide by, you may want to pack a change of clothes in your GHB. I would hate to have to dress in a business suit for work and have to walk home in dress shoes and a suit for miles. I work for myself building fencing and doing general lawncare. I’m on my feet all day long. Fortunately, that has given me a great opportunity to wear just the right clothing for a long trek home if need be. However, my wife works in a business environment. She would be in some serious discomfort if she had to walk home in that same office attire. I have put into her bag a complete change of clothes. Her first order of business would be to change into the clothing suited to get her home as quickly as possible.

Whatever your case may be, you will have to decide exactly what clothing you think will work best. I suggest that you pack the following clothing in your GHB (unless of course, like me, you are able to wear the adequate clothing as your normal attire).

Tennis shoes or hiking boots work best for me. My general footwear is waterproof for at least a couple of inches. Wet feet create a whole list of issues that I certainly would not want to have to deal with in a survival scenario, especially if said scenario were to take place in cold weather.

Good socks go right along with good footwear. I typically wear wool socks, even in the summer while working. It took some getting accustomed to, but I now am comfortable with them. Find the right socks for you and pack a pair into your GHB.

I much prefer pants over shorts. Full length pants provide protection against everything from sunburn and bugs to even some fluids that could splash onto your legs. Plus, having that layer of fabric over your skin can help prevent abrasions. In the summer these pants are like the fishing pants found at outdoor store; lightweight materials that dry quickly and keep the sun off of your skin. In the winter it would be a heavier fabric like denim jeans. Of course, you’re going to need a belt to hold up those pants and to hold that pistol holster in place with whatever other gear you want to have around your waist.

Even in the heat of summer I prefer a long-sleeved shirt. I’m not talking about some thick fabric, mountain shirt. It’s a button up lightweight fishing shirt with long sleeves. It provides the same protections as the pants. It will be hotter than short sleeves in the summertime, but I think the protection afforded outweighs that discomfort of being a little warmer. If the weather dictates, consider packing a jacket of some sort if you wouldn’t already be wearing one. Even a packable rain jacket could go a long way.

A hat is also a good addition. Keeping the sun or rain off your head and out of your face goes a long way. Sunglasses go along with this.

Gloves would be a nice extra as well. Keeping your hands warm in colder weather will be a great help. Even in warmer weather it can be a good idea to not have to pick up things that may be contaminated.

Consider throwing in a set of insulated long-johns for the colder months. Exposure to cold for extended periods of time has led to many a death. These don’t take up much space and could quite possibly keep you alive on your trek.

Pack clothes that fit the season and adjust as necessary. Pack any, or all, of the above items and you may find yourself much better off than you think.

Remember, the clothes you are wearing could very well be the only shelter you have. As amazing as the human body is, it is still delicate in many ways. It can take as little as three hours without adequate shelter for there to be devastating impacts on your health.

Don’t just prepare. Prepare to thrive.

In the last post I talked about the need for a Get Home Bag (GHB), how I am currently reassessing my own and assembling one for my wife, and listed some of the items that need to be included. This will be the first of a series of posts in which I will go over the different items I’m including in our bags and in turn, I’ll be giving a semi-review of some of the gear that we are using. To start things off, let’s talk about the bag itself.

I like to use a backpack. A well-built backpack can be comfortable to wear and evenly distributes the weight of the pack. For several years I have been using a 5.11 Tactical Rush 12 backpack. It is very well built and has numerous pockets to store gear without it all becoming a jumbled pile to dig through. I really do like this bag. It carries everything I like to have in a GHB with room to spare in case I need to add a few items or something as large as a balled-up fleece jacket. It is also not a massive pack that makes me look like a turtle. It is big enough to the serve its purposes as a GHB. The pack is certainly durable enough to withstand anything I could see myself putting it through.

The only down-side is that it is a tactical backpack and it looks like it. There is MOLLE webbing all over the outside of it and the first thing you think of when you see it is “tactical”. So, if you are going for the “Gray Man” (we’ll cover Gray Man in a future post) approach, this is not the bag you want to use. You likely won’t blend in with your surroundings. A tactical pack could make you stand out. In a survival situation, that is exactly what you DON’T want. For now, I’m going to keep trucking right along using my 5.11 Rush 12. I have my eyes on a couple of other packs that I’d like to try out but am not ready to spend the money on just yet.

My wife has chosen to use a sling pack. When slung over her shoulder the pack will rest on her opposite hip. It is a relatively small pack made by Vsim. Despite being small, the pack holds everything I think she would need to get home from her place of work, including a change of clothes and some old tennis shoes. I know fairly little about Vsim, but, the pack appears to be durable enough for anything she would but it through. It also has some MOLLE webbing on the exterior but the pack is small enough that I don’t think it will stand out too much. If her GHB were any larger than it is, I do not think that the sling style of the pack will be a burden, especially considering the relatively short distance from her workplace to our home.

In my humble opinion, it is difficult to choose the correct pack for your GHB until you have decided exactly what all gear you will need to pack into it. If your pack is too small it simply won’t work. If the pack is too large you could end up packing it full with a bunch of junk that will only slow you down or make things more difficult. Look at packs your prepper friends use. Try it out with an old pack you may already own, like a school back pack. Even if you are not going to use the backpack for your GHB, if you know all of your gear will fit into a certain sized backpack nicely, it is only a matter of finding a GHB pack with the desired outfitting and you can go from there. Take small steps and do your research. While we all want to get prepped as soon as possible, it will take time. Take the necessary time to find the right products and it will save you time and money.

A few posts back I covered EDC (Every Day Carry) gear. This is the gear you carry on your person, daily. Basically, it’s the first, and smallest, rung on the ladder of the mobile gear we keep on-hand in preparation for whatever may come. There are several steps after EDC. The next step up is your Get Home Bag (GHB).

Your Get Home Bag is meant for exactly the name by which it goes. It is meant to get you back home. We live in a mobile world. We are always on-the-go. We travel from home to our places of work, schools, etc. Every time we leave our home, it is our fullest intention to make it back home or to some other specific destination. Typically, we expect to get back home the same way we left, whether that be by the vehicles we own, bicycle, taxi, or whatever. For the most part, that’s exactly what happens. However, there are times that it doesn’t turn out the way we expect. Anything from natural disasters or civil unrest to a simple vehicle breakdown and no cell phone signal can force us from comfortably driving along in our air-conditioned vehicles to hoofing it one step at a time and sweating our way along. Your Get Home Bag (GHB) is there to help.

So, what needs to be in your GHB? There are lots of articles, forums, etc. where people will suggest that you carry everything including the kitchen sink in your GHB. In my humble opinion, that is ridiculous. Your GHB needs to include the necessary items to get you from where you are to where you need to be, nothing more and nothing less. Your bag must be light enough that it is not more of a hinderance than a help. For some items, you’ll need to take a look at how far you are expecting to have to travel on foot. Being on foot will certainly make the duration of your trip MUCH longer. That thirty-minute drive could be several hours of walking.

I am currently re-assessing my own GHB. I’m also putting one together for my wife. She is very new to prepping. She is very supportive of my prepping efforts and is also interested in learning for herself. A good first lesson to learn, too much stuff just gets in the way. I want to assemble her pack with the things she needs to complete her usual trip home. For the most part, her pack will have many of the same items as my own. However, our needs are quite different as she works only a few miles from home whereas I work anywhere from thirty to seventy miles from home. Her fifteen-minute drive to work would become a walk of roughly two hours and forty minutes, best case scenario. Another consideration, she is a female with a MUCH smaller build than my much larger build of a male. Keep in mind, we are not assembling Bug-Out-Bags (BOBs) which are meant to help you survive for several days through a disaster that forces you from your home, or an I’m Never Coming Home (INCH) bag which should be fairly self-explanatory.

What follows is a list of the basic items that I believe should be in any GHB. In following posts, I’ll go into more detail about particular items. Some items will be fairly generic and some will be specific items that I’ll give more of a review on certain brands and models.

• Bag/pack
• Change of cloths
• Change of footwear
• Rain Jacket/Poncho
• N95 mask
• Water container
• Snacks/energy bars
• Flashlight (torch)
• Headlamp
• Fire Starters
• Individual First Aid Kit
• Hygiene kit
• Knife
• Multi-tool
• Pen and paper
• Compass
• Paracord
• Signal mirror
• Knife sharpener
• Duct tape
• Self Defense Items

Your kit will probably include several items that you’d find in just about any GHB but there will be some items that are specific to you. Think of anything that you absolutely need to have every day but may not be able to carry on your person as a part of your EDC. Make sure these items are in your GHB.

When looking at your own personal survival, EDC kits, Get Home Bags (GHB), Bug-Out-Bags (BOB), missile silos in the desert that are fully stocked, etc; all are useless if you don’t address for extremely basic, yet crucial rules of survival: the Rules of Three. Three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. This is not to say that if you were to go the allotted amounts of time without out each of these you would drop dead. These are the guidelines for what a human being could handle without causing potential life-threatening harm to themselves, great illness, or possibly death given the circumstances.

Three minutes without air. Of course, we all know (correction, we SHOULD know) that we need clean air to live, air that is free of toxins. Air is so vitally important to our survival that to go without it for as little as three minutes could end our lives. Some of the garbage that can be breathed in can cause irreparable damage to our lungs and airways. Germs, bacteria, and viruses can often be breathed in. These can lead to severe illnesses as well. Point: good air is important. As part of your preps, something as simple as an N95 mask could make the difference between life and death. As of this writing, N95 masks could be found online for less than $1.00 each depending on how many you purchase. Get a few and keep them in your packs, vehicles, homes, etc. and you’ll always have one nearby in case there is a threat to the air quality, and you need to protect yourself.

Three hours without shelter. Shelter does not necessarily mean that you must to be inside a building or structure to survive. Shelter is any barrier between your body and the conditions of your environment. Dying from exposure is not limited to those that are stranded outside during a snowstorm with little more than their underwear. If the clothing you are wearing is not suited to the conditions, you are in big trouble. Pay attention to the weather and dress accordingly. I understand not wearing full winter-weather gear just to walk the few feet from your parking space to your heated office. But, you should keep some blankets and a change of weather appropriate clothing in your vehicle. If you do find yourself in a situation where your normal day-to-day clothes are not adequate, you will be able to address that situation with ease and prolong your survival while subjected to the elements. The same principle applies for hot weather. Keep a change of weather appropriate clothing on-hand. A hat can keep your head warm in the winter and keep the sun from burning your noggin in the summer.

Three days without water. The average person should be drinking anywhere from one-half to a full gallon of water EVERY day. This does not factor in a highly active lifestyle where the water intake needs will increase. Water is essential to our overall health, not to mention basic hydration and to help prevent heat-stroke and other heat related illnesses. Make it a habit to carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go. As you empty the bottle, fill it back up and keep on going with your day. Three days without water and an increased exposure to the elements or physical activity (which is what a survival situation would entail) and you could be in DEEP trouble. Dehydration is no laughing matter. Cold weather does not reduce our need for water. It is very easy to think that because you’re not hot and sweating, you don’t need to drink water. That is not true. You still need that hydration. Track your water intake. Keep a few bottles under your desk at work or in a cooler in your vehicle. Bottled water is cheap. Have water on-hand in case of emergency. If you are forced to go on foot and can’t carry it all with you, drink a bunch of it and load what you can into your pack. Three weeks without food. After just a couple of days without food, you will notice a significant change in your energy levels. Your sleep will also begin to suffer. You won’t be clear headed. This is just what I have experienced. It gets bad quickly if you cannot fuel your body. There are all sorts of reasons that food supply chains can get easily disrupted. Most grocery stores only have about a three-day supply of stock that is kept on the shelves and there is NO back room with more food. Imagine your community making a run on a store and that supply can be emptied out is just a matter of hours. When you go grocery shopping, buy a couple extra items. Canned vegetables and soups don’t take up tons of space but could get you through a couple of days. Do this each time you go to the store and before long you’ll have acquired a decent amount of stored foods that will aid your prepping efforts and possibly get you through a shortage.

I am currently re-watching a zombie television series that I haven’t seen in several years. In just the first couple of episodes I noticed a glaringly obvious example of “Hollywood” portrayal. A character armed with a pistol is running from zombies. In short order, the character raises the pistol and executes (bad pun) perfect headshots on numerous undead all while moving and negotiating obstacles. Now, sure there are people that can actually do this. Chances are, it’s not you. I can say this with fair certainty because I have done some moving and shooting drills and it’s not easy. It takes lots of practice. On top of that, shooting is a perishable skill. No matter how good you get, without regular and focused practice, your skills lessen. The people that can perform this kind of shooting with the ease portrayed on television generally fit into one of two categories: 1.) military/law enforcement, or, 2.) competitive shooters. There are some shooters that are in a third group and those are the everyday citizens that ACTUALLY do the firearms training necessary to acquire these skills and continue to regularly practice to maintain proficiency. I am a firearms and concealed carry instructor. I come across numerous people of all walks of life that have made some pretty bold claims as to their exceptional abilities with a handgun. When going through the shear basics of handling a firearm and static practice (standing still and shooting at a stationary target) at the range, it has amazed me how many of those “John Wick wannabes” fall far short of their claimed abilities. Truth be told, often times I’m made to realize that people often claim to have skills that they most certainly do not possess.

Now that I have vented my issues with television and those that claim those skills, I’ll move on to the main point. Skills of any sort are perishable. If you don’t continue to practice the skills you acquire (which should be many and varied) you will lose them. Whether they be language skills or bush-craft skills, they perish over time without periodic brushing up. Some skills last longer than others. Some skills can be quickly learned. All skills will deteriorate to some extent without periodic maintenance. As preppers, it is important for us to practice these skills during the good times because when the bad times hit, it’s too late. Developing many skills can be done relatively cheap. Many bushcraft skills, for example, require little to no money. They can be practiced with much of what is found in nature. Learning to think outside the box is another skill. Thinking outside the box can open up a world of opportunities to get by with less gear. The less gear you need to buy, the more money you can put toward food, personal protection, etc.

Learn as many skills as you can. Practice them as often as you can.

First things, first. I’m no financial advisor. I have no money management education or certifications. What I do have is my own personal opinions and experiences that have worked very well for me. If you decide to use any of my advice and it doesn’t work out for you…. I’m not responsible.

Prepping takes money…… later. At some point every prepper will hit a point when they have to start buying stuff. Tools, gear, materials, land, etc. will all come into the mix. However, spending money should NOT be the first thing you do. In fact, there is quite a bit that needs to be done BEFORE you spend any money. The only thing I would suggest you buy at the start is a pen/pencil and a notebook/pad of paper. You’re going to need to make lots of lists and jot down ideas. I make to-do lists to keep track of things I need to tend to. I make shopping lists so that I don’t go into a store and end up buying a bunch of stuff that I don’t need. I jot down ideas that I have of things to work on so that I don’t forget about them later. I also make and revise budgets based on changes in income or expenses. Budgeting is EXTREMELY important.

If you’re anything like me, you don’t have piles of extra cash lying around that you can spend frivolously. Every dollar counts. Put your money to good use. If you are running out and running up credit cards to buy stuff you can’t afford, you are screwing up. If you are drowning in debt you are in a terrible spot. It is a spot you can get out of, but, it’s not a good spot to be in. It doesn’t matter if you have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gear and food if a creditor can foreclose on your home and send you packing with just the clothes on your back. There are numerous books available that can help you understand how your money works and how to manage your money. I’ve read some of Dave Ramsey’s books and can say that he has a very straight forward approach to money that is also very logical and simple. His method also works. It takes time, but it works. Total Money Makeover (by Dave Ramsey) is worth the read. Be forewarned, managing your money takes discipline. It takes work. It takes sacrifice. But it is SO worth it.

I suggest that you start off by figuring out exactly how much money you make each week or month. Make note of every expense you currently have. Then, take note of just how many of those expenses are needless. Starbucks coffee is definitely needless. Buying that new model phone is needless as well. Cut out the needless stuff immediately. You will be so surprised by how much money you can free up. Then make note of the truly necessary expenses and see just how much it costs each month just to live. (Factor into your budget a little bit of money to go toward buying a few extra groceries each time you go shopping and you can start building up your food supply a little at a time. This really can be just $20-30 dollars a month.) If you’re spending more than you are making, you’re in trouble. Once you’ve determined how much money you can free up, start shifting that money into a savings account. This account is to be left untouched unless there is a loss of income. I have been laid off twice in my life, once about fifteen years ago and again about four years ago. It happens. The first time I was laid off, I was fortunate enough to have another job the following week. The more recent experience was quite different. I was without regular work for several months. The work I could find was not adequate, although it did help. The savings account was what made all the difference. In the past couple of years I have seen people that have been laid off and had to endure anywhere from a couple of months to more than a year of not having a job. I would hate to be one of those people and can certainly sympathize with them. I personally think that a minimum of six months of expenses, including food for your household and fuel for your vehicle, is a good goal. This buys some security that can take LOTS of pressure off while you sort out life and go on the job hunt. It takes time to reach this goal. Do what you can, as you can, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you can reach it. This money is not a rainy-day fund. Nor is it to be put toward buying a new house or truck. This savings is to be left untouched unless there is a major loss of income. It is your safety net. (As a side note: While you are working through the first stages of your financial prepping, go through all the stuff you own and determine what is truly necessary and useful. If there is anything you can get rid of, get rid of it. Try to sell it first to see if you can get any money back. That money can be put toward your savings and help you reach your goal that much faster.)

Once the savings account is in order and all the extraneous money has been worked out of your expenses, start dumping money toward debt. Start with the smallest debt account you have and attack it. Put all the extra income you can toward paying that debt off. Once that one has been knocked out, turn to the next smallest and do the same thing. And on, and on, and on until you have demolished your debt. I hate debt. I hate knowing that someone else has the power at any moment to call in that debt and leave me reeling. I hate feeling like I don’t have the power to do something I want to do because I am financially beholden to someone else. A few years ago, I was able to reach a point of being completely debt free. I can tell you without a doubt that it is a truly great feeling. Due to a few life events, I am no longer in that debt-free state but am working diligently toward it and will be there within a year, maybe less. Attacking debt can be a long and drawn-out task. The more debt you have, the longer it will take. One suggestion that could make it seem not so arduous is to set milestones for yourself with some form of a “treat” along the way. Maybe for each debt account you close, you allow yourself to buy a piece of prepping gear; i.e. that multi-tool you’ve been wanting, a bag for the Get Home Bag (GHB) you’ll be setting up soon, etc. Once you’ve gotten out of debt you can really start working to some bigger purchases and filling out the weaker areas of your preparedness situation.

Just because you’re not buying anything, doesn’t mean you’re not prepping. There are numerous ways you can put this non-spending stage of preparedness to use. Knowledge and skills trump gear. There are plenty of books to read. There are plenty of skills to start practicing. By the time you get to the money spending stage, you might actually find that you don’t need to spend nearly as much because you have developed the skills to be able to do so much more with so much less.

Be disciplined. Stay focused. Get Prepped.

Prepping takes alot. It takes money to buy the gear and books or pay for the courses/classes. It takes research to find what best suits your needs. It takes space to do all the projects, and grow the gardens, and store the gear. One area so many preppers seem to fail to appreciate is TIME.

Time is one of those perishable resources that you cannot create more of and you can’t get back the time you’ve lost. Time is immensely valuable. All sorts of things come up in life that interrupt plans and cause delays. It is important that we don’t lose time unnecessarily and that we maximize the time we have.

In the last few weeks so many things have come up that have disrupted my prepping plans (and most plans in general) that I have spent the last five or six weeks trying to get caught up on EVERYTHING. Weather has caused many delays with work projects. Moving from one house to another has taken up any other available “free” time. Short version: I had to set quite a few things aside while I tended to some pretty big issues. However, if this sounds like a complaint, it is definitely not. The past few weeks have been great. They have reminded me just how important it is to set aside time for the things I need to make sure stay current. I’m working now to better allot time for several things I want to make sure I do regularly, if not daily. Prepping is one of those things. I have also been doing quite a bit of prepping “inventory”. While I have not been able to make measurable progress on any prepping, I have had a chance to put my hands on much of my stuff and take mental note of what is where and how much there is. I’ve also had the chance to make plans for improving my storage options and locations of several preps. It has also been an opportunity to go through lots of stuff that has been boxed and put away for quite awhile and decide whether to keep or discard. So, the last few weeks have not been a loss. They have just been a disruption of my regularly scheduled programming.

Things are starting to level out again and I might even get ahead with some work. With that progress, I’m going to do a good bit of forward prep for work projects and servicing and maintenance of equipment so that I can prevent as many issues as possible from popping up at inopportune times. I’m also going to take the chance to build in prepping time into my schedule. The final project I need to get caught up on will put some much needed “extra” money in my pocket, although not for very long as I have had some unexpected expenses pop up in the last few weeks that are going to hit hard. This “extra” money will go a long way towards softening, if not totally absorbing, that financial blow. All of this is to say, I definitely plan to make the best use of every bit of time I have for the next couple of weeks to get leveled out again. Then I’m going to continue making the best use of my time to stay as far ahead as possible and get as much prepping done as is possible. The next time I get hit with so many setbacks, I want to be able to only get knocked back to on-time.

Don’t waste time with with things that only set you back. Don’t waste time with things that are preventing you from doing what you need to do. Don’t waste valuable time on anything that is not worth that time.