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How much money are you willing to tie up in prep supplies that you may never use?

How much money are you willing to tie up in prep supplies that you may never use?

  • Less than $500

  • $500 - $1000

  • $1000 - $5000

  • $5000 - $10,000


Results are only viewable after voting.
I don't tie up any money in prep supplies I may never use. We buy when it is goes on sale and stock up the pantry , freezers , half of a walk in closet and use it . We always have two months of food /supplies on hand.

I read an article about this just this morning. Apparently preppers across the country don't have the same mindset when it comes to survival. Down south preppers seem to have more of a " hoarders " mentality when it comes to survival. Northern preppers had a skills based mindset that put the focus on " victory gardens " , canning and preserving techniques , trapping , small game hunting , running trotlines and foraging . How to build shelters , fires and find water. The key to it according to them , is to stay in decent physical shape , gain survival knowledge and practice what you learn. Two of my hunting Buddy's each have about 1/4 acre garden they tend to year round. They are always competing on who can grow the best stuff. They always have something planted and growing and call me up to come get some and help harvest. Those garden's produce an insane amount of food. Hell ,they got me planting stuff in whiskey barrel style planters on my patio.
 
I don't tie up any money in prep supplies I may never use. We buy when it is goes on sale and stock up the pantry , freezers , half of a walk in closet and use it . We always have two months of food /supplies on hand.

I read an article about this just this morning. Apparently preppers across the country don't have the same mindset when it comes to survival. Down south preppers seem to have more of a " hoarders " mentality when it comes to survival. Northern preppers had a skills based mindset that put the focus on " victory gardens " , canning and preserving techniques , trapping , small game hunting , running trotlines and foraging . How to build shelters , fires and find water. The key to it according to them , is to stay in decent physical shape , gain survival knowledge and practice what you learn. Two of my hunting Buddy's each have about 1/4 acre garden they tend to year round. They are always competing on who can grow the best stuff. They always have something planted and growing and call me up to come get some and help harvest. Those garden's produce an insane amount of food. Hell ,they got me planting stuff in whiskey barrel style planters on my patio.
Another facet
 
Damn, that's a hard question to answer. Never use? The things that fall in that category for me are food stuffs that don't take to long term storage very well. I wish I was better at rotating through but sometimes I'm just not. That's why I like to focus on long term storage foods and make short term storage foods a "buy when it seems the time is right" thing.

Another that falls into that category is fuel storage. This I'm better at rotating through but looking at a prolonged emergency and fuel requirements is daunting. I'm much more likely to spend money on the infrastructure that would allow me to store fuel like tanks and preservatives and then fill them when I deem it necessary.

Your example of a solar set up I would just set up and allow that to reduce my energy purchases every month so that over time the system pays for it.

So, the answer to your question is it depends. The most expensive that comes to mind is fuel storage solutions. I could see spending a few grand on fuel storage that can be filled later. I have places to keep such tanks that will keep them in good condition and can always sell them at a later date if I decide to. So it's really not "lost" money like the case of short term food. Just tied up until either used or sold.

As far as short term storage food? Probably around 1k. But, if I did better at rotating through that it wouldn't all be waste.

I do spend money on the ability to expand when the time is needed. For example, plastic sheeting to make an extra greenhouse. Not expensive and easy to keep around.

Hard to quantify what is waste and what is not. I can find other uses for most things or sell them at a later date if need be. Seeds might be another thing that go off but not sure how much money I have tied up in that. Not much.
 
But what if feds start to busting doors kidnapping sending us to FEMA camps, and raiding our resources cause communistic martial law? If **** hits the fan you know the government will have all it's grubby hands all on it with it's sheep willingly bending over.

I say if SHTF we form a confederacy
Howuch would you pay for a 357 if you really really needed it?
 
how much would you pay for a .357....hell....at that point you probably couldn't buy one...you MIGHT could trade for one...
I'll have to admit...I bought a 30-30 a few years back, just to have a "trade gun" I don't have a use for a 30-30...BUT...I just might at some point....bought a couple 100 rounds for it as well....
 
$20

Not a penny more.

(But I also consider scratch off lottery tickets as a viable retirement plan)
In 1994 we endured an unexpected flood. All the bridges washed away, people washed away too. We are 35 miles from the nearest river. Roads were impassable. There was no gas, no electricity for 10 days. You couldn't get to a hospital. The national guard attempting to transport injured got washed away. Low spots became raging rivers. You just never know what can happen. Prepare for anything and you'll survive.
 
In 2008 the **** hit the fan big time for me personally. I had a thriving plumbing company with a partner and 5 great employees and had slowly stocked up about 3 years worth of food over the previous few years. It was mostly things like instant oatmeal, granola and a ****load of rice and beans. I also had several cases of #10 cans of mountain house chili mac and spaghetti because my kids loved it on camping trips.
In November of 2007 the company grossed about 65k. In January of 2008 we barely made 1200 bucks. It was like the work switch had been flipped off. In hindsight I totally ****ed myself trying to keep paying everyone and hoping it was just a temporary thing and in a couple of months things would pick back up. Normalcy bias is a thing.
By April I was broke, the company was broke and my partner and I laid everyone off and sold everything we could find a buyer for. 80k in money we paid for materials and labor on different jobs, poof, gone. Another 80k from the business, poof, gone, trying to keep everyone's bills paid. My partner and each kept a work truck and started trying to eke out a living best we could.. I had 4 kids and an all but worthless wife at home and it was all on me to keep the lights on, a roof over our head and everyone fed. I grossed 18,000 dollars in 2008 and not much more in 2009. Fortunately I had quite a collection of antique military rifles that got sold off over the next couple of years and that put away food. Cowboy beans became a staple that my kids still bug me about making occasionally today. It took nearly 7 years to rebuild my business. Having those supplies was a godsend during those times.
 
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