There are so many precarious things happening in the world today, you need to know how to prepare for a worst case scenario. When you know what to do to take care of yourself and those you love, you can have peace of mind even in the midst of chaos.
Being into survival preparedness doesn’t mean you only think about a 72-hour scenario or just about food and water. It means you take a proactive approach to envision many global changes that can have a domino effect on your life in a significant way.
Right now, there are at least ten different issues weighing heavily on the minds of Americans and citizens everywhere. Some may barely, if ever affect you. But if the worst were to happen, you’d want to be ready for it – unlike people who were caught off-guard when store shelves emptied out at the start of the pandemic.
Economic Hardships
One of the things that’s hitting many people right now is a financial struggle. Inflation is at an all-time high. Thanks to this period of economic turmoil, many businesses are having to close their doors because they can’t get supplies or people to staff their locations.
Unemployment levels have risen dramatically from just two years ago, even though there are ample jobs available in most areas. Some businesses can’t find people to work because of what’s known as the Great Resignation, and no one knows how long it will last.
People are talking about and fearing a global economic collapse. The media is presenting fearful stories about financial disaster nearly every day on the news. What’s going on in the world right now is affecting money situations in every household.
The cost of buying groceries has risen and continues to rise. Meat, especially, is costing more than ever before. Stores are experiencing supply shortages and higher fuel costs to bring the supplies they do get to the consumer.
As a result of the stores’ rising costs, they’re raising the price of food in order to be able to still make enough profit to keep the business going. But the rising prices get passed down to the customers.
As a result of this, many people are starting to change the way that they buy groceries. Some are cutting out meat or reducing the amount of times they have it in a month. Gas prices are causing sticker shock at the pumps.
Depending on which state you live in, it can be a simple inconvenience or a life-changing disaster. For those who live in California, gas is nearly $6 a gallon. The cost of energy use is going up.
The demand for housing has risen as well thanks to a housing shortage. Houses that go on the market are selling quickly and are often getting multiple bids. All of these are reasons why you need to make some changes in order to adapt to the way life is now.
You need to learn about homesteading and how you can become self-sufficient. Homesteading means that you learn how to grow your own food. You learn how to save that food and store it so that it lasts you for quite awhile.
Becoming self-sufficient means that you learn how to make your food without relying on things that you have to run to the store for. It means that you look to yourself and not stores or others for the means to have the food that you need to nourish your family.
It means that you discover how to take care of your needs from food, to shelter to clothing. You learn how to provide your own medications from plants, and how to live so that you’re not dependent on the grid.
Learn how to provide for yourself now as a means to combat the inflation, the supply shortages and the lowered value of the dollar. When grocery shopping, lower the amount of meat you buy or stretch the meat to last more than one meal.
Or go meatless for a couple of weeks out of every month. Use only store brands. Shop at discounted food stores such as Aldi if you have one. Make your meals in bulk. Don’t use prepared or convenience foods.
Freeze foods so they keep longer. Use coupons, shop sales and don’t make impromptu store runs. To save on gas, carpool as often as you can. To save on energy costs, turn off gadgets, and shut lights off when you leave a room.
When you wash your clothes, use cold water only. Caulk leaks around doors and windows to save on heating or air conditioning bills. Find little ways to eliminate wasteful spending and you’ll start to see the financial impact let up on you a bit.
Bare Store Shelves
You only have to walk into any store to notice that many of them are missing items that they used to keep well stocked. These bare shelves are causing many people to feel anxious and worried about the direction of the future.
Because of these bare shelves, some food items have been hard to find and what those items are can change from week to week. However, there are some foods have been tougher to get for months now.
It’s harder to find certain pastas. This includes ones like spaghetti noodles and canned pastas. Specialty noodles like those without gluten are hard to find. In many stores, it’s the paper goods that are more difficult to get.
Plastic and paper cups are harder to find. Straws are in limited supply. Trash bags, both kitchen and lawn bags, have limited amounts on the shelves that quickly sell out. These problems are in every area of the store.
No matter what aisle you go down, you’ll see that some areas are bare while others are sparsely filled. Supply chain issues have created problems getting certain dairy items like cream cheese.
Some lunch meats are hard to find. Meats have been in short supply – especially ones like ground beef and varying types of chicken. When these items do hit the shelves, they quickly sell out as some people try to hoard them and end up buying multiple amounts of one item.
This increases the difficulty of finding what you need. It’s harder to find items besides food supplies, too. Electronics are harder to find. That’s because the manufacturers stopped or slowed production of the parts that make up the devices such as laptops, cell phones, televisions and even game consoles.
Because of the pandemic, and later difficulty getting parts for vehicles, many car manufacturers halted building their inventory of new vehicles. As a result, a car shortage started happening.
It’s hard to find the new vehicle you want right now and if you do, the markup cost is a lot higher than it once was. Most people can’t afford to buy these new vehicles even if they are lucky enough to find one.
Even used cars are in short supply these days. It’s also hard to find some clothing and accessories. Toys, books and alcohol have also been in short supply. Everywhere you look, supplies are dwindling.
Of course, becoming self-sufficient is one way to combat this issue. You can grow your own food, raise chickens for eggs, and so on. You’ll need to keep an eye out for second-hand items like electronics, even if you only grab them for parts to keep your older gadgets operational.
While you never want to hoard supplies yourself, it is wise to begin stocking up on items whenever you see them available. You can pick up an extra product and start storing them somewhere in your house so that you don’t run out when the store shelves haven’t been restocked.
The Threat of War
A huge survival issue on everyone’s mind at the moment is the threat of war. There’s always been the thought that it “could” happen among some countries. One of the countries that’s constantly issued veiled threats and even outright threats has been North Korea.
These threats have been so constant that many people started tuning out these rumors.
But now, the threat of Russia going to war against Ukraine is no longer what “could” happen – it became a reality.
This shocked many people who were used to threats never having any follow through.
Now that it’s actually happening, this has heightened the fear level of anyone who follows the news.
What people fear is that their own country will also become involved in, if not the war between Russia and Ukraine, then whatever next skirmish develops. People are deeply afraid at the thought that this war between Russia and Ukraine is going to balloon, spreading outward to other countries and then WWIII will begin.
Everyone is terrified of the thought of this type of war because the weapons used today are no longer the type used in previous wars. Today’s weapons are sophisticated and capable of wiping out entire girds, causing long-term problems and chaos.
If the world enters into a third world war, the weapons used could be biological or chemical warfare, too. These weapons can destroy life as we know it. There’s also a real threat of a nuclear bomb being launched against the country.
Before any of that happens, you have to know what steps to take so that you can survive the unthinkable. In the event of such a catastrophic war, you must have the ability to protect yourself, those you love and be able to make it through.
You can protect yourself from biological and chemical weapons if you know what to do. You just need the supplies that can protect you. This means you need to have items that protect your airways and your lungs.
These are certified respiratory devices. You need gear to cover your clothing such as hazmat wear. You want to be able to dress from head to toe and cover yourself. In the event of a nuclear incident, you would need to know that you should avoid contact with the outside of your home if it’s within the blast radius.
You can get burned even if you’re miles away from the center explosion. If a nuclear explosion happens, you want to make sure that you’re not exposed to the damaging heat of the bomb.
Protect all airways and remain in place. Once the shock wave is done, you’ll have to be careful about what’s called the fallout. This is what lingers in the air after the bomb. This material is radioactive and can still harm you.
This is why you need hazmat suits to protect you against the rays. Because a grid attack is a likely scenario in this age of weaponry, you’ll want to make sure your family can cook, stay warm and survive without electricity.
Overpriced and Scarce Building Materials
Not too long ago, you could put a deck on the back of your home for around $2,000. Now, that same deck would cost you triple that amount. That’s because there are shortages across the globe on items such as hardware.
Items associated with fixing up a home, or building a home are so scarce that when they are in supply, you can expect to pay a lot more. One of the reasons why the demand is so high and the supply so limited is because countries where some materials were purchased and brought into the country have either closed their own manufacturing companies or refuse to do cross border business.
With inflation and job losses, many people can’t even afford to buy these overpriced building materials even if they do happen to find a store that’s supplying it. That’s why you have to know what to do when the things you need are no longer easily available.
For those who are planning to build a homestead that’s off the grid so they can be self-sustaining, you’ll want to look at other options for lumber besides home improvement stores, which may not have it anyway.
You don’t want this shortage to hold up your plans. What you can do is to look for other sources to find wood and other materials. For example, if you look at home renovation businesses, many of them have wood that they toss out when they renovate a kitchen or a bathroom.
You can offer to haul away this wood for your own use. Short pieces of lumber are often thrown out even by home improvement stores that do cutting for customers. Ask if you can have those.
Look on the side of the road. You can sometimes find lumber on the side of the road from people who are doing their own DIY projects. You can also find wood from thrift stores.
It’s a surprising place to find it, but some do have it. They’ll have things like wooden furniture, pallets and more. Be sure to check out yard sales and going-out-of-business sales, too.
There may be renovation groups in your area. These are groups that go around to homes and renovate them for the elderly or people that can’t afford to fix much needed repairs.
You can check with these groups to see if you can have or haul away the left over wood. Be sure to check sites that sell reclaimed lumber, which can be more plentiful as well as less expensive.
Look online for groups that routinely work with wood. This might be woodworkers, wooden sign makers, fencing companies, and wood flooring companies. If you still have trouble finding enough lumber, then try alternative homestead buildings such as a container home.
You can buy one of more shipping containers and outfit it with everything it needs to be a fully functional home. You can also convert an old school bus. If you have some land, you can build a log cabin using trees from the land.
Inconsistent Education
If the last few years have taught anything, it’s that nothing has been consistent. That includes the education of children. Thanks to the pandemic, most states closed schools and went to online classes.
These took awhile to set up and when they were finally done, school didn’t resume the regular hours. There were often inconsistent days of teaching. There are limited days – like some schools only had three days of classes.
Most parents found themselves scrambling to arrange childcare options. Then they discovered that their children weren’t being taught in the same manner as the past.
Education became hit or miss, and studies now show the horrible effect it had on their learning.
Schools would open for a day or two, then abruptly close. Online classes weren’t always available. Parents began to wonder if their children’s learning was beginning to suffer.
Many of them began to turn to homeschool as an option.
They discovered that having the ability to teach children at home was not only a viable option, but a good one since their child’s education was no longer left up in the air. This is an option that you’ll want to consider as well.
There’s no telling what can happen in the future given the direction of world events. You don’t want your child to not have the ability to learn at home. There are homeschool classes that, as a parent, you can schedule yourself for your child using online methods.
Many of these classes are free or low cost and are taught by certified teachers and educators. But you can also purchase home school supplies to have on hand. To ensure that there’s no future disruptions to your child’s education, it’s important to stock up on these now while they’re still available.
You can order homeschool supplies according to the grade level of your child. For example, you can buy workbooks, and you can also buy teaching kits. For something like first grade, these kits would have materials on phonics, on language arts, reading, writing, spelling, math, science, social studies, and health.
You can also get the teacher kits or curriculum which outline step by step how to draw up a daily lesson plan so you’ll know exactly what your child should be learning for that day.
If you have multiple children of varying ages, they’ll no doubt be in different grade levels. Since teaching separately can be time consuming and hectic, there are kits that you can order that are geared toward teaching multiple ages at once.
Hard to Find Cars
As previously mentioned, another supply area that’s been hit hard is in the area of cars. It used to be that if you wanted to buy a vehicle, you could pick the lot you wanted to buy from, show up and have multiple choices for what you wanted.
It’s not the same way today. The demand for vehicles is far greater than the supply. There’s a good reason for that. It’s because the chips that are a necessary part of building some cars are in short supply.
Without those chips, the electronics of the vehicles can’t function. In some cases, you might be able to order a new vehicle, but the supply chains are so slow, that it’ll take quite awhile to get what you order.
This new reality isn’t just affecting the supply of new vehicles, but it’s also affecting used ones. Prices have gone up substantially because of the supply/demand ratio. The vehicle that you could once buy for $30,000 is now closer to $45,000.
Even used cars are priced at new car value. That’s why you need to make sure that you shop smart if you’re looking for a vehicle. Instead of trying to find a new one and ending up getting frustrated from the lack of choice as well as the cost, find a different one.
Look for ones that are priced lower but may not be in perfect condition. There are a lot of vehicles available that have some minor cosmetic issues. In the past, these vehicles were overlooked because people wanted to find a car without flaws, both in body and in operation ability.
But just because a car has a flaw doesn’t meant it’s not a good buy. You can choose a car that has a flaw but it’s one that can be fixed. More often than not, these cars still have solid parts and will run decently once you fix whatever is wrong with them.
You can save yourself a lot of time and frustration, not to mention money, if you choose a vehicle that you know isn’t pristine. Get a mechanic to look at the used car you’re considering and see if the cost to repair it might be worth the investment.
You can find used cars listed everywhere that are being sold “as is.” Sometimes people think this means that they risk buying someone else’s problem. While this might be true, that problem can cost you less in the long run than buying a perfect car in this market.
Those new vehicle payments can easily run over $500 a month. Rather than spend that kind of money on something that depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot, choose to buy a car that, if you fix it up, you know it’ll be just as dependable.
Job Uncertainty
When things are getting better after a bad situation, people have a tendency to handle it one of two ways. They either forget how bad things were and don’t prepare – or they constantly fret about the bad situation happening again and try to plan just in case it happens again.
Throughout the pandemic, tough restrictions caused businesses to lose income and to shutter. As a result of them closing, they were forced to fire people. Multiple people lost their jobs and it was shocking and distressing to them.
They had a job one day, then no job the next and this left them with no job security and not even knowing where to turn. Being prepared for your future means that you don’t have to deal with job uncertainty.
By taking control, you know what to do to make sure you can provide financially for yourself and for those you love. People who understand the value of prepping know that the key to eradicating job security is to take steps to become an entrepreneur.
If you work a job, your income can disappear in the blink of an eye. If you don’t have a savings account, you could quickly find yourself unable to pay your bills – including your rent or mortgage – and you could struggle to put food on the table.
That’s because most people who work jobs only have the one. Prepper entrepreneurs, however, understand that the wise thing to do is to have money coming in from multiple streams.
As an entrepreneur, the amount of money that you can make is up to you. There’s no ceiling to hit, no limit on what you’re capable of achieving. Best of all, there’s no boss to fire you in the event of a crisis.
You can pick the type of work that you want to do and you can even pick the type of customers that you have. You can build a business according to whatever it is you love doing.
You can set your own hours, make your own rules. Being fully in charge of your own job can create great job security. But there are other perks when you’re an entrepreneur, too.
You can work from home. You don’t have to leave the house for work unless you choose to set it up that way. During the pandemic, those who worked online fared much better than people who had to go into the office.
There were no rules to adhere to, no risks to take by being among groups of people in the same room or building. When you work online and you’re your own boss, there are no requirements unless you set them up yourself. You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do when you’re building your own job security.
Erratic Healthcare
If you’ve read the news lately, then you know that something isn’t quite right about the information you’re seeing. Sometimes, what the media claims is true is later backtracked on or debunked – one day coffee is good for you, the next day it’s bad for you.
This is confusing to many people because they trust that the media is giving them the correct information and to find out later it’s untrue (or a half-truth) makes everyone suspicious.
Even during the pandemic, they were showing conflicting information. Kids were at risk and then they weren’t. Masks worked, then they didn’t. Vaccines were preventative, then they weren’t. Social distancing worked at six feet, and then it didn’t.
Understandably, many people were upset and were left feeling like they knew less than before they even read the news or watched the report. Healthcare was erratic throughout the pandemic as fear and rumors spread without basis.
People panicked and reacted because there were no viable answers from the media. There was no truth to trust. As a result of that, doctors all across the country closed their doors and stopped allowing people to come into the office for a visit.
This caused many people to suffer out of fear. Conditions worsened. Preventative care was sidelined and diseases raged out of control without medical care. There was a run on medications and they were sold out.
Medications that people relied on to stay alive were being bought and used by people who believed what the media initially reported. Pharmacies struggled to get in the monthly prescriptions that people needed.
For those in the nursing homes, they were shuttered in – locked away from friends and family, forced to see their loved ones through windows or not at all. The elderly suffered needlessly as a result of this.
People who were hospitalized weren’t allowed to have their family members by their side. As a result, they battled alone and afraid with no family by their side to advocate for their health care choices.
This is why you need to be in control of your own healthcare. As a survival prepper, you can treat yourself if you know what you’re doing. Learn about the medications that you can take to treat common illnesses and not so common ones.
The best medical treatment always begins with common sense. When you’re living on a homestead, you can grow your own herbal medicine to use to treat certain conditions. You can also delve into the world of alternative medicine.
Study acupuncture, treatment with herbal remedies and homeopathic options. Take courses on first aid to educate yourself on what to do in the event of an emergency. Get the equipment that you need for preventative health care as well as for treatment plans you may need in the future.
By being prepared, not only do you have peace of mind, but you can stave off many health conditions and you can also take care of yourself and your family without the need to run to the doctor who may or may not be available in the future just like you’ve seen happen already.
Civil Unrest
A society thrives on law, order, routine and the betterment of its citizens. All of that was disrupted over the last couple of years. Communities were no longer the peaceful, safe havens that people had become accustomed to them being.
Instead, law and order crumbled and fell in the streets as chaos took control. People were afraid to leave their homes, afraid to drive into their cities, and afraid to go to work.
That’s because the safety in many cities was completely destroyed by mobs of people intent on causing friction with others and destruction of property.
Instead of peaceful demonstrations, it ended up being violent. People began to riot and millions of dollars in damage was done. Those who believe in a civil society expected these riots to be brought under control.
They expected their cities and their property to be protected. None of that happened. Some cities like Los Angeles, New York, Miami and more faced multiple nights of out of control riots that led to historic destruction and damage.
Criminals, who aren’t even being charged or arrested for theft now, are emboldened by this “new normal” of bad actions without the consequences, and continue to behave without regard to others.
With continuing threats on the horizon such as the elections coming up, there can be more incidents occurring. For example, shootings can take place. While you can’t prevent people from acting outside the law, you can prepare for and know how to handle civil unrest so that you and your family are safe.
Make sure that you stay up to date about what’s going on in your community. If you’re aware there may be demonstrations or gatherings in your city, then avoid being in that area.
You can find this out by checking out your city’s alerts on the social media page. Have your supplies stockpiled in the event that it’s not safe to travel to the store. That means having enough food and water on hand for everyone so that it’ll last for months if need be.
Gas up your car so that you’re prepared to bug out on a moment’s notice. If you know that your home or subdivision is potentially a danger zone, it’s best to leave rather than try and stay and protect it.
Keep cash available so that you have it in the event getting to the bank or ATM isn’t an option. To keep yourself and family safe from intruders, create a safe room where everyone can go to escape criminals who might break in during a time of civil unrest.
Make sure that you have the means to handle self-defense. Keep things like pepper spray and your firearms handy. Use them if you have to. If someone breaks in, it’s either you or the other person.
Have communication devices on hand so that you can communicate with extended family members to let them know the situation and make sure you have a hand crank radio to listen to official instructions and news.
Fragile Power Grid
Everyone is so accustomed to having electricity that most people get upset when the power is out for just a few hours. While that’s inconvenient, it’s not as big of a deal than if the power grid goes down on its own or is taken out for long term.
Given what’s been going on in the world and the threats of attacks, the power grid could very well experience a hit. If that happens, it’s too late then to start planning. You’ll be scrambling just like everyone else.
Take the time now to prepare so that you know how to survive without power. It surprises people to learn just how many areas of their lives that are affected by the loss of power.
Water supply is one of them. You might not think that the water to your home has any association with the power grid, but it does. The water company can’t provide you with clean, drinkable water if the grid goes down.
Even if you’re on a well system, you’ll be affected. So make sure that you store an ample supply of drinking water. Plan for every member of the family – including pets. Stock up on things water purifying tablets in the event that your supply of water runs out.
You’ll need to have a way to purify water from a lake, river or other means. Stock up on non-perishable foods that you can eat, because once the power goes down, so does your way to keep foods cold.
You can’t rely on a gas generator because without electricity, gas pumps don’t operate so you can’t get the gas to keep fueling the generator. Invest in alcohol heaters or propane heaters to help heat your home.
You can invest in backup power sources such as solar panels. They’re expensive up front, but do pay for themselves in the long run. If the power grid goes down in the winter, you’ll need heat.
As a prepper, you want to think about alternative options like a wood stove. You’ll need a way to communicate if your cell phone can’t be charged. You can buy solar gadgets to charge them.
If cellular towers are down or have been destroyed, cell phones may be useless. In that event, you’ll want to have on hand things like satellite phones or CB radios. You’ll also want alternative backup energy supply methods for things like your laptop.
Make sure that you have lighting such as candles and solar lamps or lanterns so that you’re not in the dark come night fall. If you have medication that must stay cool, such as insulin, prepare ahead by purchasing things like a cooling wallet or case.
You may never have a “worst-case scenario” event that you have to deal with. But the last couple of years have proven that life can be extremely unpredictable. Chaos can happen at any time and by being prepared, not only can you survive them, but you and your family can thrive.
You don’t want to live life in fear every day. Preparedness for survival situations should give you the opposite emotion – peace of mind that when and if things go wrong, you won’t have to worry about getting through it.
