Prepping for Beginners: Here’s Where To Start

Hello there! I bet you never thought you would find yourself here. Well, COVID-19 has been a serious wake up call for the average person. Frankly, it’s been a wake-up call for the world. You are likely behind the 8 ball in your preparedness posture and that can be very frustrating.

You might think the prepping community is here to mock you and lecture you. The reality is, we want everyone to be prepared.

Life is complicated and taxing without a virus going around killing people and shutting down our way of life. We do not hold it against you. Rather, we welcome you.

The more people who join this club, even those who come late, make a difference. You spread the word and you get prepared. Imagine a nation where 300 million people were prepared to stay locked down for 3 months at the drop of a hat.

Imagine for a moment the President gets on stage and announces the closure of jobs, bars, schools and we just turn the broadcast off and consider the opportunity at hand. It is possible and you as a new prepper are one person closer to that scenario.

Prepping Takes Time

If you are panicked there is a good chance that you are going to want to hit some prepping goals. Things like food, medical and water are on your mind. You might also be worried about firearms and ammunition.

A prepper, like myself, has been working hard, saving for big purchases and managing my little piece of land for nearly a decade! It takes every bit of that time and more. Trust me, I have a long way to go.

Do not let this deter you from getting started in preparedness. If you address food, water and backup power you will be able to deal with a lot of the natural disasters that mother nature can throw at you. While it might seem depressing or frustrating that you are not prepared as others just understand, it takes time.

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Stay Consistent

Right now, everyone is charged up. We are all switched on and watching with terror as this virus grows out of control. Prepping is easy at this point. However, the act of being a prepper is not about just taking action during the bad times. Nope. In fact, you make your greatest gains when the skies are blue, and no one is paying attention.

You will prep like a mad person while the threats are circling but it won’t always be this way. This too shall pass, and we will be back to the dangerous and convenient “normal” we have all come to expect. At that point it will feel good to take your foot off the gas.

That is when you need to dig down in your reserves and focus.

I know many people who left preparedness as the stock market rose and people got jobs. They were put under that spell of perpetual prosperity. Don’t fall for it. Keep prepping and stay consistent. In 5 years, you will be blown away at all that you achieved and how ready you are.

Focus on the Basics

For beginners it is imperative that you don’t get all wrapped up in advanced prepping. This could cost you a lot of money and will yield you very little outside of something to talk about on social media. Better to focus on the things that will most affect your family in a positive way.

There is a technique I use to analyze my own purchases before pulling the trigger. If its not a planned purchase with and I am torn between a few things I will always ask myself:

‘Which of these items will affect the next most likely disaster.’ 

The answer to that question is almost always the right decision. I have my cursor over another box of ammo, but I am also thinking about adding another fold out solar array to the family’s backup power supplies, I am going to go with the backup power.

We are going to need power long before I am going to need that box of ammunition. Focus on the following:

1. Long Term Food Storage
2. Water Filtering Capabilities
3. Backup Power Solutions (from power banks to generators)
4. First Aid Cache (create a nice big stockpile of bandages, OTC meds and bleed stopping methods)
5. Security
6. Community (don’t go it alone!)
7. Evacuation Planning or Bugout Planning

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Conclusion

While the learning curve might seem steep, we have a great community here. You will find that people are very helpful. Even though you spent the last decade mocking us, we are here for you. We can all remember what it was like to be stuck in the dream of invincibility.

We also remember the strife of those first days as a prepper. Those first weeks and years are the toughest because you feel so exposed. Just keep at it through bad times and good!

Up Next: 

•  4 Financial Tips to Help You Survive the Coronavirus Pandemic
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• School’s Out For the Unforeseeable Future: Resources for to How to Homeschool & Stay Sane (At the Same Time)