Throughout eight years of Obama, many people got deep into prepping, feeling that he was leading us to impending doom. Now that Trump is in office it might be tempting to those same people to relax and hope for growth and security, while those who felt hopeful during Obama’s presidency are turning into the preppers.
Whether you love or hate Trump, there are always many possibilities for the next big crisis to hit the US or the world, and if you’re just getting into prepping or are a seasoned veteran, you can never be too vigilant or too prepared.
These are five steps you can take to get prepared that should be your top priority in the years to come:
1. Get healthy
As we constantly share here on this blog, your body is your best tool. You can have all the canned food, ammo, and medical supplies in the world, if you’re not in good shape, your physical limitations could quickly become your downfall in a number of disasters. Eat well, exercise, take time to relax and spend with your family, and address impending physical, mental, and spiritual issues now.
2. Get out of debt
A lot of preppers and homesteaders go into debt buying the best gear, supplies, and investing in long-term mortgages to live the self-reliant and self-sufficient dream. But if you’re in debt, you’re not self-reliant or self-sufficient, and you could have your land or house taken real quick in a crucial financial crisis. Paying off debt isn’t as glamorous as the best hunting rifles on the market or a tricked-out bunker, but if you really want to survive and be independent, cut your ties to the global bankers and pay off your debt now.
One really simple way to do this is to make a monthly budget, and plan to pay your biggest monthly payments on your smallest debts first, and then work up towards the bigger debts. There are a bunch of great budgeting apps out there that make it simple and comprehensive.
3. Stock up
This probably goes without saying, but stock up on food, water and supplies. You don’t have to break the bank, there are even free ways you can stockpile now without having to spend extra money. You can set aside $10-20 a month for rice and beans, and make sure to store clean drinking water regularly.
4. Learn about edibles
You might not realize it, but your local parks and forests might have a veritable feast in them for anyone with no other source of food. Learn what’s local in your area, where it grows, and how to identify it. There are many greens, berries, roots, and even tree bark all over North America that are perfectly safe to eat and even nutritious, but you definitely don’t want to be looking for them when you’re desperate. It’s better to learn ahead what to look for and be able to identify plants, as well as perform standard edibility tests. This will be a valuable skill when the grocery shelves go empty.
5. Grow your food
You probably won’t be able to grow enough food to replace trips to the grocery store right away, but learning to garden is a very important skill. During any big crisis, people turn to their backyards to be more self-reliant, lie Victory Gardens during WWII. Find a place to grow some food, and do it. Learn how to start seeds, prepare and fix soil, basic best control and planting techniques, and how to harvest and process commonly grown vegetables. You’ll be glad you did when you need to do it to survive.
We can’t ever tell when the next big crisis will hit, so it’s always important to plan ahead and prepare for the worst. Anything you can do to prepare more is generally prudent to do in general, so don’t worry so much about when it will happen as you do about what you can do to make sure you and your family are read. Presidents will come and go, but the need to prepare for survival and become more self-reliant in a fragile global system is always going to be there.
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