I was re-re-reading Ben Franklin’s biography the other day and I read a snippet of a letter he wrote to his grandson who was, shall we say, a bit off the path towards a bright future. Franklin, encouraging him to focus on his schooling, said “…people who study hard live comfortably in good houses.” Leave it Franklin to come up with a summation to something that takes most people an entire chapter to instill.
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I see that Hawaii is getting ready for some inclement weather, and in typical fashion the people who live on the island(s) are panic-shopping for storm supplies. Why, oh why, wouldn’t they already have a footlocker or two full of the requisite flashlights, radios, batteries, and bottled water? Not only do they live on a place with active freaking volcanoes, but they also live someplace where, when the Bad Things happen, it takes days to get supplies there because of the location.
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With that in mind, I’ve been doing some minor upgrades here and there to my own level of preparedness. Mostly there’s been a gradual but sustained shift from ‘survive the end of the world’ to ‘survive an economic hardship’. Now, you might think that if you’re prepared for the former that will cover the latter. Mmm…some ways yes, some ways no. Mostly right now I’m working on getting money in the bank, money in the safe, paying off the house, and rewriting some budgets and other financial plans. (To say nothing of the continued adventure of increasing my value in the marketplace.)
So, yeah, plenty of ammo and freezedrieds in storage, but I feel even more prepared when all the bills are paid a month or two ahead, there’s cash in the safe, money in the bank, food in the fridge, a couple pairs of new shoes on the shelf, and a decent emergency fund. In the non-stop Blender O’ Despair that is my life, I’ve needed cash far more often than I’ve needed body armour…..
By the way, you wanna help ol’ Zero achieve the fulfillment of these worthy goals and do yourself a great service? Yeah, this.
My preps seem to be at the same point as yours. Debt relief, cash flow security, upgrades to the homestead. DW gave me a timeline for her retirement, so I now have a definite “end” date.
“Stuff” is well-in-hand, but there is never enough because of that famous questions “How much of ****** do you need?” I seems to be a moving target. Oh well, that’s life!
“Shoppers prepping for Lane find empty shelves, long lines at Hawaii stores”
alternate article headline
“Unprepared People Panic”.
“a couple pairs of new shoes on the shelf”
Yeah, I tried that a while ago. Did you know even as an adult, yer feet still get bigger? Me neither. Dammit. One pair 10 1/2 Wide Lowa GTX Renegades still sealed in the unopened box and one pair with undetectable wear on ’em. In case anyone is interested.
“the bills are paid a month or two ahead”
And when I did that, I couldn’t get into one of my storage spaces cuz “you didn’t pay this month”. When I pointed out I was two months ahead, the guy muttered under his breath “I gotta get a new book keeper”. I agreed.
“there’s cash in the safe”
In the aforementioned storage space. The best laid plans of mice ‘n men…
My neighbor who lived on the Big Island for a decade told me the natives have oil lamps,cases of spam and buckets of rice and a extra pair of flipflops(sandals) for hurricanes and “no problem,brotha” attitudes while the “howles” panic and complain about no A/C when its 75 deg