Determine threat level?
Posted by dummy1998@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 35 comments
So I’m just beginning my prepper journey and was wondering how you determine exactly what you’re prepping for?
I feel like it’s attainable to prep for financial collapse and natural disasters. But what about something more far fetched like nuclear war?
At what point do you ignore “survival” vs just living your life?
PissOnUserNames@reddit
Just having a month worth of food in the pantry and a few dollars in a savings account puts you better prepared that 90% of people. Just prep with the intention I am better off now than I would otherwise have been and try not to stress about it too much
ntk4@reddit
Kind of like your simple POV here, but I should think your proportions are majorly off with a month of food and a couple gallons of water. I'd plan a gallon of water a day. And a savings account I'd expect to be unaccessible under most cases one would need to prep for, but perhaps having something like digital assets local to your phone which is like cash in a way in some areas, or even better some cash, or even better an asset that would be valuable in the event of whatever failure you're prepping for.. like gas, but gas isn't too stable, maybe shoes or..
PissOnUserNames@reddit
Just some quick examples. Truth is though if you got anything stacked you will fare better than most others around you and none of us truly know what exactly we are preparing for. It could be a world wide event that takes us back to the stone age where with with a little food and water you would be better off than most and coukd ride out the worst of it. Or it could be a more personal level disaster like life altering injury leaves you without a job and that savings account would be a nice asset
ntk4@reddit
Yehp. I guess it's like tools or tech - it's super easy to get exited about the cool stuff, then buy it, but is it used? 🤔
Additional-Stay-4355@reddit
Please, just give me one excuse to buy that Mira Safety gas mask!
ntk4@reddit
Well, with increased use of pesticides and herbacides, not to mention chem spraying from the sky, it would be a good safety measure for the whole family, JiC.
Additional-Stay-4355@reddit
Added to cart and proceeding to checkout....
ntk4@reddit
Buy it now man!
Open-Attention-8286@reddit
I'm the type who just likes having backup plans. Most of my preparations aren't aimed at any specific disaster, they're just a side-effect of how my brain is wired.
That said, I do have a rating system for different disasters. The four main components are:
So, a nuclear apocalypse would max out on intensity, duration, and scope, but how often has one happened? That makes the probability score almost zero. On the other hand, how many people have lost their jobs in the last 10 years?
My rating system isn't set in stone, there's a lot of what-ifs and wiggle room. There are also other factors like how much lead time you'd get, or what other problems will likely be triggered as ripple effects. But it's a start.
ExileTheTrashPanda@reddit
Stakeholder Prepping actually just did an episode about building a risk matrix a couple weeks ago. They actually did a solid job of laying out all the factors that go into identification and mitigation on a scalable level.
https://open.spotify.com/show/1S50vyajR2NP0SP6dmTIAK
Hope this helps!
dummy1998@reddit (OP)
Are they only on Spotify?
ExileTheTrashPanda@reddit
Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music (iTunes) I believe. I just have the link to Spotify because that's what I use
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
Affordability. Period. Most people can afford the two weeks of food and water to ride out, say, a blizzard. Hurricane or earthquake? Maybe a month is better. So do those.
Nuclear war? Well, if it melts the US power grid with EMPs, the grid won't be back for years, which triggers a chain of events that means most people in the US die. If you can run a totally self-sufficient homestead far from any cities, you could survive that, probably. But it's a million$ and more to build it and stock it with animals, people and seed, water tanks, food storage, radiation shelter, medical...
So don't bother. You're going to need that million to retire, and retirement is a problem you will absolutely face, while nuclear war is just about at 0% in the US.
I prep for weather, pandemics and supply chain problems. I'm starting to rethink how I manage a financial disaster given recent events. But at some point you just shrug and say "humanity had a nice run."
kkinnison@reddit
Tuesday
Loss of job. Major accident or illness. I can sustain myself for 6 months to a year without needing to work or go to a store. and even plan for a week long power outage.
The far fetched stuff is so rare it isn't even worth planning for with the amount of preps needed. you often are more focused on hardening your bug in shelter and wasting time and money on it, than basic needs like food and water.
or ammo. too many rather buy hundreds of rounds of ammo and a new firearm then spend a weekend preserving cheap in season produce
Rip1072@reddit
Remember when FEMA used a mythical, apocalypse scenario to illustrate preparedness? That's a good example of prepping for tomorrow v. more unlikely event. Tomorrow always happens, nuclear war, no so much.
devadander23@reddit
My plan for nuclear war is to die. Zero interest in trying to survive that one
Additional-Stay-4355@reddit
You don't want to stick around for the mutant wars!?
devadander23@reddit
It’s just cancer, starvation, and dysentery. Hard pass
BenjaminAnthony@reddit
I prep for mostly realistic things. Financial issues, supply chain distributions, civil unrest, things that will inevitably happen and have happened over and over again throughout history. I don't prep for the doomsday or nuclear war things because there's really no realistic way for me to prep for that. I just keep it simple and stay stocked up on food and water as much as I can.
NateLPonYT@reddit
This right here. But I’ll throw in that hurricane Helene also taught us that you have to be prepared for some natural disasters that almost never happen. I think they said that was a once in a 5,000 year storm
Additional-Stay-4355@reddit
My dream is to build a bunker under my house. In which case, I'd feel totally ripped off if doomsday never came.
Sea_Perspective6891@reddit
Earthquakes are a pretty big/real threat where I live so I packed a pretty good earthquake kit & stashed it under my bed. I also got 5 gallons water & some boxes of those ration bars stashed in my closet.
MT-Kintsugi-@reddit
I don’t think we can really prep for events that are waaaaaay beyond our control.
I prep for weather, power outage, fire, shortages (like if the longshoremen strike in the US makes good on their promise.) etc. I store fuel, preserve as much food as I can to be shelf stable, live in a safer area where worries about rioting or civil unrest are very small likelihoods, try to pay as many bills ahead as I can, etc.
Additional-Stay-4355@reddit
Definitely start prepping for mundane inconveniences. In my case, the goal is to prepare for "Houston bullshit". This includes hurricanes, floods and crime.
Focus on acquiring an alternate power source, food storage, water storage and first aid supplies/ training. Just keep adding to that a little at a time. Don't over-spend! Your most important prep is your savings.
And, if there's a nuclear war, we all get vaporized, so don't sweat it.
hunta666@reddit
Prep for life. A bad day, personal disaster, extended power cut, a localised incident, even consider another lock down (not that that we'll likely do that again).
A blown out tire, poor mobile signal, and a long walk home. Family emergency, and you've got to grab a bag and hit the road in a hurry. Bad weather that results in you having to hunker down at work for a few days. These are all viable and possible scenarios. Think them through and start there.
Don't think "in going into the woods" just think it's not full on SHTF but you're likely to be on your own or with your close circle dealing with whatever for a while.
SMB-1988@reddit
I prep for power outages and supply chain issues. Several times in the last 15 years we’ve had 10 to 15 day power outages due to storms. All the grocery stores were empty within two days. Gas stations ran out of gas within the first couple days as well. Nobody could take credit cards anywhere. Roads were impassible. I don’t worry so much about nuclear war. I focus on more realistic things. Started out with wanting to be able to make it two weeks without electricity or running water. I’ve slowly expanded to longer timeframes. Look at your environment. What is your biggest threat? For me it’s storms. For some it’s floods. For others in other parts of the world it’s war. Asses your most likely threats and go from there.
New_Internet_3350@reddit
I like to prep for anything just below nuclear war. Thing grid down or an emp situation. Anything else pretty much is covered under that.
AdditionalAd9794@reddit
I don't think you need to prep for anything new. Just the same shit we been seeing. Continued degradation of society, infrastructure, the supply chain, economics, etc
I don't think there will be any event to plan for, outside natural disaster. Things will just slowly continue to get worse as they have been
ntk4@reddit
That's the spirit!
likatora@reddit
The point of any prep i conduct would be immediate survival, without access to outside resources. This would be the financial and medium natural disaster type prep. Major natural disasters, Yellowstone volcano eruption or a tsunami wiping out the east coast, or nuclear impacts are just too far out of scope to really grasp a preparation plan for beyond 30 days, to many variables I cannot account for. I'll stick with knowing I'm okay for the events that might occur and I'll leave thoughs that would be unlikely to occur better hands than mine.
Suspicious_Flow_145@reddit
Nuclear War Survival Skills 2002 by Cresson H Kearny.
Ryan_e3p@reddit
what are you prepping for - Reddit Search!
toxic_adventure@reddit
I prep for teusday. In other words just a normal day when things go bad. Power outages. Gas outages. Food outages. Ect ect.
joshak3@reddit
One piece of advice is to base your preps on the immediate impact to you, rather than the more distant causes of those impacts. For example, your preparations for for power outages (getting a generator, having a battery-operated radio, etc.) are largely independent of whether the power outage is caused by a hurricane, blizzard, civil unrest, or cyber attack. Think of the things you need--food, water, energy, sanitation--and then figure out how to address the immediate impacts if those were interrupted.
G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit
Perform qualitative and quantitative risk assessments.