So, you have been prepping a while now. You have a small income but you have enough to live on and add to your preps. You have evaluated the risks and you have been prepping and planning for some time to cover them.
Once you have a solid base of non perishaables preps and what you belief is over 18 months of perishables then you start to look at the specialist items. Items that you can only use for specific tasks, boats, NBC gear and similar items.
So, what do you do next? Do you continue adding to your preps to cover more people and allow you to barter. Do you add specialist items like farming equipment or even consider buying a different home depending on your spare income.
Or, do you consider starting to life it large and start buying the things you never had. Holidays, Plasma TV’s, Computers, Meals out and other such items.
How much will you be doing and when will you say ‘I’ve enough’?
I dont believe you can ever have enough unless you belong to the section of the prepping community that preps as a form of insurance (nothing wrong with that either cos its good common sense precautions) Insurance type prepping probably can have a cut off point where you can say ” I’m now as ready as I can be” for example if that person is only prepping to survive say prolonged winter storms ( Highlanders etc), or flood events (Folks along the River Severn / Tone/ Exe/ Thames etc) once you flood preps are sorted then thats about it unless you plan on building an Ark.You have water proofed everything, got escape plans, got pumps, boats, barriers, moved the fuse box upstairs etc etc
But other types of preppers plan on total societal collapses from multiple causes or triggers, for this part of the community prepping is a fundamental lifestyle choice and often involves moving home, changing jobs, learning self sufficiency skills, learning to live off grid etc. And for that group there will never come the point where they can say ” Right I’m Ready” simply because this type of prepping is a constant new skill and craft learning process.
Forgot to mention the sub genres of Hobby Prepper, Gadget Prepper, Armchair prepper, Rambo Wannabe and Empire builders, of those folks many plan for example on simply having a first rate all singing all dancing Bug Out Kit.Once they have got the bling and badges they often consider them as equipped enough.
i dont think you can ever say “enough is enough”, if like me you are prepping for societal collapse then its an ever ongoing process.
I’m not sure we’ll reach that stage…. it’s slow going due to funds but once that improves we’ll ultimately be looking for a house that is a little more removed that has a bigger garden we can afford. Then it will be onto becoming more self sufficient even if it’s only veg and maybe a few chickens
I guess I’m looking at from a life style point of view
its not enough for me until there is no more space to put stuff. To me prepping isn’t just about collecting stuff, it’s a way of life. Its about making do with less and getting off the consumer treadmill. And being happy about it.
The storing of food has saved us money because all the non perishables we buy only when on special offer. Also learning to multi-use items and fix things myself has saved us a lot.
Do you continue adding to your preps to cover more people and allow you to barter?
yes. After the dust settles, if one has the resources and the ability to barter, they could be in a good position to continue to provide for their own family. And what if there is something you need? be nice to having something to trade. for example, there may be someone in the area who is good at procuring wild game. maybe trade a few Kg of flour for a nice fresh turkey.
That’s an excellent question and determines your overall commitment and space allocation – something which in your limited quarters means everything. Tricky, tricky.
I think I’ll have enough when I can sit down and have the same lifestyle Pre-SHTF and post.
Food stores need to be eaten and replaced ether ongoing or at yearly intervals, so you can never stop in that sense. Admittedly once you have a decent survival knife you don’t need seven more… one spare perhaps… but personally I have lost count on how many I acquired over the years… it’s actually not easy to stop. That I think is the key. If you really are a prepper, you can’t actually stop… it’s you. There will be periods more intense than others, and budgets will change, but you can never stop. It’s not all buying and hoarding, I doubt there is a limit on what would be good to learn, I don’t feel I’ve scratched the surface on skills over 25 years.
No one needs to hurl all their resources at it non-stop… one can live in the now as well and get a decent laptop or whatever, but I don’t think ‘stopping’ is really an option for most preppers, as their personalities ‘just do it’.
I could find a satisfactory level of equipment and supplies that would make me feel comfortable, but I’ll never be able to say I have enough info, intel or contacts.
When you run out of any of these, space, time, money, need.
Its not just about having enough, its also about having the right stuff for what you think are the most likely events, you cant prep for every possible event, and the world is constantly changing, what was important to prep for last year may have diminished and your focus is now on a greater threat.
So try and remember to re-evaluate your preparations from time to time,…prepping is never finished, but it may change quite often