There are many things you must anticipate as a prepper. and these include emergency scenarios like societal collapse, famine or even nuclear war.
These events may seem daunting, but preparing before SHTF should help you get your supplies ready in case you are one day forced to deal with a long-term survival scenario.
Below are 12 tips to help you get ready for societal collapse, famine and nuclear war. (h/t to SHTFPlan.com)
Get some of your assets out of the fiat currency system
The fiat system, which is a rigged, debt-based monetary slave system, will crumble when disaster strikes. Learn how to efficiently use valuable currencies like gold, silver and crypto as means of exchange. These assets are more “honest” because no government can artificially inflate their supply, meaning no government can print gold, silver or Bitcoin.
Boost your physical fitness with cardio and strength training
Improve your eating habits and exercise regularly to stay fit. When disaster strikes, being physically fit will give you a significant advantage over non-preppers who are used to a sedentary lifestyle.
Keep in mind that bone density is essential for resilience and survival. You will also need stamina for the heavy physical demands of post-SHTF life.
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Do whatever you can right now to increase your strength, endurance and bone density to improve your resiliency. Boost your fitness levels with cardio and strength training. Here are some tips to ensure a safe workout when starting a new routine:
Stay hydrated
Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day to maintain healthy hydration levels. Replenishing fluids during exercise is important for maintaining optimal performance, especially if you are working out in hot temperatures.
When you’re done, hydrating after your workout can help you recover and get you ready for the next training session.
Follow a nutritious diet
Following a balanced diet will help support your fitness program. All food groups are necessary to sustain healthy energy levels and get the most out of your workout. You need carbs because they can fuel your muscles before exercise.
Protein helps improve muscle recovery after exercise, repairs tissue damage and builds muscle mass. Regularly consuming healthy fats has been shown to help burn body fat and preserve muscle fuel during workouts, which helps your energy last longer.
Warm up before exercising
Warming up before your workout will help prevent injuries and improve your athletic performance. Warming up also helps improve your flexibility and reduce soreness after exercising. Start with some aerobic exercises like arm swings, leg kicks and walking lunges.
You can also warm up by doing easy movements of the exercise you’re planning to do, like going on a walk before running.
Cool down after a workout
Cooling down is important because it helps your body return to its normal state. After you exercise, cool down to help restore normal breathing patterns and reduce the chance of muscle soreness. Do some light walking to cool down after aerobic exercise or stretch after resistance training.
Listen to your body
It’s ideal to exercise every day, but if you’re starting a new workout routine, learn your limits. If you feel pain or discomfort while exercising, stop and rest before continuing. Pushing through the pain isn’t recommended because this can cause injuries.
Working out “harder and faster” isn’t always better. While the goal is to become stronger before SHTF, you should start slow to avoid serious injuries. Exercise regularly to make the most of it and improve your strength and stamina.
Learn how to use secure, private messaging technology
Secure your data and communicate using secure apps like Session. The Session app is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that minimizes sensitive metadata.
According to the Session website, the app was “designed and built for people who want absolute privacy and freedom from any form of surveillance.”
Keep it simple. Avoid the scams. Let Genesis rollover your retirement accounts into a self-direct IRA backed by physical precious metals.
If you invest in Bitcoin, learn how to use privacy crypto. You can also boost your data security with Apricorn thumb drives with keypad encryption.
Before SHTF, get sat phones and radio comms as alternative means of communication that don’t rely on cell towers and can’t be used to triangulate your physical location.
Learn to grow and store/preserve food
If your property is secure, grow fruits and vegetables in a home garden, such as:
- Lettuce
- Green beans
- Radishes
- Tomatoes (by transplant, i.e. small nursery plant)
- Zucchini
- Peppers (by transplant)
- Beets
- Carrots
- Chard, kale, or spinach
- Peas
If you don’t have space for a garden or you want to grow more food but in a less obvious way, read up on guerilla gardening.
Acquire non-GMO seeds to use in your garden. Learn food preservation techniques like home canning or drying so you can preserve food for future use. You can also use preserved food for bartering. Ensure your overall wellness by also stocking up on various supplements like vitamin D and zinc.
Secure a reliable water supply at your house and bug-out location
Those in power may use water scarcity to control the population. Stay self-sufficient by securing a water supply in your primary location or your house, and in your secondary location or your bug-out location.
You will also need water treatment solutions such as a gravity filter or a high-quality pump filter/camping filter. If power outages are common in your area, find a reliable way to acquire and filter water without using electricity. Consider sources like surface water, well water and rainwater.
Stock up on off-grid emergency medical supplies and first aid items
If you or someone else in the family has a medical condition, like diabetes or hypertension, find a way to stock up on the necessary prescription medication.
Many medical supplies and first aid items will be very difficult to acquire after SHTF, so stock up on first aid essentials like ivermectin and antiseptic supplies such as povidone-iodine.
Learn how to live without electricity
While there is a very low chance of a total power grid failure, you should prepare for regional, intermittent outages that could plunge many areas of the country into total darkness.
Without electricity, water pumps will stop working. Gas stations will shut down and retail establishments cannot function. You won’t be able to use your refrigerator, freezer and air conditioning.
As the pioneers have proven, you can live without electricity, but it isn’t convenient or easy. Invest in hand tools like hammers and saws so you can build and repair things on your property as needed after SHTF. Get solar charging devices to charge small electronic devices such as cell phones and flashlights.
Practice dressing down
As a prepper you must learn how to be discreet. Be confident, but remain humble. Do not wear or carry signs of visible wealth like branded clothing or expensive bags and jewelry. Don’t drive a luxury vehicle and don’t flash wads of cash when buying groceries. Learn the “gray man” philosophy and blend in. When SHTF, knowing how to disappear or blend in may save your life.
Learn how to defend yourself
Guns are ideal for self-defense and for protecting your family when SHTF. Some say the easiest firearm to learn is a rifle. Meanwhile, others consider pistols as more difficult to deploy and require far more training than using a rifle because a pistol involves mastering sight picture, eye dominance and recoil control.
If you don’t know what kind of firearm to buy, get an AR-15 and a Glock 19. Consider getting ballistic armor if you are worried about violence targeting your household or community. (Related: Survival 101: How to protect your family during civil war.)
Have a bug-out plan
Prepare for the Marxist/communist “Activation Day” scenario and have a detailed bug-out plan. Store enough supplies at your bug-out location so you have a chance at retaking your home or farm if they are overrun after SHTF.
You don’t need to be paranoid, but as a prepper you must be ready to evacuate if needed. If money is an issue, consider getting a crypto “brain wallet” so no one can detect or steal it from you.
Move away from “death zone” cities
If your city is considered a “dead zone,” move as far away as possible. Look for a new location that reflects the culture and rule of law you agree with. Choose a local living area that reflects philosophies of resiliency, self-reliance, honesty, compassion and the right to self-defense.
Keep your passport up to date if you need to travel
Prepare a crypto wallet and memorize the seed phrase so you have a “brain wallet” that you can access from anywhere. Use untraceable privacy coins to protect your privacy and avoid crypto confiscation attempts. Use crypto swap aggregation sites to trade Bitcoin into privacy coins.
Exercise, start a home garden and finalize your bug-out plan so you can survive when SHTF. Watch this video for tips on how to harden your bug-out location.
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More related stories:
- Basic outdoor survival skills that will help you when SHTF.
- 8 Forgotten skills that helped the Native Americans survive harsh times.
- Survival 101: How to prepare for and survive a tornado.
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Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
