TIP You're not a REAL Prepper if.....

[Nuthatch]

....finish the sentence. May be silly or serious. Maybe it will help some newbies get pointed in the right direction.

You're not a REAL prepper if you are not living below your means.

You're not a real prepper if you haven't considered how many pounds of rice and beans you'd eat in a year.

Etcetera... Have fun!

 

[Micah68]

if your attic is not insulated with packages of toilet paper....

 

[Cmdr Don]

you can park a car in your garage.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

You don't have at least a dozen feathered egg laying/fertilizer generating machines in your back yard, and an organic garden that can utilize the fertilizer that is generated.

 

[ainitfunny]

You are not a real prepper if:
1. You have not made peace with God.
2. You have allowed your health to deteriorate through bad choices or neglect.
3. You have not gotten out of debt.
4. You spend any significant amount of time non-constructively. (wasting time in solely "entertainment" pursuits)
5. You are so isolated you have no friends or "back-up".
6. You are utterly oblivious to any "political" or "economic" news.
7. You implicitly trust your doctors, your government, your teachers, your neighbors, your police, your employer, your bank.
8. You always view everything with optimism, certain that things will just somehow work out ok without worrying or "prepping."
9. You have no "plan B" ready if you can't proceed "business as usual" and life tosses obstacles to threaten your welfare.
10. You live in a state of utter dependency upon uninterrupted electric power, city water, cell phones, open available daily food supply markets, medical services, public transportation, a government check, gasoline availability, electric or natural gas for life protecting heat, public order and/or police to defend you.
11. You have nothing saved or "put back" for a "rainy day" or "hard times" as grandma used to say.
12. You think rotten teeth and B.O. are "bad", but see nothing disgusting, ugly or wrong about WILLFUL ignorance, thinking you only need to become informed about things that "interest" you, not how to cook, bake, do first aid, drive, use basic tools, do simple repairs, do basic wiring, plant a garden, sew, shoot, fish, and anything else you depend on others to do for you which you deliberately ignore opportunities to learn.

(BTW- By my own yardstick, I am not a "real prepper". Failed #2,4,5)

 

[Tygerkittn]

You're not a real prepper if you've ever run out of anything.

 

[Deena in GA]

...if your landscaping isn't food-related.

 

[Nuthatch]

These are good!

...if you haven't thought of multiple routes home, on foot.

...if you don't have multiple flashlights.

...if you panic when the electric goes out for a few hours or days.

 

[Nuthatch]

Ainit--get yourself some back-up/friends asap. You can do it, I know you can

...if you don't maintain your tools and engines.

 

[Jonas Parker]

You're not a real prepper if you just took out a second mortgage on your home because "the rates are so low".

You're not a real prepper if you believe ANYTHING Ben Bernake says.

 

[Chair Warmer]

You're not a REAL Prepper if..... ....

finish the sentence.

... you feel too initimidated to answer this question! lol

There's so much I wish I could do... skin a deer, foraging, garden and farming, canning, shoot a bow, make and fix technical stuff, leatherwork and basket weaving, have necessary income producing skills, etc., ... still working on it all ...

Based on what I have accomplished in the past 3 years...

get through two years of unemployment (and 6 months of that with no income) without...

...doing anything illegal

...starving to death or dying from illness. (although I did take my chances... haha!)

...having anything reposessed.

...having to move.

...losing a pet.

...having to beg for anything from relatives. (other than borrow a battery charger - and ask for a ride once)

...going further into debt.


Does this give me at least a little bit of bragging rights? lol


Mrs.Cw

 

[Nuthatch]

Mrs. CW: I salute you!

I agree whole-heartedly, but then I did the same back in 2008....and am on month 6 right now myself. Haven't applied for foodstamps or anything either. I feel lucky to have made good choices about debt, savings, etc.

Still could all go to %$# if something tragic happens, but let's keep prepping for the worst and hoping for the best!

 

[Chair Warmer]

Thanks Nuthatch, and I salute you too!

I did apply for foodstamps toward the end, after all our savings and supplies were exhausted. I sure hope nothing happens very soon too because we're just starting over again to build back on our preps...

Hoping for the best always!

Oh here's a funny one I just thought of... You're not a prepper if...

... You don't have a military can opener on your key chain! (what can I say, I like food... even more than light! lol)

Mrs.Cw

 

[WildDaisy]

... you feel too initimidated to answer this question! lol

There's so much I wish I could do... skin a deer, foraging, garden and farming, canning, shoot a bow, make and fix technical stuff, leatherwork and basket weaving, have necessary income producing skills, etc., ... still working on it all ...

Based on what I have accomplished in the past 3 years...

get through two years of unemployment (and 6 months of that with no income) without...

...doing anything illegal

...starving to death or dying from illness. (although I did take my chances... haha!)

...having anything reposessed.

...having to move.

...losing a pet.

...having to beg for anything from relatives. (other than borrow a battery charger - and ask for a ride once)

...going further into debt.


Does this give me at least a little bit of bragging rights? lol


Mrs.Cw

I'd say a lot of bragging rights. Most of us are Preppers in "theory". You've proved you were prepared and survived.

Sometimes the major disasters we prep for are contained within the four walls of our own home. You survived.


You're not a prepper unless you have 20 different recipes that contain beans and rice.

You're not a prepper unless "what if's" or shopping lists of items you need to rotate run through your mind every night as you go to sleep.

 

[seraphima]

...if you don't have a plastic tub with a food cache under your desk at work- and a 'get home' bag!

 

[BertaBurtonLake]

You are not a real prepper if:

you do not have the skills, ways, and supplies to party like it's 1799!!

 

[WildDaisy]

You are not a real prepper if:

you do not have the skills, ways, and supplies to party like it's 1799!!

LOL, I like that one! Nothing like a manual grain mill to "whoop it up".

 

[Baja SS]

You're not a prepper unless you have...

Looked at your fur kids as possible food supplies.

Kidding, I'm just kidding.

 

[Be Well]

If you haven't planned to live without electricity.

If you think tap water will always be there.

If you haven't thought of how you will bathe/cook/wash clothes without tap water and electricity.

If you think that health/medical problems can always be taken care of by a trip to the clinic/doc/hospital.




I really need to get some vet tooth pliars. Looked into it once but you need different kinds, depending on the type of tooth. Need to look into that.

 

[Chair Warmer]

You are not a real prepper if:

you do not have the skills, ways, and supplies to party like it's 1799!!

That was really great, laughing out loud here too!

P.S. Thanks bethshaya!

Mrs.Cw

 

[Brutus]

...if your landscaping isn't food-related.

Oooooo boy!

My mother needs several lessons on THAT one.

 

[WildDaisy]

You're not a prepper unless you have...

Looked at your fur kids as possible food supplies.

Kidding, I'm just kidding.

::Thwap::

 

[Christian for Israel]

...you don't have a bomb shelter in your back yard.

...don't understand the need to defend your preps from outsiders.

...like to brag to the neighbors about what you've got stashed away.

 

[fairywell]

...if you haven't found the ideal habitable cave in the mountains that no one can find but you (and whomever is going to cave dwell with you) , that you have prestocked with items needed to survive and that you are prepared mentally and physically for harsh conditions. I loved The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and admired Ellen and her cave.

 

[jed turtle]

if you haven't started planning on how you're going to get around post-gasoline/diesel age.

 

[kittyknits]

if you are worried about buying tuna NOW.

 

[vessie]

If you don't have a sign outside your front walkway that says, "Do not feed the Grasshoppers!".

I'll leave them with their flat screen tv's to chew on when they're hungry... V

 

[Old Gray Mare]

If you go to the store instead of the barn when you are low on milk...

If the meat on your dinner table came wrapped in plastic instead of on the hoof...

If your kids think concealment is eye makeup and cover is something that goes over top of something else...

If you've never considered using feminine products as bandages.....

If you can't make a nice dinner salad from your front lawn...

If you can't identify every unmarked police car in your area...

If you can't identify local politicians...

If you can't set up a sick/quarantine room in your home in under 5 minutes...

If you don't know what a topo map or orienteering is...

If you need charcoal brickets to cook food over a fire...

If you think the stores will always be full of food and the brands you want...

If you think preserving food means wrapping it in foil and stuffing it in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator....

If your kids did not get to name the pig your bacon came from...

If you think "roughing it" means a hotel room with a queen sized bed instead of king...

If you have to call Triple A for a flat tire...

If you are clueless as to what waffle stompers are....

If you think knowing how to put a bandaid on paper cut is all there is to controling bleeding....

If you think you don't need a fire extinguisher because the fire house is only a few blocks/miles away....

If you've never bought a set of tongs and wondered if they could double as forceps...

 

[sardog]

You're not a real prepper if....

You have a half dozen guns, but they're all in different calibers and you only have 20 to 50 rounds of ammo for each.

 

[CrabGrassAcres]

If the lights go out and you cannot lay your hands on alternate lighting without stumbling, groping or cussing.

 

[tm1439m]

If you have never been asked by the cashier and several other people "what the hell are you going to do with all that xxxx?"

XXXX = any sale or buy one get one free item.

 

[lectrickitty]

You're not a REAL Prepper if...

if the only thing under your bed is dust bunnies.

unless buckets of food are camo'd as coffee end tables in your living room.

if you don't unload your car after dark so the neighbors don't see all the stuff you carry in.

 

[Biloxibad]

You're not a prepper unless you have...

Looked at your fur kids as possible food supplies.

Kidding, I'm just kidding.

OUCH! And I am betting you have already calculated the usable calories from each fur-child!

 

[Nuthatch]

You have never listened to The Survival Podcast: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/

 

[LoupGarou]

You're not a REAL Prepper if.....

• The power source for your house has a monthly bill.
• Your TRUSTED communication systems have a monthly or yearly bill.
• Your backup vehicles run on dead dinosaurs.
• You don't know what "Boomstick", "Tools", "Toolbox", "Rooster" and "SSS" mean (and yes, they all are related).
• You don't know at least how to use a wrench, a screwdriver, fix a leak, repair a circuit, and charge a 12V battery.
• The thought of throwing a beater from your mixer into the chuck of your solar charged cordless drill is foreign to you.
• You don't have at least three books on most prepping subjects that you can lend out to others for them to "catch up" on their learning.

And the biggie that I got to witness: You believe that a gallon of water, a maglight flashlight, and a 8 pack of AA batteries is all that you need to last through what hurricane Isabel did to Central VA. And that prepping for anything more than that, would "never be needed". (That person thinks otherwise today, thank heavens.)

Loup

 

[LoupGarou]

You're not a prepper unless you have...

Looked at your fur kids as possible food supplies.

Kidding, I'm just kidding.

That is why you have furkids that can either hunt with you, or FOR you.

Loup

 

[Hansa44]

if the only thing under your bed is dust bunnies.

unless buckets of food are camo'd as coffee end tables in your living room.

if you don't unload your car after dark so the neighbors don't see all the stuff you carry in.

Who? Me?..

 

[Kook]

If you have never been asked by the cashier and several other people "what the hell are you going to do with all that xxxx?"

XXXX = any sale or buy one get one free item.

Been there.

 

[Straycat]

You're not a prepper unless you have...

Looked at your fur kids as possible food supplies.

Kidding, I'm just kidding.

The ROI of butchering time & grief vs. calories wouldn't justify it in our case. Plus they protect our living space from mice and rats, which is a valuable skill.


You aren't a real prepper if...

...you haven't mentally prepared yourself to deal with hardship and loss.

...you haven't strategized multiple plans for varied situations and made the necessary preparations to implement them.

...you haven't categorized everyone around you by skill level, mental and emotional stability, physical strength, and reliability in a possible crisis situation.

...you require electricity to continue your daily life in comfort.

 

[Dex]

-If you don't know at least 10 different ways to make a fire.
-If you don't have a BOB in each vehicle
-If your wife can't/won't shoot a gun
-If at least one of your relatives doesn't think you are some sort of radical or conspiracy nut
-If you haven't talked yourself blue in the face to try to wake up rest of the people you care about