No one really knows how many preppers exist in the world, but it is safe to say that there are more than three million in the United States alone. Even though this sounds like a huge segment of the population, this is still only slightly more than 1% of the total US populace.
So, the bigger question is this: who is going to take care of the remaining 99% percent of the population when a major disruptive event occurs?
My guess is that most folks believe that the government will step in. Yeah right; just like they did with Katrina and Superstorm Sandy. We all know how well that worked out. The victims of Katrina waited days for aid while thousands were housed in the Superdome without supplies, and the victims of Sandy sat huddled in dark, stinking apartments, then stood in long lines for hours to get their allotted bottle of water and an MRE.
Here’s the cold, hard truth: the US Government is ill-equipped to take on a massive rescue operation. They have neither the manpower or the supplies to do so.
Plus, if the disruptive event is an economic collapse, you can bet that corporations will be bailed out long before the populace. It happened in 2008 and 2009, and many of us have the retirement account statements to prove it.
It’s undisputed that disasters can happen – and often do. The only question is, how will you deal with it? Will you wait for someone to charge in and rescue you and your family? Or will you take the matter into your own hands and prepare so that you can be self-reliant, regardless of the crisis?
The idea of prepping can be overwhelming when you think about the vast amount of supplies that you don’t yet have when you discover your home may not be the best location in which to ride out the storm, or when you realize that you really don’t have that many viable post-apocalyptic skills.
The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Prepper in 20 Easy Steps
Don’t despair. This is your ultimate guide to becoming a prepper, complete with some assessments to help you figure out where you’re at right now, and the steps you need to take to get to where you need to be. Best of all, this is a guide that doesn’t require you to drop $11,298.36 (aka big bucks) today to become prepared in one fell swoop. Many of these to-dos are absolutely free!
The Four Stages of Prepping
Before starting, let us first review the four stages of prepping that I first wrote about in 10 Simple Strategies for Becoming A Prepper.
From what I’ve noticed, the mix of readers on prepper-centric websites fall into four major camps. This is a progression of preparedness. You may recognize yourself and others in these descriptions.
I do not mean to imply that any stage of prepping is a bad thing. Not at all. Rather, it is our duty to exercise our own free will to make preparedness decisions that bring sense to our unique situations. There is no such thing as the one-size-fits-all Prepper. You may reach a certain stage and feel very comfortable at that point. Not everyone can be a candidate for a reality show, nor does everyone want to do something like that.
The Prepper Wannabe
This is someone who wants to embrace preparedness but does not know where to start. This person may also feel that he or she does not have adequate financial resources to prep.
The Prepper Newbie
This prepper has started to prepare but needs help in sorting through an overwhelming amount of advice and preparedness strategies both online and off. Whether it is simply handholding or education, the Prepper Newbies have started their journey but continue to seek knowledge and positive reinforcement to ensure they are on the right path.
The Dedicated Prepper
This is someone who has embraced the preparedness lifestyle with gusto. These preppers have supplies, knowledge, and skills but are seeking to fine tune their preps with advanced strategies for survival healthcare, living off-grid, and coping with civil unrest. They actively share their own personal experiences with others and offer tips and help other prepper-types learn and grow. I consider myself to be a Dedicated Prepper.
The Diehard Prepper
This prepper is planning for a major apocalypse and devotes considerable time and energy to ensuring that he or she will prevail. The Diehard Prepper may have a well-stocked bug out retreat where they can live out their days if the end of the world should come. They may also be highly secretive and unwilling to share what they have and what they know for OPSECreasons.
Being a Diehard Prepper has been somewhat glamorized by the entertainment media. This serves to disillusion and discourages those who are unable to create this type of alternative life for themselves. But don’t despair! It’s important to understand that this is the absolute far end of the scale and that this lifestyle isn’t necessary to weather the most ordinary storms that we are most likely to face.
Okay, so we now know that there are at least four types of Preppers. There are undoubtedly more, but for the sake of simplicity, let us leave it at that.
No matter where you are in this range, it’s a great place! Why? Because you’ve already taken the most important step: you realize that you need to become more prepared. After accepting that uncomfortable reality, the rest is just adding the nuts and bolts.
Read the Remainder at Back-Door Survival