panic, please & thank you

PANIC, PLEASE & THANK YOU
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note: a addendum on yesterday's rimfire purchase.  Video comparison tests say that the Remington Thunderbolts work poorly in semi's.  Those are the cheapest Wal-Mart rounds.  The Remington Golden's, the cheapest from Sportsman's Guide, tend to do better in that aspect.  Half a cent a round probably isn't too much of a premium to pay if you have a semi instead of a bolt. 
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note: free book.  PA anthology https://amzn.to/2NgRSbo . 
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I was watching You Tube’s “Prepper Nurse 1” ( I also have begun to really enjoy Prepper Nurse ) and his “The sky is falling.  Don’t be a chicken little” ( for the very longest suffering loyal minions, you might remember my first ‘zine was named Chicken Little ).  In it, he basically said Don’t Panic and also Slow And Steady Wins The Race.  Which is correct.  HOWEVER.  It is also incorrect.  When you first get started in prepping, you certainly don’t want to panic.  I did plenty of that myself, as I’m sure most of us did, and many fiat currency units were wasted on complete garbage, after which time we panicked even more because we didn’t have any more money to buy more essentials.

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So, sure, if you are a pretty pony princess prepper, panicking is the last thing you want to do.  You are already handicapped by being a Unicorn Prepper, dragging along freeze dried foods, FLIR scopes and pouring concrete bunkers.  You must slowly acquire all that crap and you must do it smart by prioritizing.  Even Redneck Preppers who spend about 20% for 80% of the performance, what you might want to call Pareto Preppers, must prioritize since even frugal folk have unlimited wants.  But I would submit to you that the time for slow and steady is AFTER you panic. 

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Not that I’m advocating blind emotion driven panic, but rather Panic With A Plan, Panic With A Purpose.  Panicking serves the very real purpose of getting you ready for the ass falling out of civilization.  It is useful, since none of us can time the collapse.  And so when you are told, slow and steady, what I hear is “you could be double dog dingus humped if the collapse doesn’t unravel slow enough to rival your low budget for preps”.  As you are slowly saving up for that AR-15, on the other side of the collapse you are defenseless with money in the bank ( figuratively of course, as the money was “bail-in’ed” and the bank building is a burnt shell ).

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Most Yuppie Scum Prepper Plans call for a good hundred grand and up.  Personally, I’ve known many a family making $50-$60k without a pot to piss in, so I can’t imagine 99% of preppers can afford that.  The first step in panicking is to panic over the vile hunk of crap almost every survivalist or prepper pundit exposes.  Yet, even frugal prepping is a couple to five thousand if you need everything including junk land.  When you plan-less panic prep, getting into debt forever, selling all assets and falling down the rabbit hole of luxury preps, you can easily screw yourself for little gain.  And that is what Prepper Nurse is cautioning against.  Agreed.

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But you can still screw yourself even on the Redneck Prepper Plan.  You STILL need to take your time on that one, slow and steady.  Taking your time means you get a much better $700 junk land lot than rushing into a $1k one.  But, again, trying to time the collapse.  Before you even get close to prepping smart, you need to embrace Stupid Prepping.  That is prepping this very instant because it doesn’t cost crap.  As I always say, be prepared yesterday.  The only way to do that is to start stupid and THEN take your time doing it properly.  That is what the Frugal Survivalist $500 Prepper Plan was.  Anyone can afford $500, and that allows yourself to be prepared yesterday.

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Is the $500 how you want to prep, exclusively?  No.  It is a starter kit, or a kit for someone that is far better than nothing.  You should in an ideal world be much better prepped than that.  Better weapons, your own land to bury far more food, more ammo, petroleum-less shelter, and etcetera.  But if you can’t do more, either because of time or money, it will work, if barely.  So, new to prepping, I’d tell you to panic and get that $500 ( it can be a bit more or less ).  By hook or by crook.  I don’t advise being homeless because you used the rent money, but you do need to do something almost as drastic. 

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$24 in plastic totes ( lay the bags of flour in the container unopened ) and $87 in large sacks of white flour and you have a years worth of calories ( near enough-the bags are only 25 pounds rather than 30, but figure one bag a month ).  I strongly advise some whole wheat kernels for sprouts as no matter how many vitamin pills ( about $30 ) you have your body will crave fresh food ( see the link below the article for Wal-Mart wheat kernels, if you don’t have a feed store nearby  ).  I’d also get at least $20 in cans of vegetable shortening for fat.  This will keep you alive.  Barely.  It won’t fuel any activity.  Protein deficiency will be an issue.  The bare bones calories obviously need to be supplemented, but they will provide enough calories for you to at least have a baseline you can work with.

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To my mind, if you don’t have a one year supply of food, no matter how minimal, you MUST panic and buy this immediately.  This isn’t really a “slow and steady” item.  Add all the protein and variety and extra calories later, as you can.  You must have this bare minimum now, however.  And while I can’t imagine any prepper being unarmed, I guess it can happen.  Wal-Mart will sell you a $100 gun, either a shotgun or a rimfire.  I’d recommend the rimfire as you get twice the distance and six times the rounds for the money, but if you do better with the shotgun go with your comfort zone ( they are both single shot ).  Just be armed.  It doesn’t matter if you are armed with the worst, at least you are armed. 

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$50 is the minimum you need in ammunition, and this is just Better Than Nothing and nothing close to what you will eventually need.  And now, thanks to the good folks at Sawyer, anyone can afford tens of thousands of gallons of water filtered.  $20.  I’d have more than one, but if you don’t there is boiling as a back-up ( I’d want to do both, although boiling alone should be sufficient, with the filter for stealth use ).  There is more you need, such as a Mora knife for $15 and a Rada sharpener for $8.  Some thrift store warm clothing.  Tarps and cookware and the like.  But essentially you are only looking at bare bones $350 to $400 prepper budget of items you simply cannot do without. 

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If I had to give blood or puke out my extra lung to science for experimentation on to raise money, I would.  If you have to sell your beater car for the money ( with the extra left over to buy a good bicycle ), I would.  This is so basic that without it you are simply screwed.  But once you have it, then you can stop panicking.  You can do better, later, and more.  And if the wheels suddenly come off, meh.  You’ll make it.  Anyone that can live off flour and defend himself with a single shot of twenty gauge is tough enough to do what needs done.  Panic has its place, as does not panicking.

( .Y. )
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