I ordered some large water storage containers and other prepper items, and the puzzled questions I'd normally receive here were absent this time. It seems like the recent global crisis (planned or not), has changed the minds of those who used to smirk at anyone prepping for troubled times.

News reports of fans at a Kansas City Chiefs/Dolphins playoff game, having to have fingers and toes amputated due to the extreme cold, made me wonder if heated blankets were allowed (they were), and why they weren't used.

Remember the supply-chain problems where items were out of stock at the supermarket? They even banned the selling (and the amount) of certain things to members of the public. If that didn't wake you up, nothing will.

That's gonna happen again. So NOW is the time to get ready.

It's smart to think like a prepper

Don't buy when everyone else wants those items. The SMART thing to do is to slowly stock up when many people aren't.

I didn't have to stand in long line and deal with shortages. No need to scramble for food and other nessesities because I'd purchased supplies on clearance well beforehand. So while they had laughed at me in the past, I was able to enjoy the calm while others were running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Again, let them laugh while you prepare (although, they're not laughing so much anymore...)

Decentralize Your Life

"Shrinkflation" and the overall rise in prices, has also caught the eye of those who now pay more, but receive less. I've seen items double or even triple in price, which really affects how much you can buy with what you earn. Crypto offers yet another lane in which to branch out in order to be able to afford more of what we need.

The utility in having multiple income streams is also apparent, and is something I'm glad I got into awhile ago. It turns out that you simply can rely on just one thing anymore, and wiser heads are acting on that.

The other thing I'm looking at is location, location, location. The nice, safe city of my childhood is no more, as the sounds of gunshots ring out into the night. Cities are the LAST place you're going to want to be when the SHTF.

This corridor between NYC and DC is not the place to be, as we already get trouble imported from hooligans hailing from both Gotham, and the so-called 'City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.' Yeah. Right.

I have family in Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas, and many of them have opted for places in the hinterlands far from the scenes of potential chaos where lots of people are gathered. Though I'm a city boy, both of my parents spent at least part of their youth growing up on farms, so that old-fashioned protestant work ethic was instilled in me as well.

Nothing is guaranteed and no one owes you ANYTHING, so you need to be as self-sufficient as possible. Redundancy is key. Having multiple fail-safes and backups are essential to surviving "the next thing to come."

I have supplies and go bags stored in multiple locations. Blog on a number of different platforms, and have created different revenue streams all dripping small amounts that add up over time. This way I don't have to rely on any ONE SINGLE THING. You just can't, so you need to be ready.

Its known that while even though prices are higher now than they've been before, its nothing like what it will be when things truly get dicey. Until then, we decentralize our life, learn, grow, and be PREPARED.