If you want peace...
Prepare for hyperinflation, as the poet said. Or any other kind of post-apocalyptic scenario.
I will not talk about serious strategies other than the strategy of buying stuff I might need that is also expected to go up in price and/or scarcity. I had a little fun mental exercise that consisted of watching online and then comparing my own supplies to a prepper's list of things that regular consumers will want in case of civilization kind of breaking apart, either financially, or in terms of production and delivery capacities.
1
Duct Tape — Nope.
It's a thing to get a couple of rolls of, though. For personal use. But not before I plan regular ways of using it since that is how I prep — only the things that are going to be used anyway and buying them early would not hurt.
2
Vitamins/Over-the-counter Medications — Nope.
Although I do have some, it's not a supply to sit on, it's what has been recently used and is going away if I don't restock. I don't like their...expiration deadlines. Not things to hodl for long. If you're getting them in order to trade them as currency, you have...you might have...a limited window. And since you don't know exactly when it hits the fan big time...
3
Banages — Check.
Again, I do have some but for personal use and for a limited time/small number of cases.
4
Plastic Sheets — Check.
I've got more than the usual household would at a time, but most are currently in use and can't be reused as something clean. They can be reused for other purposes, though. I might go and find me some more soon, anyway. It's for experiments in the garden.
5
Tarp — Nope.
Too big and too specific. I like my hedges against hyperinflation/apocalypse small and easy to hoard or transport.
6
Bungees — Nope.
I'd rather go for the general purpose cousin of those, which is...
7
Rope — Check.
Love it. Must buy more.
8
Zip Ties — Nope.
A single bunch of those could be handy in some situations but I don't quite like plastic rubbish and I would use other materials.
9
Soap — Check.
It's durable, it's nice to look at, it's easily pile-able and it's quite good for disinfection purposes, too. Although, I got only a small collection of it. I'm not a soap magnate.
10
Rubbing Alcohol — Nope.
I got soap. Other things to burn which are not so bulky.
11
Activated Charcoal — Nope.
Not quite familiar with it yet. It might be simple. We've got lots of pure water sources on our territory. We are a small spa paradise, actually. Don't tell anybody.
12
Candles — Check.
I do have some small collection. Larger than my soap one. But it would go quicker. Not strategically viable to go for much more right now.
13
Aluminum Foil — Nope.
One roll doesn't count, especially if your wife does not share your prepping mania and does not plan on reusing the pieces. Besides, it's for the fancy kind of cooking, not a necessity, in my opinion.
14
Can Openers — Check.
Now we're talking. I have a couple of multi-tool units, two of my own are Victorinox, the Original Swiss Army Knives, and I am slowly buying more. My second one is twice and a half as expensive already than my first one. I am also buying those as presents to people who deserve them.
15
Salt — Nope.
I do have some for personal use but it's a small amount. It's still easily accessible to me. Despite the fact that its price went up 50% in recent months, it's still nominally cheap. If I stated walking in the morning, I would be at the salt mines in the evening. To claim them would be the harder thing to do, though. Anyway, a few more packs to buy is not such a bad idea, perhaps.
16
Fishing Line — Check.
I've only got one roll, but I plan on buying some more soon. And...one roll is a lot of line. At least for personal use that is not tactics related but simply for fishing. The tactical value is not to scoff, though.
17
Batteries — Nope.
My daughter has more than me. But I dislike those. Toxic and expiring too fast. I like tools that do not require energy other than my own.
18
Tools — Check.
Dirt cheap and mighty handy. Buying some on a regular basis.
19
Sewing Supplies — Check.
Some of those go a long way. Personal use, only. Not enough skills, though. Still, some basic sewing can be done.
20
Lighters — Check.
A few but that can easily be corrected if I don't miss the window of opportunity which is...about now. I do have matchboxes as well. The thing is...in a cave life scenario, fire should be maintained. You need people, not lightning strikes.
21
Seeds — Check.
It's my idea of prepping for a long-term war of attrition versus extinction. But they need lots of time to grow into something edible. So, it's the skills and knowledge related that I am currently amassing.
22
Socks — Check.
Not as many as I would need if things go south. Well, you would need more socks up north but still... Not a bad idea. I marked Check because I do have more than a few new pairs that are still unused.
23
Zip-lock Bags — Nope.
We got jars. Lots of jars. Anyway, I don't like that plastic and not very reliable kind of stuff.
24
Super Glue — Nope.
How about most of it going dry before I use it. Might be good to have a tube or two around but...Not my thing in general.
25
Ammunition — Check.
More than the regular person around but quite conditionally. Do arrows count? I got bows and arrows. Not enough for more than a five-minute skirmish, perhaps, but I do have the mindset to look for it.
Well, nothing is in high supplies. I did check the things that I'd go for rather than those I have enough of to trade them to others in need. Seeds, some day, I hope. But not the packs I currently have. I want to learn to reproduce those and I am on the path of getting there.
According to this random list, my score is...
13 out of 25
Which is just over the half.
If you are looking at those suggestions from a financial perspective, though, I'd say go for only a few that you are most certain in. One cannot be everywhere. I'd pick efficiency over diversity.
26
Mobility
My idea of it would be cross-country bicycles. I got two. Some would say horses are better, though. Well, they require a lot of devotion, that's the problem.
27
Paper Maps
I do have detailed maps of most of the mountains nearby. A world map is also a good to have but general knowledge of where is where could be used, too.
0
Skills And Knowledge
Well...
A well is a very nice thing to have in case of civilization crash. At least that's what I think.
I had me a little accident with this beautiful old iron ladder hooked over there. I caught its lower end with a bucket and I pullet, then it went off the hooks and into the well. I saw it falling as if in slow motion. Some heavy metal losses there.
Peace and Preparation!
Yours,
M.
