What are you preparing for?

(side note: I saw a few more reviews on my book in Amazon, all 5 starts. Thanks a lot guys, means a lot and the comments are just humbling. I’m so glad that people are finding my book useful. It saddens me to see America go through this, but it feels great to know I’m in some way helping people. Again, thanks)

What are you preparing for?
This is of course the “alpha” question for anyone considering survival and preparedness.
One of the things I mention in my book is making a list. Simply make a list of what’s most likely to happen happens to you, your most likely and most dangerous threats(risk assesment).
Health is always around the top of the list for all of us. We’re all human after all. First of all, your body, how fit are you. Your weight is under control?

I ‘m just back from the cardiologist. Everything ok. I’m 30, don’t smoke, don’t drink, go to the gym,(eat healthy too, little salt, try not to eat too much bread) but its still good to keep track of that. What kind of medical coverage do you have? I pay for one that is kind of expensive but covers everything my family will ever need, no limit. We also have EU citizenship, which means we can go to Spain in a worst case scenario and have full medical cover there as well.
No matter what, your family’s health is top priority.

Don’t plan accordingly and bad things happen: An accident happens, you get sick, and you don’t have means to deal with that because while you planned for a meteor crash you didn’t plan for xxxx disease (pick the one that worries you the most) . Sucks man, really does, but which one is more likely?
There has to be a logic behind your prepping.
OK, so you take care of your body, plan to have a good health care service, you get insurance in case something happens to you, your family needs the money to get by. The basics. Air, shelter, food and water. Filters and face masks, camping gear, sleeping bags, stored water, water filters and other ways of purifying water, canned food, and other staples with a long term shelf life. Money. Money makes the world go around. Always has always will in one way or another. What if you don’t have a job any more? What if you lose your source of income? The basics keep you going here as well. You save money, you look into starting a side gig. Working from home part time. While skills are nice, don’t plan on being the post nuke town’s black smith. Get real, and remember that as honorable as hard work is, it usually has little to do with making money. Making money is all about being smart at running a business. Getting fired, rampant inflation, needing money one way or another is a reality many survivalists are now suffering and hadn’t planned for it before. Money was supposed to be poor tinder and worse toilet paper… WSHTF…
Then you have natural an man made disasters, and depending on your area these may be closer or further away from the top of your list. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, being close to nuclear power stations or chemical industries.
Be methodical but above all be realistic about your preparedness. The mindset is still there, getting rid of the sheeply mentality, but still be rational.

“Oh, but I prepare for the worst case scenario! Therefore I prepare for everything! “
No dude, that’s not how it works. Worst case scenario? End of the world, what are you really preparing for?
If you want to prepare for nukes falling, I’m with you man, I’ll even help you dig the fallout shelter if we’re neighbors.

“No you don’t get it FerFAL, I’m preparing for the TEOTWAWKI!”
Oh, what is the end of the world as we know it? Remember, try keeping it real. Is it MadMax, is it something you saw on videogames, exactly what is it? Because if you’re worrying about a total economic collapse, that’s not the end of the world. Check our history and find many examples.
If you’re preparing for another world war, I’m still with you: It has happened before and may happen again. What do you need to prepare for that? M&Ms. Not the chocolate but mobility and money ( Hey I liked that M&M=mobility and money FerFAL© :-) ) You need to have the means to move to a distant country and stay there for as long as you need, probably the rest of your life. While a second location nearby to bug out to works for a flood or fire, for something of that caliber you need to move out of the country, even out of the continent maybe if it threat to go nuclear.
A farm will do you no good, no matter how well set it is, or how awesome you solar powered setup is.

“No FerFAL , I’m talking of something else! The kind you prepare for by having a fully equipped retreat where you fight the hoards from. You know, that kind of thing”
…Ok… but exactly what are you preparing for?
You want to grow your own food? At least some of it? Great idea, its healthy for you and a great hobby, by all means do it. It’s of course not the best way to go economically speaking, ask any farmer if they are getting rich if you don’t trust me, but an orchard and some veggies sound great. Two thumbs up.
Backup generator and battery bank? Solar panels? Yes of course. And an energy efficient house saves money and makes things easier during a crisis. 100% self sufficient isn’t going to happen. No matter what, you always needs supplies, etc, but it doesn’t hurt to work to be as self sufficient as possible.

Moving to the middle of nowhere and spending 500.000 USD on stuff would rock. Bill Gates probably has several such retreats, I know Ted Turner and other guys have several in Patagonia.
If you want to do it give me a call, I’d love to help you spend money and buying stuff.
Now, can you do it? Even if you can, can you maintain that situation, living a gas tank away from serious job opportunities? Maybe you can.
Now don’t kid yourself. As fun and as great as it would be, what are you really preparing for?
“No, but..”
I’ve got news for you: The world as you knew it already ended. You just don’t know it yet. Crime will sooner or later be like nothing you’ve ever seen before. You’ll feel a real, urgent need to increase your security habits and find means of self defense. You don’t do stupid mistakes anymore, you'll see you can't afford those anymore. People will be job hunting for months, even years. Competing for a job will become an art form of its own.
Politically speaking, the governmnet will take the opportunity to spread its web, controling everything they can... for your own good of course...because of the crisis, you know.
Young adults will be moving back with mom and dad and living in the basement if necessary, even if they already have families of their own. No more spending money needlessly, vacations are something precious and few will be able to afford them. Even when you can, leaving the house empty for long periods of time? You'll know better than that, and take several precautions when doing so.

Tough times folks, but not the kind of end of the world many were expecting, is it?
If you’re worried about long term social unrest check out how that has worked out in the past. Can it even be done? Can you fight off the hoards for YEARS from your retreat? Check the white farmers in Rhodesia. Learn from people being exterminated for religious or ethnic reasons in various wars. How many stayed and fought the hoards?… They died like flies people. Run and live another day. Stay in your foxhole and sooner or later they’ll get to you. Do not kid yourself. If that’s what you really are preparing for, as unlikely as it may be, don’t fool yourself.
More examples? Check the American colonial period. The farmers and settlers living in the border, fighting the natives. How often did they win when attacked, even when armed better than the attackers.
Learn from the conquistadors, how often did they have their settlements whipped out completely biy people that didn’t even master the technology of steel?
It wasn’t long ago, here in the south America, a couple hundred years ago when the natives still controlled much of the Patagonia. You didn’t bug in against the raiders. You had an escape tunnel. Even for rich folks, money and resources were spent on building a tunnel, some that even went for miles, so as to escape to safety.
As nice as it is to live in the woods or some of the wonderful places in contact with nature, don’t fool yourself.
Live wherever you want, life is too short to do otherwise, but don’t fool yourself and be realistic about your survival and preparedness planning.


Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre.