Many of us know that we need to be prepared for an emergency or a survival situation, but we may not think that we have the time. Between work, family, hobbies, etc. there often doesn’t seem to be a spare minute available to think about prepping. But here are five easy ways to get yourself into a prepping mindset and make some rudimentary preparations for a SHTF situation without having to spend hours doing it.
1. Buy Extra Food and Water at the Grocery Store
Next time you’re out buying your groceries, pick up a little extra food to store away for an emergency. A few cans of beans, a couple boxes of pasta, a bag of rice, some canned tuna, whatever you think might come in handy. You don’t have to splurge, only $5 worth of food can go a long way if you do this on a regular basis when you go shopping. Before you know it, you’ll have several weeks of food stocked up and ready to go when you need it. Just make sure you store it properly.
2. Save Up Emergency Cash
The same thing goes for saving up a stash of emergency cash. Every time you go to the ATM pull out one $20 bill to go towards your emergency needs. Remember, in a severe disaster scenario banks, ATMs, and credit card machines won’t be working. Those without cash to buy much-needed supplies will be hurting turkey. Store your money safely and build up that emergency nest egg.
3. Fill Up Your Gas Tank When It’s Half-Empty
If you ever need to evacuate, you’ll often need to do it on short notice. That could mean hopping into your car with only 5-10 minutes to gather up your gear. You won’t have time to stop for gas because you’ll be in a rush to get away. That’s why you should never let your fuel tank get below half-empty.
With at least half a tank of gas you should be able to get a couple hundred miles away before needing to fill up. Or if you’re stuck in heavy evacuation traffic a tank half-full of gas could be the difference between getting away safely and breaking down on the side of the highway. If you’re in the habit of letting your tank run to near empty before you fill up, break yourself of that habit right now.
4. Get Some Exercise
You’ll be more dependent than ever on your physical conditioning in a survival scenario, which means that you need to stay in shape. That can be difficult, but you can take some easy steps to do that. Park further away from store entrances when you go shopping, take stairs instead of the elevator, and take walks on your lunch break. Every little bit helps.
5. Run Through Likely Scenarios in Your Mind
Many people get physically prepared and get lots of gear together, but relatively few get mentally prepared. Start running through the likeliest scenarios you’ll face and figure out how you’ll react to them. Figure out whether you’ll bug in or bug out, where you’ll go, who you’ll call, and what supplies you might need. Being mentally prepared even if you don’t have all the gear you need is better than having all the gear but not being mentally prepared or having a plan.
This article was originally posted on Red Tea News.
