It's not going to get any easier

[1Admin]

I truly feel for folks just getting started in preparing now. Everything is going up in price, everything is hard to find or getting harder to find.

Shortages remain on key items, lead times are increasing.

Just this week THREE different companies we deal with announced price increases. Some like Steiner (IR lasers, binos, etc.) won't go into effect for a few weeks. Others like FLIR did "immediate" price increase. Note that both of these companies already raised prices on Jan 1 and Feb 1 respectively also.

Night vision tubes are going up in price also, lowest $$ increase was $150. per tube. The tube is the heart of a night vision device and is 90% of the cost of the device already. Now you can expect to pay more very soon on NV also.

Mt. House who has had next to nothing available to sell for the last 2 1/2 years has suspended dealer sales.

It's a slow train wreck.

I feel for the folks just waking up. I do NOT feel for the folks that just "made lists" of stuff all these years they will tell you they were "preparing" but were really just sitting on their arses... It doesn't take much, a little bit OVER TIME builds up. But alas most people don't prep like that, they prepare out of FEAR and only get serious when something is right in their face.

It will NOT get any easier folks, putting things off any longer is to be blunt... Very Stupid.

I am NOT saying the world is ending tomorrow- enough morons doing that... I'm saying you will BE PAYING MORE soon for everything if you delay much longer.

There will be no more $69. SKS, $8. Israeli Gas masks, $72. a case 1,000 round X39, $.55 cent a gallon off road diesel, those days are gone and not coming back.

[prc-104]

Whoo1 Are you ever correct? Yes, you very much are.
Comparable to what that old " father of survivalism " said....."if you wait until everybody else is leaving town for safety, you're too late and you will die".

I've got a pvs-14 leaky tube (damages and worthless) that I used to test the body, lens and power supply with.
Figured eventually I'd find another good tube at a decent price but I think that's not gonna happen now.
Flir? sure glad I managed the rifle sight before they stopped selling them to us PEONs.
They're still supporting them since they still sell to the "big: guys.

I hear the hard red winter wheat is going to be scarce due to crop failure but dunno how that will actually work out..

comes back to what we've always known.
Act early or be too late.
Act late and lose.
If you're the latter, you;re a typical human. "buy high and sell low" which don't generally work too well.

[surviort_wwdnet]

I buy, and have been buying, at the lowest prices I can find. I am comfortable with where we are right now. Would I like more? Of course! Am I going to break the bank for it? Nope! Do I wish we had more solar? Certainly, but again, I can't afford more. Buying and dehydrating some frozen vegetables is a current project, along with canning.

When the SHTF, as long as we are able to shelter in place, we should be in good shape. I may go to Tractor Supply tomorrow and pick up a couple more 5-gallon gas cans and get them filled up for the generators, but otherwise there's no much we can do. We have well water, enough solar to charge the MH batteries, phones, etc. The gardens are already starting to produce and I'll likely be canning all summer long. If huge numbers of tomato and squash flowers are any indication, I'm in for a bumper crop.

The MH gas and propane tanks are filled, the fresh water tank can be topped off in a matter of minutes, and if things start looking dicey, I'll turn the fridge/freezer on and load it up with food. We really have just about everything we need in there except for fresh & frozen food.

While winter is the worst time for power outages up North, for me summer is the worst time down South. Our food supply would go downhill fast without power...which is why I've started canning some of the meat in the freezer and dehydrating frozen vegetables and fruit. I can live without AC (don't want to), but my fresh & frozen food won't make it without power. Without power, I can still can using the not-recommended don't-use-this turkey fryer.

For me, being realistic about our situation and our capabilities is the best way forward. At my age, I'm not going to go on a 50-mile hike anywhere lugging a 30-lb pack and accessories. I'm doing my best to set us up to bug "in".

[protus]

There is ways to get started..may not be fancy but itll get ya going and ahead of things.
I keep debating if I should pa k more..sitting on extra buckets mylar and o2s....
but wife's been on a can food spree lately.

[surviort_wwdnet]

There is ways to get started..may not be fancy but itll get ya going and ahead of things.
I keep debating if I should pa k more..sitting on extra buckets mylar and o2s....
but wife's been on a can food spree lately.

Whenever the grocery stores have canned goods on sale, I buy them; mostly that's vegetables but also chili, beef stew, tuna, and chicken BOGOs, all of which I can make meals with. I make my own spice mixes (taco, fajita, chili, onion soup, dry rub, etc.) so whenever I shop I pick up some more spice ingredients. If you use something all the time, like I use garlic powder and pink salt, buy 3 of them and put 2 away. I don't do buckets, but I have a big dehydrator and if I find cheap frozen vegetables, I take them home and immediately put them in the dehydrator. Then I vacuum pack them in a jar with an O2 absorber and stick them on the top shelf in the pantry. When the potatoes I planted are ready to harvest, I'll dehydrate or can most of them. If I buy fresh produce and don't use it all, it goes into the dehydrator. I try not to waste anything.

I'm growing my own beans that I'll hang in the garden shed to dry, and then I'll vacuum seal them in canning jars with an O2 absorber. I'm going to pressure can everything from the garden that I can, because I won't need to worry about the freezer losing power. I have a fair amount of FD food as a fall-back, and bottled water everywhere.

If I was going to use buckets, I'd consider storing the ingredients for Ezekiel bread (already mixed together). I've looked at it several times but just haven't gotten there because I'm too busy looking up and printing recipes to use my black beans.

There is no one way to get started that's better than another. The important part is to get started, and once you do, you may (like me) find it hard to stop!

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

I tell people bags of rice and dry beans, Multivitamins, water filter (they always ask why...WTH), maybe some canned chicken and potatoes. Start there and oh, plant some of those potatoes too.

[surviort_wwdnet]

I tell people bags of rice and dry beans, Multivitamins, water filter (they always ask why...WTH), maybe some canned chicken and potatoes. Start there and oh, plant some of those potatoes too.

I started out with buckets of rice, beans, wheat, etc and lost it all to the FL humidity. Rice and dry beans make a good starting point, and they're relatively cheap - but it's important to store them correctly, and not in their original bags. A vacuum sealer with an accessory option and connectors for narrow and wide mouth jars is a wise investment, along with canning jars (canning jar prices are higher than they were in previous years so get 'em while you can) and O2 absorbers.

In tough times, our diets may not meet all of our nutritional needs, so it's important to supplement. Our insurance provides free OTC medications and supplies quarterly, and I take full advantage of it to keep our medical supplies stocked. I never refuse freebies. The program keeps us stocked up on multivitamins, B-complex, C, D3, Zinc, etc. plus first aid supplies. I watch the grocery ads to pick up other items when they're on sale; shampoo, deodorant, soap, dish soap, laundry soap etc.