Current events are waking people up.

[Urban Survivalist]

Yesterday I made it to Harvest of the West food storage store to grab some supplies. Once I got there the place was packed with people trying to figure out what to get to prepare. The store is usually empty and I have never had to jockey for position in the store. The people had no idea of what to do with bulk items such as wheat or how to package it. The workers were doing their best to explain everything to each customer but I could see the frustration building. It goes to show how unprepared people are these days. With 3 wars and the Japan thing going on people seem to be at the stage just before panic. It comes down to the fact that when an emergency is upon you the time for preparation has past.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

The story seems to be the same everywhere but some of these have already tired of trying, as their will is weak and have given up, because they feel overwhelmed. It seems even to those who were interested that I talked to that if it was unreachable by just buying it they quit because they do not want to work at it, like packing food. They watched GB tell them to buy 1yr supply of food and when they found that to be unreachable they rolled up. My last one, who approached me, "doesnt have the time, doesnt have the storage, doesnt want to spend the money or have to eat that much rice later".
These that you mention will stash it away and if nothing happens will forget about it and never learn what to do. I asked one who had cans stored in the storm cellar as "red dawn ready" the other day where their can opener was. Deer in the headlight look, total awkward silence

[protus]

My last one, who approached me, "doesnt have the time, doesnt have the storage, doesnt want to spend the money or have to eat that much rice later".

that seems to be the excuse card many play.
They want the preps, the connections, and the skills NOW. not later.
They also want it the easiest way that they can, with as little as no effort on their end.

[2682nscovell]

Yesterday I made it to Harvest of the West food storage store to grab some supplies. Once I got there the place was packed with people trying to figure out what to get to prepare. The store is usually empty and I have never had to jockey for position in the store. The people had no idea of what to do with bulk items such as wheat or how to package it. The workers were doing their best to explain everything to each customer but I could see the frustration building. It goes to show how unprepared people are these days. With 3 wars and the Japan thing going on people seem to be at the stage just before panic. It comes down to the fact that when an emergency is upon you the time for preparation has past.

Thats funny because I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and I saw tons of people as well going bulk crazy. I thought maybe the welfare checks were mailed in.

[baldsith]

Harvest of the west..never heard of that store..I know some walmarts carry that brand....but I've never heard of that store...where is it?

[baldsith]

LOL....you know I have seen the same look in peoples eyes also when you ask them how they plan to cook at the freeze dried goods or how much water that have to cook the food....

[Elza]

And then there are those that think that having a gun will get them everything they need. Me thinks that they are going to get the surprise of their life. And probably the last………

[monkeybird]

There is a definite change in the way people think these days. I hear worry coming from all sections of our society. The riots, the wars, the violent protest in the middle east, the downgrading of the S&P, the stock market going crazy, Europe on the brink of bankruptcy, and the ugly and nasty rhetoric coming from Washington, have scared the heck out of a whole lot of people, who weren't scared before. People, real people like you and me, have lost a great deal of our financial security. 401Ks and retirement accounts are heavily invested in the stock market. U.S. economic numbers are dismal.

People need to take whatever money they can and invest it in prepping NOW. I think that future economic numbers will probably be worse. Inflation is unbelievable. I do not believe the Government numbers on inflation these days. I know they have manipulated them since the 70's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...er_Price_Index

Some critics believe however, that because of changes to the way that the CPI is calculated, and because energy and food price changes are currently excluded from the Federal Reserve's calculation of "core inflation," that inflation is being dramatically underestimated.

Today the index excludes food and energy - duh

People are worried and hopefully some of them are preparing for a uncertain future.

[ssonb]

The DW and I discovered that Kroger was closeout selling all of the Libbys canned veggie products( 5 cans for 1.50). I am suprised even when we wheel out of the store with cases of food the blank expressions on the faces when you do an OPSEC explanation for the reasons and logic for our obvious cold hearted abuse of a shopping cart!

[baldsith]

The DW and I discovered that Kroger was closeout selling all of the Libbys canned veggie products( 5 cans for 1.50). I am suprised even when we wheel out of the store with cases of food the blank expressions on the faces when you do an OPSEC explanation for the reasons and logic for our obvious cold hearted abuse of a shopping cart!

LOL....the blank expressions are from the wind whistling through their ears...cause the have no clue brother!!!

[Rmplstlskn]

I personally haven't noticed an increase in people getting "woken up" in my area (liberal college town)...

[Javin]

Yeah, here in Northern VA, there's a definite lack of "wake up" too. I'm just hoping we don't see the SHTF for another year, hopefully two. I'm way behind on the prepping. :(

[Deep Operator]

Northern Virginia used to be filled with a much tougher crowd, these days it is filled with a lot of soccer moms and soccer moms boys. Being a native of that area, I can tell you that the place has seen better days. The preppers are sporadically placed here and there in NOVA.

Needless to say, the area has many many liberal elements to it. I always try not to laugh when I hear or read about how good the public schools are and how the quality of life is good. Trust me, the public school system is filled with some nasty characters and under reported incidents. If a person is making 100k a year as a computer jockey, that does not go far at all in NOVA.

Arlington, the people's republic of, is the worst..

D.O

[Javin]

Northern Virginia used to be filled with a much tougher crowd, these days it is filled with a lot of soccer moms and soccer moms boys. Being a native of that area, I can tell you that the place has seen better days. The preppers are sporadically placed here and there in NOVA.

Needless to say, the area has many many liberal elements to it. I always try not to laugh when I hear or read about how good the public schools are and how the quality of life is good. Trust me, the public school system is filled with some nasty characters and under reported incidents. If a person is making 100k a year as a computer jockey, that does not go far at all in NOVA.

Arlington, the people's republic of, is the worst..

D.O

Ahhhh, so it's not just me. And yes, I'm that computer jockey you speak of. Our rent for a small apartment is $1909 per month, and this year they just increased it by $150. If we don't get this house soon, our monthly rent will be $2059. Our electric bill last month was $442. The month prior was $350. (On average we're well above the $275 range). We don't even have cable television. Gas runs us roughly $175/mo. too. For those not doing the math, that's over $30K cash money out of pocket per year (47K+ before taxes) before we've even gotten into car payments, gasoline, groceries, etc. When my parents hear how much I make (no, I've not hit the 6 figure mark) in small-town Illinois they rail on me for how I must have no idea how to handle money if we're having to live paycheck to paycheck. I think people believe the "cost of living differences" are just a myth. The cost of living up here near D.C. IS ridiculously, prohibitively expensive. Thus the reason we're getting a house that's over an hour's commute away. (Well, that AND the fact that I want to be as far from D.C. as possible when SHTF.) The commute's going to hurt in the meantime, but I've got a nasty feeling I won't have to do it for long. But it'll finally free up the funds to start packing away some emergency supplies, too.

[Yeti]

Ahhhh, so it's not just me. And yes, I'm that computer jockey you speak of. Our rent for a small apartment is $1909 per month, and this year they just increased it by $150. If we don't get this house soon, our monthly rent will be $2059. Our electric bill last month was $442. The month prior was $350. (On average we're well above the $275 range). We don't even have cable television. Gas runs us roughly $175/mo. too. For those not doing the math, that's over $30K cash money out of pocket per year (47K+ before taxes) before we've even gotten into car payments, gasoline, groceries, etc. When my parents hear how much I make (no, I've not hit the 6 figure mark) in small-town Illinois they rail on me for how I must have no idea how to handle money if we're having to live paycheck to paycheck. I think people believe the "cost of living differences" are just a myth. The cost of living up here near D.C. IS ridiculously, prohibitively expensive. Thus the reason we're getting a house that's over an hour's commute away. (Well, that AND the fact that I want to be as far from D.C. as possible when SHTF.) The commute's going to hurt in the meantime, but I've got a nasty feeling I won't have to do it for long. But it'll finally free up the funds to start packing away some emergency supplies, too.

What apartment are you renting at $2k/month for?
Jimmy Christmas, when I was renting in Alexandria at the height of the market I was only paying $1500/month for a house.
Even my house note out in the Western NoVa area is only $1500/mo.
I chuckle at gas costs when people quote them to me. If I were to drive in, it's a 200ish mile round trip for me. Instead I take one of the commuter buses in. Only $7 each way than, which by itself is cheaper than parking downtown.
I also tele-work a lot nowadays which saves on the costs of coming into the office.

Why have car loanS? Buy yourself a beater. I had one for a Mustang. Quite impractical really for my current use. Fun as heck to drive though. When I got rearended, I just went and bought myself a practical used beater Cherokee. Know what it gets me to the bus in the same amount of time as the Mustang with less chance of tickets. :) And it's 4wd so I'm not SOL come Winter. The bank is still asking me if I just want to use that insurance money and get something else. I'm considering it, but that's only because I want another pick-up. I would keep driving the Cherokee though for my daily.

If you have the credit I would go and buy your home now.
As soon as you cross into the valley (or West of Purcellville) the prices drop dramatically. The next drop line is I81.

For me living this far out is a no brainer. I'm 5 min from my dad's place, and its the area I grew up in as a little kid. Quiet enough most of the time, even living in a subdivision. Neighbors are decent sort, and several kids my son's age.

While you might not see a real savings going from $2k to $1500 per month with the commuting eating that $500, you can get something you own and not an apartment where they are continousily raising your rent.