How much is TOO much?

[OpenField]

What do you guys think draws the line between being a crazy prepper and a practical prepper, and why?

[Not_Yet_Prepped]

To me it is "mind set" and/or reasons behind the prepping.

If you think the Zombies are coming tonight or Aliens landed last night then I think you may need some help. If you are prepping for "Mother Nature" or "Social Unrest" or "Economic Issues" or even something as small as personal "Job Loss" then I would think your are Practical. But I am biased because those are the things I am prepping for and I want to think I am practical.

[ibetiny]

When it takes away from family or detracts from normal family life. Also if you find yourself getting into debt then its time to reevaluate. Your mental state also contributes, if your in a state of anxiety all the time or ALL you think about is doom then you need to check yourself. Don't forget to live while you prep to live.

[1Admin]

When it takes away from family or detracts from normal family life. Also if you find yourself getting into debt then its time to reevaluate. Your mental state also contributes, if your in a state of anxiety all the time or ALL you think about is doom then you need to check yourself. Don't forget to live while you prep to live.

+1,000,000

To me, it's the people that obsess about the "current situation" but are in reality doing little of PRACTICAL VALUE to prepare for the situation they claim they are so worried about. Example-

The guy that is pushing the "revolution is coming" type stuff but is 300 lbs. overweight and doing nothing about it, complains about the cost of ammo to train with, but has Walter Mitty fantasies about being the new Francis Marion. Ain't gonna happen...

We live in a safe area, produce our own power, grow a good portion of our food, train regularly etc. but we do not live thinking TS is going to HTF tomorrow. Why don't I "worry" about crap like that? Well first off, I'm where I need to be, so that is a huge "worry" off my chest. I've also taken a lot of steps that has gotten my family squared away so they are one of my biggest assets. Like I tell people at conferences- your family is going to be your biggest ASSET or your biggest LIABILITY if something happens. The choice is YOURS and it's a lot of work to get it done, which is why most don't...

We live a very fun life and don't "stress" or "worry" about something happening. More concerned about COLMOLLIIN than TEOTWAWKI.

FWIW, for all the talk and media hype about survivalist's being so "obsessed" that they do this that or the other, IT'S VERY RARE. Quite the contrary, MOST ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH. Usually it's the person that can barely feed their family for six months that thinks they have "too much" food or similar.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Mindset
I think something bad is going to happen so I
(A) start preparing with what I can and when i can and train as much as possible and look for LMIs to work with and get the family onboard and make myself as aware as I can while working steadily towards a reasonable goal while remaining fairly quiet about it OR
(B) take 15 years to build a giant structure, that has been defeated at least a thousand times in written history by various methods, while completely ignoring my greatest asset being my family and their upbringing while making primitive weapons while being barely prepared in modern weapons, having a few boxes of food and no water or protected replenishable food source and instead of surrounding myself with the best people of skill sets i find whiny spoiled girlie types while showing it on national tv because its so hard to find a giant castle in the middle of name your state on google earth
(C) build my underground shelter under my garage (round here we call it a storm shelter) to prepare for the worlds end all the while living in the middle of a city that will become ****hollastan in about 3.2 seconds and then advertising it on a national channel then actively seeking more attention as an "expert" on a local channel and the internet where my full name and address and place i work and where my kids go to school pretending no one will kidnap them and then rape my early teen daughter in front of my periscope until i open the lid and give up my supplies and then get killed too. That is unless your house burns down and collapses on your shelter door and traps you till you run out of supplies and you cap yourself

which one sounds like which to you?

[justanothergunnut]

WOW MATT... Tell us how you REALLY feel.. :cool: I agree with you completely though.. I can't watch the reality survival shows doomsday preppers, survival castle, chicago preppers wives club whatever.. I have tried I just can't there are soo many decent videos on line to pick through for entertainment I just can't handle one more show about someone who is turning their house in the middle of a major metropolitan area into a retreat. Sure there may be god ideas but nothing original, nothing you couldn't get right here or over at Frugals.

[WiseOwl]

COLMOLLIIN is the best mindset.

I dont forsee the "END OF THE WORLD" because there will always be a rose growing in concrete but I do see peoples' intelligence levels dropping daily and thats what scares me. Who wants to be in the life maze with a bunch of idiots?
People die, bombs explode, guns fire, fire rages, wind blows, etc everyday. Animals prepare for natural occurrence, why shouldnt we?


I agree with ib, if you are going into debt to procure preparatories, then you have an issue.


We are all cavemen, then savages, soldiers, then farmers.......its in our DNA.....but the dumbing down has stripped it out.