SHTF Planning

Avian Flu Pandemic, Climate Change, Economic Collapse, Food Scarcity, Peak Oil, Martial Law, Terrorism, Natural Disasters, Government Tyranny...

Stop!

Take a deep breathe and settle down.

All of these things can trigger the SHTF, so you need to plan accordingly.

But First...

Before you do anything else, plan a months worth of daily menus that need no cooking beyond possibly heating up for yourself and your family. Stick to canned and dried goods that have a long shelf life. Try to utilize familiar foods that your family likes to eat. Include desserts and snacks. MRE's will work but are fairly expensive as well as some people don't like them.

Freeze dried foods such as that produced by Mountain House, Alpen Aire, Rainy Day Foods and others are a good choice as they are stored in #10 cans and mylar pouches for long life and need only heat and water to be made ready to eat. There is a good variety for building your menu also.

Now go out and buy it.

Store it in an easily accessible area in case you need to leave your home quickly.

FEMA recommends a 72 hour (3 days) supply for emergencys. Just look at how long it took for aid to reach Katrina victims. It took 7 days to get the people stranded at the Superdome evacuated.

Do you still feel comfortable with only 72 hours worth?

For a small scale disaster that may be ok, or as a starting point for working up to a month or longer.

You should also store one gallon of water per person, per day for the same Month period for which you made the menus. If you do not have room to store this much water, get the means to purify it and store what you are able. This means filters like the Berkey (or homemade Berkey style), Bleach (non-scented), Katadyn brand filters and such.

Now, make lists.

Create a list of everything you consume during a months time.

Fuel: Kerosene, Lamp Oil, Liquid Paraffin, Diesel, Gasoline, Alcohol, Propane
Food
Medicines
Entertainment: Console games, Movies, Computer Games, Card Games, Board Games, Reading material, Gambling, Theatre, etc...
Clothing: Shoes, Shirts, Skirts, Blue Jeans, Suits, etc...
Household and Bath (HABA): Toilet Paper, Toothpaste, Shampoo, Laundry Dertergent
Pet care: Flea Collar, Kitty Litter, Food, etc...
Utilities: Phone (land Line), Cell Phone, Cable, Internet, Electricty, Sewer, Water, Garbage, Natural Gas, etc...

Everything.

Including booze and cigs.

Be sure to record what you paid for each item.

Do it. This is important.

List everything under categories like those above.

This is easiest done if you put it into a spreadsheet like MS Excel. Don't have a spreadsheet program? Get Open Office free for the download at http://www.openoffice.org/.

When you have everything listed you will see a picture of your monthly expenditures. Now start organizing the list until you have the essentials in one group, must haves in another and nice to have in a third, etc.. .

Once you have all this info organized it is easy to see where your money goes each month. Now start cutting out unnecessary expenditures until you have enough money to start a SHTF preparation plan. $25, $50, $100 or more per month to devote to this. Depending on where you are in life, Survival Noob or Preparedness Guru (and all the in between points) your plan could be extensive or minimal.

Disaster planning consumes money. Lot’s of it. So start out with the basics. A month’s food/water supply per family member. You are now prepared for a short term food/water disruption. Plan to purchase canned long term storage non-hybrid garden seeds. No less than 4 cans/years worth. Learn how to harvest and store your own garden seeds.

The lists will also show you what you need to stock up on to maintain familiar items in your prep plan. it will also show you the holes. As you begin to make your purchases, date and rotate what you store. Keep an inventory in a spreadsheet and print it out once a month so you have a hard copy if the power goes out.

Now that you have your food, how are you going to keep it? I am not talking about storage, I am talking about roving gangs of starving people who will murder you and your family just to have a peek in your cupboards. Don't think it will happen? Take a look at what's happening in the world! Society is slowly collapsing all around us and it may not return for a long, long time, if ever.

Home defense will require firearms and you will need to be mentally prepared to take a human life. Failure to do so may bring the roving gangs back to your door and that will probably be the end of you and your family. The merely wounded will return to "their" comrades and soon they will be knocking down your door or burning you out.

This alone is a good reason to relocate to a more remote area, near a small town with hospital, pharmacy, Dr.s and Dentists, as well as other professional services.

Hiding your head in the sand will not make the ugly truth go away! If you want an example of how bad it can get, take a look at what is happening in Rhodesia, excuse me, I mean Zimbabwe. This travesty can happen in any nation where the populace is disarmed and the Government is out of control.

Inflation: 100,000%
Unemployment: 80%
Life expectancy: 37 years
Malnutrition: 45% of the population

Half the remaining population is now under the age of 18, according to Save the Children estimates. Many have become refugees in neighboring nations.

How would you cope with these problems? The U.S. is not immune from these troubles (nor is any other nation). They are starting to crop up even now, albeit at lower levels.

If you haven't already, get started prepping now! The ball is rolling, the clock ticking and the hand basket is here. Jump in, we're going to go for a helluva ride!