The Prepper's Plan

by Shane White

Why do people act like the idea of prepping is so ridiculous? People prepare for other things. They prepare for retirement, they prepare for vacation, they prepare for work, they even prepare for their how they will be playing Farmville. The fact is that most people are already some kind of a prepper. Some people just choose to ignore the fact that there is a possibility that everything that they know can change in a very short period of time.

So why do people pile their money into their retirement fund, and pretend that everything will always be like it is now forever? For one, it is easier to make one plan for your future then it is to make multiple plans. I am not saying that saving money is a bad thing, but should you be putting all your eggs into one basket. The fact is, to properly prepare for your future, you need to be ready for the status quo and for the poop to hit the fan.

If you are putting all your extra money into your retirement fund and not into prepping, you are going to be almost as bad off as someone who puts all their extra money into prepping with the simple difference that if you are prepping, you are self sufficient. If you are investing in cash (which is basically what a retirement fund is doing) then you are still dependent on the cash working the same as it does today. The problem with this is, cash is not very reliable. Cash can be devalued quickly. A good example of this is inflation. A dollar today buys what 3 cents bought 100 years ago, but a can of corn is still worth a can of corn. Another point would be to look at many of the countries using the Euro.

So what advantage does a prepper have over someone putting all their money into a retirement fund? A good prepper will have a place to live, food to grow, materials and skills to replace the things that wear out, and most other things he will need. He won't necessarily even need cash because he is self sufficient. Who is better off? The guy who has cash to buy food, or the guy who already has food?

The ideal plan is to prepare for both situations. I believe that the prepper's scenario is the most likely, but that doesn't matter what I think. It would be ridiculous to not be prepared for every kind of scenario that you can. A plan of balance would be the smartest plan. You should be investing your cash where you feel it is the most safe, whether it be in a 401k, gold, silver, or whatever. You should also be investing in things like land, seeds, guns, and gold and silver. Be prepared for everything.

I must also say that I am not a financial advisor. You should not invest your hard earned money based solely on what I have said in this article. Before you invest your money, you need to do your own research. Talk to financial planners, as well as other people (including preppers), and see what they think. It doesn't take much to start prepping. Even a little preparation for a catastrophic event will put you ahead of the vast majority of people.

Side note...Ok yes, I said gold and silver for the retirement investor and the prepper because they are things that you can trade in either scenario as long as we are talking about physical gold and silver and not pieces of paper that say you have gold and silver.

What do you think?