Prometheus Council

[411man]

What Basic Preparation Is Most Often Missing ?

This part of survival planning is critical yet seldom made provision for in planning nor utilized in preparation activities.

It is SACRIFICE .

Sacrifice is the key element which will come into play before and during any major disaster.

Each time I hear I do not have the funds or I can't do this or that with regards to survival planning and preparation it means sacrifice is not included in one's survival preparations.

The old cliche " Eat Beans " comes to mind when it comes to sacrificing to survive. How about using that approach to planning and preparations before disaster hits?

No matter how prepared one becomes, sacrifices will remain a part of survival.

Going without needs to be used in preparing as well as in surviving disasters. The practice of giving-up items or pleasures in the short run will bring great dividens in the long run of becoming prepared.

It will amaze many at the amount of money one can garner for the goal of becoming prepared by cutting back or eliminating certain purchases and activities in day to day life.

An endless list can quickly be enumerated. For example :

Eating out.

Entertainment activities

Travel

Alteration and changes to the types of food purchased

Elimination of non-essential purchases

Use of re-usable items

In general living a more austere life.



My intent and purpose here is to stir the reader's thinking about achieving what might seem impossible as this will become a frequent activity employed in survival of disasters of many types.

Be creative, think outside the box when it comes to finding and funding the tools of disaster preparation.
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Information like fertilizer does no good unless you spread it.

[Gene]

One of the first things one should do is get OUT of debt. To do this one does indeed have to sacrifice. It is hard to do, as we live in a consumer driven debt based society. We have been indoctrinated that debt is good along with having a high FICO score. Neither are correct, debt is not good, to the lender the debtor is slave, for those biblically inclined read Proverbs - it is a FREE micro lesson in finances. (Even if you are not biblically inclined - read it, knowledge and wisdom is knowledge and wisdom regardless from whence it comes!) And a FICO score is nothing more than I love debt score, it is based on a logarithm that incorporates four factors which are how much debt you have, how much you make, how much debt you could support if you maxed everything out and how well you pay. It has NOTHING to do with getting out of debt or financial independence!!

First get yourself on a budget (see below) and an emergency fund of $1000.00 this is an emergency fund, not, "I'll pay for the pizza out of the emergency fund!" An emergency fund is Murphy repellant. You have this, and Murphy goes to your neighbor, along with his cousins of Broke, Indebt and Stupid.

Second, stop using your credit cards, these are vermin, and a plague upon humanity. If you must use "plastic" use a debit card ONLY. Then start paying off you debts from smallest to largest - regardless of interest, and pay minimum on all the others. When you have paid of one, apply what you were paying on that one and hit the next one with everything you can afford. Pay of all debts this way excluding your home if you own one.

Third, built a fully funded emergency fund of six months of expenses.

You do this, then we'll hit the house next.

In the meantime- place yourself on a zero based budget. (google it)

A budget simply puts a name on every dollar you spend BEFORE you spend it. It is not a method of control, nor unreasonable sacrifice.

You either control your money, or someone ELSE will control your money for you - usually it is called VISA, MasterCard and American Express.

Save up and buy your items in cash - or with a debit card, which means you have money in your account ALREADY to pay for the item. If the item cost $100.00, and you need it within two months, save $50.00 per month in you BUDGET, and the third month buy it.

Gene
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The 4 inches of gray matter between your ears is your primary weapon, everything else is for expediency