76. Create/enhance your social safety net. Build friendships and improve relationships. Polish your social skills and be useful to other people. Offer help when you can, seek help from others in your social circle when needed.
77. Be proactive. If you could possibly end up homeless, don't wait to prepare when the sheriff shows up on your doorstep, use the internet (example here and here) to help you plan and prepare for such a possibility.
78. Try going 24 hours with being untrackable. This means no cell phone, no fitness watch, not driving your car, avoiding street cameras, not using the internet, paying cash for any purchases, not using loyalty cards, etc.
79. Learn hand-to-hand combat. Hopefully you never find yourself in such a situation, but knowing karate/MMA/krav maga/etc. is both good exercise and a last-chance survival skill.
80. Question everything. The regular media, social media, and all other public forms of communication are a dumpster fire these days. Don't believe everything you see/hear/read and learn how to do your own research to find out the truth of whatever matter you are interested in.
81. Go gray all the way. Basically do everything you can to NOT to draw attention to yourself in all situations.
82. Reconsider your bug out plan. My bug out plan included places in Europe and Asia as well as across the country. With the pandemic, both Europe and Asia were shut down to Americans and the couple of places across the country were even more draconian than my current home state so some reconsideration is in order. Other people figured they would flee NYC to "the country" not realizing the locals in Connecticut to Maine were less than enthusiastic about their plans.
83. Strive to be as self-sufficient as possible. Know ahead of time that the government isn't going to save you (as exemplified by the mass evictions that are about to happen, the lawsuits against states that are dragging their feet/refusing to pay unemployment, and the difficulty of receiving any sort of food/housing/medical coverage/etc if you are poor) and plan accordingly.
84. Rethink your housing options. The pandemic created some significant changes to the social structure in our country. Extended families decided to quarantine together, adult kids moved back in with parents, grandparents moved in to help with the grandkids, etc. If the current social structure isn't working for you, consider other options re: school/work/housing/etc.
85. Keep an eye out for sales on items that are most likely to sell out during a disaster. Collect up these items as funds allow, either for your own use or to share/sell/barter to others.
86. While I wouldn't suggest panic moving, now may be a good time to move if you are so inclined. House values are still strong in many areas so getting your equity out is possible, and if you have been planning for a while to make the move, you may have many options in the near future (depending on how the eviction moratorium shakes out, how the economy goes, etc).
87. Stockpile necessary medications if this is possible (and if your doctor will help you). Also consider putting in the effort to reverse certain chronic conditions so you won't even need medications.
88. Create secret hiding places in your home for your emergency cash and other valuables. These secure places are even more important in a SHTF situation when people become even less law-abiding than they are now.
89. Develop multiple streams of income. The more ways you can earn income, the better, as we saw during the pandemic shutdown.
90. Set up your tech so you can do everything from home--banking, bill paying, working, attending school, meetings, etc. Many of these services are free via apps, Zoom, etc. Also, consider upgrading your tech as funds become available (better computer, better microphone, better webcam, etc).
91. Make yourself a ghost online. Don't use social media, cover your online footprints, and otherwise make yourself impossible to track/find online.
92. Learn from backpackers, campers, and vandwellers when it comes to things like finding and purifying water, sleeping in the rough, generating your own energy, staying clean on the trail, etc. When the infrastructure goes down, you can use these same skills at home. Again, YouTube is a goldmine for info on how to do this.
93. Cut your utility bills (water, electricity, gas, garbage, sewer, phone, cable, etc) as much as possible; this will immediately put more money in your pocket and teach you how to live less extravagantly.
94. Avoid trouble. Whether it is "bad" neighborhoods, roving gangs, or violent protests, use the media (TV news, police scanner app, Twitter and other social media) to figure out places you should stay away from in order to avoid trouble.
95. Know what your local gun laws are and what constitutes a "good shoot". Shooting someone in self defense is highly subjective and the outcome will vary greatly depending on the details of the case as well as the jurisdiction the shooting happened in. If at all possible, try to never find yourself in such a situation (avoiding law enforcement and the legal system as much as possible is always recommended!), but if you do, you want to be 100% in the right (avoiding things like this or this will save you a lot of drama and legal fees).
96. Get rid of your addictions. Easier said than done of course, but quitting things like drinking, smoking, drugs, etc. will not only save you money but will probably save your health as well.
97. Work on skills such as flexibility, "going with the flow", improvising, adapting, and overcoming...basic life skills that will allow you to deal with and fix problems with a minimum of aggravation and drama.
98. Keep all of your preps quiet. Don't tell anyone (except for your spouse, probably less so your kids) how much money you have stashed away, how many guns you have, about your giant stockpile of food and supplies, etc. Letting everyone know how well prepared you are will make you a target if people get desperate and even close friends and family members may try to guilt you into providing for them because they chose not to prepare and were then faced with a disaster. Helping people should be your choice, not an expectation by others.
99. Get your important documents in order and update them as necessary. You don't want to be sorting out the legalities of things during a disaster that could have been taken care of with a simple document.
100. Approach disaster prepping, and actual disasters, with a good attitude and a sense of adventure. You can't change the disaster situation but you can learn, grow, and maybe even enjoy the experience a bit (the sudden stopping of most social obligations during the pandemic was actually a welcome thing IMHO).
No comments:
Post a Comment