The point behind this post is to help open people’s eyes to the reality of a hypothetical situation.
Prepper Or Survivalist
To start this off I am going to bring this up again. If you have read some of my earlier articles, you would have some background on my thoughts here. My goal in this site is to help people prepare to overcome real problems if they ever come about. One must understand the difference between a prepper and a survivalist.
You have to be honest with yourself when you decide which path to focus on. A survivalist may have all the bug out bag essentials, wilderness survival skills, and train how to use them. A prepper may be more focused on stocking up and being able to survive for up to years without ever stepping outside.
In my opinion, there is no real reason to separate them. You just have to understand your limitations and be real about the possibility of the worst happening. How could you best handle the situation for you and your family members if you have them? My goal here is to help you understand what it is you really need to do to be ready before you have to be.
Keep It Real
There are a few things to consider when looking into starting this process. Everyone can take minor steps to prep and have what they need to survive for a minimum of 72 hours. It is so easy and you can find all that info by filling out the form on this page to get your free guide. It is recommended by FEMA and local authorities.
In the event, there is a real situation that is going to leave everyone in a state of surviving on what they have or can provide you have a few questions to ask yourself before following through with the process to determine what steps to take.
Here are four things you should ask yourself about and take serious consideration:
- Budget- What can you afford to prepare? Do you own a nice piece of land in the middle of nowhere? Do you have a bug out vehicle? Have you set back some cash to put in your bug out bag? If you take the time and PrepB4 you can be ready on a tight budget. The question is, have you done it?
- Fitness- Do you or any of the ones you will care for have physical limitations? Do you have young ones? If your bug out plan is to take your bug out vehicle to the wilderness and hike in about 20 miles, are you able to do that with a full pack? Even if you can, can everyone you take with you able to?
- Skillset- What skills have you gathered? Can you hunt, fish, or trap? Does anyone in your group, if you have one, have carpentry, gardening, or self-defense skills? Are you a horticulturist or have the ability to identify edible plants in the wild?
- Experience Level- This could be based on many things. Age for one, do they have any life experience? Any military training? Have you or your group spent any time practicing living without the conveniences of modern technology (Cell phones, internet, GPS, running water, electricity, heaven forbid heat)?
These are real questions that you will need to answer before you make a plan. If you haven’t you will be answering them
when you have to. Once you have answered them, now you are ready to plan. With this information, you can plan to adjust your bug out bag checklist and modify it to compensate.
In the event the challenges from these answers deem it too challenging to bug out, you have decided to shelter in place. For this, you will have to prep. That is not at all bad. You now know where you stand and you can be ready before you have to be.
Bug In Or Bug Out
I will tell you this when things go south, I will shelter in place (bug in). I do have a bug out bag for each member of my family with bug out bag essentials evenly distributed in each one. Bugging out should be the last line of defense. It is not easy and if things are bad it could be dangerous. There are people who haven’t prepared that would be more than willing to take what you have.
Having all of that said, if you are in a situation that you do have to it is best to be prepared and ready before you have to be. Please take all of the necessary steps and do that. You can start by prepping to shelter in place. Prepare your bug out bag with all you need to survive. The key is to be ready before you have to be, PrepB4.
Plan, Practice, Keep It Real
Once you have answered the questions above and come up with what you plan to do in the event of an emergency. Write that plan down. Communicate that plan with only the ones who will be involved in that plan. Your plan is something you do not share with others. 
With your plan, make sure you practice the steps. Go through your stash regularly and keep it rotated. Make food does not expire, keep the water you have stored fresh, check or add to your hygiene supplies, and don’t forget the entertainment. Yes, I included entertainment. One had to consider mental health in this situation also. TV, video games, and apps may not be available.
Go through the items you have in your bug out bag. Use them and practice but make sure they are replaced if not reusable. Not only does this make you familiar with how they work and make you more proficient, it allows you the opportunity to be sure what you have works when you need it. It allows you to test things out and modify what you have if there is something you find that works better.
Keep it real! Go camping with nothing but your bug out bag. This will allow you to use your primitive survival skills and see if you can actually survive with what you have while still having the luxury of driving home if there is a deficiency.
In The End
The best thing to do is to hunker down and shelter in place. Think about it, you have shelter, you probably have some food even if you have not prepared. You will be able to use the water left in the tank of your water heater. All of your tools are already there, any weapons you might have for protection. It is honestly the best alternative unless you are seriously prepared.
Being prepared is not a one-size-fits-all thing. The circumstances of the situation will determine what will really need to be handled. In a majority of disasters, staying in is the best option. So all I can say about that is PrepB4, be ready before you have to be.
Please, fill out the form on this page, get the free guide, come back and get all of the things you need to do this. I have it laid out for you, and you can get all that you need in one place. I have it nicely laid out at Where To Start. It is a lot if you try all at once but if you stay focused and do it a bit at a time it can be done within any budget.
Good luck to you!
Chad
You know when covid-19 got here I decided to start getting this stuff just in case it got real real bad out there. I don’t know how bad it will get but it is always a good idea to be prepared in some kind of way. I even bought some books on how to grow food and and tie certain knots just incase I need to climb anywhere. You are right about this it is better to be prepared then not at all!
Hi Christian,
Yes, I believe there have been more people lately who are thinking in this line of thought since COVID-19 hit. I have even bumped up my storage for this reason. I have been canning, and harvesting seeds from the garden so I can plant next season too.
I have shared a few survival skills on this site and plan to continue to share more. Please come back and learn more in the future. Then we may be more prepared for COVID-20 or 21!
If you are into books, I have one you can purchase at the bottom of this page for less than $5 that has information that could actually save your life.
Thanks,
Chad
I live in a place where there are few natural disasters but one can never be too sure. Reading this make me have a think. But I can’t tell whether I am a prepper or survivalist. I’m wondering can we be both? The closest to a disaster at my place is when there was a 3 day power outage. And I realise my torchlights are all not working. Good thing I have candles at home. But it was a wake up call for me to ensure the basic stuff are available at any point in time.
Hi Richard,
I am in the same boat as far as natural disasters go. The biggest threat we would have would probably be a tornado. in my nearly 50 years of experience, there have only been a few times we could not get out for more than 3 days. Most of those I could have gotten out if really needed. There was only one time in my life where the only way I could get out would have been on foot with what I could carry.
I do recommend from my experience to practice both prepping and survival skills. The prepping skills are going to be your first line of survival. I honestly do not recommend bugging out unless you absolutely have to. Most people will not survive bugging out unless they have some survivalist background and have the skills to be able to live off their surroundings.
As you have experienced, prepping is not just having things tucked away for these events. It takes a bit of discipline and scheduling to rotate supplies to make sure they are fresh and ready to use. If you would like a free guide on how to start doing this visit my home page and sign up for Not By Water Alone. This will give you guidance on what and how to store what you would need in the event of an immediate emergency.
Thanks,
Chad
This is something that people began to think about seriously during the Cuban missile crisis many decades ago. For various reasons, I lived off the grid for many years and considered myself a survivalist at the time. I was not hunkered in a bunk, but living off the land. Toward the end of my stay in the bush, I did get electricity. I think preparing is really important.. bugging in, but this is difficult in the city or suburbia. For that reason, I have what you call a bug out bag/. I can take my family to where I used to live if necessary. I hope that this decision is never one I have to make. Thanks for the article. It is really thought provoking.
Hello,
There are several instances in my lifetime that have put us in a situation that this could have easily become a reality. I too have been off the grid for an extended period of time. It was in my younger years and was content. I find it less desirable now I have matured but still practice a lot of the skills through camping and random practice with my family.
Being prepared is key. One has to be ready before they have to be or your chances of survival will drastically be shortened.
I hope this provoking of though reaches many people who will take action before they need they have to be ready.
Thanks,
Chad
Thank you for sharing your article about prepb4. You have pointed out to some useful information. I liked your points.
You’re very right. In any situation we must be prepb4. Life could bring any sudden and unfortunate situations. We never know but all we can do is to remain prepared for the situation.
Whether it is the economy or some other worldly disasters, we need to know the importance of being prepb4.
All the best!
Hi,
Being ready before you have to be is key. I hope to reach as many people as I can to help them get there too. I don’t think people realize just how fragile our society is and how little it would take to put us in a situation that could create massive panic. Heck, it could be a simple virus that shuts us down as we know it (2020 has been a mild example).
I intend to continue adding to this site and sharing many more skills and help understand the importance of being ready.
Thanks,
Chad
To keep it real (pun intended), I can tell that your website is very neat and trimmed, clear, and concise. In the best of ways, I get a strong political vibe from your page. That said, I find the PrepB4 quite innovative, clever.
I would love to see more of what already works.
Hello,
I do try to be as non-bias as I can but still have to be ready for the worst. I hope to help others be ready before they have to be also.
My fear is that is will be some type of political event that could bring us to this state of necessity.
Thank you for the kind words and please come on back!
Chad