When they’re starting out with prepping, many people struggle with determining where to begin. Setting prepping priorities can be difficult, as there are so many aspects to preparedness. And the journey is different for everyone, of course. We each come to the table with unique situations that need to be considered.
Establishing Prepping Priorities
However, there are a few areas that seem to be pretty universal when it comes to needing attention. No matter where your particular starting line is located, these are things that should be kept top of mind. For some folks, they’ve already met the basic threshold in some or maybe all of these areas. If so, it’s just a matter of maintaining them. For others, this might be brand new territory. That’s okay, we all started somewhere.
Health and Wellness
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Physical fitness is an often-overlooked area of preparedness. It needs to be a prepping priority. Think about it like this. All the supplies and gear you could ever curate and stockpile at home won’t do you a lick of good if you stroke out from overexertion.
Almost all of us have struggles in this area. Don’t let limitations be excuses. Work within them as best you can. If you’re carrying some extra baggage around your middle, take steps to lose it. In many cases, that battle is fought at the dinner table more than anywhere else.
Don’t overlook mental health, either. It’s just as important as having a sound body. Deal with problems head-on, rather than letting them linger and get worse. Down time is critical, too. Find ways to relax and recharge.
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Financial Preparedness
I grew up during the height of the Cold War. At the time, I was experiencing a lot of financial trouble. I can remember wishing and hoping WWIII would kick off, simply so I wouldn’t have to worry about money and debt anymore.
Sadly, I know adults today who have that same sort of retirement plan. While some sort of financial collapse does occur from time to time throughout the world, counting on it happening to free you from financial obligations isn’t realistic.
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A far better approach is to make financial preparedness a prepping priority. This includes reducing debt to manageable levels if not eliminating it entirely, as well as establishing some sort of emergency savings. Crunching numbers to make ends meet isn’t nearly as sexy as spending time at the range, but it will have just as much benefit to your preparedness plans.
Water is Critical
I’ve said before elsewhere that nobody has ever come out the other side of a disaster upset that they’d had too much clean water available to them. As a practical matter, if you have an adequate supply of water during a crisis, everything else is easier. If you have a good source, then that quickly becomes your focus. With that in mind, water needs to be a prepping priority.
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Start by storing at least some amount of water, ideally enough to last you a few days. Cases of bottled water are fine, but gallon jugs are often easier to store and create less waste. Be sure you have the means to process water sourced outside the home to make it safe to drink. A Sawyer Mini is a great option in that regard.
There are many areas of preparedness that will need to be addressed as you go along. But these prepping priorities are definitely worth your attention.
