# Sexy



## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

Some of the things we like to talk about as preppers/survivalists are sexy... about fancy guns, bug out bags, bug out vehicles, defensive training, about how many months/years/decades of food we store... about the various qualities of fighting knives and all sorts of fun stuff. Sexy stuff indeed.

I gotta tell you all a secret.

My wife and my prepping lives are really unsexy.

Why? Because we are doing a lot of boring hard work instead like cutting, seeding, building gardening structures, planning planting schedules, designing food forests and earning the money to pay for all of this.

We drive old cars because we refuse to go into debt... not because we like old cars, but because we need to be able to pay for the improvements we are doing to our two homesteads (one in town, one in the sticks). 

We live in an older, paid for houses, no because we don't like nice houses, but rather because we can't afford both a big mortgage and developing our land without debt.

We learned years and years ago the TRUE number one prep, and it's the single most unsexy thing in the prepping world... get out of debt and stay out of debt. 

If you have no payments, then your risk of disaster goes way down. Why?

Because most disasters are not sexy.

TEOTWAWKI probably isn't going to happen in our lifetimes, but unemployment will. Rioting and looting will not probably hit our neighborhoods, but we will get sick. If we don't die, we will get old and have special needs.

I once wrote a post on another forum for which I was roundly mocked by many, about the large number of people who call themselves preppers but who really are "All Hat, No Cattle". Now please don't misunderstand me, I am no great prepper... I am not a world class survivalist, there are no TV shows calling me asking me to be on them, I am just a guy who's working on living a more sustainable lifestyle centered towards self reliance.

You don't have to have a BOL out in the woods, 30 years of stored food, more ammo than a gun store and be a former Navy Seal to be off the "All Hat, No Cattle" list, but you do have to prepare the unsexy stuff... the "so how are we going to wipe our asses if we run out of TP" stuff...

The most likely (by far) scenarios are what we prepare for. We don't spend 90 percent of our time trying to figure out how to survive firefights on our block that are most probably never going to happen, and instead focus on building infrastructure so that we can cheaply feed ourselves in the case of a food disruption, so that we can spend a month without power comfortably without getting cholera from our own poop or our neighbor's poop. so that we can have water to drink if an earthquake breaks our town's supply line beyond repair (a very real possibility living within the New Madrid fault area of influence). 

Poop is a big deal, especially if you live in a neighborhood... figuring out how to make it safe to live with people pooping without functioning plumbing is NOT sexy, but there's a much greater chance your neighborhood's plumbing will stop working than there is that the Cubans and Russians will drop Red Dawn on us...

Just some grist for your mental mill, something to think about.


----------



## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

Bravo!

There's no downside to becoming more self-sustaining. Grow and preserve your own food, get back to a simpler life with less stress, live without debt... all good stuff. If the world doesn't come to a screeching halt (and it probably won't) you're still way better off.

There is a HUGE downside to being a totally obsessed "doomsday prepper" type. Trading all your time, energy, and money to prep for something that probably won't happen (and which you probably won't survive anyway) is trading a good life now for a slightly better chance of a marginal existence if a series of unlikely events occurs.

Sure, having a few months of food put away is a good idea. You will almost certainly face a week or 2 without power sometime in the next 10 years. Depending where you live, you might see a flood or hurricane or tornado or earthquake, and if these are common in your area, only a fool would be totally unprepared.

I have guns because I like guns. I have a reasonable amount of ammo stashed because traditional supply chains can be easily broken. Do I have 200,000 rounds of .223 stashed so I can fight my way through mobs of looters to reach my wilderness hideout where I will live out my days on constant guard duty? Ummm, no.

Truth be told, I don't even consider myself to be a prepper. I'm just a guy who has some insurance against events which, though unlikely, would be devastating without a back-up plan.


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Wife and I have not had a credit card since 1985.
The mortgage has been paid off on our small home/farm.
All 4 of our vehicles have been paid for (although my '88 F-150 hot rod project truck last ran in 2007)
Utility trailer and horse trailer w/living quarters paid for.
We have no loans of any kind. 

Financial freedom is wonderful. No more stomach knots worrying about a layoff. Yes, I'm still working full time, even though I'm past regular retirement age. Wife and I both collect Social Security.

Folks - don't bother with McMansions, humongous flat screen TV's, the latest sports car, designer clothes. Invest your money in things that improve your life.


----------



## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

I'm not mocking your post but instead playing devil's advocate. I've been on this site for a few months and I would say 1 out every 20 posts is something actually "prepping" related. I haven't learned much here I didn't already know. So I guess the question here is why are you even on this site? It seems your time could be better put to use cultivating or doing something else to be self sustaining. Again, I'm not mocking your post. Just asking the question it brought to my mind.


----------



## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I agree. While I am always prepping And adding to My preps I have mainly prepared for the likeliest scenarios to accur in my area. ( Hurricans, Tornadoes, flooding. ) I also have begun hardening my residence against crime. Eliminating credit is very big on our priorities. looking towards a place in the country is a step we are both working on but we have obligations here for the time being. Am I prepared to bug out if forced? Yes. Would I want to and do I think my chances are good? Not as good as sheltering in place and hunkering down. Do I think a grid down situation is eminant? I think it may be more likely then people suspect. Do I want a grid down scenario? No. My idea from the beginning was prepare for the likeliest and do as much as I can for the unlikely. Not going overboard or cowering in a corner waiting for the sky to fall. Living my life as well as I can and preparing for when I may not be able to.


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Sasquatch, if you were referring to SNP's original post I think it is prep related.
I agree that paying down any debt you can is a high priority. Instead of a major catastrophy, think on the lines of a personal SHTF. Job loss, major illness, etc. If you have only normal living expenses you are ahead of the game.
I do not believe America will collapse all at once. Being financially independent will be a blessing in a slow collapse of the economy.


----------



## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

Sasquatch said:


> I'm not mocking your post but instead playing devil's advocate. I've been on this site for a few months and I would say 1 out every 20 posts is something actually "prepping" related. I haven't learned much here I didn't already know. So I guess the question here is why are you even on this site? It seems your time could be better put to use cultivating or doing something else to be self sustaining. Again, I'm not mocking your post. Just asking the question it brought to my mind.


Fair questions, let me answer them in a friendly, respectful way since you asked them in a friendly respectable way, and make a few observations.

You asked_ "I've been on this site for a few months and I would say 1 out every 20 posts is something actually "prepping" related. I haven't learned much here I didn't already know. So I guess the question here is why are you even on this site?_

If you can, please take the opportunity to click on my profile, then take a look at the threads that I have started. With only a couple of exceptions, every one of them is about prepping. I recognize that a lot of people come here to rant about the news, discuss all kinds of other things non-prepping related, but that's not why I come here. I don't watch the news, I don't care about the news. I don't care who the Muslims attacked over is Nobodycaresistan today, I don't care about what crazy-assed thing a corrupt politician had to say, etc. It makes zero difference to me, since none of that in any way is in my power to change. I care only about what I can affect. Therefore, I ignore most of that stuff as a matter of course.

I chose this title for this post because a lot of people who come here don't actually like reading about prepping, they would rather read about other stuff. Look at the stats, it's just simply the truth. Look at what posts get the most comments, they are (more often than not) non-prepping posts.

So why do I come here? Three main reasons. One, humans are a social animal, and I like to interact with others and talk about my passion for self-reliance... I can't do that at work because, frankly, nobody here at work other than myself is interested. I generally post (like now) while I am on my break, now I am on my lunch hour. Can't really go planting any trees in January on my lunch hour. Secondly, I don't know every damned thing, and there are some people here who really do know what they are talking about and who are worth listening to. Not everything I do here is public, there are also private messages, where people who's opinions I respect and I can talk about things not really pertaining to others. Thirdly, I have many years of experience living the self-reliant lifestyle, and I feel it is my responsibility to "pay my social rent"... to show, share and yes, even teach some things to people who may not know what I know. I will share the mistakes I have made along the way to hopefully help folks watch out for the pitfalls.

When you say _"It seems your time could be better put to use cultivating or doing something else to be self sustaining"_ good sir, part of that is to help the community become energized, enthusiastic and engaged in self-sufficiency and self-reliance... the more of us there are, the more free we are as a nation and world. Self-reliance & self-sufficiency equals freedom, and I am a freedom fighter without bombs or guns...

How effective I am? That's not for me to say. But it IS for me to try.


----------



## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

3 Vehicles all paid off.
0 credit cards since 2006, zero debt except for house.
2 years left on house (only loan) which I have saved prep money to pay it off, but drawing it out for 2 years so I don't put all eggs in 1 basket.

Sasquatch, I think they are on this site just like a lot of others that want to help people with their preps, offer advice, read interesting stories instead of watching Housewives of New Jersey. The problem with a lot of folks is they are not asking the questions in regards to prepping and there are a lot of "Well you have to do this", instead of "How do I do this" questions. Some are afraid and some are embarrassed to ask a simple question which they shouldn't be. Also, when a question is posted, some users will say to "search the forum before asking", which is my worse pet peeve since their question might be different or you have newer members responding or older members changing their answers to a more educated answer.

Besides 1 out of 20 prepping posts have been mostly eliminated with the use of cleaning up this site from just partiers posting crazy threads and disrespecting the forum rules, thus ending up being banned. Hopefully you'll see more prepping posts now. I know I sure have in the last month.


----------



## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

BTW, I am working on posts that are more "articles" than posts... one of them is about "poop solutions"... Just an FYI.


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Very well put, SNP. (post #7)


----------



## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

It sounds like it some believe that it's an "either or" situation. I don't. I do not live, breath, and only think about prepping. My wife and I live in a house that is actually bigger then we need for the two us. I like having extra room for guests or even if for some reason if my sons and their spouses need to move back home. At least it is paid for. I did not have prepping in mind for every firearm that I have bought. Some I bought because I wanted it. I have a reproduction of a Sharps rifle. It's heavy and it is a single shot. Hardly someone's first choice for prepping, but I wanted it. Our vehicles are 5 years old or newer, but they are 4 wheel drive. We have computers, ipads, ipods, smart phones etc. But then one of the reasons we can afford them is that my wife is a Director in an I.T. department and has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. We have a garden and grow allot of our food, but we have a large freezer with bought food in it and allot of freeze dried food in storage. Last year we went on vacation to the East coast, and to Ls Vegas the year before. Want to call me all hat and no cattle? Go ahead, who cares? 

I believe in prepping for the future, but at the same time I believe in living my life now. I do not intend dying having not lived my life because I was too busy prepping for something that might happen in the future. Like everything else in life, I think that everyone needs to find a balance.


----------



## Makwa (Dec 19, 2014)

OP........... you make some very valid points. Debt is a killer. We all have to go through it unless we were born into a silver spoon sort of situation, but the big thing is to have a plan and get out from under it as soon as you can. Like you I prefer older vehicles for many reasons and experience has shown my wife and I that if you wait and watch you can pick up older vehicles with few miles on them for a song. Last year we bought an older 4x4 suburban with 30,000 original miles on it for 6K. It will last us for many years and we paid cash, so no payments to the bank. I don't know why so many have bought into this "gotta have a new vehicle" mindset, but it seems to be the norm and it is one thing you have to get away from if you want to get out of debt and stay out of debt. Let someone else take the horrendous depreciation tumble that all vehicles suffer from. Vehicles are a necessity for most of us but they are a huge black hole to throw money into and if you let it, it is a debt you will never free yourself from. How many spend their entire lives making payments on an endless succession of vehicles?

We made a plan a couple of decades ago and have stuck to it and have been debt free now for over a decade. If we cannot pay cash we don't need it. We have one credit card that we pay off immediately if we use it............. like it or not you need one these days if you do any traveling. With the prepping, well it really ties into our lifestyle anyways and is really our way of life.

I don't do forums all the time. Like Sasquatch I find I do not learn much on them as much of it is frivolous and the internet is filled with morons and pretenders....... but on a site such as this there are things to learn. Whether it is building something or growing tomatoes, there is always a different way of doing things and you can always toss out what does not work for you and only retain what is relevant to you and your situation. I have been on here on and off the last while as it is the dead of winter and more time to mess around making plans for the upcoming guiding season/growing season/building season. Entertainment when the wind is howling, the snow drifting and the mercury is reading between cold and really cold.

So far I think this is a pretty good site. Minimal trolls and quite a few with lots of experience in different areas.

One thing I do disagree with OP is the not caring about what is going on out there in the big, bad world. I agree we cannot change it, but keeping on top of the issues that will affect you in a negative way if all hell breaks loose, just might buy you a bit of lee time to get your act together quickly.


----------



## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

I would like to add that many topics, though they might not seem prepper-related, actually are, if indirectly. Keeping abreast of the current political, social, and economic climates can alert you to imminent changes and help you fine tune your plans to cope with whatever comes at you. Often, what is being debated are the implications of a news item, political issue, or social event rather than the item, issue, or event itself.


----------



## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

Makwa said:


> One thing I do disagree with OP is the not caring about what is going on out there in the big, bad world. I agree we cannot change it, but keeping on top of the issues that will affect you in a negative way if all hell breaks loose, just might buy you a bit of lee time to get your act together quickly.


Most people don't agree with me, but I find it a complete waste of time to worry about events that are beyond my control.

Our government is corrupt, the politicians are there to sever their masters (who, manifestly, are not the voting public but rather the oligarchy in power), the financial system is corrupt beyond belief, and frankly we are an extremely difficult country to invade militarily. SO... what's left? The president is going to do what he is going to do with or without my knowledge or consent, the congress is going to do the same. The courts will do what they will do, as will the state government.

LOCALLY? That I can make a difference on.

There's nothing out there short of a natural disaster or local crime that will cause "all hell to break loose" in my little area in the back of beyond. There will be no race riots here (why? Because 98 percent of the population where I live is white... we are not racists, there just aren't any black or hispanic folks who live here...), so unless there's a complete collapse of society, natural disaster or local crime is pretty much it.

Bottom line, I personally find no reason to let all that crap waste it's space in my head. I'm too old to be drafted, I'm not planning on traveling out of the country and I don't particularly care what the rest of the world thinks of me personally because it's one hell of a trip from where they are to my front door for them to do anything about it.

Gas goes up? OK, I can deal with that. Heating costs go up? Again, OK, I can deal with that. Interest rates skyrocket? Don't care, I don't owe anything. Land prices skyrocket? Not buying any. Food prices skyrocket? OK, I can deal with that too. Ammo ban? Got it covered. Gun sales ban? Got it covered. High capacity magazine production ban? Not a problem. I live in one of the freest states in America to start with, so not a problem. Besides, me watching all of this unfold on TV... all this stuff by people who I didn't vote for, couldn't remove from office and can't convince to vote any other way? Waste of time.

That's the thing about being self-sufficient and self-reliant. What others do outside of the things you can control or influence really doesn't matter. Nobody will listen to me anyway, so since I don't matter to them, they don't matter to me.

99.9999 percent of the information out there is stuff that is beyond my ability to do anything about... if it happens, we deal with it, but it's probably not going to happen so why not concentrate on stuff we CAN do something about?


----------



## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

Salt-N-Pepper said:


> BTW, I am working on posts that are more "articles" than posts... one of them is about "poop solutions"... Just an FYI.


If it's poop talk then I am in. In my previous post I should've explained myself a little better. As I said I wasn't mocking your post. I asked the question because I sometimes question why I am on this site. I came for prepping info but notice I too get caught up in the politics and other bs. I appreciate your response.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Very nice thread Salty, I appreciate where you come from and agree most of the time with your point of view. 

We decided a number of years ago to get as debt free as we could. I'll admit listening to Dave Ramsay was part of my motivation. Mostly I like being self sufficient and do not like "owing" another man anything.

We have some investment property mortgages and a small line of credit with my credit union of 30+ years for convenience. At any given time, my total debt is less than 50% of my annual income and I feel pretty comfortable with that. Most of our purchases are cash but since I have a line of credit, I may write a check from that account from time to time as not to have to liquidate my cash and pay off the credit line in a few months or sooner. 

Years ago I had the big home in the suburbs, multiple car payments and felt stifled every month. Now I feel much less stress and that's a good thing.

As far as the forum goes, I enjoy most subjects. First and foremost I want to be as prepared as I can and politics/current events are one of the main reasons that I aim to BE prepared. I also enjoy having fun and I enjoy poking fun with my fellow man. If you can't take it, too bad. Old Slippy is who he is!  

So if I can lighten up your day with a joke or three, well, that's my job. 

Thanks


----------



## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I come here for both the prepping discussions as well as what's going on in the news and the political landscape. I believe it gives me perspective and insight that will help me make better prepping decisions as well as get feel for how people feel about different subjects. I am particularly interested in what preppers thoughts are on different news events that will impact us all, and how they will react and adjust thier line of thinking or prepping. I continue to learn as I go not only from this site but books, internet sites, YouTube and other sources.


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Sasquatch said:


> If it's poop talk then I am in. In my previous post I should've explained myself a little better. As I said I wasn't mocking your post. I asked the question because I sometimes question why I am on this site. I came for prepping info but notice I too get caught up in the politics and other bs. I appreciate your response.


I mainly keep up with the firearms/knives/ stuff. I tend not to participate in crops/animals/crafts/etc because that is not my area of expertise and I don't want to give out bad information. Here at Answered Prayers Farm my wife takes care of that - I'm the builder, fixer, security platoon, digger of ditches, lifter of heavy objects.

I also enjoy the banter, the hob-nobbing among friends. Maybe because I have no social life outside of my veterans organizations.


----------



## Makwa (Dec 19, 2014)

Salt-N-Pepper said:


> Most people don't agree with me, but I find it a complete waste of time to worry about events that are beyond my control.
> 
> Our government is corrupt, the politicians are there to sever their masters (who, manifestly, are not the voting public but rather the oligarchy in power), the financial system is corrupt beyond belief, and frankly we are an extremely difficult country to invade militarily. SO... what's left? The president is going to do what he is going to do with or without my knowledge or consent, the congress is going to do the same. The courts will do what they will do, as will the state government.
> 
> ...


Totally understand where you are coming from but I am from Canada, not the US. What your government is doing and how your dollar is affected globally does affect me. I guide hunters, most of whom are from the US........ so the movement of your dollar affects the exchange rate. Your economy affects the tourist industry.

I am a trapper............ what is happening in the EU, China and Russia directly affects the fur market and ipso-facto the price of fur when I sell it and the species that are worth trapping and the ones that should just be left alone.

I live in the sticks and to get fuel I have to order a truck delivery. They will only come if I am going to fill my tanks, which means a several thousand dollar touch. What is happening out there with politics near and far, the US dollar and the economies does affect the price of oil, and hence my timing with regards to delivery can make a big difference in what I pay when it is delivered as the market fluctuates. I have saved thousands of dollars by paying attention to what is going on and how it is going to affect oil prices............ hence diesel/gas prices.

I raise livestock and politics and disease problems affect international markets, which directly reflects upon livestock prices at home and for animals destined for the US market. So paying attention to those things lets me know if I should hang onto calves and feed or get off my butt and ship them before the market tanks.

I hunt, shoot and reload ammunition. We get all of our powder and bullets from the US. So whatever shenanigans the current US government is messing with that gets the US firearms community perturbed can quickly affect availability up here and so I can make sure my supplies are up to snuff if it looks like a government bill or the latest overseas conflict is going to mess with things.

Each to their own. I don't concern myself with things that are drivel or which do not have the potential to affect me, but many things out there do and so I keep an eye on things so that I can try and minimize how it impacts us. We all live in different situations, so what is important to one person is not necessarily import to others.


----------



## TacticalCanuck (Aug 5, 2014)

I agree with a great deal of the insight offered on this thread. I do believe in living today and planning for tomorrow. I have more debt than I like right now but decided a few years ago debt is my first enemy. So it's been a slow but uphill battle to reduce remove and save. I like to know what's happening in the world but understand as well that not everything we see on news and its discussion is accurate. I make mistakes but I learn from them. I have a few laughs but I do so because there is great sadness in the world and not all of it escapes me. 20 years ago I lived in an alleyway and didn't eat for days at a time. I know that it is possible through my own trials that one can lose it all without option of recourse. If that raises curiosity know it wasn't drugs or thug syndrome but rather poor parenting and a biological mother that is just that and nothing else to me. I had to leave home at 15 for fear of my life. My mother didn't take long to do the same but history there was too painful and she wasn't about to try to make amends. These are the breaks. We all don't get a silver spoon or even a fair chance. I stored food before I considered it prepping. It was done out of fear of not eating again. I always enjoyed bush camping far from civilization because civilization isn't all polite and rosey - I've seen the worst. 

Prepping to me isn't about the end of the world as we know it - just the end of mine as I know it. I will never let my children go hungry but I also won't let them believe that there will be someone there for them always either. 

So prepping for me isn't about running from a police state or fear of the corruption in the ruling class. Though the more education I get and the more I learn the worlds few ruling class through their wealth certainly don't have my liberties or freedoms in mind one bit either. 

You can have an EOTW event without massive catastrophe on a global scale. It can happen in your own back yard and be contained to you. And this is why I prepare. Self sustaining just makes the most sense to me and I hope to get there for me and my family so that down the road nothing small or large will take us apart.


----------

