Being Smart About Spending Money on Preps

    The paklite is a great idea but hugely overpriced. Ten bucks (and up to THIRTY for "upgraded" modules) for a piece of hardware that probably costs a few cents to make.  Pass.

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You Bring up an excellent point. Look, I make money out of everything that is sold through my website on Amazon and I’m ok with that. That doesn’t mean readers shouldn’t be careless about spending every single hard-earned buck. Do tons of research before buying anything! I do plenty of reviews, check the ones on my youtube channel for a closer look when researching. If I do recommend something, it is mostly gear I feel more than confident about, with plenty of good reviews and usually years of using it myself. 

You don’t need to go crazy. A well put EDC kit will go a long way. A well rounded set of supplies at home will get you through most likely events.

Just remember the following: 1) know the basics which are common to everyone. You need to stay warm, you need water, food, means of cooking, means of purifying more water, means of self-defense. You need both a first aid kit and knowledge of how to use it.  2)Know your own personal circumstances for which you need to prepare. If you live in areas where extreme cold temperatures are a potential problem then you need means of heating as well as cooking food. Maybe you are good to go with a good kerosene heater and you don’t need to spend more money on a big generator and electric setup for blackouts. Maybe you have a medical condition yourself or a family member for which you need to make extra preparations. 

Learn to differentiate between the must-haves, and nice to haves or just silly toys. For things such as food and water, you just can’t have too much of it because you are still going to use them no matter what. Redundancy is also important for essential supplies such as flashlights, water purifiers and first aid kits, and to a lesser degree firearms and other tools. Still, learn to be honest with yourself. If you have over 20 guns and over 50 “survival knives”, chances are you’re well past “need” and deep into “hobby/collector” territory. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you are at least honest with yourself.

Finally, keep in mind that while certain supplies and gear are simply must-haves, many of the most important steps towards modern survival have nothing to do with “stuff”. Things such as staying fit and healthy so as to avoid getting sick as often or be capable of doing physical labor, fighting and running away from danger, having savings to deal with life’s little or large financial problems, having health and life insurance in that rare case of you getting sick, or the even rarer case of you actually dying some day. Last but not least, learning and teaching your kids valuable life skills, enjoying yourself while doing so and making the most of the time we have.

FerFAL