Is Preparedness Category based, Linear or All Over The Place?

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A recent talk with Commander Zero inspired this post. Since memory is fallible and I am uncomfortable putting words in other people mouths (especially if I didn’t ask to share them) I will not try to quote him. Just assume everything smart comes from Zero and the boring/ stupid stuff is me.

We could look at a few different ways to prepare. Lets discuss some generalities and what I consider the pro’s and cons of them.

Category based. Lets say the categories are guns/ ammo, food, energy, comms, medical, tools, gear and misc. We could debate them but for the purpose of this discussion you get the point. You would work on one category until it is complete then go to another, then another, etc.

Pro- Mass. In this way you are going to see significant progress. Seeing progress has a real motivational component in keeping people working.

Con- Not balanced. In almost every preparedness situation you need some stuff in many if not every category. A whole lot of food doesn’t cancel out the need for self defense. A great communications system is not a substitute for a spare pair of boots. You get the idea.

Linear- Working to move all categories forward in a reasonably balanced way. Say get ready for a normal black out with a few days of food, some spare batteries and flashlights, a hand gun with some ammo, etc. Next work towards a longer 2 week type event. More food, some sort of power generation plan, a long gun of some sort, water purification, etc. Move on to a nasty 6 week Katrina type event. You get the idea.

Pro- Balanced. You are working forward in a way that relative to your overall level of preparedness there is not a weak link. You aren’t all guns/ammo and no food or all commo and no tools, etc.

Con- Progress is slow. Even as a fairly motivated person after a quarter or a year of putting not insignificant resources into preparedness it is hard for me to really see progress. It happened but a little bit in each area isn’t very fulfilling.

All Over The Place- Work on what you are interested in at the time.

Pro- By doing what you are currently interested in you are very likely to go hard and make real progress. The newest/ weakest guy in an active ham radio club is going to crush a prepper with a radio and a license. The newest guy in a GSSF/ 3 gun club is probably better than a prepper with a safe full of guns.

Con- This lack of any meaningful plan leads folks to go too deep into their passions and ignore the other stuff at their peril. I have seen guys who are beginning to intermediate level survivalist with not one, or two but THREE ‘bug out motorcycles.’ Its his life and money but if that guy thinks this is the motorcycle collection is a good preparedness move for his situation he is at best not looking objectively.

What is the right answer.

Personally my core plan is linear. It is hard to do and I do it imperfectly cough clearly I need another AR-15 and G19 cough but it is the goal. Now for hobbies/ spare time stuff I tend, thanks to Chris’s excellent advice, to generally pursue hobbies that are helpful for preparedness. Fitness, fishing, shooting, etc.

The difference is past some point with most of these things there is a point of diminishing returns as it relates to preparedness. I will talk fishing since I know a tiny bit about it. Getting a fishing pole, a cheap Wally World spare, a bunch of gear and some sort of cheap (under $500 unless it can be a major food source IE you live on a river/ swamp/ coast) small boat could make sense if you live near water. On the other hand that third $500 fishing pole and a 20k fishing boat are not preparedness items. These are hobby purchases, which isn’t a bad thing, just that they should come from hobby money not prep money.

Thoughts? How do you prepare?