The fall of 2020 has had its own soundtrack for prepping, and the refrain I’ve been hearing is “Item “X” is disappearing from the shelves; Stock up Now!”
It’s a very popular tune; but I can’t recommend the lyrics. Follow that advice and you end up here:
Don’t let yourself be driven into stocking up on things that aren’t your needs.
You’ll end up best prepared if your prepping is driven by your needs; not “what’s hot” in the prepping world.
The temptation to be driven
When there are reports from all sides about this or that being hard to get, it can seem imperative to get yours now while you can.
After all, if the item disappears before you get some, who knows when it might come back? (I’m looking at you, .22 ammo that nearly disappeared for more than a year!) And we wouldn’t be preppers if it made us happy to without because we hadn’t thought to stock up. This drive to not miss out seems wired into our brains, and explains why some stores sport Going Out of Business signs for years on end.
Here’s a podcast we’ve just posted on the subject:
When the Going Out of Business sale lasts longer than two months, they’re playing you. Thanks to ReubenGBrewer, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Besides, if it’s hard to get, it’ll make a great trade item, right? *cue memories of this summer’s yard sales with tables supporting towering pyramids of TP, sold at pennies on the dollar* … Maybe. Or maybe not.
The downsides of being driven
It’s a Catch-22. If the stories are accurate and the item is already disappearing … it’s going to be expensive and time consuming to find. Purchase quantities are likely to be limited, too. But if the stories are wrong…then you don’t need to stock up on it anyway.
And then there’s opportunity cost. Stocking up because someone *else* might want it later and you could make a profit leaves you with less resources to see to your own needs.
Better to drive yourself
Your time, energy, and money are limited. How about you spend them where you most need it?
It could be you actually do have a pressing need for the item that’s flying off the shelves. Well then, off you go to pick some up! But it may well be your needs are elsewhere. Working on those other needs will spend your resources better, and keep you out of the scrum to boot.
How to drive
To drive your own prepping is to set your own priorities. For what kinds of events do you most feel the need to prepare? Don’t let the political or social winds of the moment drive you on this point, either. The most important prep I made this week was checking out and firing up our backup heating system. Not a danged thing on the forecast or news suggesting that would be an immediate need, but a) It’s mid-November, and b) We get winter here.
Once you know what you’re prepping for, start visualizing how you’d handle its challenges. Think you might need to bug in? Visualize how your days might go, start to finish. Sure, needing enough food is obvious. Have you considered how you’d keep your kids from driving you nuts if the charger for their favorite distraction failed?
One last reminder on that note: It’s not all about buying stuff. Skill development is at Least as important. Self-care is important too, as it helps you stay self-reliant.
Drive on, good people! No need to cram onto the same bus as everyone else, being driven who knows where by the winds of the moment.