What are your biggest prepping mistakes?

[Nickelless]

Someone started a thread like this over at GIM, and I'm wondering why I didn't think of it myself. I'd say I was an idiot to not have saved the not-so-small check ($6,500) I got when I was laid off from my last job in April 2011. The check was for vacation and personal days that I was able to cash out. I should've stuck that money in a safe place in the bunker for a rainy-day fund instead of paying off medical bills. The medical bills will still be there, but at the moment I have very little cash on hand for emergencies--a situation which I am slowly correcting.

So what about you guys?

[silversaddle1]

Did not buy those AR-15 lowers when they were $180.00 apiece!

[NHsorter]

Not buying enough ASE's when they were $15 apiece!

[justoneguy]

when i planted four fruit trees in the spring of 2011,
I did not water them during the winter last year.
2 of them died.
it's been really dry this year so I've watered the remaining 2 regularly.
How are your trees doing Nickelless ?
or were those at your old place?

[AGCoinHunter]

Did not buy those AR-15 lowers when they were $180.00 apiece!

$180?! I bought a few around thanksgiving and paid $84 each.

[silversaddle1]

Did not buy those AR-15 lowers when they were $180.00 apiece!

$180?! I bought a few around thanksgiving and paid $84 each.

Bushmasters?

[AGCoinHunter]

LRB mil spec.

[Mossy]

Biggest mistake? Buying guns instead of PMs. The type I bought have not even kept up with inflation. Meanwhile, silver and gold have tripled.

[silversaddle1]

Biggest mistake? Buying guns instead of PMs. The type I bought have not even kept up with inflation. Meanwhile, silver and gold have tripled.

I would not look at it that way. Did you buy your guns as an investment or for protection? While PM's are high right now, if it all goes downhill, it's pretty hard to defend yourself by throwing silver coins at a mob. You can still invest in silver and gold, just be sure to buy on down swings.

[knibloe]

My biggest mistake is that we fail to properly rotate our food supply. I bought it and left it to the wife to do. Now I am using up the old stuff (throwing out a fair amounta) and reorganizing/restocking. I have been taking a much more active role in the last 2-3 months.

[Nickelless]

My biggest mistake is that we fail to properly rotate our food supply. I bought it and left it to the wife to do. Now I am using up the old stuff (throwing out a fair amounta) and reorganizing/restocking. I have been taking a much more active role in the last 2-3 months.

What food have you been throwing out? Canned goods are safe and edible well past the dates on the cans, and dry goods will remain good indefinitely if kept in an airtight container in a cool place. I hope you're not throwing out anything that doesn't need to be thrown out.

[knibloe]

My biggest mistake is that we fail to properly rotate our food supply. I bought it and left it to the wife to do. Now I am using up the old stuff (throwing out a fair amount) and reorganizing/restocking. I have been taking a much more active role in the last 2-3 months.

What food have you been throwing out? Canned goods are safe and edible well past the dates on the cans, and dry goods will remain good indefinitely if kept in an airtight container in a cool place. I hope you're not throwing out anything that doesn't need to be thrown out.

Believe me, I don't throw out anything that is still good. We had some canned milk. I opened the cans. It was chunky, milk went on the compost, the cans went in the 55 gal drum of scrap metal. We had some other stuff that had gone rancid. Some of the canned vegetables had a funky taste to them. Just had a can of carrots tonight that was 10 years old. They were fine. We will eat up the other cans and then purchase new stuff to replace them. The milk won't be replaced, because we don't use canned milk. We do have some powdered milk. That we could use. I just need to mix it up and use it.

I don't want to give the impression that I was blaming my wife. Up until about 12 months ago, my job had me travelling the OH, PA, NY, VT and other states. I did very little to help with the household work. My wife has been on dialysis for 7.5 years. This takes a toll on her energy and ability to do the things that she wants to do. In spite of this, she does a great job taking care of herself and the boys. Now that I travel less, I have more time to help out around the house. Food storage has recently made it back to the priority list.

[TwoPenniesEarned]

Buying batteries for a solar installation that wasn't quite finished and then letting them sulphate for a year and a half. Expensive AGM batteries. That sucked.

[donarizona]

Stored several thousand rounds ammo in a garage over three years in Arizona. Fine to fire at targets but can not trust it for self protection.

[Rosco]

Finally at 75 I can say Past mistakes are not a big deal. I'm still here an vertical, fingers an toes all work. Joy is still married 52 years an counting

Did not buy 90% or .999 when I bought proofs sets starting in 1999, that would have lowered my average cost Happy to be here

[beauanderos]

My biggest mistake is that we fail to properly rotate our food supply. I bought it and left it to the wife to do. Now I am using up the old stuff (throwing out a fair amounta) and reorganizing/restocking. I have been taking a much more active role in the last 2-3 months.

What food have you been throwing out? Canned goods are safe and edible well past the dates on the cans, and dry goods will remain good indefinitely if kept in an airtight container in a cool place. I hope you're not throwing out anything that doesn't need to be thrown out.

I have soup cans dated 2006, chili dated 2007, both have been no problem. Might sometimes have to add an ounce or two of water to the chili, but the taste is still the same as brand new.

[frugi]

my biggest mistake can still be fixed.....I am not organized. I have organized my food preps, and ammo preps, but everything else is so scattered around my house it would take me years to organize it all, and I keep adding more on top of it, so it is further becoming more difficult on a weekly basis. I buy/ & save a lot of barter items, tools, fuel, knives, medical stuff, canteens, and other fun useful stuff, but in an emergency would get left behind due to my inability to keep it organized and in a place that can be easily located.

[Mossy]

I would not look at it that way. Did you buy your guns as an investment or for protection? While PM's are high right now, if it all goes downhill, it's pretty hard to defend yourself by throwing silver coins at a mob. You can still invest in silver and gold, just be sure to buy on down swings.

Investing in only one or the other is not a good idea.

[68Camaro]

My biggest mistake is that we fail to properly rotate our food supply. I bought it and left it to the wife to do. Now I am using up the old stuff (throwing out a fair amounta) and reorganizing/restocking. I have been taking a much more active role in the last 2-3 months.

What food have you been throwing out? Canned goods are safe and edible well past the dates on the cans, and dry goods will remain good indefinitely if kept in an airtight container in a cool place. I hope you're not throwing out anything that doesn't need to be thrown out.

I have soup cans dated 2006, chili dated 2007, both have been no problem. Might sometimes have to add an ounce or two of water to the chili, but the taste is still the same as brand new.

You do have to watch out for acidic stuff like tomatoes and pineapple - ususally the can liners won't last too much longer than the best by dates - add another year or two to those dates and the acid will have started to eat through whatever corrosion protection is there.

[Oldpagan]

Thinking I could go it alone, to survive and more importantly thrive it takes a small group of people operating as a tribe. No one person can do it all, not that you shouldn’t try to learn as much as you can, it just the division of labor that allows everything that needs to be done to be accomplished.

Thinking I could store enough food, yeah you should have a couple of years worth put back but after that you better have the seeds and the working knowledge (several years spent actually gardening. Now is a good time to start that backyard garden…

There is no best knife, gun, etc, the one you have is the best till you can get a better one. Learn you use what you have to the best of your ability.

Knowledge weighs less than a bunch of stuff, and can never be lost or taken away from you. Learn how to do as much as you can about every skill you can think of. I just finished learning to spin wool, and then weave it into cloth. And yes the spinning wheel and loom look cool next to the gun vault…

The Y2K scare was a good opportunity to learn what was needed, just because the world didn’t descend into chaos didn’t mean it was time to kick back and party.

[Treetop]

Thinking I could go it alone, to survive and more importantly thrive it takes a small group of people operating as a tribe. No one person can do it all, not that you shouldn’t try to learn as much as you can, it just the division of labor that allows everything that needs to be done to be accomplished.

Presuming no one killed me or was stealing from me I could thrive without outside help. I certainly have stronger skills and weaker ones, and with people stronger in the areas Im weak in would certainly help, but Id be just fine as would many others Ive met over the years.

I bothered to point this out because Im often told this by family members who do not like my chosen lifestyle. Apparently it would only be acceptable to them if I had other families doing it with me.

Have you ever studied various communes and groups who come together for similar goals? There are scores of issues much harder to solve then I can forsee me ever facing, minus general safety of course. That is the only real issue I see, more people together are safer if things ever degraded enough more people went to similar lifestyles.

My worst issue would be clothing, but I can cover that as well. serviceable clothing for sure, Id just look pretty funny. wouldnt change my quality of life though.

[Mossy]

Thinking I could go it alone, to survive and more importantly thrive it takes a small group of people operating as a tribe. No one person can do it all, not that you shouldn’t try to learn as much as you can, it just the division of labor that allows everything that needs to be done to be accomplished.

All true statements, but the above is the most important.

If nothing else, you need someone to watch for trouble while you are head down working. Someone otherwise useless can act as a watchout, if they can pay attention. Or they can call for help for those working where others cannot see.

[Treetop]

What makes people think you need a tribe to thrive? protection sure that obvious, but I know many who think this is true with everything else as well.

Have those that think this, also actually studied those who tried to start such groups? The bulk fail for some of the very reasons people think they will thrive. Very hard to make a group cohesive. Those who want to lead and those who are good at it are rarely the same people. The groups with no leaders that Ive found in studying it have even more issues. things that were once a persons profession or passion often become a burden when everyone depends on them for such, rather then themselves depending on it for their own personal living. Hordes of other issues as well.

These same issues crop up even in the fewer actual survival situations Ive encountered in studying this topic. So anyone wanting such a group, I certainly wouldnt assume because you are friends NOW or get along NOW that you will if you moved into such a lifestyle by choice or circumstance. You would be better off ironing out such issues no while it doesnt matter if your thinking of this as a way to handle deep economic or other issues we may one day face.

Communities of like minded do much better then tribes imo. this by default takes away most of the more pressing issues, and literally gives you all the same benefits of a "tribe". Those who point out that humans are a tribal animal often miss that we are also an animal who covets self determination. That struggle is literally at the heart o our issues when societies do rise and fall, as some of us believe ours might fall through todays issues.

[Mossy]

...Those who point out that humans are a tribal animal often miss that we are also an animal who covets self determination. That struggle is literally at the heart o our issues when societies do rise and fall, as some of us believe ours might fall through todays issues.

The left and the low information voters want freedom /from/ self determination, or a reduction of options available to them to what they are comfortable with, and most definitely, a reduction in the options available to others to what they understand.

[Oldpagan]

What makes people think you need a tribe to thrive? Communities of like minded do much better then tribes imo.

When I wrote "tribe", a community of like minded indviduals that band together for their common good is what I was speaking of.