When is Prepping Frivolous?

Although the video creator below appears to consider prepping more like how I define homesteading, we generally agree on the purpose of prepping: being reading for relatively small problems in our lives, such as a power outage, ice storm, or a short-term hike in prices at the grocery store. Granted, it’s easy to continue this line of thinking to a number of scenarios, such as those requiring you to evacuate immediately or shelter in place for weeks, both of which require their own set of considerations.

With regards to the question, when is prepping frivolous, he offers some fairly obvious examples, such as an asteroid impact or nuclear exchange, both of which are considered extinction level events. Honestly, if you’re attempting to prepare for these events, then you should pick up a Holy Bible. But I’m not here to preach because I’m wholly unqualified. Watch the video below, then see my comments below…

What I really like about his reasoning is that it forces you to think about how much time, energy, and resources (usually money) is being invested into prepping and not into other areas of your life. That is, you need to consider the opportunity costs associated with everything you do regarding preparedness because it may not be worth it. For example, if you’re racking up credit cards to buy another pallet of grains that you may never need while your house is falling apart around you, then you’re probably focusing on the wrong things.

He also talks about how some prepping activities can border on hoarding, like buying more food than you’ll likely ever need. But it could be anything that people tend to buy in excess, which are related to preparedness, such as firearms or MREs. Unfortunately, this probably also means we’re ignoring other crucial items that we may not be as comfortable with, such as medical supplies, or items we may not see as necessary right now, like survival skills (e.g., hunting, fishing, trapping) or ancestral knowledge (e.g., how to make and do almost anything that everything used to know). Ultimately, this is one of those “weakest link in the chain” problems. What’s your weakest link(s)?

Yes, preparedness is good, and we should always try to do more when it makes sense, but there comes a point where it’s excessive. It is, in a sense, the exact opposite of what the sheeple do … those who choose not to prepared because they either believe that (1) nothing bad ever happens or (2) somebody will bail them out, such as the government, family, or neighbors.

If you’ve watched the video, then you get the idea. Yes, prepare, but don’t ignore all the other aspects of life that require your time, money, and attention because they’re every bit as important as adding to your food storage or gun collection.