Or Does It Depend On How You Prep?
According to the Commerce Department, the economy shrunk at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the first quarter, a shocking rate and unexpected to say the least. This is three times lower than what was predicted. This shows you that while the government is trying to tell you everything is coming up roses the facts do not match the rhetoric. Of course, those living it are not surprised. Life is rough, and for some it is the roughest life has ever been. It is time to make changes. The so-called rising tide that lifts all boats has receded.
Previous articles have talked about dependency, dependence on the government, and attachments to gadgets that make life easier. For those that grew up with black and white televisions with just two or three channels available, and where cable was a wire strung from the barn to the house, you may have an easier time adjusting when it goes dark.
For those raised in the electronic age life after electricity will be more difficult. Not impossible, just more difficult, because there will be so much that you miss. You think you cannot live without things, because up until this point you have not had to live without.
An article on a website has listed all the items that would be affected by an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). It is in the news and people are rightfully concerned. The website listed smart phones, GPS systems, CB radios, ham radios, and Walkie-Talkies (two-way radios). It also went on to mention all of your home appliances and vehicles, smart televisions, computers, tablets and so on.
The list was long as were the instructions to protect all of these devices. The listed devices, except for a few obvious ones, were relatively new technology, technology that many have managed to live quite well without, up until a few years ago.
The reason this is mentioned is, because if you had read the list and checked off the devices you have that would be rendered useless, due to an EMP then you may have then began to realize how much money you are spending on technology.
Is it worth it, especially given the fact it can all go away in an instant. Then what, if you believe you cannot live without it now, how do you suppose you would feel once it is gone. Maybe it is time to assess, not get dramatic and start smashing stuff, but look hard and ask do I really need this and can I really afford it.
The cost of living is high, cell phone bills can run into the hundreds every month and cable bills are in the hundreds, as well, for some families. The cost to provide convenience in our lives is on the rise. People want extra data for their smart phones because no one can live without streaming music on the way to work and for half the day while at work. Data usage is expensive, do you need it though.
If you stop and think about it, you may realize that you need to begin to learn how to live without so much technology, do without certain conveniences. You may have decided you cannot become a Prepper because it is too expensive. Is it too expensive however, because you think you need to replace your current technology with technology that would work during a crisis?
You do not need fancy gadgets to start a garden or to raise chickens and goats. You do not need a tablet to tell you when to go hunting or fishing. Streaming music is what you and others can manage to put together on Saturdays nights on the front porch.
You really cannot afford not to begin prepping and learning to live without technology because at some point it will fail. You cannot take it with you, once a major calamity strikes, it will be useless even if you have invested a small fortune in Faraday cages to protect it all.
The Economy is Shrinking
Many of the doomsday scenarios are simply effects of something else. An energy crisis can be caused by the collapse of the American or world economy. Electricity may become so expensive to produce, because of coal regulations, and natural gas prices, you may have in essence, no access to electricity even in the absence of a destructive EMP attack.
The average family may not be able to afford energy prices in the near future so does this mean you learn to live without it, or do you try to figure out ways to replace the technology, with technology such as solar, along with wind and water turbines. If so then maybe you are trying to avoid the inevitable. Technology regardless of its type can and will fail at some point.
This article is not making decisions for you or even making recommendations, it is simply pointing out a few things. You have to decide whether it makes sense to spend hundreds if not thousands on technology to replace technology, or does it make more sense to prepare to live without it. What can you afford to do right now is the question only you can answer.
You cannot replicate today’s life. Once the lights go out regardless of the cause, the effects will be devastating and life will be nowhere near the same as today. It will be rough, no more starting a load of laundry and then updating your social websites.
Much of your day will be spent in the pursuit of food and its preparation. You will not be able to switch on the “TV” to entertain the children. Life without lights will be much harder than some can imagine because they simply have nothing to compare it too right now, and so have no concept of the hardships it entails.
Some people may be under the illusion they can live just as well without electricity as with it. What is the first thing many talk about when going off grid or homesteading. They look for ways to produce electricity, they want to replicate life, and they want to live as they always did. This is not possible for the most part. You should instead look for ways to live without electricity and this means preparing yourself for it now.
Solar power is great if you can afford it and then afford to maintain it. Wind turbines are expensive and you might as well put an ad in the paper letting everyone know you have it together because something raised 120 feet in the air is a beacon for everyone to see.
Not many can realistically afford to install solar, wind and water energy as part of their preparations. Some want to prepare, so they do not have to live without electricity. It is comforting to plan for solar powered this and that, all the comforts of home, regardless of the world around you, but that may not be dealing with reality.
Start asking yourself questions and give yourself honest answers.