The Ten Essentials of Survival

When I was a boy scout, I remember one of the first things I had to learn were the ten essentials. I still have them memorized, in no particular order, they are: a pocket knife, a first aid kit, extra clothing, rain gear, a flashlight, a map and compass, water, food, sunscreen, and a fire starter. These ten essentials were something we needed to carry with us anytime we went camping, backpacking, or hiking.

When it comes to prepping, you need to have the same kind of thought process as to the ten essentials of survival. I did arrange these in a particular order, but many people choose to arrange them differently. The ten essentials of survival are:

1. Water
2. Food
3. Shelter (Including items to help you stay warm and dry)
4. Sanitation
5. First Aid
6. Communications
7. Power (Including flashlights)
8. Tools
9. Cooking items
10. Emergency Binder

1. Water

Water is the most important thing you need because your body can only survive three days without it. FEMA recommends 1 gallon per person per day. I would recommend storing at least 3 gallons per person per day if you have the room for it.Check out great water storage products here: http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/emergency-water-storage-containers/aquapod-kit.html

If you don't have the room or budget for water storage, make sure there is a water source nearby and you have a good water filter. I recommend the LifeStraw or the Royal Berkey. The LifeStraw is great if you need to get water on the go. The Berkey is great to filter water for cooking and drinking at home. You can find them here: http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/water-filtration.html


For more info, check out my blog post about water filtration.

2. Food

Food is the second most important thing for survival. Your body can only survive three weeks without it. Stock up on canned goods as well as dry foods such as rice and flour. Unfortunately these foods only have a year or two long self life, so you will want to stock up on freeze dried foods as well. Freeze dried foods have extremely long shelf lives, up to 30 years. They are also delicious and easy to make. Having a supply of freeze dried food is the best way to make sure you are prepared for an emergency today or anytime in the future. Check out the variety of options you have to choose from here: http://www.prepandsave.com/survival-food/mountain-house/mountain-house-pouches.html and http://www.prepandsave.com/survival-food/augason-farms.html

3. Shelter

Shelter is the third absolute essential you need to survive. It's hard to think about in the middle of summer, but surviving in the winter is very hard without a place of warmth and protection from the elements. I recommend not leaving your home if you don't have to. If you do, you will want to make sure you have a good tent to keep you protected from the elements and wild creature.

However, even if you stay at your home, there are a couple of things you will want to make sure you have. Get a good sleeping bag that will keep you warm even if the power (and thus heating) is off. I recommend this one- http://www.prepandsave.com/emergency-gear/camping-and-tools/camping/prospector-sleeping-bag-5-lbs.html. Just make sure it's warm enough for the coldest temperatures your area experiences. If you get a 35°F rated sleeping bag and it gets to 15°F at night in the winter in your area, you'll probably be pretty cold. However, if you get a -15°F sleeping bag and it only gets to 40°F at night where you live, you'll be way too hot. I also recommend getting an emergency blanket. These are made out of Mylar and reflect 90% of your body heat. Check out one here- http://www.prepandsave.com/emergency-gear/camping-and-tools/camping/emergency-survival-solar-blanket.html

Also, make sure you have a good fire starter. This will help you start a campfire to stay warm. This can be a lighter, matches, or a flint, or all three. Lighters run out of fluid, you can only carry so many matches, and flints take practice to use effectively. Check out this fire starting kit- http://www.prepandsave.com/prep-and-save-fire-starter-kit.html

4. Sanitation

After shelter, the order of the ten essentials is debatable. I personally put sanitation right up there as the next most important element to survival. If you are going to be surviving without power and water, you're going to need to have a portable toilet, lots and lots of toilet paper, and a portable shower or way to clean off. Maintaining proper sanitation is imperative to staying healthy, staying clean and comfortable. Check out great sanitation products here- http://www.prepandsave.com/school-emergency-supplies/emergency-sanitation.html



5. First Aid

In an emergency, the hospitals will be overflowing and potentially shut down. You will be the only source of first aid you have. Make sure you have a good first aid kit that has all the bandages, wraps, and items you will need to treat yourself and others for cuts, scrapes, and sprains. A first aid kit with all of these things is imperative. I recommend getting this kit that covers most all first aid concerns- http://www.prepandsave.com/nurses-response-bag.html

6. Communications

Staying in contact with your family and the outside world will help you be safe and know when everything is back to normal again after a disaster. I recommend getting a good portable radio that you can take with you wherever you go. This will keep you informed on what's going on in the world around you if you're far away. This is a good option- http://www.prepandsave.com/cc-solar-observer-am-fm-weather-solar-emergency-radio.html



You should also have some way to contact your family. Most everyone has cell phones today, but the lines might be down during an emergency. I recommend getting a pair of walkie-talkies with a wide range to help stay in contact if you get separated. These are great for that purpose- http://www.prepandsave.com/midland-36-mile-walkie-talkie.html

7. Power (Including flashlights)

Today we rely on electricity for nearly everything. If you're reading this, it's probably on a computer. You've probably already used your phone, your fridge, your microwave, your coffee maker, and your car already today, among other items that require power to work. What would you do if there was no power? All of those items except your phone and car wouldn't work anymore. What if even your phone and car died? This could happen if an EMP pulse went off. Could you survive without power? If you can afford a generator, you won't have to worry so much about this. I recommend having a backup source of power to charge your smaller devices. This is a great solar powered option- http://www.prepandsave.com/sunjack-complete-package.html

Flashlights are also vital tools to have during an emergency. If the power is out but you still have to move at night, you need to see where you're going so you don't walk into something or someone.

8.  Tools

It's not a law that everyone has their own toolbox, but it should be. Don't get me wrong, you don't need one of the decked out toolboxes that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But everyone should have the same basic tools. This includes a hammer, a Phillips head screwdriver, a flathead screwdriver, needle nose pliers, a multi tool, and a good pocket knife. You can definitely add more tools to your kit, but at least make sure you have those. You can pick up the hammer, screwdrivers, and pliers at any home repair store. This is a good option for a multi tool- http://www.prepandsave.com/14-in-1-pocket-tool.html

When it comes to knives, anyone will tell you that a fixed blade is better than a pocket knife. They're bigger, stronger, and more useful. However, they don't fit in your pocket, they're heavy, and sometimes illegal to carry around with you. I recommend the Boker Magnum USN Seals knife. I have used this one for many years and it has worked great. It's got a 440 steel blade, a seat belt cutter, a window breaker, and has indentations for your fingers to grip it comfortably. Check it out here- http://www.prepandsave.com/magnum-knife.html

9. Cooking Items

This kind of goes hand in hand with food, but it needs to be listed as well. You should have a mess kit, a portable set of plates, bowls, cups, and utensils for every member of your family. You should also have a portable cook set of pots/pans. These are great for cooking single serving meals or for boiling water for freeze dried food. The last thing you will need is a portable stove. I recommend this one- http://www.prepandsave.com/portable-camping-stove.html


10. Emergency Binder

Half the battle of getting prepared is taking stock of what you already have and knowing what you need to get. This is where an emergency binder comes in handy. You can make lists in there. You can also put important information like insurance info, birth certificates, and family information in there. They're designed to grab and go in an emergency so you know that you have all the information with you that you'll need during an emergency.



So there you have it, the ten essentials of survival. After getting all of them, you will be prepared for any emergency situation.

Practice makes perfect

It's an old adage that can be applied to thousands of situations. I remember my mom always telling me to practice the violin between lessons because "practice makes perfect." It's the reason why sports teams practice and workout every day between games. It's what separates the best from the average- the amount of practice.

So why do preppers not practice for an emergency?

You can have all the right gear. You can have the knowledge of how to use it and how to survive in the back of your mind. But when the time comes when you actually need to use it, how are you going to do it if you haven't practiced?

Know where your control panel is and
how to use it.
Image courtesy of
www.homestoriesatoz.com

What do I mean by practice for an emergency? Good question.

Make a plan, gather your supplies, then go out and use them.

Last year my family tried to go without power for a weekend. We shut off the electricity to our house, turned our phones off, and did not use the toilets. We set up a privacy shelter with a portable toilet in the backyard. We hung up a portable shower and used that to rinse off. We made Mountain House freeze dried meals for lunch and dinner. We played games by candle light instead of watching TV. It felt alien to not use all the things that we do on a daily basis.

But it was good practice.

Try it for a weekend. Turn off your power, put away your phone, break out the candles and the card games. See how long you can last without appliances you take for granted day to day- including the toilet, refrigerator, and TV.

More than all that though, make sure you practice using your gear.

A lot of freeze dried food is suprisingly good, find what you
like and don't like.
Photo courtesy of www.shtfplan.com

Cook your freeze dried food to find out which recipes you do and don't like. This will also help you cycle through them. Try getting water out of your 55 gallon barrel. It's harder than it looks, and it might taste like plastic. This is why I recommend having a Royal Berkey filtration system in your home. Check it out here- http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/water-filtration/berkey-3-25-gallon-water-filtration-system.html

This is also important- use your water filters. Whether you have the Royal Berkey, the LifeStraw, the Sawyer, or some other filter- it is essential that you know how to use it. The Royal Berkey is a simple gravity fed system- practice using it so you will know how long it takes to clean water. The LifeStraw will filter almost any water- but you have to suck in really hard to get water out. The Sawyer is a squeeze filtration system, but it is imperative that you pre-filter the water to get the maximum life  out of your Sawyer. Practice pre-filtering with all your water, it will catch a lot of stuff and extend the life of every filter. Use a T-shirt or a coffee filter to do this.

Figure out how to set up and use your 55 gallon barrel.
Photo courtesy of www.sajewilliams.com

You should also practice using your tent, sleeping bag, paracord, knives, hatchets, camping stoves, and various other camping tools. How long has it been since you've been camping? How quickly could you set up a tent if you needed to? Could you do it by yourself? Is your sleeping bag warm enough? How many cans of propane can you carry? Do you really need that many knives? Do you have the right kind of knife? These are all questions you will ask yourself and answer when you practice using your gear. Make sure all your gear can fit inside your bug out bag and that you can carry it comfortably for several miles.

Knowing how to perform CPR is literally a lifesaver.
Photo courtesy of  www.miramarsailing.com

Do you have a first aid kit? Do you know how to use anything inside it besides the bandages and hydrogen peroxide? It's harder to practice first aid because most people don't get physically injured that often. If you do get hurt badly, make sure to go to the doctor. But if it's just a minor cut or scrape- practice using your first aid kit. Look up videos of how to use a splint or an ACE wrap. Take classes on how to perform CPR and other basic first aid. If you don't have a first aid kit at all, this has everything you will need and more for an emergency- http://www.prepandsave.com/nurses-response-bag.html

Make a checklist of what you have and what you know how to use.
Photo courtesy of www.business2community.com

Write down all the gear you have, then put a check mark next to the items you know how to use. If you don't know how to use it, learn how, by looking it up online or going to your local survival store and asking the product experts there.

One of the most important things is physical fitness. Make sure you are healthy and your body is ready to walk several miles a day with a heavy backpack.

Practice all of these things so that when the real emergency comes, you'll be prepared.


Check out all the products mentioned in this article and more at www.prepandsave.com

Top 5 Water Filters

          1.  LifeStraw- $19.95

The LifeStraw is the best personal water filter there around. It filters up to 264 gallons of water, removing 99.9999% of all the bacteria and impurities out of it. It is compact and lightweight, at nine inches long and two ounces, meaning you can take it with you wherever you go. You can simply pop off the cover, stick it into a questionable water source, and drink.

Available at http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/water-filtration/lifestraw.html

What makes it #1?

            What makes the LifeStraw truly special is that it is the only filter on the market that will plug up when it stops working. This means that it will not let you drink unsafe water. When you’ve gone through the 264 gallons, you don’t have to worry about drinking bad water. No other filter does this.

              2.  Sawyer- $29.95

100,000 gallons. That’s how much water each Sawyer can filter if properly cleaned, depending on the condition of the water. If you are constantly filtering extremely dirty water through it, it won’t filter as much. The Sawyer is also nice because it comes with a water pouch to carry around water in. You can attach the filter to the pouch and simply squeeze it to get clean water out. This makes it easy to drink clean water on the go and to filter lots of water for cooking or cleaning.

Available at http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/water-filtration/berkey-3-25-gallon-water-filtration-system.html

            What makes it #2?

                        The Sawyer definitely provides the most bang for your buck, in terms of gallons of water filtered versus the cost. It has the potential to provide you with clean water for a lifetime. However, it may, at some point, allow you to drink unsafe water, unlike the LifeStraw. What is peace of mind worth to you.

              3. Royal Berkey- $299.95

The Royal Berkey is an extremely powerful water filter that every family should have at home. It filters 6,000 gallons of water through a gravity fed system. The filters remove dozens of chemicals and elements that could harm you, as well as bacteria and waterborne diseases. It even improves the taste of water. For people who know they live in an area with arsenic or fluoride in their water, filters to remove these are sold separately, but still fit inside the Royal Berkey system.

            What makes it #3?

The Royal Berkey is the best filter we have to clean water for your home- for cooking, cleaning, and drinking. However, it is not portable, and is also the most expensive filter on this list by far.

4. Katydyn Hiker- $74.95

Unlike the Royal Berkey, the Katydyn Hiker is very portable. It’s designed to pit comfortably in a backpack while hiking or backpacking. You put one end in a questionable water source, and the other end in a water bottle or other container, and pump the filter. It will fill your container within minutes. The Katydyn Hiker is perfect for filling Camelbaks or other containers while on the go.

Available at http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/water-filtration/katadyn-hiker-microfilter.html

            What makes it #4?

The Katydyn Hiker is perfect for filtering drinking water while on the go. It’s easy to use and very portable. However, it only filters 250 gallons, the least bang for your buck out of all the filters on this list.

5.  LifeStraw Go- $34.95

The LifeStraw Go uses the same filter as the LifeStraw, inside a high quality water bottle. You still get all the same benefits of the LifeStraw- 264 gallons of clean water, removing 99.9999% of bacteria, and not letting you drink unsafe water. It’s the exact same filter, but unlike the LifeStraw, it allows you to take water with you as you go. The original LifeStraw requires you to have a water source to drink from. This allows you to drink clean water as you travel.

Available at http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/water-filtration/lifestraw-go.html

What makes it #5?

The LifeStraw Go has all the positives of the LifeStraw, and allows you to drink on the move. It has a high quality BPA free plastic water bottle. The only reason it’s this low- is the bottle worth an extra $15 to you?

Just another Tuesday

It was just another Tuesday morning for Paul and Crissy Smith (not their real last name). Paul headed to work at 8:45 a.m at Prep And Save. Crissy had already been at her office next-door for an hour. Paul worked on building emergency kits in the warehouse before talking with some customers. Crissy answered phone calls and helped customers get their orders correct. Both were just going about their days when they received a phone call telling them that their house was on fire. 

            “It was 11:35 a.m. on November 19, 2014,” Paul recalls. “When I got the call I just wondered how bad the devastation was going to be. I didn’t know how much of a loss we had suffered. I thought we were going to be homeless for a while.”

A house fire changed their lives.
Photo courtesy of  nvdaily.com

            Paul and Crissy ran and jumped into their Jeep. He floored the gas pedal, racing down McCarran Boulevard towards his home. Dozens of thoughts were flooding through his mind. How did this happen? Were his kids okay? How bad was the damage to the house going to be?

One thought that did not rush through his mind was: why did this happen to me today? That thought did not rush through his mind because he, unlike most other people, was prepared. One thing Paul always tried to do, as a prepper, was to expect the unexpected and be prepared for anything. He wasn’t worried about why it happened, because he knew he was prepared for it.

When he got to his house, the firemen were putting out the last of the flames. Luckily, a fire truck and team of firemen had been practicing drills at Reed High School, just a mile down the road earlier that morning. A student pointed out the smoke that was coming from the house fire and the firemen were there within minutes. They began dousing the home with water and the damage was far less than it could have been if they were not so close.

“The outside didn’t look that bad at first glance, but the inside was totally destroyed,” Paul said.

The damage ended up being severe as the back of the house burned up, as did the attic, and much of the interior. It was obvious that immense repairs were needed. Paul felt his heart sink in his chest. Even though he was prepared, he knew it was going to be a long uphill battle until everything returned back to normal for him and his family. Crissy had a different view.

“Does this mean we get a new refrigerator?” she asked. “And a new paint job for the house too?”

Paul just laughed and laughed about what she had said. Crissy decided to not let her house burning down get her down. She knew that they had fire insurance just for this purpose. The insurance would cover most if not all of the damage to the house and their possessions inside it. However, Paul was not on the same page.

“I didn’t know we had fire insurance. It was my wife’s house and she paid the insurance bill,” Paul said. “So I was planning on running into the garage to grab my tent and my prepping supplies so we would have somewhere to stay that night.”

The Smith’s weren’t allowed back into their house until 7:30 p.m. that night. An insurance agent joined them. By then it was dark and cold and they only had a few minutes to grab some clothes. The insurance agent took the clothes to get them treated by a special process which would remove the smoky smell. Then the agent took them to a nearby hotel where they would stay for the next two weeks.

The next morning, both Paul and Crissy took off of work. They went back to the house with the agent and he assessed the damages. They grabbed the rest of their clothes and many possessions to get treated to get rid of the smoke damage. Paul and Crissy walked into their bedroom and sat down. They exchanged some words and both started laughing.

“The insurance agent asked us why we were laughing, why we weren’t sad about all the damage,” Paul said. “We told him that no one was hurt, that we were Christians, and that we knew it was all going to be okay. I was still laughing about Crissy’s comment on the new fridge.”

There was also a man checking to see if the house had asbestos anywhere. If so the process would have taken months longer to rebuild everything. This man was a Christian too.

“He came over and said that he was glad we were Christians and asked if he could pray with us,” Paul said. “So we all sat down, even the insurance agent who wasn’t a Christian, and we prayed. We said thank you lord that no one was hurt, and asked for his help.”

Paul stayed calm and collected during the whole process. His family was uninjured. Even his pet chickens were fine, although one got a little singed. They were actually the cause of the fire. One of the chickens had knocked over the heating element which was in the coup. This lit the coup on fire, which in turn caught the house on fire. Paul decided his chickens would no longer get a heating element in their next coup.

“All in all, it cost about $225,000 to rebuild the house,” Paul said as he began listing off all the repairs that had to be done. “The roof had to be taken off and completely replaced. The house had to be completely repainted with a special paint because of smoke damage. The carpet, the Sheetrock, and even the lawn all had to be torn out and replaced.”

 The Smith’s insurance company paid for them to stay in a rental condo for eight months while their house was being rebuilt. They paid for many of Paul’s prized possessions, including his television set and his emergency food supply. Unfortunately, the fire destroyed all of his prepping food, so he had to start rebuilding his supply from scratch.

He was not deterred by this. In fact, if anything, this reinforced his belief in emergency preparedness more than anything else. It was just another Tuesday, a week to go before Thanksgiving, nothing special. Paul was at work like normal. He didn’t start the fire, it wasn’t arson — it was an accident by a pet chicken that caused the fire.

“My advice to people is to love your family,” Paul said. “Make sure you have insurance. Take pictures of what you own in case you need to replace it one day. Have a hard copy of all your important documents. I should have had a binder with all the info I needed in it. I tell everyone to make that binder now.”

Accidents can happen at any given time. They don’t come with a warning. One day you’re living life like normal and then you get a call that your house is on fire. Or there was a tornado that ravaged the whole town, including your house. Or there was a flash-flood that did irrevocable damage to your home and cars. Or any of a number of other accidents that could happen to you and your family.

These kinds of accidents can destroy your normal life and tear apart your family financially, unless you are prepared. This means having insurance which will cover the damage to your home and pay for a place for your family to stay. It also means having a plan of what to do if an accident happens or a disaster strikes.

Paul was prepared and his family made it through just fine after the fire. They were displaced from their home for eight months, but everything turned out alright because they were prepared and had a plan. What if something happened to you and your family, would you be prepared?
To get prepared, go to prepandsave.com today!

What should you take with you if you need to get out of dodge?

Photo courtesy of theprepperjournal.com

Get out of dodge is an expression from western movies that referred to heroes telling villains to “get the hell out of dodge.” Dodge City was a popular town for westerns in Kansas. Today the expression means to take off from your home as quickly as possible. It’s mainly used when speaking about emergency situations when you need to leave quickly before a disaster strikes. 

If there is a raging wildfire or a flood coming your way, you need to get yourself and your family out of danger’s way. But you can’t just drive away leaving your home and all your prized possessions behind. There are many things you should bring with you and ideally could bring with you, but there’s only so much time and space in your vehicle. Here is a list of what you should have (most of which is available at www.prepandsave.com):

1.      Passports, Birth Certificates, Social Security Cards

These things are all vital to your identity. They are necessary for getting a job, for applying for some loans, and for international travel. You can reapply for them, but it takes a long time to get new ones and can be fairly expensive. Having your passport, birth certificate, and social security card in a binder ready to go in case of an emergency is extremely helpful so you’re not scampering around trying to find them and wasting valuable time. 

Make sure to have all your important documents protected but
easily accessible.
Photo courtesy of  us-passport-service-guide.com

2.      Insurance Information & Other Personal Information Paperwork

These should also be in the same binder, ready to go at a moment’s notice. This includes your auto insurance info, your health insurance card, and other personal information, such as passwords and things that you’re very likely to forget between uses. Keep the binder in a safe so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. If you forget usernames and passwords, you may be out of luck when it comes to insurance claims.

3.      Water

This seems obvious, but you’ll need to bring water along to drink. Maybe you’re just heading to a relative’s house an hour away from your home, in which case you’ll be fine. But it might be a situation where you have to survive in the wild for a few weeks. What will you drink then? You should bring some bottled water to drink, and have a filter to drink water you find in the wild. Check out this great water package- http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/waterbrick-83/30-day-water-storage-package.html

4.      Food

This goes along the same lines as water. In some emergencies, restaurants and grocery stores will stay open, so you can get food there. In other situations though, they’ll be closed, and you’ll need to find food on your own. You should stock up and bring dried and canned foods, freeze dried foods, and weapons/traps to catch food out in the wild. Get a month's worth of food for $200 ($6.67 a day) at- http://www.prepandsave.com/survival-food/food-packages/30-day-food-storage-emergency-all-in-one-pail.html

5.      Jumper Cables & Auto Equipment

Jumper cables are a must have in your car.
Photo courtesy of  awesomejelly.com

If you drive all night and need to pull over to rest, but have to leave the car on to stay warm, your battery could very easily die. You should have jumper cables with you to restart your battery and your car. You should also have a spare tire, and other auto equipment to keep your vehicle running smoothly along the way. Get this great auto emergency kit- http://www.prepandsave.com/emergency-gear/car-emergencies/roadside-emergency-kit-29-piece.html

6.      Get Out Of Dodge (GOOD) Bag

Ideally, you should have a backpack that has all the things you will need to survive in the wild. This includes: a sleeping bag, a tent, blankets, ways to start a fire, a compass, paracord, a knife, a small cooking set, utensils and eating containers, duct tape, and playing cards among other things. You can customize your GOOD bag in whichever ways you choose, just make sure it hits these three components: 1. You are able to walk several miles with it on your back. 2. It has fire starters. 3. It has items to keep you warm and dry. Check out this GOOD Bag- http://www.prepandsave.com/emergency-gear/pre-packaged-kits/bug-out-bags/complete-home-bug-out-bag.html

7.      Tools

Get a small tool kit that doesn’t weigh a ton. Make sure you have the basics: including a hammer, flathead screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, nails, screws, wire strippers, scissors, and a pair of needle nose pliers.

8.      First Aid Supplies

You should have a small first aid kit with you to handle small cuts, scrapes, and sprains. In an emergency, hospitals might be shut down and you will be the only source of medical attention available. I recommend this heavy duty first aid kit- http://www.prepandsave.com/emergency-gear/pre-packaged-kits/bug-out-bags/nurses-response-bag.html

9.      Toilet Paper

You can never have too much toilet paper.
Photo courtesy of  The Blaze

As much as you can bring with you. This should be self-explanatory.

10.  Laptop/iPad/Other Technology

Laptops and iPads are valuable and can keep you entertained and informed while you’re away from home.

11.  Pet Supplies (Optional)

If you have a dog or cat, of course bring them with you. However, don’t forget to bring their food and a couple toys to keep them entertained.

Think of prepping as insurance

We have insurance for all areas of our life.
Photo courtesy of  aiche.org

            I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with insurance. I hated it because I had to pay around $150 a month on insurance, which was double the amount as I spent on gas monthly. I hated it because I never really needed to use it. I got in a couple fender benders, but nothing too serious. One of the fender benders caused me to have to get a new bumper, and the total cost for parts and labor was just a couple hundred dollars over my $1,000 deductible. So I paid for it out of pocket. What good is insurance if you can’t even use it? 

            Insurance isn’t all bad though. It’s required if you own a vehicle. It’s a must have if you own a house. It’s a necessity to have health insurance so you can go to the hospital if needed. There are several other types of insurance that are less necessary but still highly recommended to have, such as dental or life insurance. We need these to fall back on if an accident happens. If somebody crashes into our car and the damage climbs north of $5,000; if your house is damaged severely in a flashflood; if you break your arm and need to go to the emergency room — all these situations need insurance.

            One type of insurance that isn’t talked about nearly often enough is emergency preparedness insurance. Have you ever heard of it? Neither have I. It’s not officially a thing, but it should be. Think about it, if you crash your car, you call AAA. If your house is damaged by a flood, you call your insurance agent. If you break your arm, you go to the hospital, with your insurance card in hand. What if a disaster strikes? 

            What if the U.S. is hit by a biological weapon that spreads a deadly contagious disease? What if you’re city is threatened by a nuclear attack? What if there is another financial collapse that makes the 2007 collapse seem tiny?

Photo courtesy of startprepping.org

            All of these situations are potential disasters that could strike at any time. They might happen tomorrow or in 20 years, or not at all. The only way to make it through if they happen is to be prepared. Stocking up on emergency food and supplies is a kind of insurance. If you have to leave your home and survive in the wild for a few weeks, you’re going to need water, food, and the proper equipment. You won’t be able to go to the store and get these during an emergency. You’ll need to be prepared beforehand.

            If a financial collapse happens and you lose your job, you’ll be stuck at home and out of luck for a while. It might be a few weeks before you find a new job, or maybe even a few months. In any case, you need to be prepared to live off of what you have. If you stock up on emergency food, you’ll be fine until you get your next job and paycheck.

            One of the things I hate about insurance is that something really bad has to happen for you to use it. You have to crash your car to get your money’s worth after paying for years of car insurance — and if you do, your rates skyrocket up. If you’re a perfect driver and never get in an accident in 50 years of driving, you still have to pay for insurance. You’ll have a much lower monthly rate than a bad driver, but you’ll never get the tens of thousands of dollars you’ve spent on insurance over the years back. It’s the same with health insurance, the same with home insurance, and dental insurance.

Food insurance is something that you can use anytime.
Photo courtesy of preppingissexy.com

            With emergency preparedness insurance, you can use it any time, you don’t have to wait for a disaster to strike. If you have dozens of pouches of freeze dried beef stroganoff stored up in case of an emergency, you can simply take them down and eat them anytime. Grab a couple pouches when you go camping and enjoy the food out in nature. Grab a pouch when you’re feeling too tired to cook dinner. All it takes is hot water and you’ve got a delicious meal. Then replace them later to make sure you have enough for an emergency.

            You can use your emergency water storage to drink regularly, or to water your plants. You can use your emergency supplies when you go camping. The point is, you don’t have to wait for a disaster to strike. You can use your emergency food, water, and gear anytime. They’re physical things you actually have in your possession.

            Get your emergency food insurance at www.prepandsave.com

The Big One

            It sounds ominous to anyone without them even having to know what it refers to. That said, it’s important to know what it does refer to, an earthquake. But not just any earthquake, a big earthquake, a really big earthquake. One that is so colossally frightening, it is universally known by those three words- the big one. 

The damage that the big one could cause.
Photo courtesy of The New Yorker

            The big one is an earthquake that is likely to occur sometime in the next 50 or so years. It will likely have a magnitude of 8.0-8.6 on the Richter scale. It will be the result of two tectonic plates colliding, and one shifting beneath the other. One of these is the North American plate, the plate that holds most of the US, Canada, and Mexico. It is a massive plate. It’s colliding with the Juan de Fuca plate, which is a fraction of the size of the North American plate. According to an article by Kathryn Schulz in the New Yorker, the chances of the big one happening in the next 50 years are one in three.

            No, it’s not guaranteed to happen. But the likelihood of it happening is great. It’s overdue by centuries. And it’s not the only earthquake Californians should worry about.

            In 1906, a massive earthquake struck Northern California. It had a magnitude of 7.8 and destroyed most of San Francisco, killing over 3,000 people. This quake, along with several others in the recent history of California, have led to the intense studying of California’s geology and seismology.

            It just so happens that the most famous fault in the world is in California. It’s so famous that there was a movie made about it starring “The Rock.” In fact, if you asked a random American, from any part of the country, they could probably only name one fault- the San Andreas Fault. 

Part of the San Andreas Fault. Photo courtesy of  esurance blog

            The San Andreas Fault is not the biggest or most active fault in the world, but it is above ground in the most populated state, which has led it to be the most researched. One of the most recent studies by Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF), and published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), showed the likelihood of earthquakes in California. This study projected earthquakes that would happen in the next 30 years. It found that there is greater than a 99% probability that California will experience a 6.7 magnitude earthquake over the next 30 years.

            99%

            Let that sink in for a moment. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake is all but guaranteed to happen over the next three decades in California. No, that’s not nearly as big as the big one. It’s not even as big as the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. But it’s still a big quake.

            For perspective, the 1994 Northridge earthquake had a magnitude of 6.7. It caused well over $13 billion in damages, including the collapse of parts of the Santa Monica Freeway. The Northridge earthquake killed over 60 people and injured 9,000. That earthquake is guaranteed to happen again in the next 30 years, somewhere in California.

The Santa Monica freeway after the Northridge quake.
Photo courtesy of  The Atlantic

            The same study found that there is a 94% chance that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake will happen in the same time span. It found that there is about a one in two chance, 46% probability that a 7.5 magnitude quake will happen. There is a 4% chance that an 8.0 or greater earthquake will happen. On average, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake happens in California every five years. A 7.5 magnitude earthquake happens on average every 48 years.

            The scariest thing is that it could happen anywhere in California. The study by USGS found that there is a 97% chance of a 6.7 quake happening in Southern California and a 93% chance of another 6.7 quake happening in Northern California.

            The San Andreas Fault runs along LA’s three main power and utility routes, including the I-5, the I-10, and the I-15. A quake along any of these points could disrupt traffic and life in LA and Southern California for weeks or months.

            The big one, or another quake along the San Andreas Fault could occur at any time. Statistically, they are likely to happen in the next 30 to 50 years. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake, like the 1994 Northridge quake is all but guaranteed to happen somewhere in California, possibly in both Southern and Northern California.

The big one could strike Northern California or Southern, or both.
Photo courtesy of  AMTV Channel on YouTube

            All this doesn’t point to moving out of California. Nor does it mean that your home will be destroyed or necessarily even affected. It just goes to show that you should get prepared. Make sure your house is prepared for an earthquake by getting it inspected. Strap down heavy objects such as dressers, bookcases, and televisions to make sure they don’t fall over causing serious injury. Stock up on emergency water, food, and medical supplies as these will be scarce during an emergency.

            A big earthquake will most likely strike California in the coming years, and the best way to survive it is to be prepared. The quake may strike 30 days from now or 30 year from now. The best way to make sure you’re ready is to start preparing now. Emergency food has a 30 year shelf life, so it will still be good if the earthquake happens in 30 years. Invest now to protect your future. 
            Get prepared for the big one at www.prepandsave.com