How to avoid fear-mongering and scams so you can adequately prepare to survive

(Bugout.news) There are plenty of articles circling around the Internet that predict doom and gloom – but only to sell you something that may (or in many cases probably won’t) do you much good if or when disaster strikes.

And with so much information out there, admittedly it is difficult to determine what you really need – and what you can really do without – in order to make a successful bug-out (or bug-in) when the time comes.

Tom Miller at Personal Liberty has some great tips, and excellent advice, on how best to prepare, how to avoid getting scammed and how to detect when someone’s trying to scare you into a needless purchase.

In no particular order, he notes:

— The single greatest thing that anyone can do to avoid falling victim to the snake oil salesman is to look at everything objectively and take the time to really find out what someone is trying to sell you.

— Do some research and see what others are saying about the product.

— Find out if there are other similar products. Compare the costs and what people are saying about it.

— Is there a better option available that you can do yourself or that is better, stronger or faster?

— If at this point you determine that there is a product that is a good choice, make your purchase.

As far as preparing for that unforeseen disaster, Miller advises that attempting to “hoard” dozens of things is neither necessary nor practical. Over the long haul, he correctly notes, you will likely need more of everything anyway. So, with that in mind:

— Evaluate the threats that you are most likely to face and prioritize them from most likely to least likely.

— Identify the most likely threat and take the steps necessary to be prepared to overcome that threat. This will depend on your urban or suburban situation (Is there much gang activity in your city? What is the police presence? Any National Guard armories close by? Food stores? How about an escape plan – have you made one, and rehearsed it, yet? Have a “Plan B”?).

— Once the most likely threat is prepared for, move to the second most likely threat and prepare for it. Continue this process until you have the knowledge and resources in place to survive most of the likely threats you face.

When planning, don’t be frightened into buying more than you need or things that you definitely don’t need or don’t know how to use. For example, you might just need a handgun for personal protection, not a massive hunting rifle with an expensive scope. But the following items should be a priority:

— Food – and by food, mostly canned goods or prepackaged “survival” foods that are designed to have a long shelf life and can be easily packed for bugging out or stored on site. The number of mouths you will have to feed should guide your food preparations. Don’t worry about extravagance; we’re talking basic survival fare here.

— Water – the more, the better. Ideally, you should have at least a gallon per day, per person, stored, for at least a couple of weeks. Afterward, you should have a decent water filter on hand (take the time to research them online).

— Shelter – if you bug in, make sure you can sustain yourself for at least a couple of weeks. If you bug out, make sure you have a place to go to and know how to get there (because you will have practiced and rehearsed – right?). Sheltering in place may be your best bet depending on the time of year (weather – hot/cold, wet/dry, etc.).

— Community – it’s best early on to assemble a “community of like-minded friends” whom you can trust so that you don’t have to go through this alone. A group stands a better chance of surviving by sharing resources and talents and being able to ward off rivals.

— Survival kits – the disaster may not strike when you’re “ready” for it (and who will be?). So, make sure to have a survival kit with you at all times – in your car, at work, at your home.

— Hygiene/sanitation – HUGE factor that will greatly affect your health, well-being and morale. In a major incident – say, a cyber event of some sort that destroys infrastructure like water and waste treatment – you might not have good toilet and bath facilities after the first day. So adopting some system of waste disposal and hygiene will be important (sanitation wipes store easily and you can stockpile a great many of them).

“The key lesson that you should take away from this article is that there are people out there who really don’t care about whether you are prepared or not; they just want your money,” Miller wrote. “If you take a calculated approach to your preparedness and take action based solely on what you will most likely face, only then will you minimize the amount of time and money you waste while also becoming the most prepared that you can.”

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See also:

PersonalLiberty.com