Making the decision to start prepping is a time of excitement and anxiety in equal measure. For many new preppers, making plans, checklists, and shopping lists is fun. At the same time, growing more aware of very real vulnerabilities and security shortcomings can be upsetting.
This mixture of feelings is enough to make newbies feel pretty frantic in their preparation. This, naturally, leads to mistakes which will be easily avoided with a clear head and a little wisdom. If you can provide the former, I’ll provide the latter with this list of some serious prepping mistakes that newbies often make when they first start out.
Getting started is always the most important thing, but if you can avoid these common pitfalls, you’ll be even farther ahead on your prepping journey in just 30 days. Let’s get a move on.
Failing to Plan
The first and, to some, most obvious mistake is a big one. You know the old saying: If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Prepping properly is not just grabbing gear and supplies willy-nilly and making some vague preparations about how to respond when things go wrong.
Practicing the most important skills, gathering supplies in a logical progression, and obtaining vital gear that will solve your most likely survival problems.
Going All in On Gear, Not Skills
Far and away, the most common mistake I see new preppers make is going all in on gear, equipment, and other stuff that you can buy while simultaneously neglecting the development of critical, lifesaving skills.
It’s understandable: retail therapy gives you a big burst of dopamine, and it’s lots of fun comparing all the different things you need.
But gear is only half of the equation, and a bunch of the time, it won’t do any good without the right skills. First aid, land navigation, leadership, and a whole lot more. That list could go on forever!
Not Rehearsing
Pop quiz. You’ve got 3 minutes, that’s 180 seconds, to grab your family, your pet, and everything you need to survive and sustain the lot of you for the next 3 days.
For every minute after 3 it takes you to accomplish this task, your chances of death double. What are you grabbing, where is it, and can you get it done in time?
Smart preppers will rehearse immediate action drills so they can evacuate or take the necessary actions when disaster strikes. If you’ve been neglecting this, correct the deficiency at once.
Cheaping Out on Critical Items
Despite what some review sites and internet personalities will tell you, you don’t need the very best of everything to be a good prepper. So much of the time, gear that is good enough is indeed good enough, and saving money on certain items so you have more money to provide for critical capability in other areas is a good strategy.
But there are some things you should never, ever cheap out on: tires, first-aid kits, ammo, and sleeping bags are just a few. If something is truly critical to success, buy quality.
Storing Gear and Supplies in a Bad Spot
One problem you’ll immediately run into as a new prepper is coming up with enough storage space for all of your recent acquisitions, like food, water, and gear. I know too many folks that simply make room in the garage or in an outbuilding or attic for the purpose.
This, sometimes, can be a big mistake because your stored stuff is vulnerable to degradation from environmental extremes of temperature and moisture. Try to protect your supplies from this eventuality, wherever you stash them.
Stashing Water – But Not Water Purification Tech!
Speaking of storing water, every prepper, every single one of us, should have at least a 3-day supply of drinking water on hand. I reckon that most of us already know that. But many newbies forget to also obtain water purification technologies.
Water filters and sterilizing tablets or liquid. When your water runs out, you’ll have to turn to other sources, and that means you’ll need to make it safe before you drink it!
Pushing Family Members Too Hard
Some newbies make this lifestyle change and begin the journey as a family unit, but I will bet that many more do not. Some of us are fortunate to have family members that are enthusiastic or at least ambivalent, but others are more resistant to the notion for whatever reason.
I’ll skip the lengthy diatribe and say this: if your family isn’t totally on board with the idea or just lacks your level of enthusiasm, go gently. If you come on too strong, you might put them off of the idea forever.
Spending Money on Niche Preps
One of the kind of funny, kind of sad things about prepping is that you’ll learn about all sorts of scary nightmare scenarios that you’d never before dreamed of. Things like industrial chemical spills, biological and chemical weapon attacks, and so forth.
You know what would come in really handy during those situations? Special protective suits and gas masks! Very cool, but also something you are very, very unlikely to need. Don’t buy these niche items to handle every eventuality until you’ve got the basic bases covered.
Omitting Special Meds and Other Items
Another simple mistake, but one that is easy to make. Stop and think, right now: what special supplies do you or family members need to go on living or just to make life easier? Prescription medications or eyewear? Actual life support equipment like oxygen or dialysis? Anything else?
If they need it, or if you do, you’d better have it on hand or have a plan for gaining access to it. Some things can be a minor inconvenience during a short-term situation, but a life-threatening crisis during a long-term situation. Plan accordingly.
Prepping “Backwards”
Remember Doomsday Preppers? Remember the sometimes insane, sometimes plausible apocalyptic situations the preppers on there would prep for? Whether you agree or disagree, and whether you like the show or not, you don’t want to be like those people.
Prepping for doomsday is what I call prepping backwards. It’s missing the forest for the trees. You should prep for the most likely and most common occurrences first because they can hurt or kill you all the same, and they rate far higher on the risk matrix compared to actual Armageddon.
Buying Only One Kind of Food for Your Stash
Don’t be like me when I first got started. I bought beans, rice, and nothing else for my survival food stash. It’s tempting from a logistical and cost-effectiveness standpoint, but you’ll need more varied foods both for good nutrition and to beat menu fatigue, which can be a very real mental drain for some folks.
Assuming You’ll Always Bug In
If you can, generally it’s a good idea to batten down the hatches and shelter in place when disaster strikes.
Having the home field advantage and a well-stocked supply room is always an asset. But you can’t assume you’ll always be able to. Your home might be destroyed by the event, or you might be forced to evacuate for some other reason.
No matter how unlikely, you must have a plan to bug out.
Assuming You’ll Always Bug Out
Conversely, some preppers lead with bugging out when trouble draws near. Get out, get away, and wait for the dust to settle. It can be a good plan and maybe even the best one. But for the same reasons we just talked about, you cannot assume this will always be the correct response or even be possible.
Make sure you are ready to shelter in place when and as the situation dictates.
Not Assembling a Get-Home Bag
A get-home bag is kind of the opposite to a BOB. A much smaller bag that emphasizes speed and mobility and contains only the things you need to make it back home should you be out and about or otherwise away when trouble strikes. These are typically kept in your vehicle or sometimes at your workplace until needed.
This is another crucial piece of gear, but one that many students of self-preservation omit.
Neglecting Sanitation Concerns, Even Short Term
I will keep this succinct. Yes, you should stockpile gear, food, water, and tools, but you cannot, must not, forget about sanitation concerns. That means TP, baby wipes, and camping toilets or 5-gallon buckets with lids and heavy-duty contractor bags. Skip these items, and you will regret it, I promise.
Planning to Go It Alone
One of the most seductive thoughts for students of self-preservation, especially single men, is to just be a lone wolf. It has a mystique and, I must admit, a certain appeal about it, but disabuse yourself of the notion right now.
You are extremely vulnerable in any kind of survival situation when you are alone. Make friends with your neighbors, stay connected with family, or join a mutual assistance group to improve survivability.
Upsetting Your Finances to Do More Prepping
No matter how worried you are about the future, don’t fall into the trap of overextending your finances in order to prep, whatever form that looks like.
Financial destitution and attendant homelessness is a disaster unto itself. Part of preventing this is, once again, planning. Budget your prepping initiative just like you do anything else.
Neglecting the Mental Game
It’s easy to talk about physical preparation, and fun to buy gear, but very few newbies want to talk about the mental aspects of prepping. Fear, uncertainty, devastation, loss, violence, terror.
It’s hard to talk about and harder to prepare for, but prepare you must. Part of this is really walking yourself through, in your mind, what might happen. For those with the stomach, researching the histories of civil conflicts, survivor accounts of major disasters, and maybe even doing police or EMT ride-alongs can be helpful.
Staying Fat, Flabby, and Out of Shape
Likely the least popular and, to some, most triggering mistake on this list. Simply stated, if you aren’t fit, chances are much higher that you are going to die, whatever happens. Self-rescue and self-sustainment demands a good level of fitness, and preferably excellent conditioning.
If you are overweight or obese and weak, drop everything and start rectifying that right away. Your body is your first prep: don’t neglect it, or it will fail you!
Not Rucking with YourBOB
A bug out bag, or BOB, is a cornerstone prep for most of us. But I know precious few preppers who actually practice with it.
I don’t mean practicing with the gear it holds; I mean getting out and walking or hiking with your fully loaded BOB. You might be as fit as a fiddle, but if you aren’t used to moving under a real load then you likely lack the endurance necessary to hit the gas when the time comes.
Your joints, ligaments and tendons especially need strengthening for this type of task, and the only way to get it is to practice!
Tom Marlowe practically grew up with a gun in his hand, and has held all kinds of jobs in the gun industry: range safety, sales, instruction and consulting, Tom has the experience to help civilian shooters figure out what will work best for them.