My recent posts in the FakeBook Group about Freeze-Dried Foods for Long-Term Food Storage have driven me to make this post.
So, what's the difference between Prepping Goals and Prepping Dreams? It’s Simple.....and complicated....it’s three things.....a Definition, a Plan, and a Time-Frame.... I’ll use Freeze-Dried Foods for Long-Term Food Storage posts as an example. My household has three adults living here. My long-term food storage dream was a full year of food for all three adults. Food with a shelf life of at least 20 years. So to turn it from a Dream into a Goal, I made a plan. Defined Goal:
Have one full year’s worth of 20+ year shelf-life food for three Adults.
Plan: 1. Stay within a fixed monthly “prepper” budget. A budget that includes other purchases.
2. Have no more than about 1/2 of the total calories be from bulk Pasta and Rice & Beans.
3. Prioritize value over flavor.
Sounds simple, but it can actually be complicated.
#1 Is budget, and it can be a nerve-wracking balancing act. Unless you’re wealthy, it’s a struggle for all of us. There are times I put off getting more food because some other prepping item has gained more priority for some reason. Then sometimes I’m able to go over budget and get more food than I normally would have.
#2 Is easy, if you’re diligent with counting calories, keeping track, and using a calculator. All freeze-dried foods list total calories on each package. Most “kits” also list the total calories of all the packages in the kit. If I get a couple of the typical 2-Week kits, they will total 52,880 calories. So I will next put together a Rice & Bean bucket that I already know has 55,000 calories.
#3 Is also easy if you pay attention and use a little math. That 4-person 72 hour kit I shared has a total of 26,440 total calories for $64.67.....that comes to ~409 calories per dollar spent...However, a similar offering from Readywise that has 20,720 total calories cost $87.57 for a lower value of just ~237 calories per dollar spent. Both prices came from Amazon...Why spend more for less even if there was a taste difference? It’s about survival. So getting more food that tastes OK, is far smarter than getting less food just because it taste great. (No, Readywise does not taste great, but it is “ok”)
So, I first Defined the Prepping Goal. Then, I created a plan to achieve that goal. The last part was a Time-Frame. This can be the most difficult. Simply because budgetary, availability, and pricing variations effect the Time-Frame. There is another thing that effects the Time-Frame; the Goal changing. Originally the above-mentioned Prepping Goal was for a 1-Month supply. Which became a 3-Month supply when the original Goal of 1-Month was close to being achieved. And then jumped over 6-Month to 1-year When the 3-Month Goal was almost achieved. I skipped over the 6-month because I had neglected to include my Rice & Bean buckets in my plan. To fix that, I simply built a few buckets which got me to 6-Months, added step #2 to the plan so I wouldn’t rely too much on Rice & Beans to reach my Goal, and redefined the Goal to 1-year of food.
If the budgetary, availability, and pricing variations don’t cause any problems, my Time-Frame should have the goal completed before the middle of next year.
At which time the Goal will change again. To the Goal of adding more meats, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and other “tasty” foods. Those are more costly, but they will supplement the other foods, and will stave off food boredom.
I did the same for my power stations. I took my prepper “Dreams” for off-grid power, realistically Defined them, created a Plan, and set a Time-Frame. I know have several power stations. Some were commercially available, and some were my own DIY. And for DIY, I also Defined them, Planned them, and set Time-Frames for collecting the components, and the construction.
I even did/do it with SHTF Long-Term Storage Ammo. I Defined my what the Goal was, I created a Plan, and set a Time-Frame. And as usual, the Goal, Plan, and Time-Frame, have changed. But because I defined the Goal, created a Plan, I achieved the Goal. Well, the initial Goal.....adding 357 Sig to the goal, then the shortages, the Time-Frame is a bit more nebulous than all my other Goals.....not sure when it will achieved. But I do know it will be......eventually...... But some Goals don’t really need a Time-Frame defined by Time. For example: Goal = 1,000 12ga shells for wing hunting for long-term storage. Plan = Buy one box of 100 every time I shopped at Walmart Time-Frame = None really, just do it Every Time I go there. Since I only go to Walmart once every few months, it took a long time, yet I eventually exceeded my Goal....
Your Prepper Dreams will become achievable if you make them Prepper Goals by Defining them, making a Plan, and setting a Time-Frame. Even if it’s a variable one.