Any of those 2012 Predictions Come True?

JHuff8181 · #1 12/28/12, 08:19 AM

What has changed since 12/31/2011? Hyper inflation, the fall of America, end of the world, war in the Middle East, etc., etc. Are you happy with the money and time you spent preparing for things that did not happen? Do you plan to step up your prepping or slow down based on what has happened over the last 12 months?

Wags · #2 12/28/12, 10:45 AM

No I am not happy with the amount of money spent, I wish we could have spent more. I want a fully stocked pantry, and since we added a teenager to our house this year the amount of food we need has grown a lot!

Before I was a "prepper" I was striving towards being more food independent. Mostly as what I grow/produce myself is healthier for my family. Some of the typical "prepper things" I did was what I considered common sense - like keeping a rudimentary BOB in my vehicle at all times. Being prepared to evacuate for fire/flood seasons etc. I just never thought about a nation wide SHTF. Now I try to prepare for that too.

In the coming year I plan to continue on the path to self-sufficiency. If things go well with dh's new career then we will have more put towards purchased preps. If they don't we will still have an expanded garden and a new orchard space. And I will still be teaching the city teen what life on the 'stead is all about.

Mike in Ohio · #3 12/28/12, 10:58 AM

Now if I knew exactly when any of the things you listed were going to happen I'd be one amazing puppy.

On the other hand, when a big storm came through we didn't run off to the supermarket like so many other people. And when the power went out for a while it didn't impact us in any significant way.

Horrible things may never happen - and I suppose we would all pretty much agree that is a good thing. On the other hand, when bad things happen it doesn't hurt to have prepared.

Happy New Year to all.

Mike

Ohio dreamer · #4 12/28/12, 11:16 AM

Lots has changed since 12/31/11 for us. No...nothing catastrophic that ended life as we knew it, but I don't prep for that. I prep for day to day living. I have not seen anything that makes me think day to day living is going to stop....so I will continue to prep just as we did in 2012, 2011, 2010, etc. Items will be purchased, skills will be sharpened and research will continue.

PrairieBelle22 · #5 12/28/12, 11:21 AM

I am extremely happy with the preparations I have made. I now have a pantry stocked in a manner that we can cook anything we want without having to go run to the store. When storms hit we don't have to fight the crowds. When the water goes out, no biggie, because I have plenty stored. When the elec goes out, no biggie, because we have back ups. These events are not even bumps in the road now when before there were real problems.

My style of prepping, which is less toward large scale stockpiles and more toward a self-sufficient lifestyle, has assisted us in offsetting some of the impact of the current economic downturn. The continued slowing of the economy combined with the $$ hit of Obama care, has caused reduction in my monthly salary. I now pay $355.54 more per month for my health insurance compared to the pre Obamacare rates. PreObamacare increases were .42-3% annually and now the annual increases are 8.1-9.42%. Bottom dollar on that is I will earn $4266.48 less in 2013 than I did in 2010, and I don't make that much to begin with.

Thanks to my new found prepping habit of choosing an expensive bill or grocery bill item and finding an alternative or learning to make it myself, I have been able to chip away at those $$ eaters.

I want to take this opportunity to thank this community for all the wonderful information you share.

Belle

wes917 · #6 12/28/12, 11:48 AM

I am happy with my preps. I was laid off and they helped weather that storm, I will be starting a new position in jan and will continue to put things up/away because of all the uncertainty, and the fact that it just makes sense.

Oldcountryboy · #7 12/28/12, 10:04 PM

Don't know if this counts or not but I got divorced! I'm happier, have a little bit more money in my pockets, not much, but at least the crediters quit calling. I'm living within my means.

7thswan · #8 12/29/12, 02:40 AM

Our insuranse also cost more now since Commiecare. We are seriously thinking of moveing and sizeing down on how much property we have due to land taxes that keep riseing. And fuel hasen't gone down, that matters when Dh drives 1& 1/2 hours each way to work.

manygoatsnmore · #9 12/29/12, 04:24 AM

I don't even remember what the predictions were for 2012, lol. I am reasonably happy with the improvements in preps I've made over the past year. I always have more I want to add, plenty of unfinished projects staring me in the face, etc, but I've added a diesel genny, lawn tractor and trailer for it, raised a pig for the freezer and one to sell, downsized the goat herd to a more manageable level, and added more food to the pantry. I am counting down to the last mortgage payment (was hoping to totally pay it off this year, but didn't quite make it), only 5 more to go!

beaglebiz · #10 12/29/12, 07:03 AM

Im happy too. I dont know what predictions you mean other than the mayan calendar thing, (which I cared nothing about). My DH has only been working 3 months a year full time, so we have had our own challenges. We were able to remain debt free, I continue to work FT, he has taken anything at all to make money....deer cutting, wheelchair and stairglide repair, handyman jobs etc etc. Our garden is larger, we have more fruit trees growing (some nice peach trees thanks to another member here sharing her seedlings with us), my pantry is expanded and filled....and I survived a life threatening illness that had me hospitalized for quite a while. I had savings to help take care where we were behind because of this. Going forward, I hope to increase our venison supply, hope the garden does gang busters and prepare for a huge yard sale to get rid of some really unnecessary stuff and hopefully beef our emergency fund up.
Oh, and my treadle sewing machine I got for Christmas...I just need some time to figure it out, and then everyone is getting a nice denim quilt for their beds. I have been cutting squares out of old jeans for a couple years, so I bet I have enough for 4 quilts. I cant wait to get started

bourbonred · #11 12/29/12, 11:53 AM

My 2012 forecast was that when the year was gone, we would know what direction the country was heading: socially, politically, and economically. Well now we know and it's not good news. Preppers are everywhere now. Opsec is so much harder to manage not because of the prepper tv shows as much as that there are so many more people looking for a "back-door emergency exit" in case things go really bad. Now the grief of the election decisions made by my countrymen is passing, and being replaced by action--not against anyone, but toward the "survival" of my family and those I love. Honestly, I'm not happy with the way I spent my money and time last year. I had hope for my country then and so did less than I should have. It's time to buckle down and do better.

jessimeredith · #12 12/29/12, 01:48 PM

I'm pretty well happy with where we are.

We still hold too much debt for my liking but less than half of what we held at the beginning of 2012. There are more changes I would have liked to have made but being that DH was released from the Army in October and we are still waiting on VA and Disability to kick in, my minimum wage 30 hour a week job is just holding down the fort for now. It was meant to be extra $$ for debt redux...it is now money for everything. But it's alright...we put the severance pay to good use: pantry got stocked well, feed for the animals is good for the rest of the winter, a lot more debt got paid off or down and we have a little $$ set aside for emergencies (something we've never really had before).

Has 2012 been a banner year for us? Nope, not by any means. But we've made it through thus far fairly well intact because we prepped for DH's release and the subsequent lack of funds.

sisterpine · #13 12/29/12, 02:12 PM

I am very pleased with the amount of prepping I accomplished during the past year. Now I am basically the only one of us three adults with a steady income and am so glad I have preps to fall back on when things are toooo tight like with auto repairs!

I wish I had been able to find some land already so I could plant fruit trees this year but this is not something I am in control of. I am sure the right place will come along and maybe it will already have trees!

seedspreader · #14 12/29/12, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHuff8181

What has changed since 12/31/2011? Hyper inflation, the fall of America, end of the world, war in the Middle East, etc., etc. Are you happy with the money and time you spent preparing for things that did not happen? Do you plan to step up your prepping or slow down based on what has happened over the last 12 months?

Didn't you ask this same question a year ago? Made some comment about peanut butter or something?

Our peanut butter skyrocketed here in 2012. We had plenty on hand.

I'm never happy spending money.

Your question seems to be predicated on the "waste of money" idea... but if I spend $1.19 for 18 oz of PB in December of 2011 (and I did) and the exact same PB is is now $1.99 for 18 oz., how did I waste any money?

Now if "prepping" (and I know some people may do it this way) means buying a bunch of stuff you won't or don't normally use... then I don't really do that.

If prepping means that I use what I buy and buy what I use... then I EARN or SAVE money on my prepping in what would be the equivalent of returns on investment.

Same goes with Ammunition... I bought a thousand rounds of 7.62 x 39 mm about 8 years ago. I paid 89.00 for it. Now you can't even buy it.

I "prep" for life. Storms, outages, shortages... whatever. We live in one of the snowiest parts of the USA. My 4 wheel drive costs me more gas to run than a Prius would... of course a Prius better be parked this time of year.

So how about you. Do you feel you've wasted money?

What have you prepped for recently?

How much have you spend that you regretted?

If you're interested in actually figuring out how to avoid it and be better at prepping, participate in this forum.

If this is just an annual "boy you guys are crazy to do this" thread, I have to say, I don't understand taking the time to do it.

Help me to understand where you're coming from here.

ovsfarm · #15 12/29/12, 03:48 PM

I think the main prediction I see coming true is that the easy living gravy train has pulled into the station for a much larger segment of the population now. I see Mercedes sedans at the local Aldis discount food store. Most of the retail stores in my area barely bought in enough merchandise to squeak by to Christmas, let alone have much of anything left for the after Christmas bargain crowd (like me). In general, a lot of the excess has been discontinued and things are getting a little tighter than they have been in previous years.

However, people in my area - the midwest - are still for the most part working. Health care is still available. Food is still plentiful in the grocery stores. It seems that although relief services are hard pressed, many of the families lining up for food handouts also have plenty of beer, cigarettes, and fancy electronics. The pressure isn't enough yet to weed out the wants from the needs.

My area weathered a couple of severe storms and lengthy power outages. As we all could have predicted, the unprepared suffered while the prepared sailed through much more easily. Unfortunately, as we could also predict, I don't think very many of those who suffered learned much from their experience.

Although there were predictions of increasing violence, I don't think any of us saw it coming from the direction it did. It breaks my heart that mental health is so poor in our country that random violence has resulted in the murder of so many innocents this year.

To vent here a minute, I had to take a break from the forum for a while this year because my frustration level was getting higher than I like. It seemed to me there was a thick muck of pessimism and gloom to wade through, especially in the wake of the elections. I was surprised and disheartened. Aren't we the very people who are supposedly positioned to make the best of the worst and thrive even when times are tough? I guess I am just too sensitive for my own good, but I need to carefully guard my morale and mental atittude. I just couldn't continue a steady diet of whining, complaining, and negativity every day so I went away for a while.

My stay-away-cation did help some. I got back to a practical focus on my preps, better organizing them and continuing to refine them. I have branched out into more of the primitive skills that I enjoy so much. I have surrounded myself with positive things instead of an endless litany of insults and complaints and am much happier and better off for it.

I've not got my head in the sand. I fully expect things to get even tighter in 2013. I think that time has come to pay the piper to some extent. I imagine violence will continue to increase as stress causes the more marginal to crack and the greedy to forcibly take that which they can no longer afford or will be given. I expect there will be more natural disasters and fear that they may be more intense than normal due to the increasing volatility of the weather.

I believe that any one of those problems could be the one to bring me down. But I am not going to give up my peace of mind and happiness to it prematurely. For now, I choose to be happy, to enjoy my life and my family. I have decided to focus on gratitude and the half-full glass. If I can't afford dining out at fancy restaurants, or even buying pricey cuts of meat at the grocery store, I will take enormous joy and pride in my feast of wild foraged foods and things I grow in my own garden. I refuse to pout around and let the end of the world as we know it start early at my house. Even though things are tighter, I am still incredibly blessed.

sustainabilly · #16 12/29/12, 04:37 PM

Well, let's see. Most of the things that did happen this year are pretty much just continuations of projections made in 2008. On the other hand, the Mayan calender did end.

Forerunner · #17 12/29/12, 05:32 PM

I'm throwing in the towel.

It's back to beer and frozen pizzas for me...... and Real House Wives marathons to fill the long hours.

Oh, and I've gone to wearing pajamas around the house.

I might even get a house cat or somethin'.

doodlemom · #18 12/29/12, 09:33 PM

Nobody told me wearing pajamas around the house was against the code.

janetn · #19 12/30/12, 08:37 AM

I save money "prepping". I grew most of my veggies - seeds are cheap and poop is free

My greenhouse which was the biggest expense for us was built three years ago for under a thousand dollars. has saved me that plus. Wont mention the mental boost I get going out there on a sunny January day and soaking up the warm sun rays in my shorts

My preps are used everyday to lower my expenses. The money I save I use to have fun, and work less. I also cant put a price on the peace of mind I have knowing that a job loss wont have me out on the street hungry or cold. I live very well for my income bracket, and I have the time to enjoy my life.

What I dont have because of my lifestyle is a mountain of debt that I have to pay on every month. The business office at work cant understand why I dont care if I get my check on Fridays - I prefer to have them mail it, they think me a bit odd. They just havent come across another employee that didnt need to have their paycheck right away. Prepping has given me that freedom. If I dont get another paycheck Im fine. I eat better than most rich people and spend a fraction of what most poeple spend. We choose not to go out to restaurants now because of the lack of quality in the food. I can cook a gourmet meal for pennies. People are paying big time money for what I go out and grab in my backyard. My chickens give me high priced eggs and I sell the excess for good money. Funny what people will pay big bucks for - I take those high quaility eggs for granted as I do my tomatoes that I am still getting in Michigan in the dead of winter out of my greenhouse. Yep I would choose to spend the money I do on a sustainable lifestyle reguardless of the doom and gloom predictions. If all possible SHTF senerios were cancelled tommrow I would still prefer to live the prepping lifestyle - as far as I can see its a much more rewarding lifestyle.
The freedom and peace of mind it gives me is well worth every penny Ive spent not just this year but all the years Ive been cultivating this lifestyle

JHuff8181 · #20 12/31/12, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seedspreader

If you're interested in actually figuring out how to avoid it and be better at prepping, participate in this forum.

If this is just an annual "boy you guys are crazy to do this" thread, I have to say, I don't understand taking the time to do it.

Help me to understand where you're coming from here.

I guess I'm trying to figure out the depth of prepping I want to accomplish. The “Peanut Butter Question” had more to do with hyperinflation. I bought a year’s worth of peanut butter and now I need to buy it again. Is prepping all that valuable in the long run if one can’t reach some level of self sufficiency? To stay on the peanut butter theme, I really should learn how to grow peanuts and make my own peanut butter to protect my family from higher prices.

The best example of self sufficiency I’ve seen is the Kilcher family on the Discovery Channel’s Alaska: The Last Frontier. But even they rely on fuel and electricity. I look at them, however, and think they could adapt to no fuel or electricity pretty easily. So are we as preppers fooling ourselves to think we are prepared for long-term survival if we aren’t at least partially self-sufficient?

This line of questioning is to help me stay focused and create realistic goals for long-term survival.