There has been some good discussion here. Thank you.
I don't think I have any major revelatory hacks or suggestions on the subject and struggle like many of us to know what my family should do going forward. However, the recent "uncertain times" have allowed me to grade how prepared we were and suggest some improvements going forward.
1. Thanks mostly due to my wife's efforts, we had a several months supply of food and basic commodities going in to 2020. We didn't encounter any problems when we had "runs" on different items during the pandemic. We have been able to restock as needed. I also added an additional freezer to allow for more frozen food and game storage. Overall, I would give us decent marks in that department.
2. Thankfully, we didn't need to use our 72 hour packs or other short term disaster items, but we went through and freshened those up. Our house has the ability to be heated by a wood burning fireplace so that helps. What I don't have and I think I need to change is that I don't have a generator. This I need to change and it will be our next "prep" purchase. The house does have a hookup for it, so at least that is taken care of. Mixed marks here.
3. Financial. We went into 2020 in decent shape including no debt except the house and I have been busier than ever at work . So no encountered problems. I am grateful for both situations, albeit very tired from employment. There are tough questions still regarding if I should take on a little debt to buy the truck I've been threatening to buy and how much to save, invest, and spend. I guess Ok marks here but lots of personal uncertainty going forward.
One last quick thought. When many folks talk about "prepping", visions of readying for a "Mad Max" world often come to mind. I do think the recent past has shown us that preparing for somewhat mundane but no less disruptive events like a pandemic, economic downturn, or small scale natural disaster is far more likely to be a productive endeavor than to "dig the bunker" and ready oneself for an apocalypse of some sort.
