Where is the real line drawn?

[Arzosah]

Just a little side issue - you *can* prepare for explosions, just a little bit. Not if you're sitting on top of one, obviously but one of the biggest dangers of explosions these days is flying glass ... so if you have warning, closing blinds and curtains can help. So can leaving a window open on each side of the house open, to let the blast go through without blowing your windows out. In WW2, they put tape up on the windows for exactly this phenomenon; and in Buckingham Palace, even today, the net curtains you'll see on their windows (I went to see the Coronation Robes exhibition, okay? sue me ), the net curtains are very thick weave, and very long, with weights on the hem, even for the windows in the inner courtyards. In an explosion, they'd be some protection. Not complete, and it would depend on the size explosion, but something.

[notrab99]

While insurance might get you through some hiccups along the way it would be useless in the short-term for a real S**** Hit The Fan Scenario. Yes there are plenty of what you may call scare mongering videos/books/youtube gurus out there but consider what you know to be true right now (and in the past few years). Food and fuel prices continue to rise as does the population. Austerity continues to strain employment/earnings. There has been no real bounce back in the economy. Europe and the USA are in a similar climate and we continue to fund wars overseas. The national debt is rising while benefits are being cut. Oil is not as abundant as it once was. This ship is sinking..... Now you can't stock enough preps to last a lifetime, to me the biggest prep you can make is to realise that things are going to change and have a mind-set that you will adapt to whatever happens. Be ready to step out of your comfort zone.