Convince people prepping is worth it - espec family!

[combat squirrel]

Hey all,

As everyone here understands what it means to prep…….how do you go about explaining why its done (even admitting your doing it) to close family members?

It’s something iv been thinking about seriously approaching family and talking. With me, my parents, and my aunt/uncle and their 3 kids (my cousins obviously), we would have formidable recourses, my aunt and uncle live on a massive farm with tons of land and tactically sound landscape (as well as legally owned weapons that are worth having instead of crappy air guns). Them and my parents are reasonably well off, lots of buying recourse. My 3 cousins are aged between 29 and 42 with partners and one of them has 2 young kids.

So 11 adults, 2 children.

Even ‘that many’ people with the amount of land (many hundreds of acre's, fields, forest, etc) /money we all have we could amas vast vast amounts of things, and we are all fit abled bodied – easily store the required amounts of food and water for 2-3 years with an excellent defensable position. Between us and our skill sets we could easily build a vast underground bunker in less than 6 months as well.

So then – ideal huh ?

Well they are all what society would term ‘normal’ decent people, im glad they are, great family.

However Im the ‘brain’ of the family, without sounding arrogent, (im being blunt to be as concise in communicating this as I can be). They are by no means daft, very smart intelligent people, maybe they have thought about it, I don’t know, but im the only one who holds multiple degrees and trained scientifically – im already considered a little eccentric by them! Lol

So how would I approach them to suggest building a bunker and thousands of £’s worth of food and water ???? lol !! – I know right ? whattt ?

I think they would respond by being surprised, and somewhat concerned for my mental health – they are also pretty chilled people, and I briefly spoke to things (not specifically prepping) to my mum – a ‘what if’ convo – she was just like ‘yess dear, that’s nice dear’ ya know……..like that.

Im also aware that them being in their late 50’s and growing up in a world where everything one way or another has worked out, the chances of global melt down to them, id imagine would seem absurd, or they could possibly take the attitude of ‘well its been a good life, may as well enjoy now and die if im going to die’

This is all assumption, but I believe their response would be more toward not making any effort now, in addition my dad is ‘save save save’, need that money son for the future ! – me ? Money is an abertiary number, it’s a measure of relative wealth, it would take many arguments and much pain to get it through to him it doesn’t matter if you have a million or £1, if society collapses its as useful as a chocolate tea pot.

So how would you convince people ? I do love them all of course, but I wont lie, there is a lot in it for me, a band of 11 well prepped adults – fit strong and armed to the teeth in the middle of no where is a MUCH better option that my current plans.

Help! lol

[Maddie_cat]

If you find a way, let me know! My family think I am NUTS!!!

I think though that I dealt with it the wrong way. The cupboard with all my stores in, I call my Pocky Lips cupboard. I asked my Dad to get something out of it and after that, he thought I was nuts. Kept having a go about there not being an Apocalypse, unlikely to have nuclear attack etc. Now I can't get through to him at all! He rolls his eyes, gets exasperated and almost angry!

If you do try to speak to your family, low key it and make it seem like you are prepping for a more plausible reason - or a reason that is plausible to them! For example, getting in extra food, water and road salt in case they get snowed in; getting in extra flour as the price of wheat may go up; point to news items and how someone could have been better prepared for that eventuallity etc. For example, part of the M11 got snowed up a couple of years ago. Since then, I have made sure I have preps in the car - and once others had seen that news item, my preps did not seem so weird.

Start gently. You have seen the light but it may take a while for them to have a lightbulb moment.

[MickyP]

Start gently. You have seen the light but it may take a while for them to have a lightbulb moment.

Sounds sensible. Also just drop some concerns about the fragile state of the food or fuel supply network into the conversation and let them come up with the idea of getting a little extra in themselves, like it was their idea. Might work better than trying to convince them you are right and they are wrong. I'm sure thats the technique my wife uses with me to get things done around the house

[combat squirrel]

This is good info, I have been epic enthusiastic about making my garden........my dads a keen gardener and before posting this i have already noted how keen he is, I think he is looking forward to a project with his son (I have noted he seems more up for it than normal, seems to enjoy the idea, even came up with ideas to improve mu compost heap and use land sensibly - you cant beat nearly 60 years of experience sometimes!)

I'll ask him as skillfully as I can, whats the best way to store deisel etc.....as im making a self sufficiant garden, also ask him to teach me gardening skills, farming skills (he grew up on a farm) as well as other useful 'green money saving ideas' (I.e. how to survive with nothing but raw materials, he has alot of this knowledge, but I need to 'frame it' so its looking like im gathering skills - which of course I am)

Also I guess it flatters people when you are genuinely interested in what they know, and ask lots of questions they can demonstrate answers too.

I guess this goes for everyone here, even if the family doesnt know/agree with what you do, I sure as hell bet they have lots of useful info

Im guessing he will cotton on eventually, then I can say a little something......like, im just interested in this, its something alot of the youth of today have no idea about, its useful to know how to do 'bushcraft/cultivation/plant knowledge' etc

[junmist]

with your dad you could always tell him that you are future proofing -sola power to save money in the future if electric keeps going up bio disal the same. You could always tell your cousin's that you had a fuse blowout/power cut and did they have any candles/touches camping stove cos you didn't have any. How about saying you had no water cos your water company shut down your water. But you were out so didn't know untell you got home and was a couple of hours with out a cuppa, small white lies to plant ideas. Of couse it may not work when I said about the power cuts to my sister she just said she would come round to mine but thats my sister I put up with her cos she has two strapping great lads

[piggybax]

Hi everyone, I dont really have a problem with my family and friends they all say if or SHF they know to come to me, my problem is that I am prepping for me and close family so were do you draw the line. for this reason I am trying to organise a mini confrence and workshops so they can do it for themselves and maybe we can all work together. education, practice planning and stock piling= prepping.

[Erinlouiser]

I find this difficult, I have tried easing prepping into conversations especially with my twin sister but she just don't take the bait! My parents are the same it's so hard to get some people to listen so i guess i will just have to store even more stuff to try and accomadate them too, which is slightly annoying because if everybody was prepping we would be alot better off in the long run but what can you do?????

[jansman]

Unless you have the mindset you will not get it. Example;

Until my Brother's marriage broke up, his business failed, he lost his house, declared bankrupt and lived with is for a year- he did not get it.
Obviously living in our house he became VERY aware of how we lived. A few years ago he saw our main food store( and it is BIG) he was rather mocking of it. After his time with us he got it. He could not get how we lived on such a modest income either- he learnt avout budgets too

Now he stores food and bits of kit like emergency lights. The food has helped him when Winter means he cannot work. His new budget skills helped him when his van blew up last week!

You can lead the horse to water but you can't make it drink I am afraid.

[Plymtom]

You are quite right Jansman and to coin another phrase why make another monkey for your back?

My family aren't really that close, and the close friends though few would understand, though it has been apparent that we have leaned toward the prepard to say the least, and have had the odd comment like "why do you keep so many eggs" easily answerd by welll the dog eats 2 a day and if we each have 2-3 a week theres the guts of 30 gone, the person who said that later inherited by marraige a large family of children albeit only on weekends, became aware of just how much food a family especially who eat in all the time can munch through.

Having disabled people to care for and amongst friends, makes us (bearing in mind coping with our own problems including my own health issues now never mind SHTF) reluctant to take on any more people even good friends in the knowledge that we're under preasure in any case, is not workable, but to encourage anyone that preparedness is a good idea, if you can do it without creating another burden for yourself no matter how much you love them, so much the better.

Another concern would depend on the severity of the SHTF situation, having family heading to you in that event could be dangerous for all concerned, if they were loaded with stuff they would be a target and or could make you one too, and could they have much hope of getting to you in those scenarios, they need to be self reliant, no ammount of prepping on the average bug in type person's part can get relatives safely to them, indeed in the worse scenarios how the hell we are going to get back to base ourselves could be a nightmare.

[james c]

Well apart from my better half and kids, the rest of my family donot know, that we are prepping,all they are worried about is having the latest gear and keeping up with the jones;s so we have kept it to ourselves, i live in the north east of England so if any like minded people in my area would like to give me a shout please do