Cent A. Cent B.

My two cents. My two survivalist cents.

So, survivalism is plagued by paranoia, bad science, fundamentalism, fear, wishful thinking, some more fear and a lot of leaps of logic. People prepare for all sort of things, biblical prophesies, planetary changes, terrorism, economic collapse and the so-called mayan prophesy-- whatever the fuck that is. So it is easy to come to the conclusion that the whole thing is just stupid.

It isn’t.

Well, the mayan stuff and rapid polar shift are pretty retarded, and in a nuclear war we are all fucked, basement-full-of-spam notwithstanding.

BUT

The whole preparation thing is just a logical continuation of the reasoning that makes you carry a spare tire on your car and having a fire extinguisher at your office: sometimes shit happens, and a back up plan can make a potential disaster a mere inconvenience.

So this is my (very personal, very non-expert) advise.

a)Prepare for things that can actually happen. Home fires and disease-transmiting mosquitoes are not nearly as epic as a meteor impact, but they happen all the time and kill a lot of people so:

b)Start small. Don't get me wrong, a self-sustainable ranch in Idaho would be fantastic (I say that from the bottom of my heart and without a microgram of sarcasm-- that would be just amazing) but small, daily changes of lifestyle have a big impact. Really simple stuff, wear a seatbelt, go to the dentist regularly (if shit hits the fan, you won't be able to fix your cavities, do it now) take first aid basic training, and:

c)Get fit. All that tacticool stuff is not going to count for shit if you can't run a few kilometres. Survival situations, whether a riot getting out of control, an earthquake or a flood tend to include a lot of walking. And I mean A LOT of fucking walking. Walking all day, for days. Probably carrying:

d)A backpack. They call them bug-out-bags and you can buy one online. A BOB is the one thing you pick as you leave your house in an emergency. Think of the things you would want to have in that situation and put them in a bag. Chances are you already have 99% of the things you need, scattered all over your house; you just need them all in a bag you can pick up and run. Include energy bars, a change of clothes (you'll be surprised how often that is overlooked), a first aid kit, a radio, a flashlight, a multitool, water and means to get water.

Must of all: think. Think what can actually happen where you live, how can you cope with it to reduce the damage. No point  being ready for a snow blizzard if you live in Panama-- unless the polar shift nonsense actually happens.

ALSO

I know shit about finances, lets get that out of the way. Stuff is outright arcane to me. But I figure this much: the key not to get fucked if the economy goes (further) to shit is not being in too much debt. Live by your means and try to owe banks as little as you can. Sounds obvious really, but must if not all of us are perpetually paying off a loan: mortgage, car payments, credit cards and the like. Healthy finances start by spending what you earn, if not a little less.

Bottom line: investing time and effort into physical fitness and skills is probably the first thing to put on your list. You will carry those things with you at all times. Second is to give banks the finger as hard and often as you can. Even you are not into survivalism, that is a solid advice on it's own right.