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>>4) I think the real take away from this is that crazy preppers aren't actually crazy, and having some reserves (financial or otherwise) put aside for disaster

>>4) I think the real take away from this is that crazy preppers aren't actually crazy, and having some reserves (financial or otherwise) put aside for disasters is still a good idea. There is a difference between being prepared, and being a prepper. If you have six months of savings in the bank, a few gallons of gas and clean water in the garage and dry food in the pantry, you're prepared. If you have several booby-trapped supply caches in the wilderness that you have marked on your map, you're a prepper.

jay_kyburz 6y ago
>If you have six months of savings in the bank, a few gallons of gas and clean water in the garage and dry food in the pantry, you're prepared. I think most people in my world would use the word "prepper" for this and I didn't think the word had negative connotations. Also that 99% of people don't even have that.
- Semaphor 6y ago
  Having 3 months of salary stashed aside is standard financial advice in Germany. This is not saying that everyone or even most people do it (most couldn’t even afford to do it), but no one would ever call someone like that a prepper.
  - luckylion 6y ago
    If you only look at the financial side, I'd agree. If you added that a good portion of that should be in cash, and to have a few weeks of fresh water and long shelf-live food stored at your house, I'm pretty sure the majority in Germany would call that person a prepper, even though having two weeks of everything required is in the government's guidelines. It's just that we've gone so long without a major interruption that it seems silly to most people.
    - jay_kyburz 6y ago
      Wow, 2 weeks of water is about 20 liters per person! That's a lot of water to have sitting around. Two weeks of food is kind of easy if you shop at Costco :)
      - wongarsu 6y ago
        Army surplus water canisters are cheap and hold 20l each without taking much space. With water tablets for RVs the water can sit for 6 months. Or if you use bottled water anyways just keep a larger stash that you rotate through. Less work, but takes a bit more space
    - rsa4046 6y ago
      An aside: in Germany, “Hamstern” = stocking up on excessively large amounts of something that is feared to be in short supply thereafter, although it can carry negative connotation, as a selfish refusal to share with others (when I lived in Germany, I was always struck by people's general politeness and generosity, so hoarding for no reason would be frowned upon). Also, “Hamsterkäufe” refers to purchases made out of fear of a future shortage.

jay_kyburz 6y ago

>If you have six months of savings in the bank, a few gallons of gas and clean water in the garage and dry food in the pantry, you're prepared. I think most people in my world would use the word "prepper" for this and I didn't think the word had negative connotations. Also that 99% of people don't even have that.

Semaphor 6y ago
Having 3 months of salary stashed aside is standard financial advice in Germany. This is not saying that everyone or even most people do it (most couldn’t even afford to do it), but no one would ever call someone like that a prepper.
- luckylion 6y ago
  If you only look at the financial side, I'd agree. If you added that a good portion of that should be in cash, and to have a few weeks of fresh water and long shelf-live food stored at your house, I'm pretty sure the majority in Germany would call that person a prepper, even though having two weeks of everything required is in the government's guidelines. It's just that we've gone so long without a major interruption that it seems silly to most people.
  - jay_kyburz 6y ago
    Wow, 2 weeks of water is about 20 liters per person! That's a lot of water to have sitting around. Two weeks of food is kind of easy if you shop at Costco :)
    - wongarsu 6y ago
      Army surplus water canisters are cheap and hold 20l each without taking much space. With water tablets for RVs the water can sit for 6 months. Or if you use bottled water anyways just keep a larger stash that you rotate through. Less work, but takes a bit more space
  - rsa4046 6y ago
    An aside: in Germany, “Hamstern” = stocking up on excessively large amounts of something that is feared to be in short supply thereafter, although it can carry negative connotation, as a selfish refusal to share with others (when I lived in Germany, I was always struck by people's general politeness and generosity, so hoarding for no reason would be frowned upon). Also, “Hamsterkäufe” refers to purchases made out of fear of a future shortage.