Prepared for the Commute?

After managing to go one mile in thirty minutes this morning on the freeway due to several accidents in a short distance, I was rather tired of my normal 45 mile commute which became an hour and a half. Emergencies can really make a mess of one's plans on the roads. If you can't get anywhere via car or truck, how will you get home?

Try adding a good pair of walking shoes to your trunk. I have a couple of portable 72-hour kits in my trunk as well. If things go bad while I'm at work, I will be able to hoof it home. (An earthquake is the most likely major disaster to completely cut off the roads where I live.) I have plenty of water and food to last me several of days, and with 45 miles of city and mountain to traverse, it could take that long. Assuming that I didn't need to stop too much along the way, I can probably use my long legs to get home in less than a day, but it is nice to know that I have sufficient to get me home or to family gathering point if not.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

72-hour Kit Bells and Whistles

A friend mentioned bells and whistles to me today which got me thinking about what you need in a 72-hour kit for your kids. I don't recommend bells. They would probably get to be very annoying and could be dangerous if you don't want to be easily detected. However, whistles are a good item to have available for your kids so that they can make their whereabouts know to you if you get separated.

We pack one for each family member and have ones that also contain a compass and a small compartment for matches and paper. I don't recommend including those items in the whistles of less mature children for obvious reasons.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

Faith as Preparation

I was teaching Sunday School today and covering the topic of faith. Faith is to me an essential part of preparation. The Lord has told us to prepare ourselves. I feel that this includes living one's life in accordance with the teachings of the prophets. This would thus include spiritual , physical and intellectual preparation.

Why do we need to do all that preparing? What makes it worth the effort?

Faith answers that question. If we prepare for what might happen, when things go wrong in our lives, that preparation may bring the peace and comfort which we will need. If we don't prepare, we will not be blessed with that comfort and will not have peace. Some may say that just by preparing, those benefits are there, but faith was not involved. But if we have no faith that such preparation is needed, will we prepare?

Some people will prepare physically. Others will prepare intellectually. Yet others will prepare spiritually with no thought to any other preparation. Faith tells me that I must combine all three if I am to reap the promised benefits. Any lack of preparation will diminish the blessings sought. It will not prevent blessings, but they will be diminished. Where there is ignorance of how to prepare, we may have that lack met by the Lord, but where we know to prepare and choose not to, we will not be worthy of those attendant blessings.

So if nothing bad ever happens to me or to my family, I will still live a blessed life of peace simply because I took the time and made the effort to prepare. I will have lost nothing as so many will argue. I may not have gained as much as some, but I will not have lost anything.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

Preparing for Inflation, Hyper-inflation, Deflation or Evaporation?

I've been busy with life the last little while. Last weekend I was at an executive summit learning about how to be a moral entrepreneur and still survive in this topsy-turvy world. Part of the preparation for the summit was to read The Millionaire Next Door. What I took away from the summit was that I had a lot of work to do to realize my own potential and mission in life, and that I need to be conservative in my personal expenditures.

I have been working at this for years, but as I have accomplished some of my goals, I have increased my discretionary spending on some things that really don't matter. By continuing to show restraint, anyone can build wealth. It was interesting to me that the highest income earners are not wealthy. In fact, those who earn the most tend to pay the most in taxes because they are not protecting their wealth.

Food storage is one of my favorite ways to spend conservatively. Using food storage for meals is more cost effective, but more time intensive. With the trouble in the economy, you have two options to build wealth; earn more or save more. Though earning more is not a bad thing, saving more is much easier to do if you are willing to sacrifice what you think you deserve for what you can realistically live on.

Buying unprepared food is less expensive and lasts longer. It is also healthier. You can also teach your kids to fend for themselves in the years to come.

So what does this have to do with Inflation, Hyper-inflation, Deflation or Evaporation? Doomsayers are arguing for their favorite form of doom. No matter what form it might take, having supplies to weather the storm can only help. If the whole economy were to go up in smoke and just evaporate, where would you stand? Is it time for you to prepare?

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

What's Financial Preparation Like?

I'm in the middle of reading The Millionaire Next Door for an executive summit I am attending tomorrow. It has led me to ponder on what financial preparation means to people today. If an emergency happened to you today, would you have cash on hand to purchase items that will probably have spiked in price?

Do you have your money in investment vehicles that are helping you weather the temporary inflation from food and gas? How will your investments fare when deflation hits and the value of real estate plummets? The stock markets have officially reached bear territory by going down more than 20%. Investors keep hoping for an uptick based on today's reports while ignoring the overall indicators that credit saturation has been reached. Do you have your fingers in your ears, or your head in the sand?

What will it take for people to be prepared for financial hardship? Does it always have to end miserably for those who have personal emergencies before they wake up to the reality that life is not always prosperous? Can you take the lemons of today and make lemon torte because you saw what was coming and were ready for it?

I hope so, but I will be discussing this further as I continue to discuss physical preparation.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

Smoke On The Horizon

I remember summers in northern California as a teenager. They were a lot like the one California is having now. We pulled a hose to the top of the house and attached it to the Rainbird sprinkler we had attached to the peak of the roof. We made sure the clothes in our two emergency trunks were still the right sizes and checked on other items that might have gone stale since the prior summer. Summer in the woods was a real learning experience.

I really learned to appreciate fire crews. One summer we had an OES fire truck parked between our house and my grandparent's home. We had a 16' x 33' Doughboy swimming pool that held 16,000 gallons of water. The firefighters said that we had about 17 minutes of protection for our homes and that we wouldn't have any trees left, but the houses would still be standing if the fire got to our road. They also noted that we would most likely not have any neighbors left since they had no ready source of water, so there was only one other fire unit on our road, and it was just a tanker truck that had no means of spraying the business next to it.

Luckily, they never had to use any of our water, but it was a comfort to know that they were ready and willing to assist. They also got to eat my grandmother's apple cake and get some much needed rest.

A couple of years later, I was home alone when I heard a truck coming down our cinder road a lot faster than the posted speed limit of 15 MPH. I looked out to see a tanker truck from our "local" volunteer fire deparment racing toward one of our driveways. I calmly walked over to our pool, opened the gate and motioned them back to the pool.

They probably thought I was psychic since the gate was open before they got there, but I knew that sooner or later the day would come that they needed our water. The sad thing was that they were getting water to control a house fire from a home that was already burned to the ground about six miles away. We had the only known supply of water in the vicinity. There were a lot of people who lived between our home and the one that burned, but we were the only ones who had thought ahead for such an emergency. The gate had been put in soley for such an event.

I learned a lot that day about the need to be self-sufficient in an emergency. I guess it stuck. There may come a day when I will need to lean on someone else because my preparation wasn't quite enough, or the disaster was too overwhelming for my resources, but being prepared takes away a lot of the anxiety I see in the faces of neighbors and friends when emergency scenarios are discussed.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

I Thought That Fit You

Have you ever gone somewhere with a baby or toddler only to realize too late that you forgot a diaper and wipes? I've only done that twice in the last three months. On a very short term basis, you can deal with the problem, but what if the problem lasted for days?

Having the right supplies in your 72-hour kit can be crucial for your family to endure the hopefully short term hardship. Can you do without diapers? Yes, but it won't be pleasant. Can you do without clean clothes? Yes, but you may end up battling illness because of the lack of proper clothing.

What about those who have clothing in their kits? When was the last time you checked the sizing of the clothes? I'm not just talking about how well the kids fit in after growing. Adults in the country tend to grow over time too. Do those pants you put in the kit five years ago really fit today? have you been dieting successfully? If so, I hope you have a belt in the kit.

Take time to inventory regularly. Get clothing that will work in the kit. Don't let food go stale or rotten. Be mindful that your kit should reflect you today.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

Beggars Can't Be Choosers, But They May Die

Dinner conversation yesterday turned to my youngest son who was decrying the menu. He is a rather picky eater and can be a real challenge. My daughter recommended this topic for a post. I know how he feels as I was awful as a kid. I'm not sure how I survived to adulthood. One thing that I learned as I entered adulthood was that beggars can't be choosers. It was a hard lesson, but one that I took seriously.

No, I am not talking about living on ramen in college. I had never heard of ramen my freshman year in the dorms. What changed for me? I lived in South Korea for two years, eating with and living with Koreans. I couldn't handle SpaghettiOs as a kid because it was too spicy. (Yes, I was bad!) Well, those who know anything about Korea cuisine know that spicy doesn't quite cover it in describing the food.

How did I learn to eat strange food in Korea? Two things made a difference for me. First, I was taught to be polite. When I was offered something that I "knew" I would hate, I ate it anyway. (OK, I did refuse green tomatoes, but the host did too.) Funny thing about it was that I found I liked most of it. That which was less than palatable was choked down with a smile. I ate better than I ever had in the States and I learned valuable lessons about courtesy and trying new things. The second thing was that I was often hungry and was willing to try something I wasn't used to in order fill my gullet.

Sounds great, doesn't it? The big problem is that most people when confronted with an emergency will not try eating something with which they are not familiar. I have watched my son leave a full plate of beans or salad because he, "didn't like it," and go to bed hungry. Some days he will eat it, others he won't. Reason will not get him to eat when he isn't stressed out. There is no way any argument will get him to eat when he is stressed. The end result will be that if he doesn't have food he likes in an emergency, he will starve rather than eat something he thinks he doesn't like. Older folks often have the same reaction, and picky adults do too.

So, when packing a 72-hour kit, remember that you need food that your family will eat. We pack granola bars and MREs that are likable by each individual in the family. My wife and I get the least desirable packs among our kids. My wife and I have eaten a lot of MREs and though a few were less than what I'd normally eat, I never had one I wouldn't eat, so I'm fine with the dregs for myself.

The same will apply to longer term food storage. If you don't have foods that your family will eat normally, meals may turn into real trials. Boredom with the menu may also affect how your family eats, so there needs to be something to break up the monotony. I'll discuss this in greater depth later. Just remember that the idea that they'll eat if they are hungry enough is not true.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.

And the Beating Goes On...

Wow, I don't like rotaviruses. The whole family was down for a while. It seems to be going around the neighborhood.

After being up until 3:30 in the morning washing soiled linens, I was thinking to myself that being calm in a stressful situation really helps to mitigate the potential problems. Though tired, I managed to get a little sleep, take care of the wife and kids, prepare a Sunday School lesson and teach it.

How to stay calm in an emergency has a lot to do with how you deal with day to day life. If every little thing bothers you, you won't be able to deal with the stress and uncertainty of the emergency. Work at calming yourself. Find routines that can help. Prayer can only help you in finding peace and is one of the best routines that you can still do when in an emergency. Reading to kids can not only help bring you back to the ground, but it will help your kids feel a piece of home during uncertainty. Don't forget to pack some small books in your 72 hour kit. The distraction alone may save your sanity if you are stuck in a situation where you have little to do.

- Mark

Value is based on perception.