the big gay prepper

hey there blog buddies!

1.  I apologize for the long absence.  In the process of simplifying my life, I've found I seem to have less time for online activities such as blogging lol.

2.  I know this is a long post, but please read through to the end.

Today I'd like to talk to you about a subject that I feel is extremely important and too frequently overlooked in general society as well as the LGBTIQ community in particular.  That subject is emergency preparedness.  No I am not talking about bunkering down in the basement with your bible and your rifle.  What I am talking about is simply being prepared to weather out the storms of life (metaphorical and literal).  If you were to go to youtube and search emergency preparedness you would find a ton of videos about preparing for the end of the world, zombie apocolypse or my personal favorite SHTF (sh*t hit the fan).  As I'm generally an optimist and believe that human society is actually progressively evolving into our better selves, this really doesn't sound like me does it?

so here's the back story.  Several years ago I was actually terminated from a job for being gay.  I went from a very well paying job to overnight working at wal-mart for just barely over minimum wage part time.  I also went through a lengthy period of time in which I was unable to find adequate employment to cover my needs (and lets face it, those are fairly simple needs lol).  So that's how I got into prepping, and what I focus on is not the end of the world or some global catastrophe but the everyday emergencies brought on by an uncertain economic climate, an uncertain climate, and surprise repair or medical bills that can cripple oneself financially. 

With that in mind here is my advice on preparedness:

1. do not use credit to become prepared.  Do this as slowly as necessary, but you want to remain financially sound in the process.
2. pay off your debt.  In a financial crisis the first thing you want to have is no credit card bills, followed shortly by no debt of any kind.  Its hard enough to keep the rent paid when one is unemployed or underemployed without having to keep visa paid as well.  Lock your cards away, and then pay more than the minimum (as much as is feesible) and get them cleared out.  After finishing off the cards, move on to other forms of debt starting with the debt with the highest interest rate. 
3. once step 2 is accomplished move on to preparing an emergency fund.  This should contain a bare minimum of 3 months worth of living expenses (more is better).  This should be enough to cover everything including rent, utilities, car insurance and maintaince, gas, groceries, medicine, etc. This should be in an interest bearing savings account (ie liquid assets) and only touched for emergencies.
4. After having funded step 3 up to 1 year, begin to build up an on hand supply of consumables.  Keeping a years supply of paper goods, toilet tissue, laundry detergent, food (make sure it is shelf stable, and rotate to keep within date), and long-dated OTC medicines such as pain relievers, benadryl, etc. will take an enourmous weight off your shoulders when facing a financial crisis. Stock up only on what you use.  As a kosher keeping vegan, a case of spam would not be helpful to me. 

With those four steps one will be prepared to weather the financial storms of life, now to move on to the natural disasters one is likely to encounter in one's area.  Starting from the platform above, this is fairly easy.  I will use the example of tornadoes and severe winter weather as that is what I am likely to encounter in my area. 

1. you want to have a safe area of the home (basement, interior closet, etc.) which will be free from falling debris and not likely to have a shelving unit collapse on top of you.  
2. you want to have at least a two week supply of drinking water on hand.  after many natural disasters, boil orders are issued and when you are thirsty boiling water is the last thing on your mind.  
3. This is related to step 4 above.  You want to have on hand a 2 week supply of foods that do not require elaborate cooking.  Dried beans would not be a good idea when you have limited or no power for cooking.  Canned goods (many of which can be eaten straight out of the can/jar) may not be the most appetizing option but can provide well rounded nutrition.
4. a well stocked first aid kit.  This means more than bandaids and neosporin.  
5. extra heavy blankets and an alternative heat source.  If you have gas heat, you should be fine except the blowers are generally electric.  I personally use passive solar (huge windows in my apartment) as my alternative heat source.  

If you have any other tips regarding emergency preparedness, please share them in the comments section below.