What have you learned?

[Skip]

Indeed. The point of having now is so that others won't be without later. If someone has 6 months of food stored, that's 6 months of not consuming the food of those who could not, or did not, prepare at the time of its being needed.

The other thing is if there's say... a known "this will normalize in a month" situation. That's 6 people eating for a month.

Not being stressed due to being prepared assists the individual in helping others.

Great points both of you!

I suspect there will be new found respect for "preppers" after this and hopefully more folks will be prepared.

[00tec]

Learning that I have to be cognizant of how long the vehicles sit. Ensuring that batteries dont die, move them occasionally, etc. My wife went tried to make a run the other day to find that the car wouldn't start. Fuel pressure had bleed down.

[hollohas]

I've learned that prepping really does work.

We've made sure to have what we need for over a decade now. And although I wondered if it's worth it many times, turns out it was. Truly, when I'm at home with my family safe and provided for, despite what's going on outside, I am happy. I spend all day at work worrying about stuff, but when I get home, I forget it all because I know what's most important is safe. The evenings and weekends at my house are like they've always been. The peace of mind has been extremely valuable for my mental health.

That said, if I had a chance to do this over, I'd prepare more financially. I just don't think our savings would be enough to make it through this if it lasted too many months, especially if my work/pay was cut.

I started an indoor hydroponic setup a month ago when fresh produce was hard to come by. I should have done that A LONG time ago. I garden a lot and get tons of produce from our yard. More than enough for our family to eat and can hundreds of jars each year...during the summer. Turns out, we want fresh greens year-round and not just during the growing season. Micro greens are a good way to get some quickly, but the wife wants salads. It'd sure have been nice to have the hydroponics setup, running and producing already.

Also, I need to make sure I get some highway driving in on the diesel. I just realized I haven't done that in a while.

[TheGrey]

These are great takeaways. I'm still learning things, just reading your impressions. Keep them coming!

[Gman]

I've learned that this is a great incentive to do some spring cleaning.

[StagLefty]

I was an active prepper before retiring and that has paid off during this crisis. Income slowed down my prepping the last few years but I see the need to budget restocking after this is over.
The internet during this time has more than paid for itself tenfold. Prescription refills, even some OTC medications, ordering groceries,paying bills,getting unbiased news and updates, etc. I've been learning more and more about the capabilities I have at my disposal right here in the house.
The needs of others around me and checking on them often to see if I can help them or they can sometimes help me. Not taking everyday things for granted during this time.
The realization that this is affecting the world and not just my little sphere of life !!!

[Gman]

I learned that I qualify for some financial assistance even though I'm a freelance consultant:
Here’s how freelancers can get unemployment pay for work lost to coronavirus

[Irving]

I learned that I qualify for some financial assistance even though I'm a freelance consultant:
Here’s how freelancers can get unemployment pay for work lost to coronavirus

I mentioned that in another thread, but someone else posted an article about how small business loans weren't being fulfilled. Let us know what happened if you go through the process. I don't really want to take on more debt I'd I can avoid it, so I'm interested in how likely it is to convert to a grant.

[ray1970]

I learned that working from home costs me money.

On a normal day, if I got an email about something cool that was on sale I would usually miss out by the time I saw the email and tried to place an order.

Now, as soon as I get an email with a good deal, I can jump right on it and place an order.

Probably spent roughly $200 a week over the last three weeks on fun stuff.

[ray1970]

Having had to actually cook lately, I discovered this is BS.



Fourteen minutes into preparation and the water hasn?t gotten to a boil yet.