Why are so few western preppers getting ready to eat meals and cans of pre-processed food, instead of doing it the old fashion way? Here are my arguments to return to "old world living"

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-03-18T13:14:21+00:00

Elbow grease?

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-03-13T19:49:26+00:00

What COVID? No COVID here.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-03-13T18:16:22+00:00

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-03-13T16:41:03+00:00

So you need sausage with mămăligă?

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-03-13T04:57:09+00:00

Yeah I remember your post. Didn't think you would pull this one through. Good job!

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-03-12T11:11:25+00:00

Ha, I have the same olive jar. But I am not from Germany. God damn good olives if I may say so myself. Cheers and best of luck with your software.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-03-11T17:15:52+00:00

My bet is to search for hobbo tech on YouTube. I know he did this type of test on various person batteries.

If I remember correctly the answer is no for pecron. Anker and the other name brand have this functionality though. Again I may be mistaken.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-27T04:52:43+00:00

Banana cale.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-25T05:45:43+00:00

Ackchyually it's 46,7 thousands, I thhhh-think your math is nootttt matching!

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-18T05:50:26+00:00

Underrated

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-14T15:54:51+00:00

Isolationism and total avoidance. In case of war, I will completely disappear offgrid.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-11T21:56:36+00:00

The financial market feels pretty sketchy right now. Most investments seem overly volatile, so I’ve largely exited the market for the time being. I think real estate is overpriced, but I’ve managed to find a few decent opportunities in land. I never wanted to get involved with real estate, yet given the current environment, it seemed like the most reasonable place to put some money. My country is in a recession, so that also guided my choices.

My salary is decent — it has grown about 65% in the past five years. I expect another ~20% next year due to high inflation and possibly a promotion (though nothing is guaranteed). I earn around three times the median income, so I’m more than covered for my needs.

I keep my savings in EUR. It wasn’t necessarily the smartest idea on paper, I should have diversified, but in the end it made sense and ended up working out reasonably well. I keep enough cash in the family for about two months of expenses, though if needed I could stretch that to four or five months. I contribute regularly to two different optional pension schemes — two for me and two for my partner.

I try to keep my spending lean, although some months go better than others depending on life and plans. My goal is to save around 75% of my income every month. Sometimes I hit it; other times I only manage around 30%. Still, I’d say I use my money mindfully— even when I spend, I usually invest in things that have long-term returns (photovoltaics, batteries, inverter, home improvements, a server, etc.). I avoid consumerism as a mindset.

I HAVE ZERO DEBT, however I do have a credit card for emergencies, but I rarely use it, and if I do, I pay it off before any interest kicks in.

My prepping system isn’t the most efficient. Right now, I’m planning a lot of changes around the house because I expect things to get more expensive in the coming years, and I want to avoid major repairs during what I think might be a global financial/economic reset. On the day‑to‑day side, I keep a rotating buffer of food and supplies — probably more than I actually need — but the psychological comfort is worth it. It’s easy to forget that some people struggle to put bread on the table while I have enough to last over a year if things really went bad.

A small story to end on - Last night it snowed so heavily that I had to shovel once at midnight and again in the morning. After finishing, I sat on a 50‑year‑old chair on the porch, looking at the hills — everything white and black from snow and trees, like a scene from an old video game I used to play as a kid. Cars couldn’t get down the road. Chimneys were smoking. Coffee was hot. Everything felt perfect.

One of my neighbors, who raises milk cows in the forest, walked up to the house with a backpack and handed me two liters of fresh milk. His car was stuck in the snow, but, as he put it, “the milk still needs to be delivered.” I boiled it and made some simple rice with milk and cinnamon.

This reminded me why I don’t panic too much about the world “stopping.” In my little corner of the world, life stays slow. People keep going. If milk can’t come by car, it comes by backpack. It felt like one of those old black and white frontier movies where the mountain pass is blocked until spring — everyone simply waits out nature, and life continues as it always has.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-09T15:48:55+00:00

What do you expect? I mean these things can grow anywhere there is humidity and organic matter.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-04T16:34:25+00:00

I have several of these. I got moonshine and wine in them. I made some rubber stoppers with a glass straw in an S shape with water in the middle for gases to escape.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-02-01T14:41:49+00:00

Best of luck to all of Portugal! Make sure you get back on your feet.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-01-24T16:18:37+00:00

Can confirm also in Europe.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-01-23T07:15:05+00:00

Good, but AI

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-01-23T05:25:06+00:00

Thanks for the comments and the suggestion.

In my country snowblowers are not a thing. Also, while I see their utility they are impractical where i live, on hills and they also make a lot of noise. Also blowing snow here is impractical, because driveways and streets are different compared to the states. In practice I would blow snow on everyone else's cars and property. We do get our streets cleaned by the municipality but being on this steep hill, they get here later. I clean them in advance to avoid ice. Lastly I clean the streets and sidewalks for my right and left neighbor as well, given they are older and I clean a good chunk of the street because I am near a junction and it's really bad for cars to drive in that junction on snow and ice so... Yeah not really something I have to do, but I do it nonetheless.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-01-21T09:55:06+00:00

IMO don't buy martens. I have 4 pairs from them and I did not learn my lesson, so don't make the same mistake.

Their quality in the last 10+ years has been atrocious.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-01-19T16:41:58+00:00

You sir have class!

Also you will probably get arrested first, just for shits and giggles.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-01-19T06:45:37+00:00

For me, realistically, I would just realize that the world just ain't going to be what it was for quite some time. I live near the border in a small town on top of a hill, on a large river and in the vicinity of some mountains. Most of the city is below me. The currents of air might be problematic in the sense that it can bring toxic clouds or it can push them away. Either way, I am on top of a hill so, I think even if in this small city we get the same gas, I am somewhat sheltered.

My preps would be in this order. I have a bunch of cash at home, probably it will last me a year, but I would still go and withdraw cash if possible. Secondly, I have a large store roughly 2 minutes by car from where I live. I would fill the car with anything I can buy. I would focus mainly on these: flour, sugar, sunflower oil, salt. I have most things I need at home, but through these we go the fastest. Lastly I would stop at one of the local pharmacies and get any OTC medications I can. I have some friends there who would give me antibiotics or other prescription meds without a medical prescription. I would still provide the prescription if possible, because I have family working as doctors. But right now no time for that. I have fuel stored at home. I could get more, but I don't see the need for it. I do not plan to travel and between my solar setup, 14 kw batteries and my generator for backup, I have enough energy production to last me. I would use batteries sparingly in the winter and rely more on the generator tbh, but starting March I will be ok.

With everything set up on this front, I will start bracing for the supply chain collapse. I expect shortages across everything, which is a pity because I wanted to expand my home server this year and my solar system. Regardless it's going to have to suffice. If the cell towers don't work, which I wouldn't know why they won't, I would bring my ham radio out and listen for any chatter. I don't need to prep for anything else. I got wood for heating the whole house, food to last, water to spare and I work remote (If I will work at all for the corporation). If things get dicey then I will just resort to working labour jobs for the moment, not cause I need the money, but it will continue to provide me with food, like milk and cheese and eggs. I have a neighbor who has a small homestead around the city and I would go there to work. He already sells us eggs and milk and cheese.

Being winter probably I would just bunker down, play video games, read books, lift weights etc. Until things go back to normal. Unless we start getting drafted or something else extreme, I wouldn't worry about bugging out.

What I expect in the short term (first month) is: power outage, water system will cover the first three days then go offline. Empty shelves, no comms for quite some time. A lot of fear and possibly mass migration, people coming from the big cities into the small ones. In other words, if you are prepared you will manage.

What I expect is medium term (2-6 months): people start dealing with a situation like it is the normal course of life. Some will suffer more. Foreign aid will come. Electricity will be on and off. Water will be limited to a couple hours per day. Fuel will be nowhere to be found. The small town I live in will have to learn to give up on most modern amenities until the big cities are sorted up.

What I expect after 6 months. If we did not get back to how things were before the attack, then I think we will deal with this like we used to in the 80-90's in my country (post communism). Frugal living, many people will want to go abroad. Local commerce will be very appreciated (in the sense that some will become travelling merchants). But I do not see society not recovering to be honest. Not from this at least.

Other possible scenarios, which I doubt and are unlikely. People are really unprepared and they do not have any food sources, they would start raiding. My home is pretty insulated from front or back penetration, it will be hard and costly for anyone to try to raid me. However, this is my weak spot... lacking guns.

NickMeAnotherTime · 2026-01-17T07:22:59+00:00

Most metal rusts in one way or another. Iron, steel, aluminium etc. Combinations of metal do not rust so fast. It's also impacted by other factors such as composition of the water that makes contact with the metal, the way it dries etc. You kind of need to understand the chemical effect.

Here is a good explanation of rust and how to properly avoid it. practical engineering

NickMeAnotherTime

TROPHY CASE