A Single Mom’s Perspective on Prepping (2022)

As a single mom, when I say I am a prepper to non-preppers, they immediately think I am automatically a crazy Doomsday Prepper. But when did it become wrong for a person to want to prepare for the unknown, civil unrest, and inflation steamrolling us as we speak?

I Choose

I choose to prepare because I want life's events to be a speed bump, not a brick wall that is impossible to get over.

I choose to prepare because I want to sleep at night knowing that my children are safer because of my decisions. I decide to prepare because I am a single Mom, and if I don't prepare, who will? There is no knight in shining armor, no strapping man to save me. I am the brains and the brawns in this house.

What is a single parent to do when staring down the barrel of this crazy life? What steps have I taken that you can too to make your odds of survival during uncertain times better?

The Mental Game

Before any bags of rice and beans comes the mental fortitude to know that you can do it. You can be the strength to prepare and look beyond the scared for yourself and your family. One needs to look no further than Mind4Survival to learn how to be a better, sharper-minded person when times get tough.

Luckily, I spent most of my adult life with a former military, combat-experienced person who always brought perspective into our home from a survival-minded standpoint. Without that person in your life, it helps to know that somewhere to improve your mental survival. Those somewheres are the websites, Facebook groups, YouTube channels, and elsewhere within the preparedness community. Check them out and decrease your chances of being blindsided when things turn for the worst.

Don’t Go It Alone

Once you have decided that you are mentally focused and ready to move towards your family's preparedness, you need to find like-minded people to walk with you along this journey.

During my early years of preparedness, I felt lucky to have found Dale and Lisa at The Survivalist Prepper podcast, In the Rabbit Hole, and Jack Spirko. I was able to feel a connection to people that seemed real yet had more knowledge about this mindset than I did.

I spent those years gaining knowledge and making plans, even if just in my mind of what I would do in the event of an SHTF. Now that I have become a single mom prepper, I have added more than just SHTF advice to my survival plan.

Owe No One

One of the most recent revelations about the single mom's life was that I had a want to get all the things I needed for my family's survival, but I didn't have the funds to cash flow the system.

What good was all my stuff if I was drowning in debt every month? How about if I am forced from my job over a vaccine? Who would put a roof over my kid's heads and food on their table? What about the personal SHTF scenario when I was out of work because of COVID?

This is why Dave Ramsey has been such a tremendous recent influence on my prepping plans and lifestyle. When I owe money to no one, I can afford all the items I want for my preparedness. Whether it's a personal or a global SHTF event, it won't matter because I won't need so much money to survive.

You can prepare for SHTF now by making your prep expenses part of your household budget. That might mean getting a side hustle job for a while to afford what you need.

Choose Your Own Path

The great thing about our current global lifestyle is that you can read this blog and say, “I hate every one of those people,” and still follow your path to preparedness with influencers you feel connected with.

Keep an open mind and look for people with proven track records, not just a get-rich-quick scheme. Longevity is a better indicator of true value than how many likes or followers a person has.

Moderation Truly Is Key

Over the transition to a single mom prepper, the biggest thing I have learned is ‘everything in moderation.' Store some extra food, learn some new skills, pay off your debt at a comfortable pace, and adjust your mindset, but do it all for the right reasons.

Do it to better yourself and your family because if you aren't enjoying the life you're living right now, then what's the point of preparing in the first place?

Additional Resources:

• Top Prepping Tips! (Step-By-Step Survival Guide)