The election is done and the new administration has been installed. Is it time to stop prepping yet? That answer is HELL NO!

It doesn't matter if your choice of candidate got into office or the opposing candidate got into office. You must always stay alert and be aware of what is going on politically, locally and financially.

Now is not the time to let up with your preparations. So, are we on doom and gloom watch? In my opinion we are not at this time.

However, the political atmosphere across the globe still has our adversaries spooling up to do damage to the United States of America. Will that affect you and your family? My answer is, I sure hope it doesn't. But, being a realist it probably will. So let's jump into some scenarios and see where we go with our preparations.

If you're new to the prepping lifestyle and it truly is a lifestyle, then there is much to learn and much to absorb. We have been involved in this lifestyle for more than four decades. Do I feel like chicken little running around saying the sky is falling? No not really. But I do keep looking up. There has been an ample amount of alarmist that have made their podcasts and YouTube channels feeding that belief. One could say that the RV prepper podcast is just like that. I will not deny that I have not alarmed people along the way. But if a warning is justified in my mind, then I am going to get the news out any way I can.

Do I feel more comfortable with the current administration in power? And to that, I'll answer I am cautiously optimistic. Do I feel safer than when we had the previous administration in power? Time and actions will be the judge of that. It can all change in an instant. So we just keep learning and building our preparations.

One thing that we have not focused on a lot in the RV prepper podcast has been on the subject of firearms. Just like underwear it's a personal choice. We're going to be taking some time in a few episodes this year to talk about firearms and their place in the prepping environment. We have talked about firearms in previous episodes and the need for true hands on training from competent trainers. This is an important step that many people shortchanged themselves by not getting competent training. There is a plethora of trainers across the country. You need to do your due diligence and check references before you sign up for one of them. It can be a fabulous environment for you to learn safety, responsibility, accuracy, and realizing that you don't have all the answers. When you do spend your hard earned money and go for training, go there to learn from that instructor and not to teach that instructor that you are better than him or her. This happens a great deal. You must have an open mind and be willing to learn a new skill.

If you want a recommendation, drop me an email inforvprepper@gmail.com and we will be more than glad to provide you with some.

When you ask somebody what a prepper is they will more than likely say that they are a nut job waiting for the world to end. I can confidently and honestly say there are many people just like that that have declared themselves preppers. They live that lifestyle, to be ready for that conflict should it come.

Our goal is to avoid any type of conflict as much as possible. But we must be prudent in our training to be ready to protect ourselves, our family and friends should the need arise. In several of our episodes both Rhonda and I have talked about us working on the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle, suggests that roughly 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes. So with that thought in mind, will 20% of our preps be able to cover 80% of the hardship should they arise. Who knows. This sounds good in principle but it's hard to believe in practice.

We always work on a Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) in an effort to become more sufficient with our preparations. We often review where we stand as far as water, food, fire and other supplies. Adjustments have happened a great deal in the past. Now? We appear to have hit a level of readiness that stable. Is it complete? It depends…..

We have often stated that you can't be prepared for everything. Even if you're a mega billionaire that can build a big bunker on an island in Hawaii. You can't buy your way into success. But having that kind of money certainly helps. You could have all the money in the world but if you don't know how to take care of yourself and to support others through learned skills, then the money is just tinder to use to build a fire.

Many people think preppers are lonely people that go off and hide in the woods and drop out of society. The truth is there are many like that. It is where they feel safe from what they perceive as a threat. Perhaps it is also that they just want to be left alone.

Many are just everyday average people stocking a little extra food at their house along with some water, extra clothes and sometimes guns and ammunition. The joking mantra of preppers is “Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids”.

Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? While those items will help you to survive, there are skills that far outweigh their value that is truly needed to thrive and survive.

I want to ask a favor of you. Please send us an e-mail to inforvprepper@gmail.com And tell us what you think prepping is or should be. I value your input and we respond to every e-mail we get.

Skills

Skills diminish went they are not used. Are we the best at keeping our skills sharp? Unfortunately, no. We are working on that challenge, and it is starting to get caught up to date. We often use our down time to test products and evaluate their effectiveness. There are some good products out there. However, there is a plethora of crap too. If I were asked to give a percentage of the skill level right now, I would have to judge it at 85%. Room for improvement is a continuous struggle. I want perfection and I want it now. Maybe I should call JG Wentworth!

Being a social neighbor led me to let my neighbors know on either side of our house that we are there to help them should the need arise. Perhaps I was foolish to do that. Politically were 180° apart. However, I trust our neighbors. They are good people.

It has been said by many prepping authors and trainers that you can't go it alone.

That statement is true for the most part.

There are always exceptions.

We help our neighbors when we are asked and sometimes we help when we are not asked.

Like a surprise snowfall, Rhonda and I will get out and shovel the walks.

One of our neighbors usually gets up at least two hours before we do and many times he has beaten us to the punch of shoveling the walks.

And we appreciate that and always thank him for his efforts and deeds. And we depend equally on the neighbors to the other side of us that are much younger than we are and many times if we are late getting up they will also shovel our walks. We extend the same gratitude and appreciation to them as well. But out of the three houses we're the only ones that have a snow thrower.

And when the snow is deep enough, it gets cranked up and goes to work. We had something funny happen this year when our younger neighbors asked us if we were going to crank up Big Orange and plow. I answered in the affirmative and laughed like hell. We all had a great laugh.

Neighbors look out for each other. We are a community and we'll do anything to help our neighbors out. We also know that they would do the same for us if asked.

I have become known as the neighborhood snoop. Not that I creep up on people and look through their blinds. I am home a great deal of time depending on our travel schedule. When I am here, I pay attention to people, vehicles and animals that are moving through the area. Even in my aging process, I still keep memories of cars, faces and animals. I note when I see them and look for any oddities.

People are creatures of habits usually walking the same direction each and every day. I pay attention to our cameras in order to evaluate traffic around the house. Am I paranoid? I don’t think so, I just call it awareness. I pay attention as often as I can.

This is known as situational awareness.

Just today I had a solicitor come to the door as I am writing todays show. I scared the hell out of him when I talked to him through the camera system. I felt it strange that they were out trying to inspect siding and roofs for possible sales. I have about 18 inches of snow on the roof right now. I declined of course. His image is on the hard drive in perpetuity should something go wrong in the neighborhood.

Pay attention to your area of operation. Look for oddities, look for trouble. Verify, Verify and Verify. And stay prepared to Thrive and Survive.

Keep On Prepping