The Most Important Piece to Preparedness NOW

What do you think is the most important part of preparedness right now?  Do you think it’s your stockpile?  Maybe what’s most important is survival skills.  Or is your ability to garden and cook from scratch what’s most important?  Or what other things are important?  There could be great arguments that could be made that developing skills such as gardening or canning is very important now.  Another argument could be brought to bear for upping our physical fitness or stamina.  Even another aspect that has merit is gaining survival skills.  In my opinion, and since this is my blog, it’s the opinion that’s going to get written on (Though, I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments below)……In my opinion, becoming less of a consumer and more of a producer is the most important aspect of preparedness now.

Define your terms for me, Karen

So before we go any further, let’s define terms for the sake of this article.  According to Dictionary.com, a consumer is “a person or organization that uses a commodity or service.”  Also according to Dictionary.com, a producer is “a person who creates economic value, or produces goods and services.”

So take a moment and pause.  Ask yourself the question – on the whole, what do I do more?  Do I produce more or do I consume more? And more to the point – why is it important?

While I was working on this article I came across another which put it in an amazing and easily understood way!  According to JohnMacOnline, this is the difference between a consumer and a producer.

• Producers spend money on investment
• Consumers spend money on distraction

Producers view their money as a resource to help them accomplish goals, and they spend it accordingly.  They spend money on investment, and in ways that will allow the money to work FOR THEM.  Producers have a giving mindset with their money.

Consumers view their money as a resource to help distract them from their life, either consciously or subconsciously.  Rarely do they spend money in ways that allow it to work for them.  Consumers have a getting mindset with their money.

Producer or Consumer – What Is the Big Deal?

I’ve written on mental preparedness before, and mental preparedness is so very important.  The thing is that we can’t just stop with mental preparedness, but it needs to move forward.  Moving forward mentally in your preparedness journey means that you have to switch tacks.  The best way to propel yourself forward is to switch your mentality from one of being a consumer to being a producer, but why is that important?

Let’s start with two types of preparedness – There’s preparedness for “normal life” and there’s preparedness for SHTF and TEOTWAWKI.

Normal Life

In preparedness for normal life scenarios, we prep for disruptions like a storm that knocks out power, or a job loss, or a decrease in pay.  When we change our mindset from that of being a consumer to that of being a producer, we up our game to a whole new level.

Have you ever heard of a side hustle?  This could be anything from driving for Uber to taking a pizza delivery job to making and selling soap like a friend of mine, to writing a book like I did.  When you do this, you will be upping the positive side of your budget.

There are side hustles for just about everyone.  Is there something that you are really into, that you are passionate about, that you have a good knowledge base of?  Start there and brainstorm.  What can you do with that knowledge or passion?  Can you sell items that you make at a farmer’s market?  Do you have the desire to set up an Etsy Shop?  Could you do coaching in your area of expertise?

Once you have something to do, go at it with all your gusto.  Why?  Because the more resources that you have now, the more able you’ll be to stockpile necessary items for a hard time.  You may even eventually replace your income so that you have more time to spend working on the knowledge and skills that you’ll need.

TEOTWAWKI or SHTF

If you are a producer, as opposed to just a consumer, if and when all life goes to hell in a handbasket, you are much better set up to weather it.  Being a producer means that you have skills.   It means that you will have knowledge that others will need.  Being a producer means that you have learned how to adapt and that in itself will serve you if you have to live through TEOTWAWKI or the SHTF.

So besides creating side hustles to bring in more money, what are other ways that you can change your mindset from that of a consumer to a producer?

Five Concrete Ways of Switching from a Consumer to a Producer’s Mindset

1.) Being a Producer Means That You Can

Cook from Scratch

How is cooking from scratch producing?  Well, instead of buying a can of biscuits or buying pre-made frozen biscuits, make your own.  You aren’t consuming, you’re producing.  Instead of buying canned soup.  Make soup and pressure can the leftovers.  Baking cookies from scratch or making bread are both becoming lost arts.  If you’ve never baked bread from scratch, give it a try.  It’s not really hard.  It just takes time.

2.) Being a Producer Means That You Can Fix it yourself

Do you have a piece of clothing that needs mending?  Don’t throw it away – mend it, if it can be mended.  Do you have a vehicle that needs the oil changed?  Learn to do it yourself.   How about a wall that needs to be patched?  Our first house had plaster walls.  I learned a lot about patching walls at that point.

3.)  Being a Producer Means That You Can Make it Yourself

There are so many things that can easily be made yourself.  Knitting and crocheting are very easy to do!  You can make things like scarves, mittens, hats and even socks aren’t difficult to make.  If you have sufficient yard, even making an afghan is very simple!

Other things are simple as well.  I’ve made my own shampoo, soap, and toothpaste.  All of them were incredibly easy, once I learned the basics.

If you want an amazing reference on making a TON of different things yourself this book – Making It – has been an amazing reference for me on my journey.

4.)  Being a Producer means – You Can Grow It Yourself

Have you learned to garden yet?  Oh, my poor black thumb!  With practice, it has to get better!  Both last year and this year, something has come up to keep me from getting into gardening in full swing!  But even then, we have two apple trees that we’ve planted.  We also have raspberry and blackberry bushes that we’ve planted.  I overwintered garlic and onions which are all coming up now.  We do what we can when we can, right?

Each year try to grow a little more than you did last year.

5.) Being a Producer Means That You Can

Learn New Ways to Accomplish Old Tasks

You’ve been cooking and baking for years, right?  Nod yes with me.  Up and down.  Absolutely!  Or you can just pretend that you have been.  So if you’ve been doing it for so long, why not try doing it in a new and different way.  Cook over a fire, in a solar oven or do something as crazy as baking bread in a dutch oven!  Have you ever made toast over a fire?  Baked a pie over a fire?

What About You?

What do you think is the most important part of preparedness now?  Or if you agree with me, do you have any other ways that you can focus on becoming a producer vs. being a consumer?  Share it with us below so that we can all be better prepared.

 Together lets Love, Learn, Practice, and Overcome

There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links.  Some of the links may not be.  My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. These are the items that I have bought for my own family.  You can feel free to use my affiliate links, of which I will get a small amount in compensation, or you can choose to search out your products on your own.