I have spent the better part of the last two months trying to help you all understand the importance of preparing for the “what if”. Well, today, let’s take a look at prepping for the “when”. Ben Franklin once said that in life, there were only two things that were certain, death & taxes. Death is inevitable. Weather you believe in a spiritual, all powerful creator or not, the only question surrounding death is when. Hopefully for us all it will be after a long and fulfilling life surrounded by loved ones and good memories. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. An untold number of people die every day, leaving behind loved ones that depended on them to provide shelter, food, and all the other necessities of life. There are two perspectives to use to look at this scenario.
On the one hand, there is the family provider. If your time were to come tomorrow or next week even, does your family have enough food to keep them going for the short term impact? How about the longer term? How long will it take for your loved ones to replace the lost income? Even a plentiful life insurance policy may take months to pay out. Wouldn’t you rest better knowing that your family would have food to eat for a few months or even a year or more? Would you feel better knowing that there is a stash of cash somewhere so that the bills could be paid at least for a while? How about the work around the house? Do your loved ones know how to take care of the garden? Collect seeds for the next year’s planting? How about caring for the livestock or general repairs?
On the other hand, there is the point of view of the spouse. Ask yourself what would happen if you lost that provider tomorrow. Do you have food put away? Cash for bills that need to be paid? Could you take care of the household chores if needed?
Some people disregard preparedness by saying “this would never happen to me”. Well, hopefully none of us will ever experience a disaster such as a tornado, nuclear accident or attack, hurricane, or any other natural or mane made disaster, but then again, isn’t losing a loved one a disaster in itself?