Yes, it does sound funny but this is what I struggle with when I decide how prepared I should be.
I shared before that I grew up around Preppers and it was normal for most religious families in my community to have years of food stored away. I saw the tremendous waste in this and said I would never make that mistake. They would spend thousands of dollars each year and then forget what they bought and it would go to waste.
The useful thing I learned about this is that when you live in a rural area you have to depend on yourself. I shared before how I have an emergency 72 hour kit, fire starter, first aid kit (taken first aid/EMT classes) and extra food/water. I even have N95 masks to protect myself and another mask that is N95 like for long term wear.
What I did not prepare for was this kind of air pollution. Given that I have asthma it wasn’t the proactive way that I like to be. I have thought about buying an air filter in the past, but the cost of them was high and it seemed like a luxury I didn’t need. Now I wish I had bought one sooner and been using it.
Of course I am excited for my air filter to arrive and got an email today saying it was being shipped. I think this means that I will have to always have an air filter in the future since the chance of forest fires is now a known, and of course you prepare for known issues. I am not thrilled at having to manage this but the alternative is being sick and that is even more costly.
I try to only have the things that for sure have value and won’t be wasted. There are prepper supplies that I would like to buy, but they, fall into the luxury category. They would be nice to have in an emergency but they are a luxury until a situation arises where they seem more needed. An example of this is a seawater to water filter station. I found one for $2000 that I really liked, but there is no need for this now. If NYC had reliable water problems, then I will buy it.
I think its reasonable to buy things as risk present themselves, not overspending and stocking up for scenarios that may not happen. Nuclear bunkers are great in theory but a nightmare in practice. Being claustrophobic I’d rather the end come quickly then get stuck living that nightmare. On a positive note the air is slowly getting better. I hope everyone is taking care of themselves and each other.