Panic Buying In South Africa – Is It Necessary? Millions of South Africans were caught with their pants down when the SA President made his public address on Sunday Evening, 15/03/2020. What Happened next? Panic stations for most South Africans who were unprepared.
Who Did Not Panic
The Preppers. Many people consider those of us who prep to be “unhinged”, “Doomsday fanatics” or “right-wingers”. In truth, as I stated in Preppers, Who And What Are They – Are You One, They are simply People who are self-insuring against some serious emergency, such as the pandemic that has just hit the world.
True, there are some or possibly some who are “unhinged”, “Doomsday fanatics” or “right-wingers” that prep but they do not define Preppers.
Why Did Preppers Not Panic
It is surely in everyone’s best interest to have some form of preparedness for emergencies and preppers just take it more seriously than most.
As a Prepper, you are taught to:
- Do your research,
- evaluate the realistically possible events that could pose a danger to you and your family
- Identify which of these you are prepping for
- Start prepping in an organised, cost-efficient manner
- Develop the skills you might need in those scenarios
- train your family,
- Prep with the Seniors in your family, and lastly
- Rinse and repeat.
Circumstances can change quickly and you need to re-evaluate your circumstances regularly. Preppers might not have prepped specifically for the current pandemic but by prepping, they already had:
so it was not necessary to rush out to the shop and panic buy everything you guessed you might need. Sure, they might have needed to buy in one or two items that were not in their planning but in general, they could sit tight got 2 weeks before needing to go out.
Most preppers have supplied for six months and more, besides water, but they have the knowledge and supplies to purify water for their own use.
Does Prepping Now Make Sense
There will be people whose circumstances will allow them to buy bulk at the last minute if the stock is available but, what if it is depleted before you manage to get to the stores, Not everyone can afford last-minute shopping.
The other side of the story is, what do those who do not have the cash to go out and buy in bulk at the last minute? This is where prepping comes into its own. Prepping is about systematically improving your preparations to deal with all types of emergencies that you may or probably will encounter. It can be done slowly over time and in a manner that does not break the bank.
If you had started prepping a year ago, you would have been ready for the announcement by the SA President about
COVID-19 virus (coronavirus). There would be no need for panic shopping and you could remain at home instead of rushing out to try to find shops that still had stock, exposing yourself to the risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Consider Prepping
Prepping is generally considered as insurance against a disaster that you cannot insure against. It is a means to give yourself a chance in desperate situations. There is, of course, no guarantee but at least you have a better chance.
Prepping should be a private, almost secret action where other people do not know what you have or what you have. The more people that know you prep and what you have, the more danger you are in. In an emergency, those who do not have and who know you have will come knocking on your door for help and they might not be knocking quietly or with empty hands. They will want some of (or all) of what you have to feed their family.
There will, of course, be some people who will know you prep. People that you approach for assistance and training. Luckily, they will be better prepared than you and will probably not be knocking on your door for help. Prepping is such a close community, that they will probably be offering you help.
In Conclusion
Panic Buying In South Africa – Is It Necessary? No, not really. Especially if you are prepared. Now, you cannot prepare for every possible scenario but, If you prepare for the most likely event that can befall you, you will have a better chance in almost any event. You might not have everything you need but you will have most of what you need to survive.
If you are interested in starting to prep for emergencies, please feel free to contact me here and I will get back to you.
For information on planning a long-term survival list, please go here.
“It is better to have prepared and never to need it than to be unprepared and be in desperate need of it”.
Be Aware. Be Safe. Be Prepared!