This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more information.
If having money to pay for your needs and wants is the only measure of your well-being, the coronavirus pandemic currently roiling the world’s economy has done nothing to damage me and Mrs. Groovy. That’s the beauty of financial independence. Not being dependent on a job, business, or government check for your livelihood leaves you remarkably well-positioned to ride out an economic storm.
But what if things got really bad? What if our country suffered a Venezuelan-like collapse and supermarkets were stripped bare and basic services such as electricity and police protection were sporadically provided or nonexistent? How well-off would Mrs. Groovy and I be then?
The truth is that Mrs. Groovy and I would be screwed. We’re pretty much recession-proof, but we’re very far removed from being disaster- or collapse-proof.
The good news is that the coronavirus pandemic has made us painfully aware of this vulnerability. And because we’re financially independent and not scrambling to pay our bills, we have the luxury to step back, take stock of our most glaring shortcomings, and then rationally figure out how to address those shortcomings. Here’s our rational figuring as of today.
Three Levels of Security
The way we see it, there are three levels of security: recession-proof security, disaster-proof security, and collapse-proof security.
We define recession-proof security as not being dependent on anyone for our income. We got this covered and don’t see any need to change how we’re managing our spending or the portfolio that’s backstopping our spending.
We define disaster-proof security as recession-proof security plus not being dependent on anyone for food and basic services for one to three months. This is our most glaring shortcoming and I’ll explain how we’re going to address it shortly.
We define collapse-proof security as recession-proof security plus disaster-proof security plus not being dependent on anyone for food and basic services for the remainder of our lives. We’re ignoring this level of security because 1) it’s a major undertaking in terms of money and time, and 2) it’s not very likely to be needed.
Okay, with our security levels defined, here’s how we’ll be addressing disaster-proof security over the next year or so.
A Prepper Pantry
We got a lot to learn here. At first glance, it seems pretty easy. Just get a bunch of canned food, peanut butter, oatmeal, and powdered milk. But how much food and cooking supplies would we need for 30 days? And where should we locate our prepper pantry? And how often should we replace items in our prepper pantry?
The good news is that the internet is chock full of websites dedicated to prepping and there is no shortage of 30-day food lists for the prepping nubie. Here’s the rudimentary prepper pantry we’ll be putting together over the next several months.
- 10 2-liter bottles of flavored seltzer water
- 2 boxes of powdered milk
- A 20-lbs bag of rice
- A 20-lbs bag of beans
- 2 jars of honey
- 2 containers of oatmeal
- 10 boxes of pasta
- 30 cans of fruit
- 30 cans of vegetables
- 30 cans of meat
- 2 jars of both peanut butter and jelly
- 2 jars of coconut oil
- 2 bottles of olive oil
- 2 bottles of vitamins
The Groovy Garden
We got over three acres of land here at Groovy Ranch. Do you think it’s time we devoted a small portion of our land to growing our own food?
The problem is we don’t know what the hell we’re doing. So we’re going to start small—with some container gardening. We’re going to buy four or five feeding troughs (see below), and Mrs. Groovy’s going to select a handful of herbs and vegetables to grow. Right now she’s leaning toward basil, cilantro, oregano, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers. We’ll see. I’m going to let her run with this one. I did come across a YouTube video the other day about growing potatoes in a five-gallon bucket and that’s going to be my baby.
DIY Protection
We’re in the middle of nowhere. We have far more cows for neighbors than humans. And even though we have a home security system and a competent county sheriff, we’re basically on our own. Good guys with guns are at least 15 minutes away. So even absent a disaster, it’s imperative that we become a little more self-reliant when it comes to self-defense. To that end, we purchased an entry-level home-defense shotgun. Below is a picture of Mrs. Groovy firing our Mossberg 500 during our first shotgun lesson. Once we get past the coronavirus crisis, we’ll get our concealed-handgun permits and a couple of handguns.
Whole-House Generator
We talked to our electrician and he said a whole-house generator would cost around $6,000. That’s a fairly steep price to pay for the rare electricity outage. (For the year and a half we’ve been living at Groovy Ranch, the electricity has gone out twice. Once for 20 minutes and another time for roughly eight hours.) But if a monster hurricane rolls through the Raleigh area one day, we’ll be ready. Besides, we’re not taking any vacations this year, so we might as well throw this year’s vacation budget at disaster security.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? I say financial independence gives you the luxury of addressing disaster-level security and this is another great reason why financial independence is something every American should strive for. Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Peace.
Glad to see yall shooting. The 6 of us went and got our concealed permits too. Luv that bout NC(from BFLO, NY). It’s a nice hobby going to all the many gun shows our state has. And it’s an investment to.
We live in the middle of the city so we can’t really prep that much. We have enough food to last a few weeks.
I’d like to get a gun at some point, but probably not this time.
In the last 6 years, I have invested in international travel.
The returns were the cultural experiences – some were questionable, but most were memorable and fantastic.
One invaluable return was the knowledge how effective is the country rules and orders are being managed.
If I have a choice to fly out of US and stay until the pandemic is subsided, Japan would be my top choice.
If you are FI and healthy for travel, after COVID-19, travel more and find another comfortable place beyond the US border is the ultimate preparation for the next crisis!
Yes, this pandemic has provided an opportunity to see what is lacking and what we should be prepping for going forward.
My husband is pretty proficient in gun handling and already has his concealed pistol permit, but unfortunately I do not. We have the same shotgun, good choice.
Good luck on your gardening! We are going to start our seeds in our garden beds soon.
Hmmmm, doesn’t look like social distancing to me. Unless the instructor lives in your home. Unsure if you’ve gotten the order to stay home in your state.
You live in an area where there are many homesteaders and you have 3 acres!!! Check out Justin Rhodes (youtube) and Josh Sattin. He runs the city farm in your town.
An interesting read, but I can’t see myself really going in the direction of prepping for these types of extended durations. I can see that such scenarios might be possible but I think the probability must be very remote. If we apply such planning for staying alive to other things in this same way then, for example, we shouldn’t get in a car because the likelihood of a life altering car accident is probably greater than a situation occurring when I have no access to food or water for 3 months. Hopefully I’m not proved wrong!
And of course, not being from the US, I could have sat all day thinking of the things I needed to stock up on and I would never have come up with a gun. I find this difference in thought process fascinating (and perhaps a little scary).
David @iretiredyoung recently posted…Are FIRE posts pointless during Covid-19?
About 3 years ago, my husband went to a series of seminars at church dealing with disaster preparedness. They recommended being able to shelter in place for 3 weeks with no outside help in the event of a disaster. We purchased an emergency food supply for a family of 4 with a 20 year shelf life. I think it’s a 30 day supply. We have about four 5-gallon containers of water, we keep cases of drinking water locked away from our kids (they wouldn’t stay out of it), and we also have camping supplies on hand. I’m sure we need to revisit some things because I can’t find a darn flashlight in this house right now. Thanks for the reminder.
Mr. Groovy and/or your readers…how do you keep your pantry fresh? Canned food expires, oils and peanut butter go rancid, etc.
Before we moved into our motorhome as mostly full-timers I had built up a large pantry. Much of it made its way into the rig but we noticed some had expired and some were a bit funky. I understand the idea of rotation but it takes us forever to eat 30 cans of fruit or go through large quantities of oil.
To keep a pantry stocked and ready you simply need to rotate your supplies. We “shop” from ours and then that item goes on the grocery list. When we replace the item on the next trip to the grocery store it goes to the back of the supplies. That keeps items fresh and in date. Our pantry list is different than the Groovies. It is good to customize your pantry to items you enjoy. A situation where you actually need it shouldn’t be made worse by having 20 cans of a food you really hate. For instance we keep dark chocolate in ours.
Learn some first aid, and get some first aid supplies. In a real disaster, if your local hospital is open, there many be a several day wait to get seen for minor emergencies.
Make sure your tetanus shots are up to date (every ten years) clostridium tetani is in the soil everywhere.
I like your three definitions, and I agree it’s smart to be disaster-ready. Also, very cool to see Mrs G shooting that .12 gauge shotgun! No better sound on Earth than racking that slide, right?
Re the generator, we bought a 7500 watt and had an electrician wire a circuit for it. I wrote about it here: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/am-i-a-prepper-no-just-prepared/
A lot cheaper than a whole house generator, may be something to consider. I suspect a lot of folks are realizing their lack of preparation w this virus. Good for you for recognizing the Gap and taking steps to fill it!
I was pleasantly surprised at Mrs. G’s reaction to the shotgun. She was very unnerved when she fired a handgun several years ago. I expected her to be equally unnerved when firing a shotgun. But she really enjoyed it. I’m slowly turning her into a frontier woman. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. And thanks for the generator tip. I just pulled up your post.
Mr Groovy, let me help! Back in the day when I first started blogging I focused primarily on prepping. I can hook you guys up. I’ll even write a post if you want.
I accept. This is the perfect time for Prepping 101 post, and I’d love to have your expertise. Let’s talk.