The reason we stockpile supplies in case of a SHTF scenario. We horde these valuable goods because if things broke bad, they will be either very hard or actually impossible to get a hold of.
But what items actually fall under that?
Let’s assume that the SHTF scenario is this: for one reason or another, the country you live in has dissolved their government, and that all major services have been closed down or abandoned. Operating on this idea, we can expect to lose access to the following.
Transportation
Big business is dead. When the local dollar falls to zero and there’s no government regulation, everyone is going to steal everything they can from their workplace and run away into the night. This means that anything you can’t access on your own is essentially gone. Literally anything not locally produced will become a limited resource. This covers most things, to be frank, from tools to weapons to certain foods.
Fuel
Originally, this section was going to be about fuels. A gasoline generator will only last as long as your gasoline. But between solar panels, hand cranks, and wood, there’s plenty of ways to generate electricity. But fuels are another thing. Your car, your lawnmower, and your generators run on a limited resource, gasoline. Gas stoves and heaters are the same way. Make sure your preparations do not rely on a non-renewable fuel source.
Communication
Unless you’ve built your own radio tower and have enough electricity to maintain it, then communications are going to get pretty small. A very small number of citizens have or can operate a CB radio. Cell phone towers will lose connection quick enough. The worst part of it all is the dependency on each other. It doesn’t matter how prepared you are, if everyone else ISN’T, then you’re still talking to no one.
There’s a great deal of things to consider when living in a SHTF world. Make sure you don’t forget anything.