Helping the Right Way with Survival Prepper Strategies for Women
As a woman and a survivalist-type, I am still learning and accumulating
Survival preppers who are featured in the news or on television programs are frequently portrayed as males who live in isolated areas and discuss conspiracy theories.
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In recent times, the concept of survival preparedness has gained significant popularity, particularly in response to the unexpected impact of a pandemic.
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You don’t have to be a robust woodsman who lives in seclusion in a bunker to begin your journey into emergency preparedness. Many women, regardless of their marital status, serve as the heads of households.
You may have the sole responsibility to maintain your budget, purchase all of the goods that your family needs, manage your finances, and ensure the overall health of everyone through normal times as well as emergencies.
You may be good in a crisis or someone who typically waits for government officials and agencies to step up and rescue you. But as we have seen in the past, whether it’s a blizzard that knocks out the grid or a virus that shuts down businesses, you must be in full control over your safety and survival.
Related – Survival Prepper Tips for Knowing When It’s Time to Bug Out
As a woman, you may have certain obstacles and needs that are different from what a man would face in a survival situation. You want to make sure that you are aware of these challenges and ready to meet them head-on, whether you’re living alone or with others.
Preparing for the Worst: Empowerment through Disaster Survival Preparations
When you begin studying survival preparedness, you’ll discover that the emphasis is on the necessary supplies and achieving a sense of peace. Preparedness for crises, including personal and widespread, is a valuable skill.
Most information available on the internet is aimed at men. Furthermore, they fail to address the unique requirements of women. Even if you’re looking for information on wilderness survival tailored towards women, you may encounter silly blogs solely focused on glamorous camping and relaxation.
Even some of the survival equipment being sold nowadays, such as a pink, oversized tactical vest, is specifically designed to attract the attention of others, making it potentially unsafe.
Read this – 25 Wild Edibles to Search For in Your Neighborhood
You’ll need to be completely truthful regarding the specific requirements you possess as a woman, including those of your mother, sisters, or other females in your personal life. While certain requirements are shared among women, others are unique to each individual.
We require basic necessities such as food, water, and housing; even so, there may be disparities, for instance, the dietary requirements of a man compared to a woman, based on their height and weight. Through gaining knowledge about how to prepare for everything, regardless of whether it requires an adjustment specifically tailored to women, you will feel more empowered, knowing you are prepared for any challenges that come your way.
The Unique Challenges Women Face to Survive
Many individuals tend to overlook gender when discussing survival preparation, yet it is crucial to recognize that women possess distinct requirements that may not apply to their male counterparts. While this may be seen as an unjust reality, it is a reality that women must confront.
For instance, when discussing personal survival circumstances, some individuals may feel trapped in a violent relationship because they are frightened to depart or don’t wield control over the money.
You must be prepared to cope with any physical and financial situation. Your survival preparations should be carefully planned to address any potential weaknesses.
Just as you would need to plan for a potential domestic violence scenario, you need to get ready for a situation where you have a hidden cache of money, duplicates of your identification documents and essential documents, as well as a disposable cell phone in case your primary device gets lost or stolen.
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Your emergency kit should include all the basic necessities, such as food, water, shelter, and first-aid materials. It’s recommended to keep one of these kits in your home, another at work, and one in the car in case you need to leave quickly.
If you’re in a financial predicament where you don’t have complete control over your money, or if your income isn’t as high as others in your industry, take action to improve your situation. Start paying off debts, rebuilding your credit, and taking control of your financial situation.
Putting aside an emergency fund that can sustain you and your family for at least three months in the event of a disaster is crucial. Protect your income and your home.
The physical strength of women may differ from that of men. Of course, this can differ from person to person. In general, you may have less muscle power and strength in emergency situations, which can pose a threat.
While you may have an advantage in speed, agility, or perhaps endurance, consider developing physical strength. This will help you when you need to rely on your abilities, such as lifting heavy objects, rescuing someone trapped, or similar tasks.
Guidelines on Setting a Budget for Women Preppers
In survival prepping, your income may vary, depending on the level of support you receive from others. Determine how much money you need for the necessities of life. Then, decide how to use the extra money.
You must set aside some of your funds for your emergency savings. The remaining amount can be used to purchase survival gear. It’s important to maintain accessible cash in the event of an emergency rather than relying on assets that may take time to sell.
Begin with the fundamental needs of everyone in your family. These include the items you require as an adult and the necessities of your children and pets. Water is most important, and you want long-term storage containers for this purpose.
It’s crucial to have a food supply that will last between 30 to 60 days. While grocery shopping, look for discounts on canned goods and other necessities such as dried beans and grains.
It’s also crucial to have a basic first-aid kit that you can gradually enhance. Additionally, you’ll need to consider your shelter requirements. This might include a tarpaulin, but it will most likely need to be a simple tent that your entire family can quickly erect if necessary.
Once you’ve covered the basics, you should assess your needs based on potential risks. For instance, if you’re a female living in a place where winters are harsh, you’ll need to prepare for both cold and potential power failures.
Solar devices can be helpful in this situation, but having a backup generator is also a good idea. If you live in an area prone to tornadoes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters, having a safe room in your home can provide protection from strong winds and potential flooding.
Your budget will determine what types of equipment you can purchase. For instance, you may not be able to afford a whole-house generator, but you could still purchase one that’s sufficient to keep the fridge operational.
If you’re shopping for items like emergency rations on a restricted budget, you’ll need to purchase in large quantities and take advantage of special offers, such as buy-one-get-one-free.
Investing in high-quality and long-lasting survival gear is essential. It’s better to wait for a short period to purchase a sturdy bug-out bag than to go for a cheaply made one that will tear and be useless in the long run.
First, you should prioritize allocating funds for short-term emergencies such as a weather disaster. However, saving for larger purchases that offer long-term security, like land for a farm, livestock, and expensive equipment, will become necessary over time.
You must buy various child-related products if you’re expecting a baby or have young children. These may include items that will meet your current needs and those you’ll need in the future as your offspring grows.
Read this – 27 Emergency Items for Pregnant Women and Newborns
If you find you don’t have enough money to begin your journey as a survivalist, you might want to generate additional income by doing tasks on the internet to supplement what you’re already making. This will allow you to allocate more of your earnings to this goal.
Coming next: Women’s Edition – Beginner Disaster Survival Strategies, Part 2: Safety, Nutrition and Medical, and Survival Skills.
I’m the daughter of 2 original survivalists who moved from the north to sunny Florida. My mother, along with her parents, bought 30 mostly uncleared acres in 1938. The first home was made of pecky-cypress and built by a house-raising. My mother raised 10,000 chickens.
My divorced mother met and married my father in 1948. From pine trees on our property, he hand-built a log cabin. He also built a tarpaper-lined 65’x45′ pool with duck pond overflow. We had an artesian well for our water and powering our hand-built waterwheel for the pool. He built a substantial cantilevered roof workshop with a car pit in the massive cement floor.
Since my early teens, I have read a ton of books about survival, prepping, the bomb, an apocalypse, homestead living, and SHTF situations. As an adult, I continue to read sci-fi, survival prepping, and science. I practice a prepper lifestyle albeit a bit modified, read a lot, buy a lot, pack/store a lot of anything survival related.
Read my About Me post for more details on our self-sufficient living. I lived there until I went to college in 1968.
My SurvivalPrepperSupply.com blog strives to educate individuals on coping with natural and human-caused disasters using article posts about preparing for emergencies.