Common beginner mistakes

1. Starting with the exotic instead of the likely

Gas masks and bunkers before water and flashlights. What's most likely to happen to you is an outage, a storm, a water cut or a loss of income. Prepare for that first; the rest, if ever, later.

2. Buying gear and never learning to use it

"You can't multiply zero": a first aid kit without training or a filter still in its box is worth very little. A first aid course and practicing with what you own pay off more than any purchase.

3. Forgetting sanitation

Almost everyone stores water and food, and almost nobody plans for a toilet that won't flush. Two buckets, bags and cat litter solve it. See sanitation.

4. Storing food nobody eats

Sacks of wheat nobody knows how to cook, or rations that expire forgotten. Store what you eat, rotate it and vary it: eating the same thing for weeks is demoralizing.

5. Buying cheap pre-made kits

They tend to be full of filler, light on what matters, and low quality. For critical items like your flashlight, filter, first aid kit or footwear, buy quality. For everything else, use what you already have.

6. Never testing anything

A bag you've never carried, a stove you've never lit or a plan you've never rehearsed will fail when you need them most. Run a drill once a year: out the door with the go-bag in five minutes, or an evening without power.

7. Keeping everything in one place

If the basement floods or you can't reach it, you lose everything. Spread it out: the main kit at home, a bag in the car or at work, cash in two places.

8. Going it alone

The lone-wolf prepper is a myth. In real crises, neighbors are what help: who's a nurse, who has tools, who will need help. Get to know them beforehand.

9. Prepping out of fear

Social media rewards alarmist videos, and fear sells gear. Prepare calmly, based on the real risks where you live, with a budget like any other household expense.

10. Forgetting money and health

The most boring preps are often the most useful: an emergency fund, the right insurance and being fit enough to walk a few miles. See long term.

11. Forgetting those who depend on you

Chronic medication, medical devices, babies, older relatives and pets all need their own plan.

12. Planning only to stay, or only to leave

You need both: supplies to ride it out at home and a go-bag in case you have to leave.