common-sense steps are available to ensure your basic preparedness at a reasonable cost:

Most of us who are concerned with preparedness fall victim to fear mongering at least once in our lives. Not only has the Internet made it easier for preppers to be targeted, fear mongers have used many events along the way to try to profit. The events that come to mind first include Y2K and the Mayan predictions of the end of the world in 2012.
What can be done to avoid the scams of the fear mongers?

1. The single greatest thing that anyone can do to avoid falling victim to the snake oil salesman is to look at everything objectively and take the time to really find out what someone is trying to sell you.
2. Do some research and see what others are saying about the product.
3. Find out if there are other similar products. Compare the costs and what people are saying about it.
4. Is there a better option available that you can do yourself or that is better, stronger or faster?
5. If at this point you determine that there is a product that is a good choice, make your purchase.

And there is more good news! A number of common-sense steps are available to ensure your basic preparedness at a reasonable cost:

• Evaluate the threats that you are most likely to face and prioritize them from most likely to least likely.
• Identify the most likely threat and take the steps necessary to be prepared to overcome that threat.
• Once the most likely threat is prepared for, move to the second most likely threat and prepare for it. Continue this process until you have the knowledge and resources in place to survive most of the likely threats you face.

Many of the resources you procure and the knowledge that you commit to memory for your most likely threat will also be beneficial for subsequent threats.
When securing resources and knowledge for preparedness, ensure that you take a good look at:

• Food: Start with canned goods and move on from there.
• Water: Ideally, two gallons per person every day for drinking, cooking, sanitation and hygiene. Don’t forget a water filter!
• Shelter
• Medical: Account for routine illness as well as traumatic injuries. Don’t forget to address dental emergencies as well. It does not hurt to have knowledge about alternative treatments either.
• Security: It doesn’t make sense to take the steps toward preparedness without ensuring that you can protect it.
• Gardening: Have a way to provide yourself with food. Practice now instead of trying to figure it out after the balloon has already gone up.
• Community-building: The lone wolf will not survive for long. Build a community of like-minded people to share skills and work together.
• Bugging in or bugging out: That is the question.
• Energy: How will you power your life and the necessities you depend on?
• Communications
• Survival kits: Car, work, bug-out bags, etc.
• Travel: How will you get from point A to point B in various scenarios?
• Hygiene and sanitation
• Faith/spiritual preparedness
• Skills: Fire-making, improvised survival techniques, knots, etc.
• Tools and hardware
• Financial: What will you use for financial transactions in the event of a disaster? Precious metals, cash, barter items, etc.
• Homesteading
• Bushcraft/urban survival
• Fishing and hunting
• Threat assessment
• Reference materials

I am sure there are plenty of others that I missed, but that was the list I came up with off the top of my head.
The key lesson that you should take away from this article is that there are people out there who really don’t care about whether you are prepared or not; they just want your money. If you take a calculated approach to your preparedness and take action based solely on what you will most likely face, only then will you minimize the amount of time and money you waste while also becoming the most prepared that you can.