Pre-SHTF Mistakes That Might Get You Killed

by Eric Beuning

Civilizations fall, major natural disasters happen, and when they do you need to be ready for everything the chaos can throw at you. To survive, there are a lot of things that you need to do right. Yet it might just take one mistake to get you killed.

It’s easy to set up your preps, stock up on ammo, and think you’re ready to bug in for the long term. Yet there are a lot of strategic angles you need to cover to make it all the way through to your new normal.

For this article, let’s assume you’ve got most of your basic preps covered. You’ve probably got stocks of food, firearms, and ammo, along with a way to access clean water at your bug-in location. So, let’s shift focus to some of the other elements that go into surviving a SHTF situation, and the mistakes you might be making now that could get you killed later.

Not Having a Proper Food Stockpile

You can have all the tools and skills in the world, but without a reliable food supply, you won’t make it far in a long-term SHTF scenario.

Relying on grocery stores isn’t an option when shelves go empty, and surviving on wild edibles or hunting alone is a risky gamble. A solid food stockpile is the backbone of any survival plan, giving you the energy and morale to face each day.

What to Do

Building a food stockpile doesn’t mean grabbing the first emergency food bucket you see online. Those overhyped survival food buckets are often filled with tiny serving sizes and lofty promises that don’t live up to the hype.

Instead of banking on those, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I turned to this guide to craft my own survival food solutions. With over 100 recipes tailored for long-term storage without refrigeration, it quickly became my go-to resource to create meals that truly satisfy and sustain me through tough times.

So, rather than relying on inflated promises and underwhelming servings, I took charge of my prepping by preparing real, nourishing food using this invaluable guide to create a stockpile built to last.

Not Knowing CPR

Not knowing CPR might not get you killed, but it can leave you powerless if a loved one needs resuscitation. Especially when you a basic CPR certification class is so simple and easy.

What to Do

Ideally, you want every family member to be certified in CPR and basic first aid. Having at least one family member with basic field medic training would be a definite bonus.

You should also have a comprehensive first aid kit at home, in each vehicle, and in each person’s tactical backpack.

Running Out of Prescription Medications

The pharmaceutical industry in the US is set up to restrict access to prescription medications, which makes them hard to stockpile.

This can kill you in a prolonged SHTF situation when you run out of the medications you need to treat a chronic condition.

What to Do

It’s difficult to get a stockpile of prescriptions. However, there are ways. You might be able to talk to your doctor about getting extra medications.

Having a stockpile of medicine, especially antibiotics, before a crisis is crucial. Without antibiotics, your chances of survival go way down. You can’t generally buy antibiotics over the counter, so here is how to stockpile antibiotics without a prescription.

Not Having a Predefined Bug-Out Threshold

In most SHTF scenarios, the wise move is to bug in and stay at home where you have the most supplies and the best chance of surviving. Yet there are times when things in the outside world get so bad that you have to bug out or evacuate to a safer location.

What to Do

The criteria for when it’s time to bug out will depend on where you live, and the source of the catastrophe you’re facing.

Sometimes seeking refuge in the wilderness could be the only option. But surviving in the wild isn’t just about basic skills—it’s about knowing how to live off the land long-term.

That’s why I rely on this guide.

This isn’t your typical survival manual; it’s a practical tool that teaches you the forgotten wisdom of our ancestors who didn’t just survive in the wild – they thrived there. So, when you need to head for the hills, make sure this handbook is in your backpack; it could be your lifeline in uncertain times.

Not Having a Pre-Defined Bug-Out Destination

Bugging out only to wander aimlessly hoping to find something is more likely to get you killed than having a destination in mind.

Even if you do accidentally stumble on a place that looks great someone else who’s just as desperate can find it. They might just be willing to kill you for it!

What to Do

Set a final bug-out destination that everyone in your family knows about. This might be a grandparent’s farm, a family friend with a basement bunker, or your family’s cabin. Even if some family members get separated, you’ll all know the meetup place to bug out, and you’re more likely to find each other en route.

Not Having a Way to Purify Water

You won’t last long in a SHTF situation if you don’t have a way to purify water. You can’t trust that you’ll have enough advanced warning to fill the bathtub.

What to Do

Having jugs of water and old plastic kitty litter bottles filled with clean water gives you enough of a base supply to get you through the first few days of an SHTF scenario. Yet need ways to filter and purify water. Especially if you need to bug out.

Stocking up on filters and water purification tablets is a must.

You should also familiarize yourself with basic wilderness techniques like how to dig a gypsy well, and how to sterilize water without an open fire.

However, in addition to filtering collected water, I rely on another solution for my family’s water needs. This backpack-sized water generator has been a lifesaver, pulling clean, drinkable water directly from the air—up to 40 gallons a day—without relying on the grid. It’s been a seamless addition to our preparedness, giving us peace of mind that we’ll always have safe water on hand, no matter the situation.

Not Being Adjusted to Intermittent Fasting

Modern life has us chowing down on 3 meals a day and snacks that make the body and brain extremely dependent on a steady supply of glucose. In a SHTF scenario, you aren’t going to get that 3 pm snack to keep you from being “Hangry.”

Fortunately, your body has a ketogenic metabolic ability to let you live off your body’s fat stores. Unfortunately, it’s not the sort of thing that kicks in with full efficiency just because you missed your afternoon snack.

You need to prime your body to be able to efficiently use ketogenesis to keep you functionally strong in a SHTF situation.

What to Do

Practicing intermittent fasting, planning periods of strategic fasting, and cutting down on high-glucose foods helps prime your body’s ketogenic mechanisms.

Doing things to improve your liver health also helps your body make the most out of ketogenesis.

This will go a long way toward helping you efficiently tap into your body fat stores in a SHTF situation. It will also help you maintain mental clarity, giving you an edge over all the people struggling with brain fog due to low blood sugar!

Not Preserving Sensitive Electronics

Access to basic electronics like a solar panel or ham radio can make a life-or-death difference in a SHTF situation. If an EMP strikes a disconnected solar panel might survive, but the inverter and charge controller you need to use the electricity it can generate will be fried.

What to Do

Protecting your electronics from the devastating effects of an EMP can be as simple as properly wrapping them in an EMP-Proof cloth. You can store things like a backup power station, ham radio, backup lights, and important electronics inside.

The thing is, the EMP Cloth isn’t always available. They don’t restock them that often because they’re pretty hard to produce, so it took YEARS for me to finally get my hands on it. I found a reliable website to order it from, as I wanted to make sure the material is the right one. I recommend you secure your own cloth from here. It’s a rare find and not many people get to own it, which is a shame.