11 Prepping Mistakes to Avoid

As with many things in life, there are pitfalls on the way to becoming a true prepper, ready to be in control in any situation, regardless of the emergency. While we notice many preppers are guilty of at least one of the cardinal sins below (ourselves included!), we all can continuously strive to improve ourselves to make ourselves stronger and better prepared. Avoiding these prepping mistakes will make you much more prepared in the long run.

Identifying our weak areas and working to improve them is a lesson in itself, so take a look below and see if any of these cardinal sins apply.

---

Contents (Jump to a Section)

• Common Prepper Mistakes
  1. Over-Sharing
  2. Flying Solo
  3. Not Using FIFO Storage
  4. Focusing on Stuff Rather than Skills
  5. Not Knowing How to Use Gear
  6. Not Keeping an Inventory
  7. Not Knowing Your Risks
  8. Limiting Your Options
  9. Armchair Prepping
  10. Not Dispersing Assets
  11. Stubbornness
• Avoiding These Mistakes
• Fixing Prepper Mistakes
• The Final Word

This is an updated post on prepping mistakes, where our first post was published in 2016. This update adds some more common mistakes and ways preppers can fix and avoid them. We will continue to update as we learn (hopefully not the hard way!) new mistakes to avoid.

---

Common Prepper Mistakes

Preppers are just regular people, and we all make mistakes. Sometimes it’s a big one that affects your preparedness; other times, it could have no impact at all, other than just being less efficient and effective.

Here are the most common mistakes I’ve seen over the years, and how you can avoid or fix these if they apply to you.

Over-Sharing

Sharing too much on social media about your prepping lifestyle can backfire easily. Check your privacy settings on all social media accounts if you have them. Make sure you are not geotagging photos that you post online.

Do not post about daily routines or when you will be away from home- many home intruders are people you have met before. Be careful where you talk and who you talk with about your prepping plans and equipment in person as well. People are often listening and watching, both in person and online, so be vigilant.

This is different than coordinating with your community and neighbors on preparedness planning. Communicating and sharing the right information can be very valuable.

---

Flying Solo

On the other side of the coin of oversharing are the secret preppers who plan to do it all on their own. It’s tough to be a lone wolf out there, even though it is a popular type of prepper.

Unfortunately, history shows that there is power in numbers, and lone preppers don’t stand much of a chance unless they have near-limitless resources, like some celebrity preppers have accumulated. Bunkering down is the preferred method there, but that might not always make sense based on the circumstances.

People who thrive through emergencies, disasters, and survival situations are close-knit with a like-minded community that can trust each other. You can do this with your friends, family, and neighbors most effectively by getting everyone to take small steps to be marginally prepared.

---

Not Using FIFO Storage

FIFO stands for “First In, First Out”, a method of storing supplies so the earlier items stored get used earlier. This prevents expiration and provides a better command of inventory. An inventory list, like prepping mistake #5, which is talked about below, can help with this technique to ‘cycle’ through your inventory.

Even with food and supplies that don’t expire, it’s still good practice to use FIFO to keep everything as current as possible.

---

Focusing on Stuff Rather than Skills

While tools and gear are great, learned skills are where true preppers can excel in emergency scenarios and even everyday life. Learning the basics, including creating fire, tying knots, and self-defense, not only allows you to be resourceful during emergencies but each and every day.

The list of learnable skills that apply to prepping is huge, and you should consider learning all of them. It doesn’t even have to be that hard. Here are a few skills you can pick up from the comfort of your couch: 10 Survival Skills You Can Learn Sitting on Your Couch.

---

Not Knowing How to Use Gear

Buying gear and survival tools and never making time to learn how to use them can be a severe handicap in an SHTF scenario. While all gear is important to know how to use, it is especially important to be trained and knowledgeable on first aid and self-defense equipment.

It can become dangerous if you are using this equipment without proper training and understanding.

---

Not Keeping an Inventory

An inventory of supplies is crucial to know exactly what you have and any expiration dates your supplies may have. This prevents you from storing expired food, having duplicate items, or missing crucial parts of your kits. An inventory of your supplies allows you to easily critique your supply cache and gear, and allows you to share with trusted preppers for critique as well as to get new ideas.

---

Not Knowing Your Risks

Many preppers begin prepping without having completed a risk analysis. Knowing the probabilities and educating ourselves on the high-risk scenarios before concentrating on the low-risk scenarios can make us ‘balanced’ preppers.

While some risks cannot be imagined, being a well-rounded prepper makes you resourceful for unknown scenarios as well. Think you know all your risks? Test yourself with our comprehensive Threat List.

---

Limiting Your Options

Bug out or bug in? Be prepared for both. Many concentrate too hard on one area, limiting their options when the time comes to decide which to choose. Having a ‘tacticool’ bug-out bag, but not even having 72-hour disaster supplies for your family, is a large misappropriation of resources. Besides the flawed risk assessment used in that situation, the inability to bug in could be disastrous.

Cover your bases by:

1. Creating a basic preparedness plan
2. Having a bug-in survival kit
3. Having a bug-out-bag

---

Armchair Prepping

All the magazines, blogs, websites, and printed guides cannot prepare you for disasters and emergencies. While these are great tools for staying educated, action is necessary to prepare and hone your resourcefulness.

Practice your plans and use your gear- they are not relics to be kept in a case. Don’t get us wrong, picking up a copy of a prepping book or magazine and keeping up to date is great, just be sure that is not all you are doing.

---

Not Dispersing Assets

If you keep all of your preps in a single room in your house, and that specific room becomes unavailable to you during an emergency, what then? Dispersal of assets is not a new concept- the military uses this technique to minimize loss when attacks or emergencies are expected.

It follows the old “don’t keep your eggs in one basket” phrase- you don’t want a single weak point where an attack or emergency can render your gear useless. You can find out more about resource dispersal in our write-up: Survival Caches and Resource Dispersal. 

---

Stubbornness

While being solidly confident is great for a prepper, crossing the line into stubbornness can be dangerous. Being set in your ways can be dangerous in an ever-changing world where there are always new skills to learn.

Staying informed, being open to changes and new ideas, and being adaptable are all very important for survival. This is the mother of all prepping mistakes to avoid- don’t let your arrogance be your downfall.

---

Avoiding These Mistakes

Planning can help you avoid most mistakes in prepping. Whether your mistake was impulse buying equipment or not having what you need when you need it, planning likely would have avoided it.

Another tool I like to use to avoid mistakes is just setting a mantra of continuous improvement. If we try to constantly improve things in our lives, we can usually sidestep mistakes altogether. Focusing on building, creating, and growing can keep your mindset away from the inevitable atrophy that leads to mistakes along the way.

Finally, some mistakes aren’t meant to be avoided or can’t be. Mistakes are a part of life, and sometimes we come out the other side of them better than ever. Having a positive attitude about the mistake and reflecting on how it impacted you or others can turn a mistake into a blessing.

---

Fixing Prepper Mistakes

How easy it is to fix a mistake depends on the mistake. When my sons make mistakes, it’s pretty easy as their father to guide them through an apology and then have them consider ways to fix it and avoid it next time. All of that teaches them to own their mistakes, which is the first step to fixing them.

Many people will skip that first step. Responsibility and accountability for actions seem to be eroding in our society, which is obsessed with image, regardless of the truth. Mistakes don’t really get fixed if you deny that the mistake happened, or that it was your doing.

To fix most mistakes I’ve made while prepping, I usually go back to the basics. I can get too wound up in hypotheticals, FOMO (fear of missing out), and other easy pitfalls in my preparedness, just like everyone else. Focusing on what I can control and how that affects my immediate survival needs can help me get grounded, get my gear out, and continue learning.

---

The Final Word

Avoid these pitfalls on your prepping journey, and you’ll be much better off for it. If you haven’t started prepping yet, then what are you waiting for? Get started prepping now. If you don’t know why you should be prepping, we have you covered as well: Why You Should Prepare for Emergencies. Here are a few other good reads you may be interested in:

• 7 Ways to Volunteer as a Prepper
• 10 Bad Habits Every Prepper Needs to Break
• Home Survival Kit List | 53 Essentials

Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.

See more of our expert-written guides, resources, and reviews in your search results – add TruePrepper as a preferred source.

---

Prepping Your Way

No judgement and no imperatives. Prepare the way you want to with the trusted source millions of modern preppers have relied on.

Our newsletter fires out every Monday where you can expect:

• Practical prepping guides and tips
• Thorough survival gear reviews
• Noticeably absent spam and popups
• < 0.4% of people unsubscribe

Thanks for subscribing, supporting our cause, and improving your own resilience.

---

• Instagram
• Facebook
• TikTok
• X Twitter
• YouTube
• Pinterest

---