Here is a quick concept for you. It’s one of those things that you’ve probably thought about but never had a term for it. It is Opportunity Cost.
It is a basic concept of economics. It’s really simple. If you spend $5 on something, that money is spent and cannot be spent on something else. That’s it!
What does that have to do with preparedness? A lot actually. Since preparedness is a never ending project, we must always prioritize the way we use our resources. MUST MUST MUST! When you spend your money, you have to look beyond “is this a fair price” and “do I need this”. You have to look at “is there something I need more than this”. Money can only be spent once.
But opportunity cost applies to all resources, not just money.
You can only spend your time once. How am I going to spend 20:43 on 15 April 2010? I’m spending it doing this. I’m not using it to clean or pack or train or work out or whatever. I looked at my options and made my choice.
Here’s a resource you might not look at as a resource: storage. Unless you know some physics trick that I don’t, one cubic foot of space only holds one cubic foot of stuff. That applies to cupboards, closets, pantries, car trunks, and backpacks.
Opportunity cost is the most important when your resources are limited. Space is more valuable in a backpack than a closet. When you’re packing a Bug Out Bag, you can’t put everything in there. You can’t fit the kitchen sink in there! You may have to leave something out in order to bring something more important.
What will you leave out? What will you bring? What will you spend your last 5 bucks on? What will wait until next time?
Simple but important,
Sledgehammer
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