You may have heard about the “Trump Slump,” which is affecting the gun industry. Because people no longer fear losing their gun rights under the Trump Administration, they are in no hurry to buy guns and ammo. The result is that several gun manufacturers, including Anderson Arms, have closed their doors. This is the opposite of what happened when Obama was president, and as a result he was dubbed “the greatest gun salesman ever.”
I’ve heard a similar slump is affecting the prepping industry, with YouTube views dropping and sales of prepping gear and long-term storage food slowing. Apparently, people are less fearful under a Trump presidency, possibly because he is a stronger leader than Biden was or because of his emerging reputation as a peace maker. They may also have more confidence in Trump helping them survive a disaster.
I find this surprising for two reasons: first, there are so many Trump haters, I would think the fanatical libs would be preparing for the metaphorical or physical end of the world; second, so many people believe that climate change is going to destroy us all, I am surprised they are not prepping for major hurricanes, more wildfires, and similar climate disasters.
My guess, however, is that after COVID, the Ukraine war and the rapid resolution of the Israeli war with Iran, many preppers may have reached a point of exhaustion or prepper saturation. They need a break.
After being warned to prepare for World War III for two or three years, the fear it inspires wanes.
It’s OK to Take a Break
If you are tired of prepping or have non-prepping things you have to deal with, it’s perfectly OK to take a vacation from prepping.
Over the course of my prepping journey, there have been plenty of times when prepping took a backseat to life. But while I dialed back my prepping activities as needed, I never gave it up. That means I paused my prepping, but I didn’t sell or give away my gear. The preps were there, locked in the basement storeroom, waiting for me when I was ready to get back into prepper mode. And that’s what I recommend you do.
If you are tired of prepping, can’t afford to keep it up, or have other priorities, then freeze your preps in place. They will still be there in an emergency. One day, something will happen, and you will think, “Uh oh, that sounds serious. I’d better check my preps.” Then you’ll rush to your storage area and breathe a sigh of relief that you don’t have to start from scratch. Even if you do some panic prepping, you will start from a better place than all the non-preppers who are also heading to the grocery store or the gas station.
It’s normal for prepping to move to the back burner from time to time. We all have things in our lives that interfere with prepping and other activities, sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. Don’t let prepping cost you your marriage or your job. Just keep the mindset and the situational awareness, even if you aren’t doing anything to improve your skills or build your preps.
Don’t Let Others Scare You
Some bloggers and vloggers who sell survival food or own prepping gear will try to scare you with stories of impending doom. Let me reassure you, we’ve been facing various kinds of impending doom for decades and most of us are still here. Taking some time off won’t hurt, especially if you keep your existing preps in place.
If it helps you relax, stop watching those doom and gloom channels. Turn off the news. Unsubscribe if you are tired of repeatedly hearing that WWIII is going to start this week, so you better stock up now.
Prepping Evolves
When I started prepping, “prepper” wasn’t even a term. We were all survivalists preparing for TEOTWAWKI. We read the newsgroup alt.misc.suvivalism and bought Ruger 10/22s and Remington 870s. ARs were far scarcer than they are today, they had carry handles, and red dots were huge and prone to breakage.
Survivalism was very much rooted in being able to retreat into the woods, to your rural retreat, or to a camp and survive using primitive survival skills and wilderness training. Today, we consider that bushcrafting, and it is just one aspect of prepping; back then it was all about the stuff you learned in military SERE training. There was also more distrust of the government, regardless of which party was in office. Of course, that was the era of the Ruby Ridge standoff and the raid on the Branch Davidians in Waco. We had proof the government wasn’t to be trusted. Plus, the government didn’t have social media bots and paid influencers trying to convince us otherwise.
In the early 2000s, after Y2K fizzled, the twin towers were struck, and we had the anthrax scare, surviving in the woods was replaced with prepping to survive in your home. Prepping moved from being something men did in camouflage to something families did, and that was a change for the better.
Is Prepping a Dying Art?
Is prepping dying? I don’t know, but it may evolve again. Maybe having a few days of food and general readiness is becoming more universal. Prepping is certainly getting more mainstream with every passing year.
With the average age of first-time home ownership climbing age 30 to the 50s, younger generations may not be able to afford to prep like I did at 35. Plus, Gen X and Millennials didn’t grow up with drills to duck under your desk in case of nuclear attack and practice air raids. Sure, some were in school during 9/11 and experienced the subsequent wars. Maybe that diminished their desire to prep for the worst. Or perhaps they feel that what they have isn’t worth protecting.
Don’t be surprised in prepping in 2030 looks different than it did in 2020 or even 2025. The evolution of AI alone may see to that. But even if the name changes, I expect there will always be people looking to protect their loved ones from the dark side of geopolitics, local criminals, or the ravages of Mother Nature.
Prepping is a Journey
Remember, prepping is a journey, not a destination. Like many journeys, prepping has stops along the way. So if you find you want to stop prepping, whether it is to enjoy the scenery or put out a fire, don’t sweat it. You can pick up the journey again in months or years. And if prepping evolves, you can evolve with it.
So take that break. Concentrate on something else. Just be ready to leap back in if it looks like the sh*t is going to hit the fan.