How to Get Your Spouse on Board with Prepping

In some families, the wife and husband are on the same page regarding prepping. They may not agree on the exact amount of stockpiling that should be done or on each of the individual items that should be stored, but they are on board with the necessity of preparing for an uncertain future.

That’s a recipe for success when it comes to determining how much money should be spent on getting ready for an emergency.

But then there are those families in which the wife wants to build a three-month stockpile of food, water and other essential items, while the husband thinks she’s becoming a paranoid, “The End Is Near” whack job. Or vice versa.

That’s a recipe for problems in a marriage, especially as it pertains to finances that might be tight.

So, what should you do if you strongly believe that being prepared for a crisis is the right thing to do to protect yourself and your family, but your spouse thinks there are better things on which to spend money?

There’s no easy solution to this problem, but there are a few ways you can go about trying to draw your spouse over to your way of thinking on this very important subject. Here are 10 of them:

• Don’t overdo it. Your goal might be a one-year stockpile, while your spouse thinks three days is sufficient. Start with three days and then build it gradually.

• Choose key items. Make sure your first three-day stockpile includes items your spouse would not want to be without.

• Keep the emphasis on safety. Instead of talking about disasters, place the focus on the need to keep the family safe in an event that could shutter stores.

• Pick your spots. Don’t keep chirping about preparedness. Talk about it when it’s timely, i.e. when a crisis has affected people in one area of the country.

• Flip-flop it. If your spouse were trying to get you interested in something, which methods would work on you and which ones wouldn’t? Learn from that.

• Watch the right stuff. Movies about zombies, viruses and EMPs will get your spouse thinking about preparing for a worst-case scenario.

• Use testimonials. If you know anyone affected by Sandy or other weather disasters, ask them to share what they’ve done since then to get prepared.

• Don’t argue. If the discussion is going in a bad direction, change the subject and bring it up later at a more opportune time. Otherwise, you’ll lose ground.

• Get your spouse’s input. If your spouse feels this is all your agenda, you won’t make progress. Get him/her involved in the decision-making process.

• Be patient. Changing someone’s mindset rarely happens overnight. Allow your input and life’s circumstances to do the heavy lifting here over time.

Do you have a spouse who is not as into prepping as you are? What methods have you used to try to get him/her on board? Have they worked?