In Singapore, we always take things for granted. 99% of the time, there are no issues.
However, I remember the days of SARS, the days of really really bad haze.
Where face masks were scarce, where N95 were unavailable.
So, it was quite natural for me to think about contingencies after the event.
During the phase, like everyone else, I could not do anything about it.
I had never been through such an incident, SARS or really bad haze. So I never stocked up previously.
Many people forget about the problem once the issue is over. No one really bothers to stock up after the problem.
But for me, that's where I need to learn the lesson.
Buying 1-2 boxes of face masks and N95 isn't very expensive after the crisis. They also don't take up much space.
When I was in SG, I always had large stocks of toilet paper... not cos of any emergency, but cos I bought them when they were on sale. At my max, I had 18 packs of 10 rolls, 180 individual rolls, enough to last 1 year or more.
Actually, I have no idea why people rushed to buy toilet paper during this recent supermarket raid.
You can always just... use water...
I also have a couple of cartons of bottled water. I forgot if I stocked 2 or 3 cartons. Depending on price, I stocked up some 1.5L bottles and some 500ml bottles.
We have taken for granted water.
Many of us don't remember the days where we had save water campaigns or water rationing exercises.
When I moved to my own place, I had a couple of incidents of water shortage.
One, the water supply suddenly turned off whilst my wife was bathing. We had no idea why. There were no announcements. The water supply resumed in less than an hour, but who knows what could have happened and how long it might have taken.
Another time, there was brown water coming out of our pipes for a period of time due to some cleaning works.
Due to these incidents, I decided to keep some water available at home at all times. Even if it is to be used to wash the remaining soap for my wife if she is in the middle of her shower... it's still useful.
For food, I always have supplies.
I used to keep 3-4 cans of each type of canned food that I regularly consume.
Corn, baked beans, sardines, clam chowder, luohan zai (vegetarian), braised peanuts, etc.
I always have 2 packs of Korean instant noodles, and 2 packs of chicken abalone noodles, total 20 individual packets.
I buy rice in 5kg sacks and pasta I buy in 3x 500gm packs.
I also have stocks of frozen food, especially during my freegan days. I hardly even need to eat the canned food, but I try to consume some to cycle through the inventory.
I always have some medical supplies.
This may or may not be advisable for everyone.
I have medication for basically any kind of common aliments. A whole drawer full. We label them properly and what the use is for. We keep any excess which we don't consume after visiting the doctor. Never know when we might need some paracetamol, or anti histamines, etc. Always good to have supplies.
We are familiar with the different types of medication and what they are used for.
I also have tools and I know how to use them. I find this very useful. The thing about it is, I've been to other folks' homes to help do some handy work, friends, family members, etc... and they may have a lot of other tools, or repeated tools, but somehow they are always missing something. Maybe they have a drill but no wall plugs, or they don't have a wide variety of screws, or nails, or lacking a light saw, or the right size screwdriver, etc...
So... for me, I find it important to have a good stash of tools and supplies and also to know how to use them.
And yes, I always have some insect repellent at home, cos after the Zika incident, I'm more prepared. I didn't stock up many bottles, but I always have some available. Furthermore, I had dengue previously so it's important that I have insect repellent available.
The thing is... I don't know what will happen. And many instances, I won't know what or how to prepare until it happens. But after the first time, it becomes my own responsibility to be prepared for the next time it comes. It's not about hoarding old and obsolete stuff. Old clothes, old furniture, etc... these things usually won't be used ever again, but yet many of us pile them up in the storeroom. In truth, we probably already have too many clothes, shoes, old pots, pans, furniture, etc...
For me, I think... it's better to have and not need, then to need and not have.
That doesn't mean hoard rubbish. It's not about keeping a plastic box and thinking... "Oh maybe someday I'll need that."
Or keeping an old rusty appliance and thinking, "Someday I'll repair that..."
Look, you probably won't need that rusty appliance ever again. You'll probably just buy a new one the next time you want to use something similar.
The situation in US is a bit different. I stock up a bit more food. Cos every year there is a hurricane season. And I want to be prepared for any issues, maybe there will be a flood, maybe it's hard to reach the supermarket. Maybe there will be power outage due to the hurricanes.
So I'm planning to stock up more canned food and instant noodles and bottled water in US than in SG. Probably double the amount.
Over the weekend, I bought 30 cups of Nissin cup noodles for US$6.50, yea it was super cheap. It came in a carton, so I decided to buy it cos it was cheap. Usually in SG, I think it's S$1 per cup.
I'm trying to get some face masks here, cos... well never know if the coronavirus will come to the US. But most pharmacies don't have them available. I think all the supplies have been bought up and all future supplies have been sent to China.
I'm also thinking of buying a portable cooker, those that run on gas canisters, usually we use them for steamboats at restaurants. I think it would be useful if there is power outage and I am not able to cook during the hurricane season.
The whole idea of this is for me to be prepared. I don't want to wait til everyone is scrambling then I join the mad rush. By then, I won't have time to think and buy exactly the things I want. Maybe by then the instant noodles only tom yum flavour... then how? Or maybe only have NTUC house brand of rice? But now, you have all the time to stock up on nice Thai Hom Mali rice.
But jokes aside.
It really depends on what you/I feel comfortable with. For me, I feel in SG, I should have enough supplies for around a month, that should be good enough for me.
I'm not stocking up for a zombie apocalypse.
Maybe for other people, they want more security and want to stock up for 6 months?
There are even such packs available online. But I don't like the idea of these. Cos most likely people won't eat them and just waste them after they expire. But if you are a doomsday prepper, these would be a good idea.
It's like an emergency fund. To have the inventory available when it's needed.
Cos... well never know right?
Cos when trouble strikes, even with money, you might not be able to obtain the products.
It's the same idea as... during the zombie apocalypse, even if you have 1kg of gold, well, you can't eat gold.
But a good shotgun will keep you alive. So might as well convert some of the gold now and buy a shotgun instead of just hoarding the gold.
Same idea...
So for me, it's important to be prepared. But also not to go overboard.
Also depends on how confident you are with the government and how resilient the country is to overcome different crises.
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