For me the basic skills are definitely fun stuff. I´m also a bit curious. The aquired skills and accumulated stuff in my pocket frequently help to solve everday problems. Those are definitely positive side effects. In addition the practice helps to avoid the usual traps.
Mastering some basic skills also helps to understand advanced techniques (just think about math and pocket calculators). If nothing else the preparedness is recreation.
You could easily exploit the extreme example for your purpose. It may be true that you get killed when they drop the bomb on your residence. On the other hand if takes such extremities to prove that your preparations are insufficient, there can´t be much you have to worry about.
My experience also shows that the little things usually get you. So IMHO being prepared for those gives a lot comfort and peace of mind.
Eventually you´re going to die anyway. Of course there´s no reason to hurry it or to miss opportunities to enjoy your life just because someone thinks you´re wasting your time with things you like.