Balance is everything. I have lost my balance from time to time as the folks here on the ETS boards can probably testify to. I find myself fretting over the safey of my wife and child as well. And the more anxious I get, the more "stuff" and systems I want to put in place.

That's when I ask my beloved for a reality check. (I am fortunate enough to have married the wisest person I know and for some screwy reason she loves me -- go figure).

I've given up on the concept of "crazy vs sane".

It's a question of "are you functional?"

And what is functional will vary depending on the situation.

As long as you are able to meet the daily demands of life (sleep eat, work, interact with others around you without them filing restraining orders). I wouldn't worry.

If you're stockpiling more firepower than you can ever use, undermining your house and cracking the slab by building a bunker, unable to pay the electric bill or feed the kids because of stock piling who knows what, or just miss out on playing with them because you're researching survival stuff on the internet, then you got a problem.

It's fun, you enjoy it, and you're not hurting anyone, and it has the potential to save the life of yourself or more importantly someone you love, but at some point you gotta balance it with everything else. Where is that balancing point? I don't know. It's going to vary depending on who you ask. I found it helpful to do a family risk assessment as suggested by some folks here on the forums, and it's gotta be done as a family. The more eyes on an issue the better.

Looking at our family's risk assessment, financial health of the family is the paramount issue (it's not bad but I want better).

I often forget that in lieu of stocking water, food, etc. (I've got enough to meet our needs based on previous experience)

Paying off the credit card and paying bills on time to avoid the late fees isn't as "sexy" as building a cistern in the back yard but it's an immediate "threat" as opposed to a potential one.

I've posted this before a couple of years ago; the folks we saw that faired the best after Katrina were those that had good credit, a sizable savings, little debt.

They had the immediate needs of shelter, food, water, and safety covered utilizing their own resources and also what humans have used for millenia (family and friends).

Those that lost their homes and had the resources to act fast on available housing did the best.

Those that had shakey credit and had to scramble to pull together downpayments, missed out on opportunities and didn't fair as well.

Total societal collapse/melt down I think isn't really a viable threat. 9-11, Katrina/Rita, and the San Francisco earthquake, etc demonstrated that. The local infrastructure was disrupted, some people died, and folks got anxious but on the whole the US just kept plugging along.

Something bin Laden and buddies just don't seem to understand.
It's easy to get caught up in the trap of "more stuff" and forget to learn to manage the stuff we already have. That's something my wife has to remind me of from time to time.

This group has been great about giving reality checks. Since everyone is so spread out there is a wide breadth and depth of experience to draw from.

For me, enough survival stuff for tonight. I'm going to kiss my child good night and go hold my wife (the important stuff).