The Common Sense Practical Prepper

Keith Vincent

Welcome to The Common Sense Practical Prepper: No doom, no zombies—just straightforward, budget-friendly tips for real-life preparedness. From food storage myths to bartering basics, I share what works for everyday folks. I’ll also dive into situational awareness to stay sharp in any crisis, personal safety tips to protect yourself. Each episode ties real-world examples to current events, like recent storms or supply shortages, to keep you prepared. Have feedback or ideas?  Email practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com.  Support the podcast with Augason Farms, your go-to for reliable food storage. Use code PODCASTPREP for 10% off your order! Please check out Augason Farms. Affiliate link below. Use PODCASTPREP at checkout for an additional 10% off your order. https://augasonfarms.com?sca_ref=9315862.VpHzogdDNu

  1. 1D AGO

    If Everything Went Sideways Tomorrow, Would You Be Ready?

    Send us Fan Mail Feeling prepared is easy. Being prepared when your heart rate spikes, your hands shake, and the plan collides with reality is something else entirely. We get real about the difference between confidence and competence, and why “hope” is not a strategy when you’re responsible for protecting and providing for your family. We start with a simple truth from years of hands-on experience: you can be strong in one area and dangerously weak in another. Owning firearms, food storage, water, or a generator doesn’t automatically translate into emergency readiness. We talk through practical prepping tests that expose blind spots fast, like training under stress, practicing movement and exertion, and actually wearing your bug out bag or get home bag on a walk to see what breaks, rubs, or gets ignored. We also dig into overlooked essentials that matter in a real crisis: stocking bland foods for sickness, keeping electrolytes on hand, building true medical preparedness with first aid and Stop the Bleed skills, and practicing tourniquet use until it’s automatic. On the home front, we push family emergency preparedness beyond a written plan by making sure everyone knows where supplies are, how to shut off utilities, and how to run a simple drill before you’re forced to improvise in an SHTF moment. If you want practical, common-sense preparedness that goes beyond gear talk and into real-world capability, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs the push, and drop a review so more people can find the show. https://augasonfarms.com?sca_ref=9315862.VpHzogdDNu Augason FarmsSupport the podcast. Click on my affiliate link and use coupon code PODCASTPREP for 10% discount!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Have a question, suggestion or comment? Please email me at practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com. I will not sell your email address and I will personally respond to you.

    9 min
  2. APR 29

    Civil Unrest Prep Basics

    Send us Fan Mail A fight over a soft drink turns into a shooting, and it forces a question most people avoid: if some folks will go that far on an ordinary day, what happens when the power is out, the streets are tense, and police are overwhelmed? I don’t usually touch politics, but I do talk about reality, and the reality is that social friction and public aggression can spill into everyday life fast. This is a practical, common sense look at civil unrest preparedness for normal households who just want to keep their families safe.  We walk through bugging in during unrest when you can’t safely leave home for 24, 48, or even 72 hours. I share straightforward home hardening steps like stronger deadbolts, reinforcing door frames, adding security film, and using motion lights. I also cover security cameras with an important reminder to check local laws and ordinances, especially if a camera view reaches beyond your property. For self-defense, I’m clear about one thing: whatever you choose, know the legal rules where you live before you buy or carry.  From there we get into practical prepping: keeping a get home bag or go bag in your vehicle, having small-scale solar power for short outages, and using light discipline so you don’t advertise supplies when neighbors are dark. I push past the usual 72-hour kit mindset and argue for a one-week to 10-day kit, including realistic water storage. Finally, we hit the prep most people skip: mental preparedness and family readiness, including a smart way to involve kids without scaring them. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a friend, and drop a review so more people can prep with a clear head. https://augasonfarms.com?sca_ref=9315862.VpHzogdDNu Augason FarmsSupport the podcast. Click on my affiliate link and use coupon code PODCASTPREP for 10% discount!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Have a question, suggestion or comment? Please email me at practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com. I will not sell your email address and I will personally respond to you.

    10 min
  3. APR 25

    Why Paper Money Beats Cards In Emergencies

    Send us Fan Mail The moment the power drops, your “money” can turn into a useless piece of plastic. Card readers fail. ATMs go dark. Mobile payments time out. And suddenly the most modern wallet on earth can’t buy a case of water. After celebrating a huge milestone for the Common Sense Practical Prepper Podcast, we get brutally practical about a prep that isn’t sexy but wins in the real world: keeping cash on hand. We walk through why cash is king in a grid-down scenario, whether you carry US dollars, euros, pounds, yen, or any other currency. I explain why small bills matter more than big ones, how the change problem can stop a purchase cold, and why “I’ll just hit the ATM” is a plan that collapses fast during a natural disaster, major power outage, or cyber attack. We also talk about real-life constraints: prepping within your means, building a stash slowly, and not putting yourself in the poorhouse to feel prepared. From storage and OPSEC to smart redundancy, we cover where cash belongs (a small fireproof safe with critical documents) and why you should keep smaller amounts in your vehicle, bug out bag, and get home bag. I also share a quick update on a new fictional survival series I’m writing, The Lone Man on the Ridge, for listeners who like preparedness with a story edge. If this helped you think through your emergency cash plan, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review so more people can find the show. https://augasonfarms.com?sca_ref=9315862.VpHzogdDNu Augason FarmsSupport the podcast. Click on my affiliate link and use coupon code PODCASTPREP for 10% discount!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Have a question, suggestion or comment? Please email me at practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com. I will not sell your email address and I will personally respond to you.

    9 min
  4. APR 17

    You Cannot Assume You Are Safe Anywhere

    Send us Fan Mail You can do everything “right” and still get blindsided by a stranger in broad daylight. That’s the unsettling thread running through this conversation, and it’s why we’re reframing preparedness away from fantasy disasters and toward the risks that actually show up in normal life: robbery, assault, random attacks, and public-space violence that can happen in any neighborhood.  From my perspective as a long-time police officer, I share why the world feels different than it did 10 or 20 years ago. We talk through what I see as major drivers: a catch-and-release mindset that puts repeat offenders back on the street fast, a rise in untreated mental health issues, and a fentanyl and meth drug epidemic that makes some encounters more volatile and unpredictable. I also point to the growing number of people who act like consequences don’t exist, whether that’s individual violence or group chaos done for attention online.  Then we get practical. I lay out simple, repeatable personal safety habits that improve your odds immediately: situational awareness, staying off your phone when you need your senses, walking with purpose, and having a quick plan when someone approaches aggressively. We also cover everyday carry options like a flashlight or pepper spray and the importance of checking local laws before you carry anything for self-defense.  If this hits home, subscribe for more common-sense preparedness, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people find it. What’s one safety habit you want to build starting today? https://augasonfarms.com?sca_ref=9315862.VpHzogdDNu Augason FarmsSupport the podcast. Click on my affiliate link and use coupon code PODCASTPREP for 10% discount!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Have a question, suggestion or comment? Please email me at practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com. I will not sell your email address and I will personally respond to you.

    12 min
  5. APR 10

    A Simple Hygiene Plan Keeps You Alive In A Crisis

    Send us Fan Mail The fastest way to ruin a solid preparedness plan is to ignore the gross basics. When the grid is up, we barely notice sanitation systems doing the hard work for us. When the power drops or a hurricane, supply chain disruption, or long outage hits, toilets may stop flushing, trash starts stacking, and tap water can become riskier by the day. I’m Keith, and I’m taking our back-to-basics series into the part nobody loves talking about: emergency sanitation and personal hygiene that actually works. We dig into why poor sanitation historically killed more people than wars, including the real-world lesson of cholera outbreaks and how clean water and sewer systems changed everything. Then we get practical with a simple off-grid hygiene setup: the five-gallon bucket toilet lined with contractor bags, plus odor and moisture control using common items like kitty litter or sawdust. From there we cover handwashing as the real “gold standard,” how to plan water use around a two-gallons-per-person-per-day target, and why rotating supplies like baby wipes and hand sanitizer matters more than most people think. We also talk laundry without electricity, smart trash and waste management, and the real survival cost of sickness: one preventable stomach bug can pull multiple people away from critical tasks and burn through meds you may not have. We wrap with a listener water tip about freezing containers for ice blocks and a reminder that garden water is a separate problem worth solving with rain barrels. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s building their first kit, and leave a review or comment so more people can find the show. https://augasonfarms.com?sca_ref=9315862.VpHzogdDNu Augason FarmsSupport the podcast. Click on my affiliate link and use coupon code PODCASTPREP for 10% discount!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show Have a question, suggestion or comment? Please email me at practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com. I will not sell your email address and I will personally respond to you.

    14 min
4.3
out of 5
25 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Common Sense Practical Prepper: No doom, no zombies—just straightforward, budget-friendly tips for real-life preparedness. From food storage myths to bartering basics, I share what works for everyday folks. I’ll also dive into situational awareness to stay sharp in any crisis, personal safety tips to protect yourself. Each episode ties real-world examples to current events, like recent storms or supply shortages, to keep you prepared. Have feedback or ideas?  Email practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com.  Support the podcast with Augason Farms, your go-to for reliable food storage. Use code PODCASTPREP for 10% off your order! Please check out Augason Farms. Affiliate link below. Use PODCASTPREP at checkout for an additional 10% off your order. https://augasonfarms.com?sca_ref=9315862.VpHzogdDNu

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