What do you do if your family isn't on board with your preparing or homesteading, etc.?
DO what you need to do. It is your life, your family and life partners have some vested interest, but in the final analysis you will have to live or die based on the choices you make and the things you do.
DO try and make your 'hobby' seem like a harmless occasional little thing, like buying twice the cans of soup you need, going a little further than the FEMA and American Red Cross recommendations, etc. It is just a little bit of extra insurance a little healthier greener lifestyle after all.
DO be creative in having the family assist you in what ever part of your preparations interests them (shooting and hunting with grandpa, putting up extra food with mom, crafting warm sturdy clothes with sister sue, gardening with the kids, what ever as their interests and inclinations recommend.)
DON'T let them know the full extent- or any at all about it if they don't need to and if you can, but also see the final note below. You do not need to go all sneaky or anything, just figure out where you can put things that they wont go investigate.
DO spend only your own money, and such free funds you had been spending on luxuries, on prep things instead.
DON'T make the mistake of going towards a lot of firearms right away. A single firearm and hundred or thousand or so rounds (stored away safely) is more than enough until you have 7+ years worth of EVERYTHING else.
But it really depends on your situation. If you are under 18 you cant buy junk land without parental permission, but if you are an adult, you certainly can incorporate an LLC (a couple hundred dollars) and purchase the junk land in that name, stop by it briefly every time you can find an excuse, improve it a little and store some stuff. Etc. Etc.
DON'T ask permission but DO compromise if they have any objections i.e.
-Them :"You aren't spending enough time with the kids"
-You : " Okay, the kids and I will go out fly kits, and shoot sling shots at an empty lot (your junk land) that the owners wont mind us using."
-Them : "Quit spending money on stupid stuff"
-You : " I guess we can both cut back from our hobbies and shop more conservatively, and work up a fair budget for both of us. " (trust me, you point out something they like to do to cut back on they will either blow up or back off, and spending money on something like food or water filters that you actually USE daily can be waved away as a cost SAVING measure).
And finally:
DON'T LIE- lying about what you are doing just makes them distrust you further. Being a homesteader, prepper, survivalist, doomer, etc. just make people distrust you because of all the bad press out there, out right lying about what you are doing will just make it worse when they finally figure it out.
Family (and by this I mean the life time significant other too) is one of the most valuable things to have, pull them into your lifestyle without using any of the words the media uses to label things and give them a negative slant (prepper, survivalist, homesteader, off grid, etc.) and you have something to make the life you are living worth it.
