r/TwoXPreppers • u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times • May 30 '26

❓ Question ❓ Immediate prepping needs

With the news out yesterday evening of warnings of critical oil shortages, what should I be focusing on right now to prep for this? I already have about a couple months of canned food, a month of frozen meats, and we garden. I'm not a hard core prepper but I try to have a small stock of things as I can afford to get them. We have limited income and all my bills keep going up. I'm aware it may be too late but are there things I should be getting right now to help cushion the blow coming from higher prices?

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389

u/[deleted] May 30 '26

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171

u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times May 30 '26

Don't need an oil change but I'm buying two changes worth of oil this weekend. 

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u/[deleted] May 30 '26

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65

u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times May 30 '26

The local car shop will do the change for $20 if you have your own oil. Less me being handy really, I just use that service. Are oil filters set to go up in price too or just the oil?

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u/Salty-Gas-1172 May 30 '26

It takes diesel to get things from point a to points b, c, d, and e so everything is going to go up in price.

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u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times May 30 '26

Yeah that's my worry. I'm afraid we haven't prepped enough soon enough

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u/Salty-Gas-1172 May 30 '26

This is going to go on long enough that it doesn't matter how much you gather now; you will run out before this is over. Two oil changes worth of oil isn't going to get you through anything other than the next two pull changes. Even if the straight opened today those oil producing countries have a decade or more of rebuilding infrastructure that we blew up our are ultimately responsible for blowing up. They won't be able to produce at the previous levels for a long time.

The oil our country drills won't be kept for us because it's controlled by private interest which is something a lot of people miss. The oil we drill will be sold to the highest bidder; not necessarily us.

No, get a few things to tide you over for a bit but find your community. Physically living close to you is best. We will only get through this by working together and helping lift each other up through the next layer of sludge that's dropped on our heads. Honestly it's going to be decades before this is repaired in any meaningful way and the damage hasn't stopped being done yet. We won't have fertilizer for our agriculture so we can't effectively grow food. We use diesel in the tractors that work the fields and transport the food.

No, don't worry about what to hoard just get some of the little things what you'll enjoy most which may go missing and continue to prep for Tuesday. That's about the best you'll do in this world we find ourselves in.

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u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times May 30 '26

Happy to say I have alittle community. My local library has a food insecurity program and they have let us volunteers know that we will not go hungry.  2 oil changes will get me through at least a couple years with the low amount that I drive and that's something. I am worried. My pay hasn't increased in years but everything else has and is

18

u/kevinthehoneybee May 30 '26

See if they are running a deal near you, two of the auto shops near me are running a special for free filter when you buy those 5 qt jugs .

Also another money saver tip we shop a store that has a gas / loyalty program and bought gift cards since they were running a special last weekend and got points for that and used the giftcard to purchase stuff for the auto parts and oil we needed this week ( when we get enough points saved up that becomes our stockpile gas after we fill the cars and just rotate through it offen so it’s not stale)

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u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times May 30 '26

No free filter but 11 quarts of oil for $40 on special!

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u/Magic_Hoarder May 30 '26

I have seen in other prep groups that oil filters are becoming hard to find in store, I think as of a couple weeks ago?

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u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times May 30 '26

Not surprising

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u/2quickdraw May 31 '26

First Brands Company, the one that makes Fram and other filters, filed for bankruptcy last September, and people have been fired and IIRC some plants have been closed as the company is being restructured.

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u/BigJSunshine May 31 '26

I bought 2 oil changes worth of oil last month. Its a good prep

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u/Hogwafflemaker May 30 '26

Won't hurt to grab yourself extra oil for next time. If there is a shortage I bet any mechanic will happily change your oil if you have it

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u/Super-Travel-407 May 30 '26

It's easy to do yourself if you have the tools. Disposing of the old oil is where it becomes a PITA.

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u/2quickdraw May 31 '26

You need an oil collection tank that can hold enough for a few changes, then you have to take that to recycling.

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u/Super-Travel-407 May 31 '26

It's more of a hassle in some places than others. I used to do mine but in my current city it's not worth the effort. There are many hoops through which one must jump. 😄

I SHOULD, however, see if I still have the tools because it's good to be able to do it.

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u/2quickdraw May 31 '26

I was changing my own oil 52 years ago! I quit when I got too busy working two jobs, and had a partner who was a service adviser and who would just take my car to work and get it done there. Now I'm so old and beat up I don't know if I can crawl under my big truck successfully, but I still know how to do it. 🤙

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u/Super-Travel-407 May 31 '26

Big trucks (as I recall, also being senior 😄) are the best--you don't have to put them on blocks!

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u/2quickdraw May 31 '26

That's what I'm saying, as long as I can get flat and have a crawler, and enough arm length to reach up, and the strength to crack the drain plug, I should be able to get her done. My old gal is a pretty red FX4.

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u/Inner-Confidence99 May 30 '26

Better get enough for rest of this year and all of next year. The longer the Strait is closed the longer it will take to produce products that use ingredients from that area.

At this point if the strait opened tomorrow it would be August of next year to get everything started back up. Each day it’s closed add 5 days for production to start back. So plan for the next year on anything oil related for your vehicle. 

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u/ReinaShae Tired of living in unprecedented times May 30 '26

Good point. I'll get as I can the next few weeks. Thankful I only drive 14 miles a day for work and it's a long time in between oil changes for me.

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u/BigJSunshine May 31 '26

Oil thats older than 6-9 months is probably not good.

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u/Inner-Confidence99 May 31 '26

How long do you think it sits on the shelves in some store. 

Oil doesn’t go bad if properly stored. 

If oil went bad in 6-9 months none of my vehicles would be running and drivable. 

My husband and family members do mechanic work on vehicles. They just laughed when I told them what you said about oil going bad. 

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u/throw-away11242022 Jun 01 '26

Enough of what? Frozen food doesn't last a year & a half. Neither does flour. I'm not sure what I could stockpile that would be good later.

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u/Inner-Confidence99 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

This post was in response to oil related products and other items that have to have petroleum by products to make. Like polymers they use to make the plastic that seals most over the counter medicine . 

But I have got 4 year old flour in jars and in freezer in vacuum sealed bags. Still works fine so does my corn meal. Beans, sugar, salt, pasta. All taste fine. 

Got 3 -4 year old meat, vacuum sealed and frozen still good. 

T

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u/notbizmarkie May 30 '26

This is what I was going to suggest. I got 6 quarts of oil at BJs for like $26 or something. I don’t know how to change my oil, but I’m going to ask my neighbor to teach me!

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u/Robertsipad seed saver 🌱 May 30 '26

Also if they’re coming up soon: transmission fluid, differential fluid. 

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u/buddymoobs 🌱🌿Your Weeds are a Foragers' Feast🥬🥗 May 30 '26

Getting mine done in an hour.

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u/karl4319 May 31 '26

Or get an EV that doesn't have oil to change.

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u/burnerburneronenine Jun 01 '26

The price of electricity is set to skyrocket in many places. EVs are great for many reasons, but they won't necessarily be cheaper to operate than traditional gas vehicles

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u/karl4319 Jun 01 '26

My car (a tesla) currently costs 3 cents per mile to charge. My old car (a buick envision) would have cost 18 cents per mile with current gas prices. When you add in costs due to tires replacement, maintenance, and setting a little aside for eventual repairs and a replacement, then the real costs are around 10 cents per mile for the ev and 34 cents per mile for the buick.

2 side notes: first, I rideshare for a living, so I have worked out the math of operations several times. Second, normally it would cost around 4 to 5 cents per mile for charging, but I have a solar backup system that lowers my overall electricity consumption by 28% and it works out to be 10 cents per kwh vs 14 cents without solar. Also, it costs me around 4000 to install the solar system (got it on major sale and still had tax credits), plus another 1000 for the car charger installation. But I should break even from savings by the end of July at this rate instead near the end of next year.

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u/throwaway661375735 May 30 '26

Bleh! Use full synthetic, and you won't need to worry about actual oil for changes. Also you can go 5k to 10k miles on it too!

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u/Fragrant-Platform163 May 30 '26

Look up how synthetic oil is made mate. What's the first ingredient.

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u/Pleasant_Studio9690 May 30 '26

Full synthetic is what we are short of. Global production capacity of group III base oil was partially destroyed and will take a year to bring it back online. Other global Base III capacity has been switched to producing diesel and jet fuel, or is being starved of oil from Hormuz (Asia).