Of course there is. It involves zombies. You're gonna say that zombies aren't real, aren't you? Hah! Those are the first guys they eat.
OKOK, you've got a point. The problem is that the multiplicity of perfectly imaginable scenarios means that prepping for as many of them as possible looks exactly like prepping for the Big One, whatever that might be imagined to be. (And it involves zombies). You'll probably only ever use a small piece of what it is you've stashed but it may be that that small piece makes the difference between life and death. Staying inside during a hurricane because you've stashed extra insulin instead of having to go outside to try to get it is only one example. Little things can make big differences but you'd have to have a crystal ball to see which ones you'll need.
And that crystal ball...will show zombies.
There are a number of them. You should have felt the tension during the early 1980s as many of us knew that we were in a window where the Soviets had to make their move, or else lose that window for many years.
One that we lived under for generations and that will come to the fore front again, is a widespread nuclear war, the planet and growing seasons can still be affected by an asteroid, or a series of volcanoes, or a Carrington event.
History isn’t over, and humans still need to think of war, and pestilence and failed cosmic events.
So far, in my lifetime I have never regretted being prepared, and I have never wasted my food stocks and prepping gear, it has always been incorporated into my life.
No realistic scenario?
http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/02/scenes-sarajevo-olympics-and-after-war/357793/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kuCAOlQSEA
I think that sense of unreality is being fostered by shows like "Doomsday Preppers".
Now, to escape unreality, imagine yourself without power for just three days.
Imagine (for whatever reason), food became scarce. Or the currency became worthless.
Whatever the case or cause, it boils down to a few basic things.
Food
Shelter
Clean water
The means to cook or procure those items for a while--or indefinitely.
Even a hurricane can produce such a situation in coastal areas, where it may be weeks or more before basic services are restored.
Our system, as robust as it seems, has many points of failure, which ensure supplies on hand will be small in the event of a problem.
That problem could be economic, political (war), natural (a large storm or other cataclysm), and localized or widespread, of short or long duration.
Can anyone be prepared for every possible scenario?
Honestly, no. Not unless they have incredible resources to draw on.
But you can be prepared for the basics, by sticking to the basics of food, shelter (including clothing), water, and the means to retain what you have and get more if you need to.
What scale, what duration, what severity of a problem you wish to be prepared for is up to the individual, and some will try to be ready for anything up to and including a large cosmic impact or 'supervolcano eruption' (either an E.L.E.), events which have been decidedly uncommon as far as we know.
Political unrest, warfare (declared or otherwise), storm events, are far more common around the world, and while not 'the big one', still are disruptive enough on a localized basis to be deadly. How far can you walk in a day? Not on sidewalks or a track, but over broken ground, carrying a couple of day's supplies? It might take more than a couple of days to get some place 'safe', and there might not be any help--there might even be people who want to take your supplies.
I think you have to weigh the odds, and plan accordingly. Maybe you get snowed in for a couple of days--will you be able to eat? Most people will.
Now, add the fact that the power is out. Will you be able to stay warm? Not so many can say yes.
Will you have water you can drink?
Will you have the means to stay clean? The possibilities are endless, and depending on how far you want to project a loss of economy as we know it, trade as we know it, or just a disruption of the conveniences and trimmings that make life more than huddling by the fire at night, you might decide to be prepared.
Not everyone is anticipating the next dinosaur killer asteroid or the eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera.
My wife and I had that discussion the other nite. My response? I ain't worried about the "END". I'm worried about losing a job and being unemployed for 6 months to a year. I've been there before and had to take drastic measures (moving across country) before any thing changed. If I'm prepped with the basics to last through something like that, I'd be a lot happier and able to focus on getting re-employed.
If a total breakdown of the system isn’t on your radar, then get into the reality of what might happen to your family within the next year. You might lose your job and have to eat down your food storage so what little money you have won’t be going out the door so quickly. Or there could be a natural disaster that knocks out power to your neighborhood for a few weeks. Or a bridge collaspes. Or a flood wipes out roads in the area. Or you’re sick and can’t make it to the store. Or the water supply is disrupted. Or you take in your cousin’s family because their house burned to the ground. Or there’s another Boston terrorist hunt that lasts for several days. Or civil unrest or a dozen other realistic scenarios that would keep your family closer to home.