Budget Friendly Prepping

This Contribution is from tribe member Lady in Red, Annie

The views expressed in this writing are my own opinion. You are entitled to yours. Please share your thoughts respectfully so we can all learn and grow together.

So, you want to prep, but the economy has your wallet on lock-down? Let's explore simple ways to get you on the path of budget friendly prepping.

Prepping is not about having the best gear or the most food or ammo. It's about being mentally prepared to shift gears at a moment’s notice, being able to utilize what you have where you are and being flexible. Having said that, let's dive in.

Mental preparedness can be as simple as researching and learning new skills. Learning new skills will give you a leg up. If you are a successful hunter, you may need to barter or trade with someone who reloads and vice versa. Having some specialized skills can make you more valuable and less of a “target” as you could be useful. Learning techniques around natural medicines are key when there are no meds available. As a gatherer, knowing the difference between what berries and mushrooms are safe vs. poisonous is knowledge that can literally save your life.

The tribe recommends reading this book and sticking it in your bug-out bag for reference: https://amzn.to/3TKRhRk

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Finances

Let's face it, making more money when inflation is at an all-time high is near impossible to off-set for the average American. What we have been doing is focusing on coupons and sales, cutting out things we don’t need, collecting cans and bottles, metal recycling, bartering and setting firm budget goals. We all have a few dollars we waste weekly on fancy coffee, tools, beer, or have squirreled it away for a rainy day.

Let's work on redirecting financial resources. 

*Disclaimer* I am no financial genius. All my adult life I have had to stick to a budget or suffer the consequences. I speak from my own personal experiences and sacrifices. 

Average fancy coffee is running $5-6. Easy round number, four fancy coffees a week= $20. Now I believe we should reward ourselves for a job well done. Cut back to 1 fancy coffee a week, make coffee at home, and buy flavored creamer for the other 3 coffees. By only purchasing 1 coffee a week, theoretically you are saving $15. It doesn't sound like a lot of money. Today I purchased on sale, 3 pounds of 93/7 ground beef for $8. That's 3-6 meals with beef as the protein! Chicken thighs and legs were $0.99/lb. A family pack costs $6-9! $15 can buy a box of 9mm

on sale or 2 boxes of 22lr. Gallon jugs of spring water run $0.79-$2. Spring water is spring water. 18 gallons with $15!

Let's take it a step further. 2 weeks of only getting 1 fancy coffee. That's $30 saved. You can get the small portable propane bottles (qty of 2 or 3) for around $10-$15 on sale. That's 4-6 bottles of propane! $30 will get you a 5-gal food safe bucket, a gamma lid, and enough rice to fill the bucket (should last a family of four, 3-6 months). $30 will buy a single bivvy tent and an emergency blanket. $30 is a good start toward having $200 cash on hand in small bills. 

Another money saver is coupons. The trick with coupons is not to buy things just because they are on sale. Lesson learned for me after my husband discovered where I stashed the 20+ tubes of toothpaste I

bought on sale. At our local grocery store, we have an app. In the app, you scan items and put them on a digital list or do a grocery pick up. In the grocery store app, when you scan an item, it tells you if there is

a coupon for it. You can “clip” the coupon and save the money at checkout. They also have cash back coupons that allow you to save on your grocery bill at another time. You can, if you are creative and able to think without a box, make meals with only using items you buy with coupons. This is not easy… you learn to try new things and substitute with different items here and there. The store has had a coupon every Friday for the last 2 months that gives you 5x fuel points at checkout. This has been a huge life saver. You get 1 point for every dollar spent (except gift cards- w/out a coupon

you get 2 points for every dollar of the price of the gift card- a few exceptions). With the coupon that is only good on Friday, you get 5x the fuel points. I go and do my normal shopping scanning every item as

it goes in the cart and then in the end, I also get gas points. When you get 100 points, that equals $0.10 off a gallon, all the up to $1 off for 1000 points! In September, we ended up with five $1 offs at the pump. We used 2 of them and the other three held over to October. In October, we only got three $1

offs. I’m using those this month as we had the September ones to use in October. When we fill up, we take the truck, and every gas can we have that is empty (I use the gas cans to fill my car as needed since

it only has a 12-gallon tank). On average, I’m saving $50-$75 when we fill up our gas tank and cans.

The gift card deals at our grocery store. When you buy gift cards on Fri, Sat, or Sun, you get 4x fuel points. I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon. I buy gift cards and load them to my Amazon account. I also buy

a meal out gift card weekly. Once a week I choose not to cook one day and having a restaurant meal or fast food is what it is. My new favorite is Jersey Mikes. I had a coupon for $5 off a $50 gift card for Jersey Mikes. Couple that with the 4x times fuel points… I was able to get a deal on dinner and I got 200 gas points!

Shopping coupons, I have saved as much as 45% on my grocery bill. My average is around 26-30%.

I believe that when setting up a prepping plan, you need to narrow down and focus on basic simple tasks.

Step 1: Take an Inventory of what you have. It doesn’t make sense to continue to buy things you already have. See what you can scrounge up and mark it off the shopping list.

• Food

-Shelf stable food

-Frozen food

-Packable food

• Water for drinking vs sanitation 

• Heat source/cooking source

• Shelter

-Portable shelter

• Personal Protection, including ammo if applicable 

• Medications/1 st aid kits

• Cash

So far, we have taken Inventory of what we have available to us, and we have taken steps to free up small amounts of money. Now what?

Step 2: Plan Ideally you want 3 months of food and water. This is where I would start. Break it into smaller increments. 3 days, then 3 weeks and 3 months. Use goals to achieve this. As soon as a goal is checked off, make a new one. Slowly chip away at the other items/categories on the list as you can.

Set goals- 

A) SMART goals are: 

i. Specific

ii. Measurable

iii. Attainable

iv. Realistic

v. Time-based

My suggestions with the SMART goal system are to work on 1 or 2 at a time. You want to be successful. You don't want to be sprinting at the start of a marathon and lose momentum quickly. You need to pace yourself.

An example of a SMART goal:

In the next 30 days, by giving up 2 fancy coffees a week, I will use the $10 weekly to purchase a portable cook stove and 4 propane cylinders.

An example of SMART goal :

In the next 10 months, by giving up 1 fancy coffee a week, I will stash away $200.

Now that we have taken Inventory of what we have, redirected slush funds, and have set a few goals, we need to discuss the details.

Step 3: Details Somethings to consider are your habits. Are you a coffee drinker? Energy drinks? Are you a caffeine addict? Smoker or Chewer? Withdrawals from caffeine and cigarettes are awful. Especially

cold turkey. This can affect your mood, you may have headaches, the shakes, or even flu-like symptoms. Having some of your habit stashed could get you through. I would suggest having a back up plan too.

Food:

Only stock foods you and your family eat. Nothing worse than preparing an emergency meal that no one likes. When SHTF and you have the adrenaline dump, you need some easy meals that are convenient and nutritious. I would suggest that if you choose to purchase pre-packed foods, you try everyone of them before buying a whole lot of them. Buy what you and your family like. You need to know how to prepare them and what they taste like. You will also want to know how far they will go. Can a family of four eat 1 pouch of a hiking meal or do they need 2 or even 4? Knowing this will make a huge difference in the amount of food you need. As well as knowing everyone’s dietary needs and being able to provide meals for someone on a restricted diet (all the hiking meals are chocked full of sodium- not good for someone with high blood pressure but will work in a pinch; just not long term). High sodium content or excess sugar means that you may need more water to flush out the excess from your system to avoid health issues.

Potatoes, rice, and noodles. Carbs. In an emergency, you will need the carbs as you are likely burning more energy than if life was back to normal. The carbs are cheaper and more filling than other choices. Add in 1/3 to 1/2 pound of ground beef that you canned to prepared rice. Toss in a can of mixed veggies or beans and you're set for a filling dinner. Carbs allow less food to go farther.

SHTF is not a time to worry about presentation or if the flavors combine perfectly. Food is now solely for survival. This is not a pleasure cruise.

Food storage:

Having a variety of choices can make the difference in surviving healthy or barely making it. The important thing here is to diversify. You don’t want all your food storage to be in the freezer. If the power goes out, you have 2, maybe 3 days before things start going bad. Refrigerator is 12-24 hours. All

that depends on temperature. I preserve foods through canning, freezing, and dehydrating. You can also freeze dry foods, though the equipment cost is very expensive to start. While starting small is important, you can buy most dry foods in bulk. Rice, instant potatoes, and grains are a great place to start for bulk. Sugar and salt as well. Be on the lookout over the next few weeks for a canning blog post.

What I have my Food in:

2.5-gallon buckets with gamma lids with oxygen absorbers

5-gallon buckets with gamma lids with oxygen absorbers

• Pint jars

• Quart jars

• Gallon jars

• Mylar Bags with oxygen absorbers

• Freezer

• Pantry shelves: Food in original packaging 

• Totes for grab and go with oxygen absorbers

• Backpacks

Buckets:

Rice, noodles, grain (yes, I grind my own flour), dry beans, sugar, salt, banana chips, chocolate chips, granola, etc. I use oxygen absorbers in all my buckets.

Jars:

All canned foods (beef, chicken, fish, tomatoes, fruits, and veggies), small amounts dry carbs and spices (oxygen absorbers in dry goods)

Mylar Bags:

Left over uncooked rice, pasta, nuts, dried fruits

Freezer:

Meats, breads, juice concentrates, quick meals, ice bags

Pantry:

Mostly daily meal items, section for SHTF foods (instant potato packets, Knorr sides, etc.)

Totes:

Actual survival food- it's light weight and portable

Backpacks:

Meat sticks, trail mix, mints, hard candy, energy bars, hot cocoa mix and instant coffee

Water Storage:

I purchase spring water for our water storage. The tap water where I live is full of chemicals. So much so that when you run the tap, it smells like bleach. When the rain starts and we have flood warnings, the

water turns brown… No way will I drink that!

I store my water in Reliance 7 gallon Plastic Jerry cans that I have purchased from the store. They have a spout on the inside of the lid. This has been a great option for us. I do rotate the water every 6 months

to ensure that if SHTF, we have the freshest water we can get.

I also purchase water bottles on Amazon subscribe and save. If you don’t know what that is, essentially, it’s a subscription service that allows you to set up a schedule to have items delivered to you. You can choose weekly type intervals or monthly intervals. You are auto billed, and the items arrive. Let’s just say my family never ran out of toilet paper during the pandemic! We were able to barter with toilet paper for items we were unable to get.

Please check out the blog on storing water as there are things you need to do to keep your drinking water safe when storing it for long periods of time.

Heat and Cooking Sources:

I have electric heat. UGH. So, if there is no electricity, we have no heat. Wrong. We have a generator that can power half of our house for a few days on 1 tank of gas. We also have firewood for a fire pit outside. This can double as a heat source and a cooking source. In addition to that, we have propane. Our camper runs on electric: 12v and on the generator as well as propane. I also have 2 propane stoves. I normally use for canning outside and the other is one I carry in the camper. In the camper we have an

isobutane burner as an alternative cooking source. My favorite is my StoveTec Sasquatch Rocket Stove. I LOVE this. Take some fire starter (tree pitch, dryer lint, etc.) and a few twigs, then before you know it,

you are boiling water, making soup or a full meal. No need for a cord of firewood! We also have a backpack stove that hooks to a propane bottle and fits in our dry backpacks. I own Mustad Waterproof backpacks and Dry Bags (I have all, but the small, small one)- amazing for the price! They don’t have a ton of pockets but works well for all our fishing gear; the dry duffle bag holds waders, boots and changes of clothes among other things. Highly recommend these!

We have many sleeping bags and blankets. We have electric blankets that work off the cigarette lighter in the vehicle. Every family member has base wear and extra socks in their packs. Use what you have.

Shelter:

We have our house, vehicles, and a tent trailer. We also have several tents of varying sizes. We have tarps and canopies. Utilize end of the season sales, garage sales, online marketplaces and ask family and friends if they are not using theirs if you can barter or trade with them for that family tent they have. I love the barter trade option. Everyone always needs something.

Personal Protection:

I’m sure pretty much everyone here has a firearm, but some family members may not feel comfortable or have the ability/maturity to be trusted with a firearm. Other options. Baseball bat, knives, wasp

spray, bow and arrows, basic self-defense, hideout space, and booby traps (think Home Alone). The list of what can be used to protect yourself is endless and only limited by your imagination and abilities. Be sure that whatever you choose to protect yourself with, you have whatever ammo it may require. No ammo = rock. You need to have the skills to use your self-defense tools. Don’t buy a bow and arrow and then never train with it. Same as with the wasp spray or even a fire extinguisher.

Medications:

There are websites out there where you can buy medications. Some of them charge outrageous prices for the drugs. I suggest speaking with your doctor about what options you have for stocking up. Be honest with them and genuine about it. Most medications, you should be able to fill a few days early. Stash the few extra pills you have. If you do this every month, theoretically, you should be able to save up to 1 month supply in a year (by picking up medications 3 days early).

You will also want to have over the counter (OTC) meds available. Advil, Tylenol, Benadryl, Tums, etc. can all be purchased and stored in bins. **Money saver** If you have an HSA or FSA account, you can use that to purchase over the counter medications as well as other medical supplies. I used our HSA account to purchase first aid kits and regular OTC medications. This is a great option if you have use it or lose it funds in your FSA or HSA account at the end of the year.

Keep 1 pair of your old glasses. Even if your prescription has changed a bit, something is better than nothing. Keep contact lens solution and hearing aid batteries available in a tote.

Cash:

I would suggest that everyone in your family have some cash in small bills. Put it in a Ziplock in their pack. You should have a minimum of $200 cash in small bills in a safe. When hurricane Andrew hit, water bottles were being sold for $20 a bottle because the stores were not giving out change. A great way to start building this up is bottle and can recycling if that is applicable in your state. **Money Saving Tip** When you buy soda and water on Amazon, you don’t pay a deposit, but you will receive your

deposit back when you turn it in (if your state is noted on the bottle/can). Start small and set a goal. Make it achievable. If you have the funds to do it, then just do it and focus on other things. I do not. I am still working on getting cash in everyone’s pack. I take money saved from fancy coffees and apply it here.

In conclusion:

Bottom line with prepping on a budget is to do your research. You don’t need the top of the line “stuff”. I’m sure not everyone will do things the way I do and that’s ok. You need to start where you are and with what you have. Take inventory, plan, and execute it. Stick to your budget. Don’t over stretch yourself and put yourself in a position of not being able to pay your bills. Start small. Yes, you can spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on “emergency food” but know that you don’t have to. For a few fancy coffees a week and a couple of coupons, you can start getting yourself and your family prepped for that SHTF disaster.

Links to products discussed in this article are listed below.

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Bivvy Tent

Oxygen Absorbers for food storage

Gamma Lids

Food Grade Buckets

Mylar Bags

8 oz Canning Jars

Pint Canning Jars

Quart Canning Jars

½ Gallon Canning Jars

Wide Mouth Canning Lids

Freezer Bags

Food Saver-Mid to High Range

Vacuum Saver Machine- Lower Range

Top of the line Vacuum Saver

4 Week Food Supply 1 person- higher quality

1 Week Food Supply 1 person- most economical

Water Storage

Outdoor Cooking Stove

Butane Single Burner Stove

Backpacking Stove - Propane

Backpacking Stove - Isobutane

Backpacking Stove – Multi fuel

Rocket – type stove

Mustad Waterproof Backpack

Mustad Dry Bags

Average Coleman Sleeping Bag

12v Car Blanket

Tents

Baseball Bat

Wasp Spray

Booby Traps Book

Booby Trap Your Home Book

Sling Shot

Sling Shot ammo

FSA/HSA approved items

Small Personal Safe