I recently had a friend on Facebook post that they were expecting a hurricane this weekend in her area but she unfortunately had no money to prepare for it. It got me thinking about how to prep on a very tight budget.
We all from time to time find ourselves a bit "skint". This doesn't mean that you can't be prepared. I have given this a lot of thought and thought I would put my thoughts out here.
1. Know your dangers! By knowing what dangers you might have to endure in your area then you can best prepare for it. I am not a prepper that preps for end of the world type events. A major catastrophe is definitely in the back of my mind but I find that it is the more "everyday" events that I come across and need to be prepared for. So first, know your area and the dangers you might have. If you are in tornado alley, then prep for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, etc. If you are in an earthquake zone, then prep for those and the damage that comes with those. If you live in an area with potential hurricanes then those are what you need to prep for. Know what your potential disaster will entail. I live in a hurricane zone. I prep for severe storms, hurricanes, flooding, lack of electricity for possibly weeks (we live in the country and will be one of the last to get power restored if out), etc. By knowing your dangers you will then be able to also determine the supplies you will need.
2. Plan to shelter in place. With little or no money, plan to shelter in place for as long as you can. If you have to leave your home, then plan to be in an emergency shelter. That will be your cheapest alternative to staying at home. Prior to a potential emergency call your local emergency agency. Ask lots of questions so you are prepared. Know what your shelter will provide you. Most provide a cot or bed, some provide one or two meals a day. Some allow you to stay all day long while others require you to leave during the day and return in the evenings. Ask about safety, privacy, pet policy, etc. Ask what items you will need to bring and what items they will provide (think toiletries, towels, linens for beds/cots, pillows, etc)
3. Think of the basics. Because you will be planning to shelter at home, think about the basics you will need. Water, Food, Alternative Cooking Methods, Alternative Lighting, Alternative Heating, etc.
Let's spend a minute talking about each of these.
Water: Many think that they will need water bottles. But for weather related emergencies we often have a few minutes/days to prepare. You don't need to run out and spend your little bit of money on water bottles. Just fill pots, containers, insulated water bottles, ziploc bags, and your bathtub with water. You can fill ziploc bags with water and then put it in the freezer and freeze it. They will keep your frozen foods cold longer and then take the ziploc bags out when you need it and they will melt down to water. I remember reading about someone before Hurricane Katrina who filled bowls, cups, pots, everything that would hold water prior to the storm. She was glad she did! Fill your tub with water. You can use it for washing and flushing your toilet. Water is pretty much free if you use the water coming out of your tap and fill your own containers.
Food: Most everyone has enough food for 3 days in their house that they can eat. You may not like or want it but you have it already. Don't panic on food. However, again if you have a bit of time to prepare then you can make some better choices on the food that you will buy for your family that week. Think about foods that you will not have to cook (if your stove is electric). Sandwiches, vegetables, fruits, cereals, etc.
Alternative cooking methods: This can be your outside grill, a camp stove, or even a grate over an open flame.
Alternative Lighting: During the day you can open your window shades and use natural lighting but at night you will need some alternative lighting source. This could be flashlights, lanterns, oil lamps, candles.
Alternative Heating: If there is a possibility of no heat and it is cold outside you will need to figure out alternative heating. This could be your fireplace, lots of blankets, a kerosene heater, etc.
And then you need an emergency "bug out bag" just in case you will need to leave and go to a shelter. This doesn't have to be a "backpack". You can use whatever bag you have, even a garbage bag. Most people have something they can throw some things in
So far we have spent no money. At this point we have just talked about what you probably have inside your home right now. It is just a matter of looking at what you have and being ready for the emergency.
4. Plan ahead of time and over time. This is the most important!!! If you are like me, money comes and goes. Sometimes I have a little extra and sometimes I don't have any extra money. The key to all this is planning ahead of time. We know we will have the potential of a weather related emergency so we plan ahead of time for it. This way, when the weather man reports a hurricane or a snow storm or other severe weather there is little I need to do to prepare for it. I am already prepared. I don't need to worry about expenses of prepping at that time. It is already done.
Each time I go to the grocery store, I make sure that I replace any prepping items we many have recently used. If I don't need to replace anything then I try to budget a little bit of money to add to our supplies. For us, batteries, are one of our most often used items as well as one of our most expensive prepping item. If I have an extra $10 I will buy a pack of batteries.
If you are serious about prepping add in a line item into your monthly budget for stocking up. In the meantime here are some ideas on how to stock up ahead of time with little money.
1. Budget: Take a few dollars a month and use that to stock up. Even the hard core preppers had to start somewhere and most of these didn't start with a lot of money to purchase supplies. Like everything good, it takes time. Sometimes years.
2. Health Fairs/Business Fairs/Etc. I love going to these things, because the businesses there often have free things for you. Bring a bag to put in the free stuff and collect away. I particularly like small packs of bandaids, hand sanitizers, first aid kits, water bottles, zipper bags, sunscreen, toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, etc. These are perfect for your bug out bags! Some even give away drawstring backpacks!! Those are great for your bug out bag. I like to put one of those in my car with emergency supplies. If my car breaks down, I have a backpack now to put on to walk for help.
3. Cheap groceries. Use your coupons to help stock up on long expiration date food items. Canned foods are great as most of the time they have a year or 2 year expiration date. Ramen, rice, pasta are awesome, cheap items to have in your stock of food. Add one or two items each trip to the grocery store you make. It might be an extra buck or five to your budget but it is easier to do this a little bit at a time than to buy a full stock of food all at once. I have personally never bought freeze dried foods from an emergency supply company, but I have looked at them and they are quite expensive. If this it the route you want to go then once you have a bit of food storage from the regular grocery then take the extra money you would have spent stocking up at the grocery and put it in an envelope and save until you have enough to buy a case of freeze dried food. Buy a case at a time until you have a good stock of it. The key here is to start with what you can and do what you can a little at a time. Use coupons, shop sales, and look for items with long expiration dates on them.
4. Free food items: When you are out in a restaurant, the extra couple packages of condiments you may not use can be used in your emergency supplies. I am not condoning stealing but sometimes they give you too many, and one or two extra condiment packs can help round out your bug out bag foods. I am talking about salt packets, pepper, sugar, dry creamers, parmesan cheese packs, etc. Don't throw these extras away.
5. Yard Sales: I love going to yard sales and looking for emergency supplies. You can find sleeping bags, lanterns, flashlights, oil lamps, camp stoves, and other items all at great yard sale prices. Look for your higher ticket items here.
6. Craigslist/Ebay/Estate Sales/Auctions: Other great places to look for more expensive items you might need.
7. Dollar Store: This is a great place for clean up supplies. Bleach, cleaners, rubber gloves, buckets, rags are all great items to get at the Dollar Store. Also think about getting a lighter, matches, and storage containers here too. You can buy batteries here but they tend to not last very long. I prefer the more reliable brand name batteries.
8. Goodwill/Thrift Stores: This is a great place to find back packs and other supplies.
9. Take an Emergency Preparedness Course: We have a free course locally, called CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). They train you for all sorts of emergencies and how to help your neighbors in an emergency. At the end of the course, which is free, you get a free backpack filled with supplies and tools.
Again, the key to an emergency is preparedness and most often we can prepare well ahead of time. The key is to already be prepared when your emergency hits. By planning ahead of time you don't have to worry so much about whether or not you have it in the budget this month to get prepared because you already are prepared.
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