Prepping on a Budget- Part 1, by The Newbie

It’s good to prep on a budget, as economic collapse is coming. I believe many people are new to emergency preparedness. It is hard enough to come up with the funds to get a good start of just having enough food for your family and yourself. That’s alot without all of the things you need for a bug out bag, cache, and all the tools to be self sufficient. We would need a homestead and a thousand other things, if we were without modern convinces and technology. We take so much for granted, including that we can just run to pick things up at the grocery store. For those of us newer to prepping, preparing is all quite overwhelming.

Certain Economic Collapse

The economic collapse isn’t like a “possible” Y2K thing. It is 100% for sure going to happen. The question is when. It is going to start when our debt clock hits 20 trillion. Forecasters have more firmly established the date as 2021. This means we are running out of time. We don’t have to just worry about the dollar being worthless. We need to realize we could very well face hyper inflation. So being prepared, even if order is kept, is critical.

My friends on social media include globalists, which is a story for a different day. They have interest in IMF. Let’s just say central banking cycles were never meant to last forever. One hundred twenty-five years is the norm. When first planned in 1964, our reset was intended for this year. However, our debt wasn’t quite high enough to trigger what needs to happen for the dominoes to start falling. When this was first planned, that wasn’t part of the equation. As far as how much money was to be printed for our central banking cycle, it ended in 2014. If they lift the QE, inflation would be 643%. If you haven’t been serious in preparing food stores, start now!

Free Things On Craigslist

I keep seeing all these acronyms and fantastic ideas. However, many of these things seem expensive. I’ve come up with a lot of ways to do things on a budget and to be prepared with a small budget. I will add things as I go. Don’t be afraid to check the free section on Craig’s List (craigslist.org). I went through it today. If I were stronger, I would have rented a U-Haul. There is a man in our area who needs to move and is giving away a wood chipper, generator, 55-gallon barrels, fire hoses, and a ton of tools. He is moving and has a “come and take all or get nothing” policy. I couldn’t believe all the things people are just giving away. Bricks, firewood, and kitchen cabinets were plentiful in our area.

Food Storage

Refurbished Food Saver

Food storage is a must when preparing. Food Saver sells refurbished units when they have them in stock for around $68 for the 2-in-1 unit. Plus, it comes with all the accessories it would if you bought it new. Their fresh bucks program is worthwhile. They also give free containers with any purchase over $99. The food savers can be used to draw air out for mini space bags for bug out bags. Take the roll out of the middle of toilet paper and suck the air out; you have a couple of rolls without taking up much space. Store larger items in a cache a medium-sized space bags. Depending on the size of your bug out bag, they would work for that, too. I’ve used these for years for seasonal bedding to save space.

Mylar Bags and Oxygen Absorbers

Amazon’s prices for mylar bags and oxygen absorbers are still the best I’ve found. Remember to use the links from SurvivalBlog so they get the small commission to be able to run the website free to us. I would not have learned half of what I now know if it weren’t for this website. Thank you! I also appreciate that we are told this is the case with this website. It is the case for any of them with links; they just don’t bother to tell us. I can’t even express the gratitude I feel for all the good information found on this website.

Augason Farm Dehydrated Foods

The best deals I have found on Amazon with food is a 14-pound pail of Augason Farms honey coated dehydrated bananas for around $32.99 and their price for the same brand of #10 cans of powdered milk and eggs for $12.66 each are good prices. Every once in awhile they will run a sale that must be a loss leader for $3.99 for blueberry pancake mix. It goes between that and $17.99, so it is quite the difference. Grab a few when you see this, because it will go up. I didn’t realize it was such a bargain when I first saw it, so I didn’t grab it at the time. It is already packaged for long-term storage. The bananas are in a 6-gallon bucket. I’ve never seen dehydrated fruit for anywhere near this price. It is more than twice the price for anything dehydrated in their 6-gallon buckets.. I kind of over spent on those. I was new to Amazon and didn’t realize it switched to another seller when I hit the order button. It was $25 more.

Watch Your Shopping Cart When Making Amazon Purchases

If you are like me and make lists or leave things in your shopping cart, make sure and check the price. The prices can really fluctuate between sellers or even the same seller. I had a 55-gallon water storage tank on my list. It was the same seller but went from $156 to $104 within a couple of weeks. Amazon is also unbeatable for choices and finding unusual or hard-to-find items in one place.

Product Reviews

Amazon’s reviews are a great place to find answers to questions. However, I find this website (SurvivalBlog) and books better for reviews about which brands of weapons and knives are better. I seriously doubt anyone on Amazon reviewing a $15 survival knife that was made in China ever had to use them in an honest to goodness survival situation or a fight for their lives. I will listen to the experts on this. By expert, I mean the men and women who’ve seen combat, not the “expert” trained by vendors at a sporting goods store. For some things, I believe you get what you pay for and you shouldn’t skimp. It is one thing to get the best prices on beans and rice or the same brands of quality foods. But don’t skimp on the tools that could save your life or that will break when you are simply pruning a few branches from trees in your yard.

Online Ordering Beyond Amazon

If you have $20 to spend at the dollar store, you can do a lot more than you think with that. Many people have a lot of the things they need just laying around the house. If you live in a rural area, like a lot of people who visit this site regularly, there are some things going on you may not be aware of. People know about Amazon, but they don’t know about Google Express. So, if you live a a long way from a Costco, you can now order from them online along with a few other stores, like Walgreens and Whole Foods. The two latter stores aren’t really for those who are budget oriented, but it certainly has a convenience factor. You can also order online from the Dollar Tree, but you have to buy a case. A case usually contains 24 to 36 pieces for things like petroleum jelly, two-packs of antibacterial soap, or hand sanitizers.

Purchasing on Google Express

Google Express isn’t feasible for everyone. But if it works for you, a case or two of basic items, like hand sanitizer, petroleum jelly, or the 2-packs of antibacterial soap, might be worth purchasing. They also recently began to carry a 3-pack of sensitive skin Dial soap that is irritant- and fragrance-free. This soap, which from reading, appears to be beneficial, if you don’t want strong fragrances. However, the downside is that it isn’t antibacterial.

With Google Express you can pay a yearly fee or just pay a flat $4.99 for each order over $35. The yearly fee is $95. The service is newer, so there are coupons everywhere. It isn’t available everywhere yet. However, you can punch in your zip code to see when it will be available and which stores participate in your area. There is a refer a friend for a $10 coupon that you both receive.

Costco

Some of the prices at Costco are unbeatable especially for those of us who buy in bulk. If you have a business, you can also order from their Business Center and have it shipped. If you live close to one and just have a membership, you can still purchase from them. They just don’t deliver to residential addresses. Additionally, the prices reflect a shipping increase, so it is worth a trip to one even if it is a few hours away.

Further Reading:

• Prepping on a Budget, by C.G.
• Prepping on a Budget, by C.G. – Part 2

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been Part one of a three Part entry for Round 70 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
5. An infrared sensor/imaging camouflage shelter from Snakebite Tactical in Eureka, Montana (A $350+ value),
6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
7. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
8. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
2. A custom made Sage Grouse model utility/field knife from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a $125 Montie gear Gift certificate.,
8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and

Round 70 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.