5 Tips For Prepping On a Budget

Anyone who watches the news these days tends to get creepy stomach-pit feeling that it might be a prudent idea to prepare for unfortunate events that are coming our way.  Especially after a natural disaster, false-flag attack, or a pandemic like the so-called 'swine flu', it is very easy to slip into the ...'I have to prepare as soon as possible, or else...' mindset.
However while it is the state of any person to want to survive, sometimes hysteria, rather than logic, can take control of our minds.  It is never smart to live in fear, as fear tends to make us do things that a calm mind tends to avoid.  The point is, the moment something happens, don't bankrupt your checking account in order to buy the coolest, latest survival toys.  Here are 5 tips that you can employ, so that you can prepare without cashing out your life savings:

1. Keep your own day-to-day budget in mind.  If you are new to prepping, it is easy to make a list of things to buy, and before you know it, you've blown a couple grand.  The key is to make sure you know your own budget, you know how much 'walking around money' you have to spend, and you know where you can cut here to add there.  You don't want to be in a position where you can't make a mortgage payment, because you decided to stock up on ammunition and dehydrated food.
2. Prep slowly.  If you make your preps steadily and slowly, you will have two advantages.  First, it will be much easier on the savings account, especially if you're someone (like most of us) who are living paycheck-to-paycheck.  The second advantage is one to which any seasoned prepper can attest: the slower you prep, the more you can learn before you buy.  Most preppers end up starting out by buying a ton of gear early on, and then realize to their dismay that they either spent too much or bought the wrong things to accommodate their system.  
3. Research, research, and then... research some more.  Perhaps the most important item you can have in your kit is going to be the cheapest, ways nothing, and it can never be exhausted: knowledge.  Having a thorough knowledge of your particular system can save you a great deal of money.  For instance, while you might spend thousands on Internet-bought food stores, learning how to jar food from your home garden will be more effective and much cheaper for you in the long-run. 
4. Do-It-Yourself.  It's amazing how much things cost, especially when you add up the extras.  Take firearms for example... Sure, you can buy a shiny new Ruger revolver ($499), but then you've got to buy rounds ($439 per 1000), a holster ($57.22), and perhaps even a safe place to store it when it's not on  your hip ($100).  Before you know it, you've spent $1095.22 on only one weapon system.  Instead, you would be able to save quite a bit of money manufacturing some of these things yourself.  Of course, you couldn't make your own revolver ...but, you could reload your own rounds, make your own holster from Kydex, and even construct your own gun safe.  The possibilities are endless when you do it yourself.  Don't always think you have to buy, when sometimes you can make your own ...for a fraction of the price.
5. Know People.  Any prepper worth his or her salt will tell you to either create or join a network of likeminded folks, as there are many advantages in doing so.  First, it will add peace of mind in knowing that you're not alone, and allow you to rely on others for encouragement.  Second, it will increase your ability to survive, as more people have a wider array of special skills from hunting to innovation to medical care ...meaning that you don't have to be a jack of all trades.  And third, it will give preppers the ability to pool resources, meaning that you don't have to be completely and totally self-sufficient, as this can become extremely expensive.  You might be placed in charge of purchasing communications and navigational gear, while others might be in charge of medical supplies, and someone else may be in charge of food acquisition.  You can concentrate and spend your money on your specialty, saving everyone money.  Usually, if you are interested in a certain aspect of survival, you'll know where to get the best deals. 

-K.H. Danielsen