Anyone involved in preparedness knows that it can quickly get expensive. This doesn’t need to be the case. Here are a bunch of tips for prepping on the cheap.
Don’t be a Gear Snob
While having top of the line gear is often ideal, you’re better off having something that will do an efficient job than holding out for that perfect item. For example if you have nothing for home defense, you’re better off buying a used 20 gauge shot gun for $75 than holding out for a $1500 AR-15.
Another idea that came to mind is purifying water. While I love our current method of purifying water, we needed a tax return to afford it. Until then, we would have boiled water or used bleach. That’s mot ideal but it would have gotten us by.
Don’t be a Brand Snob
When it comes to things like toilet paper, I have my favorite brand, but we have cases of other, less expensive brands, stored. I’m not trying to be crude, but if there is an event that makes it so we can’t go buy more TP from a store, anything short of tree bark will seem like a blessing.
Coupons
Trudee really started couponing last year and has saved us a ton of money. Sometimes saving 30% on a weekly grocery bill. If you’re building a pantry, coupon like your life depends on it. It might mean going to more than one grocery store, but it can easily be worth the trip.
Sales and BOGO (Buy One Get One)
This might sound like a no brainer, but when there is a sale on an item, stock up. Grocery stores often have “buy one get one free or half off”. I have also seen “five for $5” or “ten for $10”. These are great opportunities to stock up.
Discount Groceries
We have a discount grocery store called Aldi’s. From talking to others and my own experience, if you get produce from them you should consume it quickly. However, canned and frozen goods should be just fine.
Craig’s List, Free Cycle
Looking online, you can often find free or inexpensive gear. This would be a great way to stock up on camping gear, and other preparedness related items.
Flea Markets, Garage Sales and Auctions
These can be a great resource for getting gear. You can often haggle to get the asking price even lower.
Copy Canning
I learned about copy canning from the video Urban Master Volume 1 “The Home”, created by the late Ron Hood and his wife. The process is very easy and is as follows:
- You decide you want chicken noodle soup for lunch so you take a can out of your pantry.
- Add chicken noodle soup to the shopping list.
- When you go to the grocery store, you buy two instead of one. (If you used two cans, you guessed it, you buy four.)
This is a great way to build your pantry to the point where you’re at the maximum amount of any item you want to store. Then you simply move back to buying just one when you use one.
Dollar Stores
While not all dollar stores are created equal, I would wager I could survive for a week or two based off on the items at most dollar stores. I didn’t say I would enjoy it, but I would survive. Others might have this as well, but Dollar Tree has a section of their website called ”Emergency Supply Checklist”..
Big Box Stores
Costco and Sam’s club can be great money savers. If you can’t afford a membership, consider going in on one with another family. You might always need to go shopping there together, but it would be worth it.
Do you have any tips for frugal preparedness? If so please add them to the comments section!
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Learn how to dehydrate and can your food. When you come across good deals on meats or veggies (at the farmers market) you can preserve it for long term storage. This summer my husband will build us a smoke house giving us yet another way to store food plus the yummy taste. Thanks for all that you do Chris, you are great.
Good adds. I think we’ll be doing this again this year, once you get past the cost of the jars, caner and other misc accessories, this is so much cheaper.
Garage sales and thrift store for the jars and canner. I have yet to buy a set of jars at full price, and I think I have about 200 jars. The lids can only be used once, but those less than $3 for a dozen.
Canning is an incredibly valuable skill to have.
Good info as well, thanks
Search for “Tattler” canning lids, they are reusable.
I have seen banners for them, but haven’t used them. How well do they work?
If you invest in Tattler lids, also consider paying a little extra for Hercuglass canning jars. You can drop them on a concrete floor and they just bounce.
http://hercuglass.com/canning?zenid=dn78h2dc79lat6407qh116i0n0
I hadn’t heard of these, thanks for linking them.
Chris,
You can find sturdy-warm clothes and other useful items in thrift stores. Huge savings, plus it can support some good causes such as DAV (Disabled American Veterans)
Most items i’ve purchased have never been used…and bought for a few dollars. ie. military coats/gear that “GI Surplus” stores sell for a small fortune.
Great topic…thanks Chris!
Another good suggestion. We have donated to the DAV, but haven’t been to the outlet, might have to check it out.
In Germany Aldi’s is bigger than Wal-Mart, and they have much more than groceries. We occasionally shop at Aldi’s and have never had a problem with their produce.
Another type of discount store to consider are the ‘Bent n’ Dent’ ones that buy the dented, near dated stuff in quantity from major grocery retailers. There prices are normally very good. Sometimes we have seen things ‘close dated’, but often the use by dates are well into the future. We have slashed our grocery bill by buying smart, and have been able to stock the long-term storage shelves. We have also been able to buy high end, gourmet stuff a low cost…stuff we have enjoyed, but otherwise would not buy. Recently we got a 2 for 2 deal on canned tomato products in 28 and 35 oz cans – price was 45 cents for two cans. Another time we got several 25 lb bags of Basmati rice for $7 each. We get 12 to 16 oz cans of good quality coffee – $2 each. These are just a few examples…
A note about expiration dates…for the most part these can be ignored. Especially on canned goods. An exception to this might be on boxed cereals, crackers and other snack items – rancidity can become a problem.
We believe that the only oil suitable for cooking is coconut oil. The polyunsaturated fats (corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, etc) are not good for us and are responsible for many health problems in this country. The coconut oil that we buy is naturally refined, expeller pressed, 76 deg melt.. It does not smell or taste like coconut. We buy it in 50 lb pails and store it that way. Periodically we melt down a pail and package in smaller containers (that we recycle). Coconut oil is mostly lauric acid, a medium chain saturated fat – it can’t go bad. We have no concerns about shelf life. And when the smelly stuff hits the rotating device, the coconut oil is something we will have for bartering.
Great additional information, thanks for adding it.
I agree completely on expiration dates, they are useless on most things.
I didn’t know that about coconut oil. We use olive oil but it does go rancid, might have to look as switching to coconut oil instead.
So, when storing canned goods, such as vegetables, soups and canned meats, could you give us and estimate of how much longer the shelf life would be beyond than the expiration dates? Love your sight . . .my husband is now hooked on it!
Hi Tina,
I’m glad you and your husband like the site.
I wrote an article a while back that covers expiration dates on many types of foods, here is the link
http://preparedchristian.net/food-storage-part-two-the-kinds-of-food-can-you-store/#.UTEI71dpeHw
Water can be purified with old potato chip bags:
http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Wedge_Solar_Cooker
Bought some heritage garden seeds. Going to try my hand at gardening this summer. Better to practice now than wtshtf
Good for you, I have done a few articles on gardening, just search the site for gardening and you should find them.
Good luck to you.
If you have an Aldi nearby and don’t shop at it, you’re nuts. The only thing they lack is brand selection. If you want potato chips, there is only one brand (lots of flavors and varieties, but one brand). I only go elsewhere to get the things Aldi doesn’t sell, which isn’t much.
By the way… flea markets — GREAT. Great way to double-up on things you already have, but it doesn’t hurt o have a spare. I bought some nails, pliers, screwdrivers and fishing lures today and only spent $8.
Good info. makes me want to head for a flea market.
Check local bakeries and bakery dept in grocery stores. When you get to know them they will save food grade buckets that batter and icing comes in. I get all mine free for the asking. Great for storing grains.
That is where I got most of mine as well.
I don’t have much use for the Dollar Tree or Dollar General in my area, but we have Deal$ and “The Dollar Store” – I plug them like I own stock. This week: 7oz banana chips, two-year shelf life; pouches of salmon (pets & people), 18 mo. to 2 yr shelf life & perfect for packs; 3/4 cup slivered almonds & walnuts, 18 mo. & good for snack size; nice strawberry jam I don’t have to ruin a pot or spoon for; egg noodles as always. Ours carries little bits of everything – no-name Pop-Tarts, 2# pasta, 1# beans, beef in gravy, instant coffee & cappuccino, sea salt & kosher salt, canned strawberries in juice; scrubby sponges, 8 & 16-pk votives & tea lights, 4/$1 seeds, toothbrushes, nice sensitive-skin bar soaps & body wash (I don’t buy their shampoo or conditioner; doesn’t work for me).
Don’t throw away your rancid olive oil. You can use it as lamp oil.
Multipurpose: dish detergent & pine cleaner are disinfectants for household items, laundry, & floors (dollar store carries them & unscented, pure bleach); vinegar makes pickles & shiny windows; cloth for feminine hygiene & cleaning & patches (sheets, flannel shirts, & towels from Salvation Army, Goodwill).
I pick up a lot of good, good name-brand clothing at Goodwill stores; people drop stuff off as they outgrow it or need space and it’s past-season, just like we do. RL Polo fleece-$6, hunting coveralls with liner-$15, heavy winter thigh-length coat-$25.
Instead of tarps or plastic drop sheets for water collection or in-crisis window repair, second-hand stores, $ stores, and trade days/flea markets sometimes have shower curtains for much less. Clear/translucent ones can be used for mobile “greenhouses” for planters, small beds, & some row crops during frost threats, too, and they can cover bedding for seniors or kids and be melted together as a sheaf for bed bug/mites in a mattress during a long-term crisis. I also fold them around clothing and bedding to package those for a while; it keeps dust out.
Instead of high-speed pouches and rigs, a sturdy belt (Goodwill, Wal-Mart) and either a handyman set of pouches (trade day, Wal-Mart) or even a couple of the soft-sided lunchbag “coolers” on that belt work for a tactical rig. They have the advantage of being more watertight than most mag and tactical pouches, so they both repel water or could hold it if you needed. One with a canteen/bottle inside + shotshells or rifle mags, one for pistol mags & a poncho with a ziploc of fire-starting gear in the flap pocket, and one for a drop pouch with maps in a baggy & a snack, and there’s $10-15 tied up in gear, which lets somebody concentrate on food, ammo, and training. A toolbelt can more readily be modified to actually hold a handgun. I wouldn’t bounce around with a handgun in my lunch pail – I’d go ahead and get a holster.
Dollar stores are groovy for some things, and a rip-off for others. One tip for staying frugal is to keep a price book where you keep track of cents per ounce or dollars per square foot or whatever common measurement. Then you have an apples-for-apples comparison. You’ll know whether 7oz of banana chips for $1 is a better deal than 42oz at Costco.
AND if you date your notes, you can look for patterns and anticipate sales
Got these tips from “The Complete Tightwad Gazette,” a tome that paid for itself (or just inter-library loan it from anywhere in the country).
Good idea. “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” haha great name, I might have to go look for a copy.
Oh my! That’s the best book on frugality. Often recommended. Just look at how many positive Amazon reviews it has. Basically it’s like a blog before there were blogs. She drew great pictures and sprinkled lots of humor and interesting anecdotes. I appreciate it because she not only gives tips (10 uses for a milk jug) but also plenty of principles (such as the price book I just mentioned). I liked it so much I bought it
Lots of good info, thanks for adding it.
Remember that while donating things, you need to consider whether it would be better to save. A blanket that isnt quite the pattern for your home can be a ground cover, even a hole in the middle over your head for a parka or shawl. Think OUTSIDE the box.
I turned a whole box of thermo underwear into pajamas! Had someone who was going to get rid of them. Some sizes fit me and others were a bit small. I threw them all in a big pot with some dye and dyed them. Now I use the bottoms under some big tshirts for jammies and hubby loves the tops over his pj pants. Grandkids love them because they are extra warm.
For food…you can’t beat canning and dehydrating! Take those frozen veggies and dehydrate them. Put them in canning jars with oxygen absorbers. You can fit almost 4-5 pounds of veggies in a quart jar! Great and light weight for storage. Take those dehydrated veggies and make meals in a jar..there are hundreds of recipes on the web for them. You then take a jar, dump in a pot and fill with water…soup!
Use facebook!! There are dehydrating sites, canning sites, cooking sites, frugal living sites…yes there are prepper sites where they compare who’s ummm guns (thought I was gonna say something else didnt ya ) are bigger. And yes there are arguments and awful words over which gun is bigger, better, badder..etc.
But seriously…check out facebook, libraries, etc. Preserve your food…learn how it’s not so hard. Call your extension office for classes.
Chris you mentioned toilet paper. Yes while you can afford it buy your brand. But stock those dollar store brands. Do they hold up? no—BUT think outside the box. You WANT it to decompose faster than the cushy, soft, pillowy brand. You want it to decompose and be less waste to dispose of.
Go back to basics. Test and try those really really expensive cleaners…umm NOT…use baking soda, vineger, bleach. Be sure you are comfortable with them because these are the cleaners you are going to be able to stock up on and use. Go back to your comfort brands but be comfortable with others too.
Remember we arent alone…with listening carefully to each other we can be prepared to help others as well as ourselves during these trying times.
God Bless
Lots of good info, thanks Nancy.
Some items are just very hard to find in the local economy. Just ask the clerk if they have powdered eggs or freeze dried ground beef and she looks at you as if you just landed here from Mars. We had little money for preps but then I found srcareers.com and became a consultant for a long term food storage company. I love being my own boss and earning a little extra and lots of free and 1.2 price food for our survival preps.
I have seen that look a time or two.