Doing it on a budget!

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by jcamp, Jun 22, 2012.


  1. jcamp

    jcamp Monkey+

    Ok I have 1,200.00 what would you get water filter, what kinds of foods, well stocked up on firearms and ammo, I am getting a late start but I want to get preparded. Thanks
     
  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Take it in your preferred order. My order of choice was water, shelter, food, arms.
     
  3. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    food comes third with ghrit cause he's got skinny old bones. I'm a little more substantial so I would opt for water & food, then shelter and arms
     
    oldman11 and Brokor like this.
  4. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Comfort counts when you're hungry. --:oops:
     
    oldman11 likes this.
  5. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    think comfort food ghrit
     
    oldman11 and Witch Doctor 01 like this.
  6. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    Take $50 of that and donate it to the Wounded Warrior Project and someone here will send you a CD with a bunch of books on it. Spend a month looking through them, then you can answer your own question.

    You need potable water first...fix that. You need more than one option. I have Big Berkey for home, a few different hiking filters for on-the-go, water tabs + Steri-pen for on-the-go, Pool-shock for home. And, of course, you can always boil it.

    Read here and download the books:
    Pool Shock for Water Purification
     
    oldman11, bgner, Sapper John and 4 others like this.
  7. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Does it work in the rain or snow? [peep]
     
    oldman11 likes this.
  8. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Yes it does Ghrit..... A chocolate bar solves a lot of things, when your cold and wet.... at least while your working on getting the fire started, and the shelter built.... ..... YMMV.....
     
    oldman11 and Brokor like this.
  9. Silversnake

    Silversnake Silverback

    Plan out your survival in terms of water, food, clothing, shelter, tools, health maintenance, hygiene, personal defense, communication and transportation. Then phase it out in terms of duration and whether you bug in or out. You probably already have some of what you can use, so inventory what you have available. If you bug out ensure you have enough gas, oil, spare tire, etc. on hand/stored to get to where you intend to go.

    Regardless, assess what you have and buy what you are short of to make it for 3 days. If you have money left, buy what you need to get you through a week and make it to a BOL. Then provide for a month. Then 3 months. Then a year. Then long term.

    It makes no sense to have the capability for water for a year if you don't have food for a week or vice versa. Ensure you have the means to prepare food you are storing (can openers, heat, cooking items, etc). I would not spend all that cash, rather keep $2-300 on hand in 20s, 5s and 1s just to start out. You will eventually want to keep more cash than that on hand.

    If you don't have any firearms at all, I would recommend starting with a .22 LR rifle like a Ruger 10/22 and practice with it.
     
    oldman11 and Brokor like this.
  10. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Food and water are equal to me in preps, followed by necessary tools, prep items and firearms.

    :D Oh, I do get a kick out of the simple things.

    Yeah, If you get to the "food" stage, and are stocking up "just" for the preparedness aspect and haven't already started a canned goods section, I suggest investing a bit into Mountainhouse freeze dried foods. The shelf life can't be beat, and I say buy once rather than having to constantly rotate and consume what you have...for some this is no problem, but I have a problem trying to eat all the stuff I have coming up for expiration. However, I honestly believe SPAM is one product that has no expiration date (close enough anyway). It does have a "best by" date, but that's not necessarily an expiration date.

    Rundown on some of my top picks:


    • Mountainhouse freeze dried food
    • Rice
    • Beans
    • Canned Tomatoes/puree/diced
    • Salt
    • Wheat berries (white, red, etc.)
    • Pasta (noodles, spaghetti, linguine packs) Can be vacuum packed
    • Dried Chili Peppers (vacuum packed)
    • Baking soda/powder
    • Dried yeast packets or larger amounts
    • Oats
    All of the above is inexpensive, with the exception to the freeze dried foods. Some products you may consider are below and will help you with food preparation:



    • Foodsaver Vacuum Sealer
    • A Grain Mill (forum topics here cover this well)
    • Affordable kitchen tools: Ladels, Spoons, Knives, Containers
    • Cast Iron Cookware
    • Propane or dual/fuel stove(s)
    • Wood Stove (fire logs or firewood, or even lots of magazines and newspapers)
    • Simple solar kit for recharging batteries (can be a handy barter trade, too)
    Just a few water preps:



    • Ceramic dome filter, 2 buckets -link-
    • Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter -link-
    • A Reverse Osmosis System
    Tools and other items (bare minimum):


    • Utility knives (Mora, Schrade, Gerber, Buck, etc.)
    • Folding knives (Sog, Kershaw, Buck, Gerber, etc.)
    • Personal firearms (you decide)
    • Barter firearms/community militia (.22 rifles, Mosin rifles, SKS, etc.)
    • Ammunition
    • Spare personal clothing and footwear (wool, canvas --durable items)
    • Spare parts for your primary vehicle(s)
    • An AM/FM/NOAA/SW radio with emphasis on short wave, even HAM
    • Crank flashlights, candles, matches
    • Wool blankets
    • Containers for items, food, water
    • First aid supplies (gauze, sutures, antibacterial ointment, etc.)
    This isn't a complete list, but some of the most essential for sure. Many of us have most/everything on this list or something similar, I am sure. The idea is to cover the basics and try not to get out of hand. Notice I didn't mention toilet paper? See what I mean? Add TP to the list...
     
  11. Hispeedal2

    Hispeedal2 Nay Sayer

    I would go food and water storage first. See Brokor's food choices above. The bulk grocery variety will enable you to buy more than the specialized freeze dried variety.

    By water storage, if you have a sink and a hose, you have a good source of water- you just need storage. Try 55 gallon drums from Pepsi or Coke (best to set this on concrete). I wouldn't worry about a water filter right now... can you boil water? The simplest method is free... only requires firewood and a pot (assuming you have access to some surface water).

    Get free food safe buckets from the grocery store to store your food.

    Call it a day. When you have more funds, I would move from "hold me over" supplies to "self sufficiency" supplies.
     
    oldman11 likes this.
  12. Air. Secure air to breath. Perhaps also secure means to purify it if you are worried about that such as a gas mask or simple dust mask. Perhaps eye protection to keep dust etc out of eyes.

    Shelter / water These are about tied imho. To hot or cold and you won't need the water. No water and in 3 days more or less you won't need shelter. shelter runs from your cloths to debris huts to underground bunkers to fancy mc mansions.
    Water you need means to aquire, store, purify it.

    Fire Well fire is key to so much else, that being able to make it is just common sense. Range from bic / matches ; fire steels ; flint & steel; Fire pistons; bow drill; etc. Learn to make tinder, and prep fire wood and to build and maintain a fire. (Close to this would be managing fire / stoves for cooking / heating / comfort.) Used wisely, fire can also do things such as hollow out wood etc. A forge and a hammer and something to beat on and you use fire to adjust metal to useful things.

    This leads to

    Knife / other sharps. The first tool IMHO.

    First aid to full aid. the more you know / have the better. Classes and a top notch past first aid kit are very nice. ductape, super glue, and triple antibiotic, and OTC meds at a minimum with knowledge to use them.

    Sanation. soap; toilet paper; towel / cloths washing / etc. Include a shovel for cat holes, and stuff to keep a septic system working if you have one.

    Transportation and communication. How to keep in touch and how to move about. More options = better. Include navigation tools (maps / compass)

    Security. Dog, firearms, training, other.

    Library / knowledge. The more you learn the more you can adapt and adjust.

    PAW barter and trade skills.

    food storage, production, preservation / growing / foraging . (Include canning and butchering skills and tools.)

    To be honest, look for how to set up a homestead / selfsufficient farm with as much off grid as possible.

    Energy

    Friends and family. It is very important to know if anyone will be helping you, What you will do if someone wants what you have, and how you plan on handling it. for example, the mom next door is out of stuff and her kids are starving would be different from the mutant zombie looter gangs which would be different from FEMA taking everything for the "common good"

    Which leads to OP SEC.

    It is a never ending open ended process.

    One thing would be to start double buying your normal groceries until you have as many months / years as you decide you may need.

    Seeds (learn gardening to the impact of hybrid vs open polinated seeds. Seed saving etc.0

    Primitive skills.

    Cordage and other construction repair tools / skills.

    Mechanics tools

    Farm tools

    nuts , bolts, nails, bailing wire,

    Animals and animal food.

    What to do with the dead?

    Well I am burned out for the moment. If you want turn key help, it will cost much more than $1200, if you will take a week and read everything you can here and perhaps elsewhere, you will be better able to formulate your ideas.

    The rule of 3's and Maslow's hierarchy are two useful tools to evaluate prioritization of wants and needs.

    Thad.
     
  13. Knowledge is the hardest to get, yet lightest to carry of all the tools that you will need.
     
    oldman11, Tracy, Moatengator and 6 others like this.
  14. bgner

    bgner Monkey

    Great advice everyone! Have a quick question (newbee here), bought 50 lb bag of rice and have 2 five gal food grade buckets to store in. My question is do I have to use the Mylar bags or can i just dump the rice in the bucket? Also I dont have any oxygen absorbers but have read that you can use the 6-8 hr handwarmers in place of the absorbers. Is this safe and will it work on anything I put in the buckets, i.e. beans, sugar, salt, pasta. Looking to do this without buying and using what I have on hand. Scored a great deal (free) on 6 buckets from deli at grocery store. Thanks everyone I am really enjoying this site, it is my favorite!
     
  15. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    You can do either, but using mylar will extend the food supply dramatically. And don't skimp on oxygen absorbers. Use quality absorbers (and the right amount) to ensure the food is protected.

    This may help:
    Sealing Metallized Bags & Storing Your Food - YouTube
     
    bgner likes this.
  16. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    What about Homer buckets from Home Depot? They are cheap and the lid is something awful to get off so IMO I think it may be sealed somewhat. Anyone ever used any buckets aside from food storage buckets?
     
  17. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Home Depot buckets will work fine. Bag the loose stuff in "Just the right size" mylar bags, and get some gamma seals to use in place of the lids that HD wants you to buy. That way, you get a good seal that can be reused, and can take out of the bucket only what you need at the time.
     
    oldawg likes this.
  18. TwoCrows

    TwoCrows Monkey++

    I will be a contrarian here and argue for placing arms higher on the list.

    If you have food and no gun and someone else has a gun and no food then soon they will have food and a gun and you will either have nothing or have no need for food ever again.
     
    john316, oldawg and JABECmfg like this.
  1. Motomom34
  2. Ganado
  3. The_Prepared
  4. Motomom34
  5. PapaGrune
  6. GOG
  7. Tully Mars
  8. Motomom34
  9. Motomom34
  10. ghrit
  11. larryinalabama
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7