What have you done this week to prep?

[Meister]

I thought election day was reserved for cleaning guns? That's what I'll be doing all day long...after I vote.

I plan to dirty them after I vote. Get away for a while.

 

[Survivalcookie]

This seems more like an Avon lady of prepper gear. Not a bad business model, just not sure it's for me.

It works...has done well for me. You would have a hard time beating the prices or quality. FYI ,there are only 3 companies that freeze dry all the food in this country...the process is very expensive. The Companies then chose what grade of food they would like to purchase. I have compared prices...you can't get better prices as a whole. And I explain it to people that it is like May Kay or Tupperware... Imagine getting in on the ground floor of one of those 2 companies...the shelving and big food packages were sold in Costco for many years...the home parties just started not quite 3 years ago.

 

[Survivalcookie]

EXACTLY . . . store what you eat & eat what you store

I'm not at all a fan of the freeze dried/dehydrated stuff. Its generally unappetizing and most people don't know how to prepare it properly. You are better off stocking up on canned goods that you can simply rotate into your regular pantry stock. Best off if you also can your own food, grown in your own garden (or even bought bulk). Its how our grandparents/great grandparents survived through the Great Depression. It works.

mmm I should bring you over some chicken salad or soup the next time I make it.
I do all of it, have the freeze dried..we grow, can and dehydrate..I buy freeze dried meat, eggs, and milk. Got to have protein...I forgot I am bring some to our MSG meeting. EDIT: I got you mixed up with someone else...sorry.

 

[Survivalcookie]

I've never tried the thrive brand foods. Wise and Mountain house are the only names I've used and I can only eat about half what they offer. Everything we prep is also used in our regular diet to make sure it suits the family.

Will have to make sure you try some....

 

[Survivalcookie]

We stock up on what we eat, but we also stock up on stuff that lasts longer. Just in case something happens that stops all the others from being viable.

We have MRE's as well as a few freeze dried items. This way if we must depend on stuff it is there. Same thing with the buckets of rice, beans, wheat etc.

We don't grind our own wheat just yet, but if it came down to it maybe we could get by a little longer with the non-ordinary stores until we could get a garden of sorts going.

We have loads of canned or bagged goods in the stores right now. We rotate often so we always have that extra time. Seeds are not plentiful but more are added often.

I agree with you completely about eating what you store and storing what you eat. Just seems some people are not at the stage where they can do that. Either from lack of space or lack of knowledge.

And lack of money...I know many people who only shop for the week...

 

[Scout103]

If you can't prep on supplies, prep on knowledge.

I'm in the same boat you are chibicascade, got to have that balance of cash for school and preps! So like it was stated already, I just keep filling my head with any knowledge I can get in there....it's free! Also just stocking up on items when I find them on sale, before I know it I've got a good amount of preps.

 

[dudley0]

And lack of money...I know many people who only shop for the week...

Even only shopping for the week shouldn't mean you don't throw in an extra can of soup. If someone can't find a dollar a week to store extra food they need to re-evaluate their spending.

 

[Survivalcookie]

Even only shopping for the week shouldn't mean you don't throw in an extra can of soup. If someone can't find a dollar a week to store extra food they need to re-evaluate their spending.

I agree...I have tried to help family members who say they cannot afford to prep...Give them all kind of ideas to get started...like eating as cheap as possible for a week and taking that extra money and buying stuff...not eating out for a month anywhere. lots of ways to safe money if you look at what you spend...even if it is only a few bucks.

 

[dudley0]

If they are serious about it, they will find the money.

Cut the top tier of your cable or satellite bill (or go free to air)
Don't go out to eat or the movies so often
Cut back on other habits like smoking, drinking etc
Put the dollar that you spend on a lottery ticket toward a can of soup
Don't buy that extra thousand rounds of ammo when you have no other preps
Stop buying gizmos, gadgets and goodies just for fun

Here is one that has saved me many dollars. If you have a mortgage or car payment then start paying weekly. You must do it each and every week. The five week months will be great for reducing your overall debt. Besides, by paying weekly you cover the interest fast and pay toward the principle more.

When I lost my job on June 1st we didn't have to make a house payment or truck payment at all. We had been doing this for a while before and as of today the house payment isn't due until July of next year and the truck isn't due until October of next year. If we get in a financial bind there is a lot of money sitting there each month for us. As long as we keep this up we will have them both paid off in record time.

Sometimes prepping is easy, if you really start thinking about it.

 

[indytechnerd]

For our college aged preppers up thread:

Kroger has 11 for $10 15oz. Spaghetti-Os with a kroger card. Is it the greatest food, no, but it's a meal for less than a buck. Add to that a 24pk of 16.9oz bottled H2O for $3.50, and for less than the price of 3 meals at the golden arches, you've got a good start. Rotate and add to as you can.

 

[WETSU]

Man, has it been a week already?

Maintained combat conditioning. Weights, running, rucking, heavy bag.

1 dryfire session: G19, AK.

Spent time at the range with a buddy getting him back up to speed on his AR handling, malfunction clearance, reloads, and transitions.

Went to the woods with the family. Did a 6.5 mile hike at Patoka lake. Lots of rock scrambling, a little climbing, footcare mgmt, food/water mgmt, nature study etc. I watched my 12 year old daughter walk point for most of the hike, keeping us on the right path on a nearly invisible trail.

Range session with the crew: Ran 2-3 man team drills to rescue a downed man. Rendered aid and extracted him. Teams were thrown together randomly, and had 30 seconds to come up with a plan. Lessons were learned. We also did some MISS meltdowns, and one support hand pistol work after fighting to your feet.

Bought some ramen noodles

Filled a five gallon bucket for the pets. (cats). Dry food vacuum packed, canned food and a bag of white rice. It is about 60 days of food.

 

[Survivalcookie]

If they are serious about it, they will find the money.

Cut the top tier of your cable or satellite bill (or go free to air)
Don't go out to eat or the movies so often
Cut back on other habits like smoking, drinking etc
Put the dollar that you spend on a lottery ticket toward a can of soup
Don't buy that extra thousand rounds of ammo when you have no other preps
Stop buying gizmos, gadgets and goodies just for fun

Here is one that has saved me many dollars. If you have a mortgage or car payment then start paying weekly. You must do it each and every week. The five week months will be great for reducing your overall debt. Besides, by paying weekly you cover the interest fast and pay toward the principle more.

When I lost my job on June 1st we didn't have to make a house payment or truck payment at all. We had been doing this for a while before and as of today the house payment isn't due until July of next year and the truck isn't due until October of next year. If we get in a financial bind there is a lot of money sitting there each month for us. As long as we keep this up we will have them both paid off in record time.

Sometimes prepping is easy, if you really start thinking about it.

Gave you a rep point for this post...you are 100 percent correct.

 

[Survivalcookie]

For our college aged preppers up thread:

Kroger has 11 for $10 15oz. Spaghetti-Os with a kroger card. Is it the greatest food, no, but it's a meal for less than a buck. Add to that a 24pk of 16.9oz bottled H2O for $3.50, and for less than the price of 3 meals at the golden arches, you've got a good start. Rotate and add to as you can.

At least you can eat spaghetti-os cold.

 

[indytechnerd]

At least you can eat spaghetti-os cold.

You can, or you could heat it right in the can over any number of heat generating items.

 

[eldirector]

You can, or you could heat it right in the can over any number of heat generating items.

Used to heat mine on my old 19" CRT monitor at work, year ago. Just sat the can on top when I got in, and it was darn toasty by lunch!

I started re-packing the car bags for winter. Wool socks, warmer spare clothes, blankets, and rotated out the food and water for fresh stuff.

 

[dudley0]

Gave you a rep point for this post...you are 100 percent correct.

I honestly feel that this type of thinking should be a sticky item. There are so many people out there that are just beyond the grasp.

We have been living this line of thought for a long while now. I am not, nor do I pretend to be a financial adviser. I have helped a few people along the way. I have seen much in my time, especially dealing with rental properties.

So many people worry about the guns and ammo part of prepping that they forget all the little emergencies that crop up before the end of the world.

Wont get rich but being a little self sufficient goes a long way.

 

[Meister]

I honestly feel that this type of thinking should be a sticky item. There are so many people out there that are just beyond the grasp.


So many people worry about the guns and ammo part of prepping that they forget all the little emergencies that crop up before the end of the world.

Wont get rich but being a little self sufficient goes a long way.

I just had a very serious talk with a family member about this subject. He's living in jersey and has no food, heat, power or water. He's pissed that he doesn't have these things and posted it on his FB status. He's got 2 $10k motorcycles in the garage, a new truck and the nicest clothes money can buy. Entitled to everything evidently. I told him to spend 10 bucks a week for the next 6 months on propane tanks, water, storage food, a kerosene heater and fuel. He got all pissy and said he's not some nutter waiting for the end of the world. He didn't like my answer, "no, you're not, those people are warm, dry, well fed and helping their neighbors who didn't prepare."

3 DAYS after the storm, people are already getting edgy and they have bus service and a government giving out mres and water.

Exasperation builds on Day 3 in storm-stricken NYC - Yahoo! News

Many people think that guns can get them everything else they need. Unfortunately the risk associated with that line of thinking is pretty weighty. It only takes one prepared person to end that line of thinking.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. It's all we can do. Tonight was "Brinner", we had eggs, sausage and chocolate chip pancakes. The pancakes were made from Bisquick that was about to expire. The sausage is a deep freeze GFS item that I keep in the bottom of the freezer and I used powdered milk since the milk in the fridge had spoiled (2 days before sell by date!)

It's nice to have options. With our new budget plan, we are tightening our belts and putting back more money in both savings, tangibles and preps. Cable is gone, Car trips are limited, eating out is all but gone. Credit cards are all in the safe except for a single emergency one in the wallets. Our biggest enemy is debt, both personal and as a country. We must overcome it or fall on our own sword.

Consumption in fuel is down 20%, food is down 30% and entertainment is down 60%. It's amazing how much better the family functions when the distractions are pulled away. We camp, hike and work on the house together. The family unit is stronger and we get along better. Now if I could just pry those darn nintendo's out of the kids hands on the weekends, we'd be home free.

 

[jeremy]

Received my WARNO for my next Vacation Tuesday...

Ran 3 miles in my Plate Carrier this morning.
Read FM 7-8 this morning...
Cleaned my AR...
Spent to much time at Down by the Tracks, again...

 

[churchmouse]

I just had a very serious talk with a family member about this subject. He's living in jersey and has no food, heat, power or water. He's pissed that he doesn't have these things and posted it on his FB status. He's got 2 $10k motorcycles in the garage, a new truck and the nicest clothes money can buy. Entitled to everything evidently. I told him to spend 10 bucks a week for the next 6 months on propane tanks, water, storage food, a kerosene heater and fuel. He got all pissy and said he's not some nutter waiting for the end of the world. He didn't like my answer, "no, you're not, those people are warm, dry, well fed and helping their neighbors who didn't prepare."

3 DAYS after the storm, people are already getting edgy and they have bus service and a government giving out mres and water.

Exasperation builds on Day 3 in storm-stricken NYC - Yahoo! News

Many people think that guns can get them everything else they need. Unfortunately the risk associated with that line of thinking is pretty weighty. It only takes one prepared person to end that line of thinking.

Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. It's all we can do. Tonight was "Brinner", we had eggs, sausage and chocolate chip pancakes. The pancakes were made from Bisquick that was about to expire. The sausage is a deep freeze GFS item that I keep in the bottom of the freezer and I used powdered milk since the milk in the fridge had spoiled (2 days before sell by date!)

It's nice to have options. With our new budget plan, we are tightening our belts and putting back more money in both savings, tangibles and preps. Cable is gone, Car trips are limited, eating out is all but gone. Credit cards are all in the safe except for a single emergency one in the wallets. Our biggest enemy is debt, both personal and as a country. We must overcome it or fall on our own sword.

Consumption in fuel is down 20%, food is down 30% and entertainment is down 60%. It's amazing how much better the family functions when the distractions are pulled away. We camp, hike and work on the house together. The family unit is stronger and we get along better. Now if I could just pry those darn nintendo's out of the kids hands on the weekends, we'd be home free.

Same issues with my family. It is the mindset. Unless they hit the skids there will be no change of attitude. New phone, latest flat screen, surround sound system and on and on. Let the power fail and wow, help us, please help us. My sisters always tell their kids (mid-20's) to head for my house if things get nuts. It sucks to say this but I have no use for these spoiled brats. They could care less about us but if it was cold and hungry outside I am sure they would be showing up.

Sons fiance lives in an area not hit hard by the storm (1 hour from the coast..Pennsylvania) and they are without power still. Some wind damage and such but no power. Might be days before it is back up.

 

[Meister]

We all have that part of the family. They never call, send cards or even act like you exist until they need something from you. Then you get the 9pm call from them with a problem that you can solve. Sure, let me drop everything and go fix something you screwed up. If it wasn't for their father being a kind soul, I'd have sent them downriver a long time ago. Luckily, their grandkids got caught up in the system early and were given the choice of jail or the military and chose the latter. All are career military now.