Emergency Preparations on a Budget

Money is tight for most of us. We're living paycheck to paycheck, trying to make ends meet. We have very little in the way of extra funds we can put toward preps. Sure, we'd all love to be able to drop a few thousand dollars on dehydrated food every other month but that just isn’t going to happen for most of us. So, here are some ways we can stretch our dollars to get the most bang for our bucks.

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The Dollar Store Is My Friend
With my shift to a Conserver Lifestyle and "Needs vs. Wants" approach to buying, I have a new-found friend; the Dollar Store. These types of stores have different names, depending on where you live, but each item in the store is about $1.25 (as of this posting date - Feb 2023). These stores buy discontinued, B-rated or near-expired goods in mass quantities. Because of this, they get them cheap and can sell them cheap; even paper products.

Now, it's doubtful that you will find your "favorite brand" and, if you do, it may be near its expiration, but part of being a Conserver is being a good shopper. Now and then I have found cheaper items in my regular grocery store or Walmart but, generally, this is my go-to place for cheap stuff that will go down the drain, toilet or in the trash anyway like shave cream, after shave, razor blades, toothpaste, cleaners, laundry detergent; you get the picture. And, chances are, the next time I visit, the brands that were there before, won't be there again. I don't recommend buying ingestibles (things you will eat, swallow or drink) unless, (1) they are not expired and, (2) you intend to use them before the expiration date.

Unless you have money-to-burn or need that expensive perfume or cologne, I highly recommend these types of stores to save money.

Other Ideas for Inexpensive or Free Preps:
Yard Sales
Military Surplus Stores
Pawn Shops
Flea Markets
Thrift Stores
Consignment Shops
Dumpster Diving
freecycle.org/
Do It Yourself (self-reliance)

It's been mentioned, throughout this web site, to start slow and small with Emergency Preparations otherwise it's easy to become overwhelmed and go crazy buying stuff you don't need and over-spending. Like anything we want to purchase, we should make our shopping list, budget for it and stay within that spending limit.

5 Ways to Get Cheap Prepper Gear

Find Low Cost Survival and Emergency Preps from Pawn Shops and Flea Markets

25 Prepper Items To Look For at Flea Markets and Thrift Stores

50 Preparedness Items for Less Than $5 Each