Building up emergency supplies on a budget

[nitesky]

Given the nature of the forums most of us would view a flashlight as an indispensible item on any emergency equipment list. And many of us have spent or will spend more money on a light than most people we know, all the while wondering why people are still buying shake lights. But what about the people on a budget? Lots of folks are worried about their retirement funds and about keeping their jobs.

So for about $100 (a large figure to many but one I can at least grasp) what can you build up? This is all relative as incomes and household sizes vary but there might be some absolutes. And it is not a challenge, just wanting some thoughts, and remember that there are other requirements than lighting. Finally, what can we do to further the idea of preparedness? Do schools and churches have a roll? Employers?

 

[nitesky]

My last query on schools, churches, and employers involves what, if anything, can or should they do to provide information to people about preparedness at homes.

 

[wwglen]

$100 dollars --

Shooting for 1 week...

Food: Everytime you go shopping buy a couple extra of what you use and is on sale... on going but never more then $5 at a time. Add 5 lb Rice $3, 5 lb Pasta $3, Soups (creme chicken, tomato, etc for flaverings) $5, 3 jars pasta sauce $7.

Total food (not counting the ongoing $5 other than the first one == $23

Water Purification: 1 small bottle bleach $2

Flashlight 2-Pack 2-D cell 3 LED lights from walmart $7

Water Storage: 5 - 1 Gal bottles of Water $5

Junk food (comfort food) -- $20

Toothbrush, toothpast, ect $10

Extra Blankets $20

This leaves $13.

Add more sauces, salt, pepper and a rubbermade storage tote.

$100


wwglen

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Sorry, I don't think I can survive a disaster on $100 in food, water, supplies, and tools.
First, you need more than one light for a family. In a disaster, l.e.d. lights are the only way to go as it will be hard to get more batteries when stores are closed or cleaned out. I would recommend a Fenix EO1 for every household member, a 4D 145 lumen Coleman Cree packaway lantern to use in a common room where everyone can talk, hang out, or play games, and a Fenix L2D CE for a bright light to check for damage, looters, or missing people or pets. You'll need a good stockpile of AAs, AAAs, and Ds for this setup. Then you need emergency equipment besides lights. A good first aid kit is a must. Costco sells a good American Red Cross first aid kit for about $25. It includes survival supplies including a whistle, emergency blanket, light stick, disposable handwarmers, water pouch, emergency poncho, and face masks, as well as well thought out first aid supplies. Then you need a supply of water big enough for the family to last through the disaster. The rule is that you need at least a gallon per person per day. An emergency will usually affect you from 72 hours to two weeks. It's best to be prepared for a week or two. Two weeks of water for a family of four is 56 gallons minimum. You need more water if you have to rehydrate food, clean, or bathe. All food should be canned as it stores well long term, doesn't require refrigeration, and doesn't use more water to cook it. Don't assume all disasters will let you stay in your home or that shelter will be available elsewhere. A good family tent and sleeping bags should be part of your disaster kit. Don't forget that you may not have a way to cook your food. Have a stove that takes multiple types of fuel or a wood burning stove such as a Sierra Zip Stove. Bring plenty of spare fuel. Some backpacking stoves will run on white gas, kerosene, gasoline, diesel, and also pressurized butane canisters. You'll also need a good supply of matches, a lighter, and a multitool with a good can opener. Water may not be safe to drink. Get a good handheld filter or purifier. I'd suggest a First Need water purifier as it's the only one that doesn't use iodine. Prolonged use of iodine for over 2 weeks isn't safe for you. Don't buy into "purifiers" that don't filter the water first. They won't remove chemicals that are unsafe. If you get all of these things, it will probably cost closer to $500, but it will be worth it for long term survival. Dont forget to have a full tank of gas in your car. That alone may cost $100. I think you'll only be prepared for maybe 72 hours or less realistically if you only spend $100 and that's only if you stay in your home.

 

[Lee1959]

Lights are actually one of the least of your worries here and last things to worry about, especially on 100 budgets. You need the very basics covered first, Start with emergency shelter just in case even if its just trash bags or tarps, water purification dont forget something to strain water before purification like disposable coffee filters orpaint strainers. water containers, fire starting perhaps, Blankets or other warm materials, food stores comes after all these. First aid/medications sanitation items etc. That will take up the bullk of your budget at first.

Then you can work on firearms/protection, lights and other niceties.

 

[ltiu]

Buy $100 of gas and get out of town!

 

[Marduke]

If you have a shelter in place plan, having enough food and water isn't hard or really expensive. Instead of just being 1 week ahead in your food supply, keep enough dry goods on hand to stay 3-4 weeks ahead. Stock up slowly with what's on sale (as above), and once you're in a good place, you can just cycle though your stock like normal, keeping everything fresh and accounted for with no extra recurring costs. You can do the same for certain other non-food items. That leaves most of your entire budget for other items you don't usually keep a stock of.

 

[wwglen]

I forgot to add a MANUAL can opener.

wwglen

 

[Ken_McE]

You can get candles for almost nothing and the batteries never die.

 

[glockboy]

And a few more hundreds for motel and food.

Buy $100 of gas and get out of town!

 

[ltiu]

And a few more hundreds for motel and food.

Go stay with in-laws. Suck up and it's free.

 

[TedTheLed]

what, nobody around here use toilet paper?

oh, and plastic bags lotsa plastic bags.

and/or large cannister(s) with airtight lids. :toilet:

if you see the shortage coming, fill up the bathtub.

 

[h_nu]

Budget. That implies some recurring expenses to me. So plan on spending something for preparedness every year. Start with the small things already listed and add to the list every year. Also, get in the habit of looking at food on sale that keeps without refrigeration and stock up over time.

You can get rope, tarps, a decent headlamp, Lithium batteries, etc. for not too much money. You should have some of the things you need already. I got my Coleman fuel, cook stove, Propane tank, catalytic heaters, water storage, backpacker water filters, and many other things over the past several years and all on sale.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

for flashlights you need an area lantern and 1 handheld light for each person at the least so all can congregate and discuss things in light and each can go their seperate way to and from their sleeping places etc. For food you first need to assess what you have available to cook with and if only a stove that is electric you need to plan for a gas powered stove of some sort when power goes out or plan on food that doesn't require cooking. You should have a fair amount of stable long term storage carb type food, crackers and some high calorie foods that are sealed in packages including snacks. If you are in or near an area with flooding potential you need to have stuff sealed against water and placed such that it is stored higher up above where water would bury it. Bottled water of a certain amount would be a good idea but mostly unless you are in a remote area they can ship in water if needed for you so a few days would be ok as a start. A hatchet and a saw would be good to have as would a good set of tools in a plastic toolbox that is water resistant able to sit in the mud etc. Medicines and first aid supplies should be kept near each other in such a way you can quickly gather them up in a container for medical uses.

 

[Pistolero]

Budget. That implies some recurring expenses to me. So plan on spending something for preparedness every year. Start with the small things already listed and add to the list every year. Also, get in the habit of looking at food on sale that keeps without refrigeration and stock up over time.

You can get rope, tarps, a decent headlamp, Lithium batteries, etc. for not too much money. You should have some of the things you need already. I got my Coleman fuel, cook stove, Propane tank, catalytic heaters, water storage, backpacker water filters, and many other things over the past several years and all on sale.

x2.
Plan it out over time and use a list to add a little more here and a little more there. Ready.gov and the American Red Cross have printable shopping and checklists for you to use. Be warned, that they go on the 72 hrs before you can get help plan. F THAT. You need to plan for *at least* 2 weeks of being able to live large without help from whatever ill-managed rescue agency gets deployed to your area.

Make a plan. Get a kit. Be Informed.
I switch it around, because my kit needs to be tailored to my plan, whether I'm sheltering in place, evacuating or am somehow stranded somewhere.

I'm going to make him think I'm some sort of internet stalker, but SUB_UMBRA's Katrina thread is the greatest thing when it comes to emergency planning. I suggest you read all of it.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1454413#post1454413

The whole task is daunting, but with the right amount of planning and perseverance, you can get on top of it and keep a bad situation from turning into a disaster.

There was also a really neat forum somewhere, but I can't remember where I saw it. I think it was actually a woman based forum *GASP*, but they were Mormons or something and had in-depth plans on building/maintaining emergency supplies for the long term. Survival forums are really hit and miss. Some are good, but some just go nuts with the Zombie apocalypse or the total overarching collapse of the US (think somewhere between Jericho, The Civil War and Lord of the Flies)

 

[Sub_Umbra]

It's kind of like quitting smoking in that sometimes the hardest thing is to just begin. Start small. Try to buy just a bit more than you use. Keep thinking about the issue. Keep thinking about the issue.

This is a subject that most people are unable to think about at all. Congrats! Like quitting smoking, you must not give up. Keep pluging away at it.

IMO there is no way that one may make a good plan by just reading a few books and plunging ahead. It doesn't work that way. We must think about it and act -- only that will put us on the next plateau where we may see where we must go from there. In that regard the person on a limited buget will likely make less mistakes than someone who has the resources to make a quick decision and plunk down a wad of cash. But you have to keep thinking and pecking away at it and not become discouraged.

I think that in many emergencies your lights may take on new importance as in many cases many mandatory tasks may only be completed after dark. Assuming you have food and water...

 

[broadgage]

On a limited budget, water, food and warmth are the priorities, lighting is certainly important but behind water food and warmth in most circumstances.
I would spend $100 thus

two cheap blankets $20
First aid kit $20
Bottled water $5
Water purification tablets $5
Canned food $40
Two cheap flashights $10
(a battery radio is almost essiential but most households already have one, likewise a tin opener is neded but most people already have one)

A leatherman tool or similar would be very useful, but takes up most of the budget, only consider such after getting the basics.
Good heavy wool blankets would be much better than cheap ones, but again would take up most of the budget, any blanket is better than none.
Better flashlights and a lantern would be preferable, but again on a limited budget, any light is better than none, and food and water more important.

I would buy two cheap 2D flashlights and a pack of D cells, replace the supplied bulb in one flashlight with a 0.3 amp type. That gives 50 hours light on two alkaline cells, and up to 20 hours on zinc carbon cells.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

+1 for making a budget and setting money aside every once in a while for supplies. Do one better. Take up camping and backpacking for recreation. You'll need to buy the same gear you'll use in a survival situation, you'll get used to roughing it as you would in an emergency, and you'll gain knowledge of how to survive. You'll also learn what gear you'll need before an emergency. Get some basic gear for your first trip. Bring a pen and paper and write down the things you'll want to buy in the future to make yourself more comfortable. If you camp close to home, you may have the option of buying the needed supplies that trip. Learn the basics of how to camp or backpack. If you wait until an emergency happens without learning these skills, you're likely to panic and do something stupid. Basic skills include setting up a tent and taking it down, setting up and breaking camp quickly, cooking with a gas stove or fire, making a fire, cleaning dishes without a pot scrubber (use small gravel), filtering water, using a manual can opener on a multitool, using a knife, and changing flashlight batteries in the dark. If you learn these skills ahead of time, get used to living without indoor plumbing, electricity, hot water, and electric stoves, and are prepared for an emergency, you won't freak out when one happens. Knowledge about survival is often more important than the supplies you have to help you survive. You don't want to accidently hit your hand with a hammer while staking down the tent, try sleeping with your head lower than your feet, burn yourself cooking or trying to start a fire, cut yourself with a knife, or put the batteries into your l.e.d. flashlight backwards. Not knowing what to do in an emergency will make things worse, even if you have all the supplies you need.

 

[asdalton]

I would buy two cheap 2D flashlights and a pack of D cells, replace the supplied bulb in one flashlight with a 0.3 amp type. That gives 50 hours light on two alkaline cells, and up to 20 hours on zinc carbon cells.

And store the batteries in their package, not inside the light.

 

[ltiu]

I would buy two cheap 2D flashlights and a pack of D cells, replace the supplied bulb in one flashlight with a 0.3 amp type. That gives 50 hours light on two alkaline cells, and up to 20 hours on zinc carbon cells.

I think the incan bulb is rated to only lasts about 20 to 50 hours

So you effectively have a single use light, as soon as the batteries die, the bulb dies about the same time.