Preparation on a budget

[K.L. Davis]

BOGO... as was already mentioned is Buy One, Get One and I think it is also the warcry of women's shoe sales; however, it is something to keep an eye on in grocery stores, it looks like obucina would know more about how stores stock their shelves than I do, but I know that they run on short cycles and often food is trashed at the store... The sales to get that stuff off the shelf before it is trashed can be quite good, keep an eye on these and think of the buy-one-get-one as "one for now, one for later" when you shop... or two for later

A very wise man, named Kino, recommends freezing the pasta before storage to kill weevil eggs

Holy crap! There is one?

[jaholder]

Start small, $10-20 every payday. Hit the stockup stores like ALDI, rotate your stock and it won't be long until you have a 6 month plus supply of canned and dry goods.

We've never had trouble keeping rice and beans good, but we never bought them by the huge bags, either. Personally I think there's more of a chance of spoilage/infestation of one 50 pound bag than 50 one pound bags you would get at the store.

[nfranco]

Great thread!

I've some friends that have picked up 5 gallon buckets for free from bakeries and fast food joints.
These are some good lids.

Here's one place to get them.
http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/gam..._products.aspx

[PA PATRIOT]

Just a heads up that 5.11 is closing out and discounting a ton of gear.
A good place to look is your local shop or LA Gear on-line.

[PA PATRIOT]

Ill take a few pictures and post them shortly but I was able to put together a very low priced battle belt from 5.11 & Black Hawk clearance items which for training and short term SHTF purposes is very functional and low cost.

Items are,
One Black Hawk Padded Patrol Belt
Two 5.11 M-4 Magazine carriers (Will hold 4 Magazines)
Two Black Hawk Pistol Magazines carriers (Will hold 4 Magazines)
5.11 Medical pouch (Very decent size, Multi Compartment)
5.11 6x6 Utility bag (Carry a GPS, Cell Phone, Mini-Binoculars, Power bars and spare Battery's, Multi Tool, ECT)
5.11 Dump Bag (Med Size) (Doubles to hold flex cuffs)
5.11 TR-2 light pouch

The above gear cost under $100.00 and the only thing needed is a holster for your model sidearm. I added the 5.11 Large plate carrier for $24.00 to handle a extra set of plates I own and a set of armored knee pads for $8.99 to protect the aging knees from injury. A pre-packed Gun Shot wound kit runs from $39.99 to $104.00 depending on what level of care you buy to round out the package so one really does not have to go broke for a entry level set-up while living on a tight budget.

[Outlander Systems]

I will vouch for the 5.11 med pouch. That thing is the heat.

[B52U]

Here's some good info on long term storage food items. Certain basic food products, if properly stored can last 30 years or more.

http://www.providentliving.org/conte...7448-1,00.html

There's also a food storage calculator to help you figure out how much food per person you need for a given duration.

[500grains]

I still have some canned corn and stewed tomatoes in cans left over from the 2000 computer software scare which never materialized. Last month I tried a can of each and they were just fine to eat.

Lately I have been laying in stores of pinto beans (56% fiber) and rice. They last a long time if kept in Wal Mart plastic storage boxes. With a little gravy mix, or some spices or some canned goods, you can eat beans and rice pretty much forever. Flour does not last too long unfortunately.

Yesterday a local grocery was having a case lot sale. For $80 I bought what I figure is 1 month's worth of food. However, it was mostly canned stuff. At 50 cents a can, canned food is expensive compared to beans and rice.

There is the problem of protein. Spam, canned tuna, etc. help fill the gap. But fresh meat will be important long term.

[13MPG]

Over the last year I have been haphazardly picking up supplies with no real plan. Mt. House food makes the most sense to me since it lasts for so long and does not take up a ton of room if you have a good shelf system to store it. After looking at what I can store and what my wife and I would like to have I have come up with the following plan.

Some of the non food stuff that I have to buy is a mylar heat sealer, food grade 5 gallon buckets, gamma seals, water barrels, and oxygen absorbers.

Food
* Prep one 5 gallon bucket for grain, rice, or beans every month until I reach 300 pounds.
* Buy 2 #10 cans of Mt. House food every month until I reach 100 cans.
* Buy 2 50 gallon water barrels. I have a few creeks on the property so keep more water at home does not make sense.

Ammo
* 200 rounds of 9mm (not counting what I buy to shoot) to put away. 2k is what I would like to have “saved”.
* 200 rounds of 5.56 (not counting what I buy to shoot) to put away. 5k is what I would like to have “saved”.
* 100 rounds of 7.62x39 (not counting what I buy to shoot) to put away . 3k is what I would like to have “saved“.
* 500 rounds of .22 (not counting what I buy to shoot) to put away. 10k is what I would like to have “saved“.

There are other supplies that I know I should stock up on but I have not yet come up with a plan/budget for them yet. Some of those items are liquor, magazines, medical supplies, spare parts for the firearms, and dog food.

[shua713]

here is a web page with some good info that you could download and put on a usb flash drive to refer to. these are things that will cost you nothing but have a wealth of good knowledge.

http://www.alabamapreppersnetwork.co...ou-should.html