Prepping On A Budget

Being a single woman and lately on the roller coaster ride of unemployment I have to prep on a very limited budget. This next statement is very sexist so I apologize but men tend to want the shiny new, things that go boom, explode, and or cause great bodily harm. But women tend to gravitate more naturally toward the practical and go for the needs versus the wants. Men may be the hunter gatherers but women are the hoarder, storer, and preparer for the next critical moment. I think it is that mother bear instinct where we are always thinking ahead. The problem with all this which I have seen in the prepper world is that the man tends to allocate most of the prepping budget to what he wants and the woman tends to go with the flow. But believe me you can prep on a limited budget and here are some of my favorites.

Yard/Garage Sale

I have purchased most of my prepping supplies at these little treasure chests. Canning supplies, camping equipment, fishing and hunting equipment, and the list goes on. When my sons were young I purchased a military cabin tent that could house 6 men and had a vent opening that a wood stove pipe could run through for $100 that normally run used for about $800. My sons and I wore that thing out,  it took all of use to put the it up but there was so much room that it was incredible and made out of the heavy canvas and not the flimsy nylon. I have purchased a $79 fishing rod and reel for $6, a water bath canner for $1, a -20 degree sleeping bag that look absolutely brand new for $2.50, the list goes on. One word of caution sometimes you are getting such good deals that you buy more stuff than you actually need. Always look at something and say to yourself "Do I really need this?"

Estate Auctions

I LOVE THESE! What I love about these is the variety of things you can obtain. I tend to lean toward the auctions that are farm. I purchased a counter top hand crank meat grinder for $5.00, a whole box of mason jars and canning supplies for a $1.00, and the best thing about these auctions is you will not have to drag your prepper man kicking and screaming to them because majority of the time these auctions have tractors, farming equipment, hunting/fishing equipment, and ............GUNS. A word of caution here also, because these are auctions and you are bidding against others you may get carried away and spend more than you intended. What I normally do is I go early and scope out everything that I want, write it down along with the limit I will pay for it and that keeps my spending in check.

Part 2 will look at some other ways to prep on a budget.

Be prepared, not sorry.