Prepping On A Shoestring

[Blacksmith]

Many people would like to be more prepared however lack of funds get in the way. If you live on a low budget or fixed income you can still prepare. Maybe you wont be able to live high on the hog eating a years supply of freeze dried foods that was bought in a single purchase and delivered to your door on a pallet. But you will live. Many people have managed to survive disasters by eating strange meals but they ate.

To that end this thread is intended to show some low budget examples of ways to prepare.

To kick it off I'll tell how I just finished putting away 25 pounds of food for $6.00, not counting packaging.

You need to keep your eyes open for deals all the time and I recently scored two of them. Both were in the clearance section of a food store.

The first I found a 20 lb. bag of enriched rice that was a discontinued brand it was reduced to $5.00. I then used my Food Saver vacuum bagger to break it down into vacuum sealed packages holding 2 cups each which is a good size for my family. They should store well for 10 years or more and billions of people survive eating rice.

The second is a little odder. Shortly after the Jewish Passover Holiday I found a sale on Matzos, the Jewish unleavened bread/cracker. The sale was 5 lbs (5-1 lb boxes) for 99 cents. I did not know how it would work so I only bought one. I was able to successfully vacuum bag them in either 1 lb or 1/2 lb packages using the 11" roll bagging material and the gentle vacuum setting. Since Matzos are similar to hard tack they should store well and for the price you could not buy the flour to make into hard tack. I don't particularly enjoy Matzos but as my wife says after a long time without bread the Matzos will look great. I know next Passover I will look for more sales and if I find them I'll buy more.

So what are your suggestions for low budget and fixed income prepping?

[mr_nice_guy228]

White rice and Pinto beans for dry storage is what I buy. It's something I eat fairly often, and actually like. Some people can't stand them, so it's different from person to person. General rule of thumb is don't buy stuff you won't eat to rotate.
My most recent thought is pressure canning for meats. Depending on where people live there is probably a generous season for at least some type of meat or fish. I got a new seal for the pressure canner, and a new gauge. Just got to get some lids and some meat for them and I'll be ready to go.
That's a thought for you. You don't have to worry about freezer burn, or your freezer losing power and thawing out and spoiling all of your meat.

[rollmyown]

I'm sure this has been said lots of times before. If it's not something you are consuming then you are probably wasting your money.Stay with stuff that you use because if you don't use it because it's at or close to the expiry date then it's wasted.
I'm not saying don't buy cheap, just buy stuff you will use and turn over as a matter of course.

[Blacksmith]

Even If I never use 5 lbs of Matzos and ultimately throw them out for 99 cents, less than a coke or cup of coffee, they are a "shoestring" prepping supply. And in the event of TEOTWAWKI they will have far greater value to use or for trade.

[mr_nice_guy228]

I'm sure this has been said lots of times before. If it's not something you are consuming then you are probably wasting your money.Stay with stuff that you use because if you don't use it because it's at or close to the expiry date then it's wasted.
I'm not saying don't buy cheap, just buy stuff you will use and turn over as a matter of course.

Have you ever been good and hungry and the only thing you could find was stuff you weren't fond of? Hungry people will change their diet habits if they have to. Just throwing that out there.
Personally if it's not burned, not raw, and I can almost pronounce the name of it, I'll eat it. I don't have to be starving either!

[lancem]

I'm really not a prepper at all but living off grid in the desert with the closest store over 60 miles away food takes on a new meaning, especially storage.

Just bought another 20# bag of rice only $13 so that's not bad, I store it in a 5 gallon bucket with one of those screw off lids, just finished the first 20# bag and that took 2 years. Beans the same way. The local Alco had flour/sugar 10 for $10, all gently packed into another 5 gallon bucket waiting for it's turn in the bread machine.

Pressure canning is my favorite, wife and I are getting ready for another canning marathon, pork, beef, chicken the big 3 at our house. I've canned bacon and it works well, doesn't fry up the same but hey it's still bacon!

I watch for sales on canned goods. Again Alco had Libby for $12 a case, bought one of each flavor and we're good to go for months. For me every week I don't have to go to town is money in my pocket, so I try to buy to last a month or more if I can. Our diet has changed to let us use what we can store best, and really I think we are eating much better than a couple of years ago when the store was down the street.

[olafhardt]

I am not a prepper but I stumbled on something you guys might find useful. Thornless blackberries and muscadine grapes. They can grow them in lots of places and require very little care to produce gallons of fruit in a small area. The fruits and juices of both are acidic and amenable to canning without a pressure cooker. They are not particularly bothered by insects or disease, taste great and are quite nutritious.

[nagantguy]

Someone here already said it but store what you eat. Rotate your stock look for sales band together with other families and buy in bulk.

[AlaskanGuy]

I am big on canning... But I use cans, not jars.... The cans are always a better option, but they are not re-useable.... I can all sorts of stuff, and even canned stuff like Matches, ammo, and who knows what else..... Makes for a good cache... For stuff that I am putting away for real long term, you can vacuum PAC stuff and put that inside cans for longer term. Just be sure that you take a sharpie and mark he cans well... For dry goods, you can use a piece of white medical tape, and write on that with a sharpie...

I have aver found that cans are getting expensive, but I bought a ton of them years ago...

this is what my canner looks like.. I bought this one to replace my old one a few years back... I think I payed 70 bucks for it...Attachment 108018

Can sealers are not rocket science.... I have bought several for friends over the years from ebay... The old ones usually work pretty well, as long as the unit has all its pieces...

AG

[AlaskanGuy]

Let's try that pic again...

Attachment 108019

[AlaskanGuy]

I am getting pretty sick and tired of the pic posting issues.... What the heck... It's not like I dont know how.....

here re is a freaking LINK to a PIc of what mine looks like....

http://fritzmonroe.com/fritz/wp-cont...can_sealer.jpg

[nagantguy]

Thank for the link like the unit and plan to buy one; I can lots but in jars also think the vacume sealer is the greatest thing since for long term storage of food matches ammo whatever.

[clownbear69]

I know this is an old thread but its a good topic that people should read. Everyone should start somewhere.

When I first started out, I would set aside $20 every paycheck for prepping. $20 might not sound like a whole lot but it is. AT the very least (as long as you watch your pricing) it will yield 20 cans of food. Still doesn't sound like a whole lot but when you factor in how much shelf space is needed for 20 cans it adds up quickly. I typically would do 20 (or however much I can afford) of veggies one paycheck, tuna, the next fruit the following and so on and so forth. Ive shopped from, Dollar tree to walmart.

Now that I coupon I am able to do a whole lot more. My typical budget is $150. With couponing I can take $150 to about $250-$300 in goods (including sanitation goods). I also buy as much as I can when Albertson does the buy 1 get 2 free deals, wrap it and freeze it. Just filled my top freezer just now.


But even with my couponing I realize I need to do other stuff. This winter season my wife and I will be doing canning, using produce from the store to figure out recipes. This winter I hope to have my raised garden bed made and able to grow in spring. While it might sound like a lot if you pick up any all equipment during the off season will lead to lower prices (clearance items) and able to save more. In the near future I plan on raising some sort of protein but unsure what I want to do

[olafhardt]

If you want to raise proteins let me suggest small stuff like chickens, ducks, rabbits etc. The birds turn grasshoppers into eggs and meat and the rabbits turn grass into meat. Helps to keep a booger blaster handy to turn coons, possums etc into meat.

[clownbear69]

If you want to raise proteins let me suggest small stuff like chickens, ducks, rabbits etc. The birds turn grasshoppers into eggs and meat and the rabbits turn grass into meat. Helps to keep a booger blaster handy to turn coons, possums etc into meat.

I knew I was in that direction, its the issue of being on a rental property in a subdivision. I have no issue doing it but don't want to set up a ton of equipment just to move it. My raised bed will have to be mobile as well. Im guessing maybe 6-8 months left here but those plans can change so that's why Im looking into canning and doing different things with my dehydrator to improve aspects of my prepping. I will say im leaning towards rabbits over chicken due to the higher percentage of offspring/ replenish factors also the noise factor. If I had my own place in the country Id have a bit of everything.

[olafhardt]

This year I had an experimental sorta portable raised bed garden. I got a lot of 5 gallon buckets, drilled a 1 in hole in the bottom of each and fill em with dirt. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions, beans and spices did good. Cucumbers not so good but I got some. I have grown a lot of strawberry plants in containers but didn't get many berries. Thornless blackberries have done really well for me in pots. Container gardening is an interesting hobby and a cheap and easy way to learn some of the basics of agriculture.

[clownbear69]

interesting might be the best way for me. Why did you go bucket over standard pots? Did the roots need that much space?

(sorry for semi hijacking thread)

[nagantguy]

My grand parents called it living. They gardened canned, hunted, bought what they needed in bulk and I'd the couldn't make it trade for it or find it on sale they did without its the direction we've been moving in for the last 6 years.

[olafhardt]

5 gal buckets are more durable and cheaper than most horticultural pots. They come with lids and bails which makes them a lot easier to move. The last batch I bought at Home Depot were less than $4.00 each.

[nemesisenforcer]

I live in Colorado, so my prepping consists of high value crops.