What have you done so far this year to prep and any suggestions to do it cheaper?

[barfife]

As the economy tightens so does the budget. We're all trying to accomplish similar goals. Let's put our heads together so we all can get from point "A" to point "B" with more "M" in our pockets.

With that in mind, what have you accomplished so far this year? And in that pursuit, how were you able to save money in the proccess?

Several things I have done this year:

1. Got my wife on board 100% (biggest advantage I can have and it didn't cost me anything)
2. Just got my garden planted (practicing using heirloom type seeds from local feed and seed store)
3. Just added 7 more fruit trees (Big Lots, $14.50 each)
4. Received my water filtration system (http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CAMP352-1.html $29 just add two 5 gal buckets. Get a second set for backup. Will gravity filter 15 gal/day)
5. Bug out bags nearly finished. (military surplus new packs $30 ea. Have great source for other military surplus equipment ..canteens, Alice packs, clothing, ammo cans, etc super reasonable...and he ships.)
6. Bought 3 heavy duty, steel, rolling storage racks for food storage. (For $110. Came out of a Wendy's restaurant being refurbished.)
7. Putting all the (free) survival, medical and homesteading manuals, that I have been downloading and forum members have been emailing me, on zip drive (8 gb, $14, BJ's) and printing out hard copy and organizing them in loose leaf notebooks (free from basement storage).
8. Narrowed down hand guns to two principal calibers (9mm and 45), three rifle calibers (22lr, 9mm and 223) and one shot gun caliber (12 gauge). Traded un-needed caliber ammo for additional prepping ammo. (cost $0)
9. Selling/trading off surplus weapons to fund additional prepping needs. (Cost $0..making money)
10. Traded an old dresser to a second hand store in exchange for crosscut saw, planes, and cast iron cookware. (Cost $0)

Just a few of my hopefully cost effective ideas. Please share yours.

[Lowdown3]

Not just from doing my own prep efforts but from watching so many others- one of the biggest things I can say is that waiting usually does end up costing you more money. Nothing is "cheaper" close to a disaster or when everyone else is running scared. Last minute preppers should understand that getting things at the last minute WILL cost them more and it's not always guarantee that items will be immediately available.

I've seen/know people who passed up x39 ammo at $72. a case. Showed more interest when it went to $100. but still didn't buy. At $150. they said "I'll wait till it goes back to $100." When did they ACTUALLY buy? At $375. they bought two cases!!!

Do the math, the same amount of money could have been spent to buy TEN CASES just a few years before (when they passed it by). But all they got was TWO cases for the same amount of money.

That's DUMB prepping IMO.

Don't be afraid to buy at higher prices if you missed the wagon, have nothing or very very little of that item. That's called "man'ing up" time- when you have to man up and take responsibility for the fact that you should have done something sooner but didn't. That's life, we all face it at some time if we prep long enough. Your GOING to "miss the boat" on something and later have to pay more for it, really scrounge around to find one, etc.

I've always felt that when we find something we need "cheap" that we really purchase that item. $3. a case Mason jar quarts comes to mind a few years back. Would 10 cases have probably been "enough" for the time being? Yep. Did I just buy 10 cases and then have to go back next year and buy more cases at $10. PER CASE? Heck no. I filled the truck bed twice over. One case for $10. or THREE cases for roughly the same price?

That's how we need to think about logistics. And yes, we are going to need things in quantity. It's nothing for us to go through 400 jars in a year. Also you rarely get them back when you give a case of applesauce to someone, etc.

When we find something "cheap" we need to take full advantage of it.

[MustangGal]

Everything we have done, has been done since March. I had to read "One Second After" for my Comp II class; it was life changing. I went from blissfully ignorant to scared witless in just a couple days. Thankfully, DH is on board. I'm not sure if it is more that he sees the need to prep (and read the book) or if he understands my need to feel safe and be able to protect my family. But, either way, he is going along.

So far, we have:
-bought a good supply of OTC medications, particularly generic Claritin that DS takes daily
-working on 3 small and one large 1st aid kits
-buying additional ammo
-evaluated our gun collection and are pleased to see we only need to purchase an additional 12 gauge shotgun
-buying additional food
-not taking summer classes so I can focus on preps, family, and our animals
-bought two pygmy goat doe kids for future milk
-bought 18 chicks and ordered six more for a total of two dozen
-looking into getting rabbits
-researching water filtration systems
-dreaming of a more remote location....
-planting a garden
-bought a dehydrator and a vacuum sealer
-ordering mylar bags and oxygen absorbers TODAY
-bought an '80s model pickup

and still, there is so much more to be done!

ETA: By working Walgreen's rewards system and coupons, I have also been able to add quite a few non-food items for free or very, very little money.

ETA: We are also planning on attending an Appleseed event. DH is a firearms instructor, but we feel like we could still benefit from the event.

[BeckyinTX]

Got a 2 year supply of dd's thyroid med, a huge sigh of relief for us since she requires it to live.
We remodeled the bathroom, there was a lot of air coming in from the outside in that room. Added additional storage in there & filled it with supplies.
Expanded the garden again this year.
Researching putting a root cellar in the crawl space under the house.
Drug home some old cabinets & installed them in the garage to use for storing preps in.
Aquired some misc. medial supplies for free. :) (folks that work in homehealth are a great source)
Found a source of free food grade buckets.
Steadily adding to our food & supplies.
Stopped drinking Dr. Pepper.
Working lots of overtime to save up for the next project!

[dilli]

became debt free!
bought a new old dependable easy to work on/ find parts truck
added mushroom logs
added some storage areas n shelving for homesteady stuff

thats really about all other than keepin up with being able to live poor :)

there are so many greenshoots up in N GA that manthing is now just working on an on call basis which works out to a day a week in a good week

[tarheelsman71]

what have I done....

Because I am not independently wealthy, I have to snatch up a bargain whenever I can find one. I drive my wife crazy when we do our food shopping for the month. When I go there always seem to be more stuff then she counted on. I dont have the money to purchase a 1000lbs of beans or wheat or anything, but I can afford to buy in small quantities. Sure it cost me more, but if I saved my money up so I could afford to buy a lot at a time I would feel like I was spinning my wheels on that preparedness front. I fill one 5 gal bucket each of rice or beans every two weeks. I also just noticed that china-mart in my area started selling Mountain House dinner entree's for $4.99 in the camping area. So everytime I am in walmart i pick up 2. The ones that I purchased were 7 years out on the shelf life. Bottled water is cheap. Food lion is selling it right now for $2.99 a case.

For fitness, I also went on a day hike with my wife's 55 year old uncle at Grandfathjer mountain in NC. We each took a day pack carrying about 30lbs. I am 40 years old, and I can still run 8 minute miles. It helped me not at all for the arse kicking that my uncle gave me. My uncle has taken this trail twice a week for 3 years so he knows every rock by first name. I now think he likes to bring people on this hike to break their spirit and let them get comfortable with their humility. The total distance is 5 miles, but you gain 2000 feet of elevation in the first mile. Then you go up and down from one ridge line to another for the next 3 miles. I spent 6 years in the Marine Corps and I have never been so pooped when we finished. (could be my age :) )But it gave me a great appreciation for quality gear. I bought a pair of Danner hiking boots a while back and had only put about 10 miles in them to break them in and put them up. Paid 140 bucks for them and they were worth every penny. My pack that I took with me is actually my daughters BOB. While she is only 11 she is already pretty tall (size 8 shoes) and 25-30 lbs feel great in the pack. She only carries about 15-20 when we hike anywhere but it is good to know that it is capable of carry more. I have never used hiking poles before but after seeing the ease with which he traversed the whole ridgeline, I am a believer. Go on youtube and do a search for grandfather Mountain hike and you will see the vast elevation changes. But overall one of the coolest trips I have ever taken. Cant wait to go again. Before the SHTF, we better all get ourselves physically squared away or all the food and ammo in the world aint gonna be worth a hoot.

[Lowdown3]

My point on the buying alot of something had to do more with when you find a deal, not that you "have" to purchase everything in bulk.

For example, the 1 lb. bags of rice can sometimes run $1. or more each. While a 50 lb. bag is $15. or so. Would it be better to buy them onesey twosey or stick $2. in a jar regularly for a couple weeks and then buy a 50 lb. bag? That $15. will either buy 15 lbs. or 50 lbs. I'd sure rather have the 50 lbs. myself.

[Tofu]

1. Got my wife on board
2. Both of us got our hand gun carry permits
3. Purchased a Kitchen Aide Mixer with Grinder attachment
4. Built 4 6x16 raised garden beds (rookie gardener)
5. Learning to can this fall
6. Acquired tons of free buckets, still need to purchase mylar bags and stuff to put in them
7. Hopefully getting a promotion in my job with the hope of more money (pay debt down faster)
8. Installed 2 275 gallon rain catch tanks

Long way to go...

[barfife]

Because I am not independently wealthy, I have to snatch up a bargain whenever I can find one. I drive my wife crazy when we do our food shopping for the month. When I go there always seem to be more stuff then she counted on. I dont have the money to purchase a 1000lbs of beans or wheat or anything, but I can afford to buy in small quantities. Sure it cost me more, but if I saved my money up so I could afford to buy a lot at a time I would feel like I was spinning my wheels on that preparedness front. I fill one 5 gal bucket each of rice or beans every two weeks. I also just noticed that china-mart in my area started selling Mountain House dinner entree's for $4.99 in the camping area. So everytime I am in walmart i pick up 2. The ones that I purchased were 7 years out on the shelf life. Bottled water is cheap. Food lion is selling it right now for $2.99 a case.

For fitness, I also went on a day hike with my wife's 55 year old uncle at Grandfathjer mountain in NC. We each took a day pack carrying about 30lbs. I am 40 years old, and I can still run 8 minute miles. It helped me not at all for the arse kicking that my uncle gave me. My uncle has taken this trail twice a week for 3 years so he knows every rock by first name. I now think he likes to bring people on this hike to break their spirit and let them get comfortable with their humility. The total distance is 5 miles, but you gain 2000 feet of elevation in the first mile. Then you go up and down from one ridge line to another for the next 3 miles. I spent 6 years in the Marine Corps and I have never been so pooped when we finished. (could be my age :) )But it gave me a great appreciation for quality gear. I bought a pair of Danner hiking boots a while back and had only put about 10 miles in them to break them in and put them up. Paid 140 bucks for them and they were worth every penny. My pack that I took with me is actually my daughters BOB. While she is only 11 she is already pretty tall (size 8 shoes) and 25-30 lbs feel great in the pack. She only carries about 15-20 when we hike anywhere but it is good to know that it is capable of carry more. I have never used hiking poles before but after seeing the ease with which he traversed the whole ridgeline, I am a believer. Go on youtube and do a search for grandfather Mountain hike and you will see the vast elevation changes. But overall one of the coolest trips I have ever taken. Cant wait to go again. Before the SHTF, we better all get ourselves physically squared away or all the food and ammo in the world aint gonna be worth a hoot.

I'm impressed...Grand Father Mountain is a chore to get up on a motorcycle!

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I've built some of the cheaper water filters to suffice in other areas as backups https://www.survivalandpreparednessf...d-water-filter . I joined Sams Club to increase my bucketed food items. I have broken up my shooting into focused events (IPSC, accuracy day, clearing jams day, mag reloads etc.) rather than just going out and bustin some caps. Working on digital library and sharing files with others and printing what I don't know how to do or may not remember later. Working more on skills and doing related PT rather than just gym exercise. Using my kindle (that I got for Christmas) instead of ordering books unless the used ones are cheaper to study survival related skills or to read survival fiction stuff. I've been couponing and getting free samples of everything and the stuff like baby wipes and food that can be used in the BOB/GMHB go in there and some samples go in the storm shelter.

[Rmplstlskn]

For starters, I finally got a good paying job at the University of Virginia after a far too long stint of unemployment since the fall. So up until recently I have done squat and just trying to keep head above financial waters... Now it is getting better and things caught up, so I am putting my BUY lists together. I have been a gun guy and survivalist for decades, so I this period of no preps is not too devasting all in all, as I have things fairly squared away...

Did buy a nice 8-person family tent for recreational camping. Lots of room for normal times...

But things on my short list are:
get in better shape physically (already under way)
fill fuel oil tank (for next winter)
get a bumper rack designed for 4x4's so I can carry more stuff on my Toyota FJ Cruiser (keep ground clearance and steep approach angles)
Visit the local LDS cannery for food items (I hear we have a good one not far from me)

That's enough for now, I guess...

Rmpl

[Klayton]

ETA: By working Walgreen's rewards system and coupons, I have also been able to add quite a few non-food items for free or very, very little money.

I can never figure those coupons out. I have seen it over and over again people getting like 15+ items with coupons for as low as $2.00. I can't seem to figure out the "system". GRRRRR

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I can never figure those coupons out. I have seen it over and over again people getting like 15+ items with coupons for as low as $2.00. I can't seem to figure out the "system". GRRRRR

Bro you gotta figure that one out cause i got 1000 vitamin c tablets to put up long term for just a few bucks!

[610Alpha]

became debt free!
bought a new old dependable easy to work on/ find parts truck
added mushroom logs
added some storage areas n shelving for homesteady stuff

thats really about all other than keepin up with being able to live poor :)

there are so many greenshoots up in N GA that manthing is now just working on an on call basis which works out to a day a week in a good week

@dilli - congrats on becoming debt free!! You should give a call to Dave Ramsey this friday and give a debt free scream! Good luck with the mushroom logs, aunt & uncle tried those one time didn't work out don't know what went wrong.

[MustangGal]

I'm not sure if I can link the website I use, but if you are interested, you can message me and I will pass it along. (this is not a referral, just a website I found about couponing and saving money)