By prioritizing your overall budget and cutting back on non-essential items (entertainment, unnecessary driving, dining out, etc.)
most people can find between $200 and $300 a month to apply towards prepping on a budget. ( Understanding your needs)
FOOD : Record the amount spent weekly/ monthly on food . Plan accordingly .
Creating a food stockpile is more easily achievable when you purchase items that you would normally eat so that you can consume what you need now and store the excess.
How much excess food you buy will depend on your budget,
but you should shoot for buying two extra of every item you expect to consume now.
Buying items on sale, using coupons and sticking with store brands will help you save money that can be applied to extra purchases.
The food items you store must have a long shelf life and you need to take into consideration that you might not have electricity which might preclude storing frozen items.
WATER : Water is no less important than food when prepping on a budget, but it should cost you far less to accumulate a good supply.
Each month you should shoot for buying three or four gallons of drinking water and a case of bottled water.
The cheapest source of gallon jugs are the water dispensing vending machines you see at grocery stores.
LIGHT : If you ever spent a night through a power outage, you know how important it is to have a light source.
Your first priority is accumulating a supply of quality LED flashlights.
Bulbs and batteries last much longer with LED. For every flashlight you buy, pick up several packs of alkaline batteries.
MEDICAL SUPPLIES : Keep up to date with your prescriptions and, if you are able, ask your doctor for an extra 30-day supply. ( Or Longer, depending on need)
Invest in a good first aid kit
and begin to accumulate additional supplies of band-aids, aspirin, antibiotic ointments, cold medicines, and diarrhea medicine.
HOUSEHOLD AND HYGIENE SUPPLIES : You will need sanitation and hygiene items, so when buying disinfectants, cleansers for clothes, deodorant,
shampoo, razor blades, etc., add one or two extra just as you do with your food items. (Also , soaps, disinfectants, toilet tissue, etc.)
Two things...if you use distilled water...refill them with tap water and mark with date and source...second...has no one here ever lost a prescription?
For every flashlight you buy, pick up several packs of alkaline batteries
There are so many solar rechargeable options out there, I don’t often use battery powered lights. Batteries don’t store all that long.