From a nutritional standpoint, Beans and rice, or beans and any grain, will provide complete protein for our bodies. 20 or 50 pound sacks of each are relatively cheap if you’ve got a place you can hunker down. If you’ve gotta think about leaving (ie, live in a city) it’s a whole different ball game. But outside cities, do the math on your per day calories, and get a baseline beans/rice diet going - you’ll have a several year supply quickly. Everything else is just spice, or a luxury, but stock up on something to keep your morale up as well! And one-a-day vits.
You’ll need clean water, either in bulk, or renewable, and Clorox or other water purification stuff - otherwise, can’t cook the beans and rice! :) Bulk salt is also a must, and some of those cheap plastic storage containers for the dried food to keep the varmints out.
Some way to catch or grow food helps, depending on where you live. Heirloom seeds for dried beans and corn that’ll grow where you live, and these may also be a great barter item!
Some way to cook the food if the grid and gas goes down.
Lots of everyday items: TP, lanterns and fuel, hand tools, tin foil, ziplock bags, wire, duct tape, rope/string, soap, reading glasses, etc.
Fuel, depending on your situation, but at least some way to produce heat and light. And along those lines, there are whole websites devoted to appliances that will run on 12V batteries: A few solar tickler chargers will keep you in business for quite some time. Three 12Vs hooked in series can run an arc welder: not a bad set up and skill to have when SHTF.
Medical supplies, including stashes of the meds we old farts are on to keep us alive. Recent post on FR about SHTF diarrhea risk was quite good.
Barter items: bag silver coins, sealed pipe tobacco tins, liquor, in addition to the TP, meds, bandaids, batteries, heirloom seeds, etc mentioned above.
Shotgun is good! Get lots of 00 or 000, and some slugs. Also some for hunting if need be. Ammo will be great barter as well - get lots. LOTS of web sites devoted to SHTF weaponry and tactics!
A Bible for most, and a pocket copy of the Constitution and Declaration (from Heritage) - to remind us who we are.
Get as much as you can, learn how to use it and even run drills. Discretely form a network of like-minded friends and neighbors, but otherwise keep quiet about it. Bury stuff in caches off site. Be ready, and be vigilant.
I greatly appreciate it. I feel yesterday I am already way behind. I will use your advice and get ready, because I think many of us know it is coming. This weekend, I was in northern maine, and I thought that would be a perfect place to buy a more suitable home for such a scenario. The land isn’t expensive and I could put a small cabin on there without breaking my bank.