Budgeting

 After some of the disasters in the last decade or so, many people are starting to think ahead and begin to store emergency food, water, basic survival supplies and etc..  With shows like "Doomsday Preppers", "Doomsday Bunkers" and others of a similar flavor, Someone just starting out can feel overwhelmed when they see what others are doing, and have already done.

I'm going to start off by assuming that no one reading this has a winning million dollar lottery ticket in their pocket, and like myself, are trying to live on a suffocatingly tight budget. :

 Don't by any means expect to have something as large, or extreme as you see on TV overnight. The people you see on those shows didn't do it all overnight, and nor should you expect to accomplish a "miniature warehouse" per-se, overnight. Start small, think small, and remember Rome wasn't built in a day either. Start off by examining your budget, We all have bills, rent or a mortgage, car payments, or some other type of financial obligation.

 Start off by separating your 'needs' from your 'wants', what financial obligations do you have that there is absolutely no way around like the forementioned home, auto payments or insurance.? Make a list of those items and their regular bite out of your funds, and place those to the side as a 'no deals' compliation. Now lets move on to luxuries.. Do you have cable, satellite, or a weekend splurge you can cut back on?  I myself at one point, had my cable TV with HBO, Science, History, and other channels that were nice to have but, weren't worth the additional snowball costs. I kept my internet  at the basic speed and eliminated my tv altogether. There really isn't much on TV anymore that you can't find and watch on the internet.

By cutting out TV I was able to drop a monthly $150 expense down to $50! That's just the beginning..  Do you like to grill, or BBQ? Do you cook over charcoal or propane? Both of these cost money and you can eliminate that cost without eliminating the cookout! How does FREE sound? Believe it or not, when you burn charcoal or propane when cooking out you are literally burning money you don't need to! It's spring and there are many people out cutting down, or trimming their trees and are just throwing away the most PERFECT BBQ fuel! Think of the money you could save if you didn't have to buy fuel for your cookouts anymore, and not having to kick on your money devouring appliances every day!

 If you have a charcoal grill you have a good start, If you have a propane, look into a cheap charcoal grill  at yard sales, in classifieds, your neighbor down the street might even be throwing a perfectly good one just because he wanted to get the new " Super Grillinator 2000' ! Wheel it home and start your freebie gathering with that one piece. Now you go a few more houses down and Mr Jones is finally having that oversized Oak tree tamed, Score one for you! Grab all the pieces of wood you can find that will fit into, or can easily be cut down to fit that grill you just brought home and you can now cook a dinner for pennies on the $ that wil rival the big BBQ houses that charge you $10 a plate!

Now that you have dinner taken care of, Let's go back to your budgeting,.. can you scrape out $10 or $20 a week or month yet? If you can put it away until grocery day, and take it with you on your shopping trip. A 24 pack of bottled water costs around $4  canned goods, ramen noodles and many other things are very cheap. get what you can on that $20, and put it away for emergencies, not to be raided. Congratulations! You are now prepping and on your way to being prepared and self sustaining! Do the same thing each visit to the store and before you know it you will be scrambling trying to find room for all of your preps/food stocks!