Can you really prep on a budget? Yes and no! Gear seems to be one of those sexy topics for the preparedness community. Who hasn’t watched a video or read an article on a new piece of gear that would “up your survival game” and be a true benefit. We like new toys! You don’t need to spend money on the toys! But the fact is, you do need to spend some money to be better prepared. Not on toys or shiny new objects, but on the necessities like food, what you might need for water storage and having some sort of lighting or power if the lights go down. It might be minimal, but you can definitely survive on less! You can use budget friendly meals, based on shelf-stable and canned food to build up your pantry. Building your food storage from meal recipes that you know your family will eat will mean that you are spending your valuable funds on items that will be truly eaten, not just some buckets put away in a closet for 20 years! You can tackle water in a budget friendly manner too! You can use two-liter soda bottles to store water. You will need to clean them out really well, with hot water and a bleach solution, but after you do that, filling them up and cleaning them in a climate controlled environment will mean that you have bottled water in case of an emergency. Two-liter bottles are made with plastic that can handle carbonated soda under pressure. It will hold up for water storage for a long time. The key is to really get the bottle clean! Lastly, you need lights when the power goes down. Most people have flashlights around the house. You can even get these as gifts from conferences and people giving them away for promotions. The key is to have spare batteries and know where the flashlights are in the house when you need them. Of course, if you can afford it, a generator, extension cords and a small window unit will go a long way when the lights go out. Prepping doesn’t need to be expensive. You just need to do it! #prepfuture #budget #prepping #preppers #preppingonabudget

The concept of the gray man and Operational Security or OPSEC go hand in hand. Preppers are concerned that if they are open about their preparedness efforts, that they will be targeted by bad players who aren't prepared when the SHTF. But it might not just be bad players! What happens to regular people when they get desperate? But this fear also keeps preppers from talking to others about being prepared, helping them to understand the importance of and giving good, practical advice. The truth is you can talk about being prepared and why it is so important, especially in our day, without giving away an inventory of your preps! For example, talking about hurricanes is something everyone on the coast can identify with. Talking about being prepared for a blizzard or big winter weather event is something that people up north understand! You can talk about being prepared for these events and still have OPSEC! There are also plenty of other natural disasters that people have experienced lately like floods and huge fires. These would be a reason to bug out. This brings up an opportunity to talk about bug out bags. The issue is that rational people will understand the importance of being prepared. They might need help understanding how to move forward, but they will understand the need. If you find yourself talking to someone who just doesn't get it, just drop it and move on! The more people that get prepared, the more people we don't have to worry about during SHTF. But you don't want to waste your time talking to a brick wall! #prepfuture #preppers #preppertalk #opsec

Bacon & Survival: Gas One Stove for Any Emergency | #preppers #cooking Sizzling bacon crackles on a compact Gas One stove, demonstrating survival skills that work anywhere. Whether you're preparing for unexpected emergencies, enjoying the freedom of outdoor adventures, or simply cooking when power fails, this versatile butane Gas One stove proves itself with every delicious strip. Watch as I show how this lightweight cooking solution delivers results without electricity - perfect for preppers, campers, and anyone who values self-sufficiency. Learn why this affordable Gas One stove deserves a spot in your emergency kit and weekend getaway supplies alike. #preppercooking #prepfuture #emergencysupplies #prepping Purchase a Gas One Stove on Amazon - vist.ly/3mxn93i Purchase Butane - vist.ly/3mxn93j Get the Blackout Checklist - vist.ly/3mxn93g RYF Merch (affiliate) - vist.ly/3mxn93k Connect w/ Other Preppers - vist.ly/3mxn93f Get the tshirt vist.ly/3mxn93m Twitter - vist.ly/3mxn93h Telegram - vist.ly/3mxn93n

Medical preparedness is a part of preparedness that many aren't truly prepped for. The reason for this is that medical preparedness is a little bit more technical than food storage or water filtration. Now there are parts of first-aid that are easy to understand. A burn, blister, sprain, even a broken arm is easy to diagnose. But when you think about how far medicine has come in the last 100 years, you just don’t get that level of knowledge and understanding from watching YouTube videos only! But preppers should do what they can do and prepare the most they can for medical emergencies. At the basic level, you should prep over the counter medicines and first-aid items like bandages, tape, gauze, etc… These are easy to acquire and obtain at this time. Then, individuals can take first-aid and CPR classes. Some organizations offer even more advanced classes that can be taken. Some preppers choose to take classes that could get them certified as a paramedic. Some preppers choose to learn about the healing properties of herbal medicine and some use essential oils. But you need to understand that the more advanced procedures, the kind that you go to the hospital or doctor for, will not be available in a true #TEOTWAWKI scenario. Another aspect of medical preparedness is that what you think will be enough, won’t be. A family will go through their medical preps faster than they realize. Even a small situation will eat through gauze and tape. If medical preparedness is something that is important to you, then you should prepare an area of your home, like a big closet, and keep it stocked as much as possible. The items you can stock here will be valuable to you if there ever was a true SHTF situation. #prepfuture #preppers #preppertalk

Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Why You NEED Cats When the #SHTF! readyyourfuture.com/cats-whe… #prepfuture #preppers #CatsOfTwitter #CatsOnTwitter

Do you really need to know how to make a fire? Fire making is often a skill that many preppers say is one to master. The idea is that you need a fire to keep warm, cook and boil water. It is survival 101. But how many of us are really doing all that on a regular basis? We aren't living in the 1800’s. And the S*** hasn't hit the fan yet. We have our modern conveniences and all of that. This idea is still a relic of old survival thinking. It comes from when the idea was to bug out into the woods and live off the land. It is perpetuated by survival videos from Bushcraft channels. It is the talk of forums. And what is it with all the ways to make fire? You always see people using flint and steel, ferro rods, and rubbing two sticks together. What about a Bic lighter and matches? Why make it harder? So here's the bottom line. You should understand how to make fire in many different ways. You should have a fire kit. You should know how to cook, boil water and keep yourself warm with fire. But your go-to should be to make it as easy as possible to make a fire. Because more than likely, when you need to do all those things, it will be in an emergency and a lot of things will be going on at once. Use the Bic lighter, Tesla lighter or matches to get the fire going. It will save you time, effort, energy and will let you focus on the next thing. #prepfuture #preppers

You need to build your preparedness with layers in mind! Think of being prepared in layers. Every later is a separate piece but together it adds to and strengthens your ability to be prepped. It's a strategy every Prepper needs to use. Let's use home security as an example. As a first layer you might have thorny bushes in front of your front windows and a fence around your backyard with a sign that says “Beware of dog.” As a second later, you might have motion sensor lights and cameras around the perimeter of your home. A third layer would be a hardened door frame and good locks on your exterior doors. Inside is another set of layers. You might have a home alarm system that is monitored. You could then have that serious dog that barks whenever someone is outside. And lastly, you could have a firearm for home protection. All of these layers are independent and can work independently. But put together, it is a system of securing and protecting your home. And this strategy can be used with other preparedness needs: food, water, first-aid, power, communications, etc… How are you using layers? #prepfuture #preppers

Buying canned goods is the best way to get started in food storage. You have a wide range of options when it comes to canned goods from meats, vegetables, fruit and even bread. I Canned goods have “best buy dates” stamped on them. These are NOT expiration dates. These are the dates that the manufacturer believes are the optimal dates for taste, texture, vitamins, etc… In reality, canned goods can last a VERY long time if they are stored correctly, in a cool, dry, dark place and they don’t get dented or damaged in any way. One of the things that you want to consider is how to use your canned goods. You don’t want to build your food pantry with canned goods and not know how to make a decent meal. If you are creative, or do a search online, you can find recipes for meals just from canned goods. If you find 5-6 meals that your family loves to eat, you can multiply how many canned goods you need for each meal and easily stock up a month's worth of dinners. You will want to keep an inventory of the canned goods you put in your pantry and mark it as you use it. This becomes your grocery list when you need to restock! #prepfuture #prepper #foodstorage