[mjfdrums]

I am a new prepper from Oklahoma. I have considered prepping but i am not sure where to begin. I am on a very tight budget. Here is what i am thinking about for my first preps:

1. Gather material and build my BOB.
2. Gather an emergency food supply to last at least one month.
3. Get first aid supplies/food/water for my BOV.

I am curious to know what some of you did for your first preps? As for my emergency food supply, I want to use a minimal amount of water or no water at all to prepare my meals. What are some good choices for emergency meals. Any input would be helpful.

 

[Inor]

Welcome from Minnesota, by the way.

Personally, I think water is one of those "got to haves" even before food, shelter, BOB, BOV, guns, ammo, etc. So, I would start with figuring out how you can get water in a difficult situation and how you can make it potable. For starters, maybe one of those canteens with the filtering straw. (I do not know any manufacturers to recommend off the top of my head, but I am sure somebody else will post a followup or two with that. - We have a Berkey for our home and carry the Coghlans water purification kits with us.) As I recall, they are pretty cheap - $20-$30?

Once you have water, the food choices are wide open. Without water, you are stuck carrying food that is pre-hydrated (I.E. extremely heavy) and may still not give you enough water to keep you alive. I guess you could go with energy bars, but you will still die of thirst long before you starve.

Just a thought.

 

[MrsInor]

Another welcome from Minnesota from Inor's better half.

 

[Inor]

Another welcome from Minnesota from Inor's better half.

Ralph Cramden says it best wife:

http://www.wavsource.com/snds_2013-08-04_1948604593204857/tv/honeymooners/king.wav

 

[PalmettoTree]

There is only one thing I can tell you for sure. We all do our prepping differently. But start with water. For home cheap distiller water in gallon jugs. Figure a gallon per person per day. Start with three days. For BOV that is over kill. A straw and some tablets and a empty container sized to the tablets. That eliminates guess work.

Keep warm: good old wool army blankets will do the trick.

Read but do not go buy crazy. The more you can put together from scratch the better prepared you will be to survive from scratch. Butting survival supplies and equipment from scratch makes you learn what you need and how it works. Buy the same stuff in a kit and you are stuck with bad directions when you have no time to read.

That is not much advice but good learning.

 

[Paltik]

For just starting out, I'd aim lower.

Start with a 72-hour kit; three days of food and water, candles and matches, toilet paper, change of clothes, basic first aid kit, etc. This should all be kept in one place in your home.

Another good beginning would be gathering all your important documents in one place, where you can grab them and go if you have to leave in a hurry.

Another way to start would be to maintain a physical fitness regime.

Then work on a BOB, a week's worth of supplies, a month, 3 months, etc.--start little and set bigger challenges as you go. Somewhere in there consider your firearm(s), water treatment, communications, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Dropy]

Hello from Oklahoma also. Having a BOB is a great way to get started. Don't forget, food, water, first aid, protection and shelter. also think about maps of your area, a small radio, way to make fire and a flashlight or 2. A leatherman multitool is VERY nice to have also. Also toss in about 5$ worth of change and maybe some spare cash. This is a start. But none of his is any good unless you know how to use it. SO start leaning.

 

[Ripon]

Budget, budget and then budget some more. Evaluate your expenses and ask yourself what you could change while applying at least a share of the proceeds of change to your preparations. I had a friend who committed $10 a week to preparing and used it to change is diet and eating habits (adding more rice, beans and pasta to his mix) and that change alone made it possible for him to double his budget to $20. He soon hit $25 by dumping expensive meats and learning how to marinate more affordable one's. You can do a lot of preparation on $25 a week.