Everyone (and we do mean everyone) needs to have some basic awareness of how to prepare for an emergency. This includes putting an emergency kit together. It’s essential for survival in any emergency or disaster situation. In this article we’re going to show you exactly how to start emergency prepping on a budget.
After going through these simple tips, you’ll have all of the tools and knowledge that you need to begin prepping that emergency kit.
HOW TO START EMERGENCY PREPPING ON A BUDGET
The first key to emergency prepping in to put together an emergency pack.
Anyone can start putting together a simple first aid kit or emergency pack for under $100. If you have the budget for it, and you would rather purchase a kit that contains everything you need, this emergency kit is a good option.
However, since most families have their own unique needs and budget, creating your own emergency kit is perfectly fine. This article is going to walk you through exactly how to do this, even if you’re broke and clueless when it comes to prepping.
START TODAY
This is the most important step: getting started.
Most people put off packing their emergency kits because they don’t have enough cash to purchase everything they need.
This is a huge mistake.
There is absolutely no reason to avoid getting started with your preparation for an emergency. If you purchase just ONE emergency supply, it’s better than none.
Pro Tip: Start building your emergency kit today, do not wait.
Some cheap ways to get started:
- If you have an extra ten bucks, get some water purification tablets like these.
- If you have an extra twenty bucks on pay day, grab a few packages of tuna when you grocery shop or place an Amazon order.
- If someone gives you a gift card for Wal-Mart, Target, or Amazon, use half of it to stock up on emergency kit essentials.
Speaking of essentials, how do you know exactly WHAT you should be packing in your low-cost emergency kit?
FOCUS ON ESSENTIALS FIRST
If you look at any emergency it packing list, you’ll see a long string of suggestions. Possibly even hundreds of things depending on your needs and the size of your family.
If you want to learn how to create an emergency kit on a budget, you have to focus on the absolute essentials first… When your budget allows, you can venture into the extras and the luxuries, but start here.
The absolute essentials for survival usually fall into these five categories: food, water, clean air, shelter/warmth, and first aid.
So focus on these things and only these things (for now), to avoid overwhelm.
Food Essentials for Emergency Kit:
Stock up on shelf-stable foods that are high in nutrients. Some suggestions:
- Peanut butters/nut butters
- Nuts/trail mix
- Granola bars/energy bars
- Whole wheat crackers
- Canned beans
- Canned veggies
- Canned fruits
- Canned tuna/fish
- Canned soups/stews
- Dried fruits
- Dried pasta/noodles
- Canned sauces
- Powdered milk
- Multivitamins
You can often find these items at discount grocery stores or at the Dollar Store. Next time you go to the grocery store, just throw a few extra shelf-stable items into the cart and put them into your emergency kit when you get home.
If you don’t have an emergency kit yet, you can use a grocery bag or a pillow case.
Water Essentials for Emergency Kit:
The standard recommendation is one gallon of water per person, per day. If you can’t store that much water for an extended period of time (most people can’t), then you’ll need tools to help you purify water.
But along with water purification tools, make sure you have a few extra gallons of water at home and in your vehicle at all times. When you have a few extra bucks, consider purchasing one or more of these water items:
Keep in mind that we can only survive about 3 days without water, so water should be at the top of your list of essentials.
Clean air supplies for emergency kit:
Clean air is essential, and our hope is that you’ll never NEED any of the extreme protection for clean air supply.
However, every emergency kit should, at the very least, have a supply of N95 face masks. You can buy a pack of 25 masks here.
When your budget allows, adding a half face respirator mask and a full face respirator mask to the bag is a good idea (you can often find them for under $50 each).
Shelter and Warmth supplies for emergency kit:
Since we’re building this emergency pack on a small budget, keep in mind that you don’t need to buy everything today. Even just purchasing one small item a week will end with over 50 emergency tools and supplies at the end of the year.
This list simply includes all of the essential things that you need to start adding to your emergency kit as soon as possible.
Warmth and shelter is key when it comes to survival, especially if disaster strikes during a cold season. If you’re on a small budget, grab a few of these inexpensive warmth items when possible:
If you’d prefer to buy all of these warmth tools in one practical kit, this is the warmth and shelter kit we have (and it’s under $40).
If nothing else, make sure you have socks, sweaters, and lighters in your emergency kit for warmth and/or fire building.
First aid supplies for emergency kit:
Your first aid needs will vary depending on your family’s health and medications, but be sure to create some form of a first aid kit for your emergency pack.
Some of the common supplies in a first aid include:
- Aspirin
- Ibuprofen
- Bandaids
- Pain relieving spray
- Antibiotic ointment
- Gauze pads
- Tweezers
- First aid tape
- Cold compress
- Exam gloves
- Sanitizing pads
You can also purchase a pre-made first aid kit for between $10 and $40 dollars to cover basic needs.
Now, you might be telling yourself that we left out a lot of important emergency supplies, light flashlights and utility knives…
Those things ARE important and you absolutely should work on adding those to your emergency kit. However, if you’re on a tight budget, and you need to start somewhere, start with these survival essentials!
ONLY PURCHASE THINGS YOU ACTUALLY EAT
Many beginner preppers are guilty of packaging up a bunch of cheap canned fish that they wouldn’t eat unless they were truly starving.
Don’t do that.
When you go grocery shopping, start buying a few extra cans or packages of shelf stable things that your family will actually eat (in non emergency situations).
This way, you can circulate through food before expiration to avoid unnecessary waste.
Example:
My spouse loves these Lemon Pepper tuna packets for a quick snack at work or on camping trips.
I can pack them in our emergency kit for the ‘what if’ and then pull them out to get eaten before expiration, if necessary.
This way, emergency food doesn’t go to waste if it starts getting close to expiration.
Tip: Only stock up on emergency food that your family will actually eat.
STOCK UP AT THE HOTEL
If you didn’t use the little complimentary soaps and shampoos from your latest hotel stay, be sure to take them home and throw them into your emergency kit!
You paid for them when you purchased your hotel stay anyway, so might as well get some use out of them.
You can also request samples from hair care and beauty product companies and use those samples for your emergency kit.
Get creative and look for ways to gather up inexpensive essentials for an emergency.
USE COUPONS
Use coupons to buy emergency supplies anytime you can.
Retailers and pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens often have deals where you can buy one item and get a second item completely free.
Grab one pack for the pantry or cupboard and an extra pack for the emergency kit (for free). This works for so many of the most common emergency pack items. Things like:
- Medicine
- Cleaning supplies
- Toiletries
- Shelf stable snacks
- Pads/tampons
When you’re putting your emergency kit together, don’t hesitate to take advantage of coupons whenever you can.
DON’T FEAR THE DOLLAR STORE
The Dollar store is not known for the highest quality of products, but when it comes to emergency products or something you might need when you’re in a jam, there are a lot of dollar store products that could really come in handy.
Use these tips and supply lists to stock up a low cost emergency kit sooner than later. You can always add to it, and swap out products for better quality ones. But it’s better to have SOME kind of emergency products in your possession than none.
How to Start Emergency Prepping on a Budget: we hope this article was helpful! Check out some of our other preparedness tips and tricks below!