Will the economy affect your preps?

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olddude
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Will the economy affect your preps?

#1 Postby olddude » Tue Mar 17, 2009 3:29 pm

Many of us have, at the very least, had our disposable income affected. Will this be a year that you find yourself cutting back on items that you rotate on a yearly basis? Fewer batteries stocked, less fuel put back, or maybe planning on making prep purchases at the last minute in hopes of not needing them.
What do you forsee for your preparations?

Scott
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#2 Postby MGC » Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:16 pm

Nope, and as a matter of fact, if I am forced to evacuate like I did for Katrina, we are headed to Disney World for a vacation. I don't want to have to deal without electricity, food or water again for such a long period of time.....MGC
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#3 Postby vbhoutex » Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:09 pm

This is one place I will not scrimp. My family's survival is most important and if I need to spend money to be sure we will be prepared, it will be spent. Fortunately most of what we need we already have. Our immediate expenses would be some more food and being sure we have enough gas on hand. I do things like that up to a week out if I think there is a good possibility of a threat to our area.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#4 Postby bevgo » Sat Mar 28, 2009 2:35 am

Not really as Katrina changed everything for me. Will prep for hubby who will be at the hospital--mainly snack stuff and drinks, and for my daughter if it is during her month rotation. Then pack grandkids, son in law, and dogs and bug out. No more buying stuff to keep the family comfortable for a long stretch. I plan to evac early and shop at my destination (mom's home) for anything we need to supply to prevent our visit being a financial burden for mom and or sis.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#5 Postby Dionne » Sat Mar 28, 2009 8:14 am

We still have everything in place to ride out a storm. This spring we added cisterns. Primarily used for the gardens, but can also be used to flush. Normally we would evac, but times have changed. We now take care of my mother in law, recovering from a stroke. Evac would be VERY difficult.

As far as the economy affecting our preps......nope.

There is only one item I need to add to our survival gear. A revolver. I have not handled our owned a firearm since my Infantry days long ago. I never intended to have to resort deadly force again. Although, our increased crime rate is looking awfully bleak.

I have one question for everyone. MRE's.....we still have MRE's left from Katrina.....several cases. I heard somewhere that the shelf life is 5 years. Anyone know for sure?
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#6 Postby MGC » Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:09 pm

I packed heat after the hurricane. I carried my 38 in my pocket for several weeks until the mayhem kinda died down. We were like a frontier town after the hurricane, little law-and-order....there was no way to call the law. 911 along with the entire telephone system was down. Wish I could have caught the (#&_* that robbed my house after the hurricane. Guns are a requirement after a big disaster......MGC
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#7 Postby Persepone » Mon Jun 01, 2009 4:32 pm

Our preparation is not "hurricane" prep but general "emergency preparedness" since we have more problems with winter storms. My daughter was without electricity (no heat, no water, etc.) almost 3 weeks--came on two days before Christmas.

Yes, the economy does affect preparation because we just don't have the cash to go out and buy stuff. We do have a small "fund"--but it's pretty small this year....

The economy also affecs prep. because you tend to "save" on groceries by "eating down" and not replacing emergency food stocks, etc. Dangerous tendency, I think. On the other hand, going for less "comfort" food in favor of less expensive "ingredients" may not be a bad thing. Probably healthier eating. It's a difficult choice when you need to stock for emergency--but also find your food budget cut.

The more "advance" preparation, the cheaper. If you buy stuff when it's on sale, and you stock up "all year long" you can buy extras of stuff that you normally buy "for the emergency shelf" and perhaps not feel the pinch. Also, shop tag sales (a.k.a. yard sales, etc.) for preparation stuff that other people no longer need. You may need a manual can opener (25 cents or so at a yard sale), an old-fashioned coffee pot--but you don't need a "new" one--why pay $12 when you can buy one for less than $1 at someone's tag/yard sale? Lots of (perhaps most?) of our emergency prep. stuff came from yard sales, etc. Think "camping equipment." Think "tools." Think "old kitchen equipment." People who move long-distance probably sell cool things like battery-operated box fans, etc.

More important? Take care of the stuff that you do have and don't "cannibalize" your emergency stuff for other purposes. Keep your kids from "borrowing" flashlights, batteries, etc. from the emergency stash and not replacing/replenishing the stock. Label the plywood and store it--don't go out and re-buy the stuff every time you need it because you used it to build something else during the off-season, etc. Do the maintenance on your generator, chain saw, other power tools--before you need them. You need to do it anyway--so stop procrastinating. The maintenance will keep things working better and they won't crap out on you when you really, really need them.

Finally, go back and revisit and revise your plans, lists, etc. You need to update your lists--the kids have grown or perhaps you have some new medications you need to stock or perhaps you have supplies you no longer need (and can sell to someone else at your yard sale) because you no longer have whatever it was you needed them for. Someone mentioned "boat tie down straps." Well, if you sold the boat, you can sell the straps. Someone else needs them. You upgraded your generator and now have one of those built in ones? So sell your portable to someone who needs it.

Perhaps the S2K board should put up a swap board!
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#8 Postby andrewsmith1 » Mon Jun 01, 2009 5:07 pm

The economy is not affecting our preps at all. We have everything we need ready to go. I went to the doctor today and have fresh scripts for all of the medicines I need to manage my diabetes. We have filled up the gas cans and are rotating them between the cars and lawn mower to keep them fresh. The dogs and cats have ID on their collars and I just got my car back from the shop with a fresh tune up in case of an evacuation. We probably need a little more canned food, but that is all we need.

I think not preparing for a hurricane could cost a whole lot more in the long run. The last thing I want to deal with is trying to find survival supplies after the storm has hit. The reduced stress and time alone would make it worth it for me.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#9 Postby Jinkers » Mon Jun 01, 2009 11:29 pm

The economy hasn't affected my preps either, I bought all my batteries, water, & non-perishable foods already. The only thing I would need to buy when a storm is close, is some fresh fruit.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#10 Postby vbhoutex » Wed Jun 03, 2009 12:23 pm

MGC wrote:I packed heat after the hurricane. I carried my 38 in my pocket for several weeks until the mayhem kinda died down. We were like a frontier town after the hurricane, little law-and-order....there was no way to call the law. 911 along with the entire telephone system was down. Wish I could have caught the (#&_* that robbed my house after the hurricane. Guns are a requirement after a big disaster......MGC


I do not own a firearm and probably will not obtain one either even though I do know how good a shot I am(went to range with son). However, I do not think it is out of the realm of need after a Hurricane, especially when you have a situation like after Katrina. My son was packing when he came to dig our vehicles out from under the trees and help our neighbors. Never had to use it, but it was a comfort to know we were somewhat protected.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#11 Postby Dionne » Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:20 pm

It's time to rotate/refill gasoline jugs. Service the generator and chain saw. Clean and test the back up window A/C unit. Get a few new blue/brown tarps. Get some more of those 12" sawzall blades made for cutting debris. Prepare for evac visitors from the coast.

All these items will cost money. It prolly money spent better than insurance premiums.

At least I can be confident that my stuff works properly.

Yes, I'm still carrying that chip on my shoulder.
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#12 Postby DanKellFla » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:21 pm

I am out of work. My next door neigboors husband is working in a different state and my other neighboor had his hours cut. (FYI, we are one mechanical and two electrical engineers) So, I have time on my side and I am not choosing to get more than 10 gallons of gas. I can always go out at 4 AM and get gas before the storm. I am awake anyways. Other than that, I have everything that I really need. I was planning on buying an inverter, but that really isn't necessary for me with all the other stuff that I have. I am waiting until the prices of portable DTV come down in price before I buy one. For now, I will have my laptop hooked up to my DSL for however long that lasts. If there is a strom, I will be putting panels up on my house, and then helping my neighboor put hers up. But, she is very capable and has two grown sons nearby to help her. I have offered my help, but may not even have a chance depending on where her children are.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#13 Postby attallaman » Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:29 pm

Is there a list of things to buy for cane preparation listed here on S2K? Just to refresh my memory, haven't bought anything major since Katrina but I try to have plenty of bottled water on hand, batteries for my flashlights and my cane radio, at least a 30 day supply of prescription medicine, some canned food items that do not require cooking, a basic first aid kit, if I have to evacuate a good amount of cash, important documents with me that are not already in my bank deposit box, anything else? Those battery powered TV sets that were sold before the conversion to digital TV, I guess they won't work now if you needed a TV after a storm.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#14 Postby mpic » Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:29 am

Dionne wrote:We still have everything in place to ride out a storm. This spring we added cisterns. Primarily used for the gardens, but can also be used to flush. Normally we would evac, but times have changed. We now take care of my mother in law, recovering from a stroke. Evac would be VERY difficult.

As far as the economy affecting our preps......nope.

There is only one item I need to add to our survival gear. A revolver. I have not handled our owned a firearm since my Infantry days long ago. I never intended to have to resort deadly force again. Although, our increased crime rate is looking awfully bleak.

I have one question for everyone. MRE's.....we still have MRE's left from Katrina.....several cases. I heard somewhere that the shelf life is 5 years. Anyone know for sure?


MRE shelf life

http://www.safetycentral.com/mrfahishliin.html

It has affected my preps. I haven't replenished after Ike, but will go ahead and get them up to speed. Bottled water is on sale through tomorrow and tuna sale starts the next day along with some other canned goods. I almost used up my vacation time, but decided to wait the season out. Glad I did that for sure and hope I don't need it.
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Re: Will the economy affect your preps?

#15 Postby DanKellFla » Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:32 pm

attallaman wrote:Is there a list of things to buy for cane preparation listed here on S2K? Just to refresh my memory, haven't bought anything major since Katrina but I try to have plenty of bottled water on hand, batteries for my flashlights and my cane radio, at least a 30 day supply of prescription medicine, some canned food items that do not require cooking, a basic first aid kit, if I have to evacuate a good amount of cash, important documents with me that are not already in my bank deposit box, anything else? Those battery powered TV sets that were sold before the conversion to digital TV, I guess they won't work now if you needed a TV after a storm.



Check this out. It is a start.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/pr ... plan.shtml
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