How To Be Prepared When You’re Dead Broke
If you’re ‘broke’, but breathing, while you may be strapped for cash – you’re still eating – because you’re not dead ;)
If you wish to become better prepared (for disaster, SHTF, etc..), although you’re short on cash, there are some things that you can do to help yourself for your preparedness:
(UPDATED and re-posted for your further comments and help towards others in this situation)
ADAPT
First, it’s not always about having the extra cash to buy preps, it’s often about your own awareness, ingenuity, creativeness, and adaptability to offset risks that come your way and/or to find unique solutions to problems (e.g. while being short of cash).
RISK AWARENESS
You will be better prepared (in general) by simply recognizing and understanding the risks – since most other people have little or no clue. Research, learn, look around, listen, be observant, have situational awareness, and think – critical thinking. It’s all free. Having knowledge of the risks around you, puts you a step ahead of the rest and will steer you in the right direction for making a plan to mitigate those risks.
MINDSET
Having the mindset to adapt and change to SHTF circumstances is extremely important to stay steps ahead of the rest – many of whom will be stuck in indecision or disbelief for awhile. Become comfortable with change. Mind over matter. It’s free.
SKILLS
Learn skills which support the notion of being prepared. Focus on practical skills and/or hands-on skills which enable you to ‘do it yourself’ and things that help sustain your life. You don’t always need money to learn new things. Seek out others with the skills you desire and learn from them (volunteer your time to help them, show interest, apprentice, etc.)
BREAK EXPENSIVE EATING HABITS, SHOP SMART
Are you trying to build a food storage, but you don’t have the extra cash? Think again… Adjust your eating habits and food-purchase habits so that you can build a food storage. It’s easier than you may think, but it will require some changes to your current diet and grocery shopping behavior.
Chances are that you could significantly increase your food-cash-savings or the quantity of food that you’re bringing home by being smart and practical about what you buy.
You may not like it, but you can learn to like it – eat foods that cost less – enabling you to store more of it. For example, an article titled Cheap Breakfast For Surviving Hard Times describes one way how you could eat a breakfast (serving) for just 10 cents! (or thereabouts). If you were to adopt this breakfast for say, 3 months, and if your ‘typical’ breakfast had been costing you $3.00, you would save $260. You can buy a lot of food storage with that money, and that’s just using a breakfast substitute!
You could switch to a powdered milk alternative and potentially cut your milk costs in half. You could eat more rice and beans, which have seemingly endless possibilities of variations with other spices and add-ons. Eat less processed foods (which almost always costs more), and learn to cook more from scratch. Use coupons. Buy on sale. Buy in bulk. Buy store brands.
BE FRUGAL
Besides shopping food smart, learn how to be frugal in everything that you do. Always question every purchase that you’re about to make. Do you ‘need’ it? Are there less expensive alternatives? Is there a ‘dollar store’ near you? Ever considered buying clothes at the Good Will center or a thrift store? You will be amazed at the bargains. Get over your desire to dress with the newest of clothes and styles – don’t fall for the marketing BS.
These are just some of the ways that you could enable yourself, even if you’re ‘broke’.
What are your ideas for prepping when you’re ‘dead broke’?