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Winter Preps & The Economy - How Are They Related?

From the news that I just went over I really believe that we're in for some hard times. Great Depression level hard times. Are you prepared? Are you ready?

I ask because we’re also heading into winter, predicted to be a pretty harsh winter along with holidays. I think there will be a lot of disappointed children out there this year if you don’t start explaining it to them now. My kids are older and they understand because we talk about this stuff all the time. They’re all well versed in current events, political & military information and conversation as well as the economy and preparedness & survival, so they get the whole thing. But I’ve heard from some preparedness and survival people who aren’t telling their kids anything so as to not upset them. They’re not even telling their spouses or significant others. I would think that preps in the house would be kind of obvious unless these people are just educating themselves but not actually doing anything.

If your family doesn’t understand now then they’re just going to be scared later. Training and learning is important but having the supplies and doing is the MOST important.

Right now people are losing their jobs and they have nothing to fall back on, not even a weeks worth of food, no savings for rent or mortgage, no oil in the home heating tank, no propane for the cook stove, no wood stored up for the fireplace/woodstove, no kerosene for the heater.

You should be using every available extra dollar for food & savings. I know that I’ve scaled back our holiday dinners this year so as not to waste any food. If you have the freezer space then this is the time to stock up on turkeys. I saw a supermarket ad for 19 cents a pound if you buy $25 worth of groceries. We’ll I buy $25 and a turkey and then $25 and a turkey, etc. You’re only allowed one per trip so I’ll make several trips this week and spread out my shopping. For those who think that it’s a waste of gas or time, in my case I drive past the grocery every night on my way home and I have an hour wait once I get to the ferry line, waiting on the boat so stopping for a few minutes to spend $25 and buy a turkey is no big deal. If you do all your shopping once a week then do it on a Saturday or Sunday, early and make several trips through the self checkout line.

There is a noticable lack of sales & even lower quantities of foods on the shelves this year. Food banks are short on food and donations while seeing an increase in needy families and this will get worse as people have to make the choice to feed their families or keep them in a home.

Your preps, right now, should include going through your home and getting rid of things you don’t need to help being in some cash. We’re such a nation of “things” and we keep way too much. Keep the important stuff but if you have a garage full of items you never use, get rid of them and use the cash to buy useful things or even get rid of stuff to make room for storage.

Go through everyone’s clothes, donate what doesn’t fit and update everyone with new long underwear/long johns, socks, underclothes, coats, hats, gloves, scarves, etc. Buy used for some items. and shop the dollar stores.

Now go through your kitchen and make sure you have pans & utensils that can be used manually for cooking on grills, woodstoves, in fireplaces, etc.

I’m being serious here. If the power goes out from winter storms and you have a fire going in the fireplace or your cooking on a grill, your fancy teflon pans and plastic utensils are worthless.

I go to the Asian markets and buy utensils and such all the time. I got a super nice stainless steel spatula, spoon and slotted spoon for $2 each. Easy to clean and they can be used in everything. My pots are Revere-ware which are stainless with copper bottoms to help spread the heat and I don’t own any teflon pans. All my frying pans and oven ware are cast iron and they’re as non-stick as teflon only easier to clean and safer for you. Just make sure you take care of them but I can cook on my woodstove or put a pan in the fire.

Get manual can openers.

Stock up on oil lanterns and lamp oil.

Get a portable radio that’s battery, solar and hand-crank. I would spend a little more on this and get a good one.

Buy lots of blankets.

And food - start buying canned meats, vegetables & fruit. There are so many varieties of canned meat: tuna, chicken, beef, pork, crab, shrimp, sardines. There’s raviolis, spaghettis, soups that can be eaten right out of the can. Stock up on the sales and buy by the case.

Fruits & Veggies

Flour, sugar, kool-aid, Tang, as we’ve mentioned because has vitamins & calcium and it makes plain water more interesting. I would stay away from storing pop and sugar free stuff. They’re a waste of money and just not good for you except in the case of sugar-free items if you have a medical condition. You may want to consider trying stevia as a sweetener replacement instead of chemicals and it’s something you can grow at your home.

Seeds, plants, grow your own

Medical supplies, glasses as a backup to contacts,

Entertainment - cards, board games, etc.

This is all under your own control.