An important part of prepping is wise budgeting. After all, our homes and families will never be secure if we ourselves are not financially secure. For a prepper, keeping a careful eye on your finances should be of the utmost importance.
Drawing Up a Budgeting Plan
A money management plan can be as simple or complicated as you like, but should always include details of both your income and outgoings. Many people like to use an Excel spreadsheet to manage their finances, but others find it simpler, and easier, to use a ledger.
Whichever option you choose, make sure to include all the relevant details which will help you to manage your budgeting checklist. This might mean looking weeks, months or even years into the future, to get a comprehensive overview of how much you have coming in and going out.
The Budgeting Checklist
Budgeting as a prepper will never be the same as budgeting for a non-prepper. Preppers have so much more to think about, in terms of obtaining and storing supplies which can be used in a disaster scenario. Creating a manageable budget will help you to allocate your prepping finances wisely, and may reduce the cost of your prepping.
- Take stock of your household expenses, including all utilities. Discover ways in which these can be reduced. Don’t forget that sometimes you have to spend money to save money. This might mean investing in solar panels to reduce your energy costs. Solar panels will also be of enormous benefit after TSHTF!
- Vehicle costs, including fuel and repairs, can be high, but you can reduce this cost by learning about auto mechanics. This is another great skill to have in an emergency situation.
- Food costs can be lowered by buying in bulk. Instead of purchasing supplies as and when you can afford to, put some money aside each month and make one big purchase every quarter. You can also save money by growing your own food, and knowing how to live off the land is an invaluable skill for preppers.
- Reduce the cost of clothing by shopping around. If you’re after survival gear, places like the Regatta Outlet sell some amazingly low cost clothing which is designed to withstand extreme weather conditions.
- Reduce your debt (food storage can be a great tool to help you do this) (food storage can be a great tool to help you do this). This may not sound like it’s terribly important – after all, money won’t be a factor after TSHTF – however there are plenty of things which can go wrong for a prepper in debt. If you don’t pay what you owe you may be in danger of losing your home, and all of your hard work will have been in vain.