SCP Survival

Best Survival Gear and Supplies

How To Do Budget-Friendly, Frugal Cooking

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A while ago I began to wonder…. What does it really cost to feed me? 

When we buy in bulk or buy the sales in bulk or try out new long term storage cans it becomes difficult, at least for me, to know what it really costs to feed me for a day or a week.

I decided to keep track of my food intake for a few days and see what it cost.  I was shocked at how expensive it is.  As I have been maintaining a well stocked pantry for many many years I lost track of the cost of “replacement food.” I actually took the 2.99 gallon of milk divided by 16 servings and came up with serving cost, same with bread, eggs etc. I even figured in the coffee per half pot I brew.  I added a minimal few pennies for the garden veggies and fruit.  Growing  your own food has a cost at some level.

I think cooking in bulk and freezing in portion size also added to my blur of the rising cost of food. I know it has risen but I needed a reality check.

I began to research a bit to see if there were meal plans for $3 a day, $4 a day with a healthy diet. There is not much out there for sample menus and what there is is quite a few years old so not applicable for pricing.

What was my cost? $4 the first day. The second day was on the way to around $4 until I ran errands and had Dairy Queen ice cream for lunch and ran up the food costs.  These were low cost meals with what I had in the fridge meals as I was busy and I expect it would be higher cost at other times like when I buy my favorite, salmon.

I found this large recipe file with low cost easy items. Not sure of the year it was put together but each recipe has a total cost and per serving cost.

Also, remember that variety and spice are keys to success in frugal meal planning.

The Best Survivalist Tent For Bug Outs and Camping?

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I’ve been looking for a tent for about 2 years now, but not just any tent.

Yes, I wanted a tent in case of bugging out. Yes I wanted a small, easy to setup, tent for camping.

But I also wanted a tent that could be a play tent for the grandchildren to play in in the hay loft if they decided to camp there, a tent that I could deploy in the livingroom for the grandkids or if the power went out and we needed to cold camp in the house AND I wanted a “sick tent” that I could seal off in case of a pandemic.

Kind of asking a lot, aren’t I?

Well, I think I have found it all in this Bear Grylls Rapid Deploy Tent that I bought from Sportsmans Guide on sale for $71 – priced the same thing at Walmart for $119.

tent bag

So here is the bag for the Bear Grylls Rapid Series 4 Person Easy-Up Tent, its about 36″ long and maybe 20 lbs. – not small. Now as far as I am concerned when it comes to tents, “2 person” means 1 and “4 person” means 2 and that is about right for this tent which has a foot print of about 7’x7′ with the interior height being about 5′ – not big, but not tiny.

tent extras with bag

I was really excited to see if the tent was what I thought it was and immediately went to setting it up. Here is the bag dumped out. What I want you to note is that white flap on the right – the instructions sewn right into the bag. I love it! Three steps to put it up and two steps to take it down and I could read the instructions without my glasses.

It comes with its own ground tarp and has a bathtub floor, so you can feel very comfortable about no insects, scorpions or snakes getting in. It says 60 second setup – “Ya right,” I thought. I laid the tarp out and the tent out and holy cow, yup 60 seconds or less! It is basically set the legs and pull and it snaps up!

tent no rain fly

This is a three season tent, so it is all screen if you desire it without the rain fly to stay cool. With the rain fly it will create that dead air space that is so essential for no weight insulation. AND it has TWO DOORS!

Now why am I thrilled with two doors? Too much time camping in Montana where there are bears that are prone to attacking campers in their tents. Bear Grylls knew what he was doing with two doors – may never need the second one, but so nice to have it! If you have ever thought about getting trapped in a tent with no way out except to cut the tent, I would call this a prepper’s tent.

tent up

What you can’t see, is that this tent is NOT STAKED DOWN. It doesn’t need stakes! Yes, outdoors I would stake it, but if I want to let the grandkids “camp” in the barn loft or livingroom, or I need to deploy it in the house or garage as a “sick tent” I don’t need to stake it. Also, have you ever noticed that when people are evacuated they almost always end up in a school gym or some such with NO PRIVACY? This tent could give you that privacy on a gym floor or the option of not having to stay in that evacuation area.

So what did I buy? A playhouse for the grandkids and a nice little easy-up tent for the old folks if they want to go camping (more likely to end up on the back of the Harley for Bob’s expeditions), a bug out tent, an immediate small tarped area in the house to keep warm if needed in the winter and a sick room if ever needed (And I pray we never do!) all for $71.

Hard to beat the versatility of this tent in my book!

10 Ridiculously Simple Ways to Save Money Everyday and Secure Your Financial Future

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You’ve heard it over and over. Stop splurging on clothes at the mall, stop eating out, and start sticking to your budget. But actually, this is all great advice and something you need to pay attention to if you want to become financially sound in the future. Studies show that when it comes to sticking to a budget, most people simply don’t do it or even consider it a top priority.

On the other hand, there are some people who take saving money and budgeting very seriously. Although they probably don’t go out as much, they get to travel to exotic destinations each year due to conscientiously saving their dollars.

But, before you quit frivolously spending money cold turkey, keep in mind that it’s typically the little things you’re throwing money away on that are adding up the most.

Here are 10 super easy tips on how to save your money little by little over time that will make a huge impact on your overall budget.



1. Prepare Your Own Lunch

How long does it take for you to fix your own lunch? By simply getting up a little early to make your lunch or cooking just a little extra the night before and using food storage containers to freeze extra for the week, it will save you an incredible amount of money over the course of just 7 days. Go ahead and do the math and you’ll be amazed. People who know how to save money generally prepare their own food.



2. Take Advantage of Sales

At some point, most items go on sale at both grocery and non-grocery stores. Try going shopping when a store is having a sale or try to only buy a certain item when it’s on sale. Also, stockpile a few canned goods here and there so you’ll always have a full cupboard. There are many ways to track store sales and coupons at your favorite locations both online and offline. This is also a good way to build up storage for items on your survival food list.



3. Ditch the Plastic

When it comes to day-to-day spending, only use cash. Although it may take a little more time to plan how you’ll spend money throughout the week, make it a habit to withdraw a certain amount at the beginning of the week and spend it wisely. Research shows that people in general spend 30 percent less overall when paying with cash.



4. Embrace All Things DIY

If possible, try shoveling the snow, mowing the lawn, or cleaning the pool yourself instead of paying someone to do it for you. In fact, consider getting the entire family involved to do outdoor chores and use the extra cash for a family fun night.



5. Make Your Cleaning Products Instead of Buying Them

Cleaning products can get expensive. It shouldn’t cost a fortune to do laundry. By making your own laundry detergent in addition to other all-purpose type cleaners, you can save a significant amount of money over time as well as keep your home spic-and-span clean.



6. Stop Using $5 Dollar Bills

Make your own rule to stop spending a certain denomination of currency. A good choice is $5 since it’s a relatively low number, but will add up to a substantial amount of savings rather quickly. Whenever you come across a $5 dollar bill, toss it in a designated drawer or jar and watch your savings grow exponentially.



7. Eat Out Less

All those dinners you eat out are literally costing you a small fortune. Make it a point to eat out only once, maybe twice a week at most. Once you realize how much money you’re saving, you’ll be less likely to want to eat out at all or only on a special occasion.



8. Budget Your Children

If your kids get an allowance, consider putting them on a budget. Rather than rewarding them for getting good grades or doing chores with money, allow them extra Internet or TV time instead.

 Write it Down

Want to really see where your money’s going? Write everything down that you spend no matter how trivial. Don’t cheat. At the end of the month, look back at your list. Make a list of your largest expenses like, mortgage payment, insurance, personal loans, groceries, etc., and go from there. Hopefully it will get to improve how you spend money.



10. The $100 Challenge

Begin saving all your bills, and once you reach $100, take them to the bank in exchange for a crisp $100 bill. Next, tuck it away deep in your wallet or purse. Why? Just knowing it’s there, it’s likely you won’t want to spend it but rather hang on to it. Besides, most stores won’t accept a $100 bill for lunch or coffee anyways.

Try some of these easy tips and see how much you save at the end of the month. People who are smart about money set aside a minimum of 10 percent before they even spend one dime of their check/salary. This way, they’re always stashing away and protecting their financial future.

Want a Bonus?

This is the toughest one of them all, but if you are a current smoker, quitting smoking can save you big time (in fact, one of our writers saved $4,000 a year by quitting smoking!)

Low-Rent Indoor Hydroponics

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Growing Indoors with Hydroponics
This particular tank has been going for about 5 months (and recently cut back for a batch of pesto)

A lot of gardeners have told me that they’d like to try indoor hydroponics, but don’t have the hundreds or thousands of dollars required for they initial setup. If you’d just like to ‘get your feet wet’ (pun intended) you can probably get started with less than a $20 investment (especially if you have abandoned aquarium equipment laying around)

Hydroponics Parts List:

  • a cheap aquarium air pump and tubing (I had this in a closet, collecting dust)
  • a large-ish airstone – mine was $2.95 at a chain pet store
  • a container ( I was given a 1.5 gallon hex aquarium as a gift, years ago – too small for fish)
  • A plastic net bag – the kind onions and potatoes are sold in at grocery stores
  • A pack of plastic “wiffle” plastic practice golfballs from a megamart (think mine were $2.18)
  • some polyethylene cord (Dollar Store special)
  • (optional) some lava rock (the kind sold for gas grills – very light weight – about $3 a big bag as I remember)
  • fertilizer (organic compost tea would be great)
  • plants (start out w/herbs or lettuce or spinach, not tomatoes, cool as that may sound)
  • water
  • Duck tape

If you don’t have access to an old aquarium tank, don’t worry.  A small plastic bucket or small office-type trashcan will probably work even better.  I like to check the air flow, but the less light that hits the fertilized water, the fewer problems you will have with unwanted algae in the water. Pick a container that you can easily stick your onion bag inside. Pick something about 9-10 inch diameter and around a foot tall.

If you so choose, thread some of the poly cord through the net bag as reinforcement. This is mostly a hangover from earlier attempts to use pea gravel as a growing medium, but backup never hurts.

Place your airstone into empty tank, finagle and tape down the air tubing to keep it ‘right-side up’ (this can bite you later if you don’t)

Place your onion bag into tank, with a couple inches overlap on the outside of the tank. Tape around it to hold the bag in place (Note: I removed outer tape wrap layer so pic would be more self-explanatory). Leave an inch or 2 free space above the airstone to let bubbles spread.

Set the tank someplace warm with good light. (I use a shelf with a clamp-lamp and a daylight CFL bulb) Pour in your bag of wiffle golf balls – this is your growing medium. Very light weight, full of holes to allow air flow. Plug in the air pump, fill “most of the way” with water and your choice of fertilizer.

Let it run without plants a day or 2, just to drive off and chlorine, etc. as needed, where you are. If you can’t find wiffle practice golfballs, check your closest Dollar Store for the funny-looking hard pink plastic hair curlers. I used these once in a koi-pond as biofilter-medium instead of $30/lb “BioBalls” and they ought to work here too. All they do is support the roots and stems.

Being lazy, as I said, I plant sweet basil, because I can get it pre-started in hydroponic medium from a local organic hydroponic farm at my favorite supermarket. (rich yuppies DO have their uses..) To use other plants, start with a “2-inch pot size” plant, with good root systems, and gently wash off ALL the soil from the roots. PLEASE do this outside, not in your kitchen sink, or I promise, you will regret it while snaking and plunging the drainpipes. Shove the roots down inside the golfballs by hand.  If the plant tends to be too floppy or too ‘floaty” just stick in a lava rock or 2 to brace up the structure.

Operating instructions:

  • Keep the airpump running all the time – you dont want the roots to ‘drown’.
  • Don’t worry as water evaporates- let it get down to about 50% full before refilling with water – free air for the roots.
  • Don’t over-fertilize- if you start seeing green algae, use a LOT less for the next month.
  • If you use artificial light, make sure your plants get 6-8 hours a day of dark time, or they will turn yellow.
  • Trim the leaves and make pesto, if you grow basil – it grows like a ‘bat outta..”

p.s. if you haven’t heard of it, you should check out “aquaponics“, which incorporates fish into a hydroponic system.

How To Store Flour Long Term (4 quick tips)

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Flour is a food “staple”, and has been since the beginning of time. It makes an appearance on virtually every survival food list in existence.

Even so, very few people know these interesting and helpful kitchen tips on storing flour:

Flour Storage Tip #1: Use Potatoes To Reverse or “Save” Flour Going Rancid

You go to use your pre-ground flour and discover it has a slight “off” smell, or you tried it and it made your baked product taste “funny”. What do this mean? It usually means the flour has gone rancid, which grain does fairly quickly once it’s ground.

Can you save it?

Well, according to this tip, peel a raw potato and cut it in half; place the potato halves in the flour and keep it in the refrigerator or a cool pantry or basement overnight. Next morning, compost the potato halves and use the flour. I have not tried this, so, I’ll be anxious to know whether it works, but, picked it up from an LDS prep site, so, it probably does!

Flour Storage Tip #2: Use Bay Leaves To Keep Bugs Away

Tuck a dried bay leaf into flour before storing away and it will keep “critters” out (this is a time-tested method of keeping pre-ground flour bug-free).

Flour Storage Tip #3: Store at a Temperature of 75 Degrees or Less

Did you know that canned flour (#10 cans for long-term storage) may or may not last as long as you are told? If kept in a cool, dark place below 75 deg. F, it can last up to 10 years, as I understand it – we’re talking about pre-ground flour here – unground grain, properly stored, can last up to 30 years.

For every 10 degrees above 75 deg. F, however, the pre-ground, canned  flour loses strength and begins to deteriorate much more rapidly. You can easily cut shelf-life in half by storing your flour over 75 deg. F; even a short period of time over this temp will reduce shelf life.

Flour Storage Tip #4: Keep Your Flour in Mylar Bags (not paper sacks from the store)

Pre-ground flour in paper bags such as you buy off shelf should IMMEDIATELY be placed in mylar bags with OA’s (Oxygen Absorbers) and properly marked, then rotated in use according to expiration date, of course. They STILL need to be stored in a cool, dark place for longest life, even packed in mylars with OAs. Pre-ground flour can also be stored in freezers, which add about six (6) months to storage life.