No money/ no space bare bones prepping supplies

Thread: Practical Prepping Protocol even if Poor

A solid bug out bag

A ghilly suit

A rifle and side arm.

Keep it light.

If you got a car, i'd use my trunk for storing some canned food and water, but nothing valueable.

Good water filter for one. A Berkey can filter street or creek water with giardia, etc. A regular one is about $300 but you can get the portable one for about $35.

Id grab several life straws instead.

20$ and good for thousand of ltrs.

Bug out bag should contain all the basics.

A few life straws, good blade, ammunition, med kit, 3 ways to start fire, fishing gear, etc.

Save up for an AR-10 with 1000 Rds. minimum. Then you can get whatever you like ...

I would start with water...it's the most important thing!

Maybe 2 or 3 blue plastic aquafina containers and fill with tap water.

If you live in an apartment and have only a couple hundred dollars, you might as well buy whiskey. Since you are in an apartment, you are likely in a high population area and will not survive anyway.

If you are really serious about living through SHTF, have a giant yard sale and sell everything you own. Drive to a politically conservative rural area, or take a Greyhound if you have no car. Rent a small house. Buy 50 lbs of rice and your preferred protein. Meet your neighbors and be nice. Get a job and wait for SHTF. You will have a much better chance in the country.

Get out of the cities.

How about the unused space high up in a closet?

Tie a duffle bag to a pole or a 2X4...fill it with preps & stand it up in a closet, so it's out of the way.

I WAS poor. Was living with my disabled sister in a tiny apartment when Hurricane Rita caused Houston to evacuate. I packed up what I could and put plastic over everything else in case the roof leaked in the apartment.

I filled my Honda Civic up to the roof.

We left with millions of others in the worst traffic jam you can imagine. Most people used up their gas tanks just crawling along.

I stopped by the side of the road and waited for the horde to run out of gas. Then, I kept the Civic at 45 MPH so it got over 50 MPG until I reached San Antonio.

Every gas station and restaurant along the evac route was emptied out by the horde.

When I had more more money later, I bought a roof rack and gas cans so that I could run farther in case of another emergency.

Lesson learned from Hurricane Rita: You should only evacuate to the WEST or Southwest, away from the "dirty" side of the storm. High winds, flooding, etc. mostly hit the South, East, and North sides of hurricanes.

Also, I should have moved about 50 miles and WAITED to see where the storm would go. As it turned out, I could have returned to the apartment after only 36 hours or so. Rita hit farther East.

Now of course, I live on my farm and will only bug out for something really extreme like a giant asteroid impact in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cheap bug out ideas? A cheap tent so that you can camp just about anywhere you land. If there is water nearby, you could bug out in a canoe, kayak, or rubber boat.

When I visited Alaska, there was a guy with a motor from a weed eater in a kayak. He had put a prop on the shaft. Told me he got over 100 miles on a gallon of gas. Once you hit the ocean, you can go almost anywhere.

Or you can buy and live in a motorhome. It's cheap and your house bugs out with you.

I once bought an old motorhome at an estate sale for $1400 cash. Drove it thousands of miles before it died.

You can make space. Get rid of your bed frame and lay your boxspring and mattress on top of cases of canned goods.

I appreciate that you have a goal of prepping but you'd be a lot better off prepping to get out of a freaking apartment.

Do you have a vehicle? You can store many non-edible things in your trunk.

How did you get around all the vehicles that ran out of gas? They were all nice enough to pull over? Anyway, glad you survived and learned a thing or two.

Or you can buy and live in a motorhome. It's cheap and your house bugs out with you.

I once bought an old motorhome at an estate sale for $1400 cash. Drove it thousands of miles before it died.


How did you get around all the vehicles that ran out of gas? They were all nice enough to pull over? Anyway, glad you survived and learned a thing or two.


Yes, the road was clear. Most ran out of gas sitting in traffic, but pulled over.

People were polite and helpful. For example, I parked in front of a total stranger's house. They invited us in to use the bathroom.

I parked in front of a church. They invited us in to stay. However, I did not because I would have to leave my beloved rifle in the car.

I was appalled by most of the poor people. They did not bring disposable diapers for babies or even a bottle of water. They assumed they could buy or would be given what they needed. I watched teenagers throwing trash on the ground when a trash can was two feet away while a gas station employee patiently picked it up.

We in the middle class simply don't meet the worst of society very often.

Go to grain and feed farm storm. Spend ~$14 for a 40# bag of rolled oats. MUST COOK to eat but it's the same rolled oats in the grocery store tiny paper tubes, only it's not toasted. Humans cannot extract much nutrition from raw oats. You're not a horse.

The real important things, you probably already have.

A knife.
A fire starter (matches/lighter).
A metal pot to boil water.
Rope.

ramen noodles $1.50 for a case of 12

they are horrible but it would help you survive

For short term-
Water-14 gallons for ONE PRRSON for 14 days
$20.00 Sawyer water filter .(don’t Let it freeze after
you have run water through it)
2-5 lb. sacks of flour
2-5 lb. sacks of cornmeal if you like cornbread
1 lb. salt
2 cans baking powder
20 lb. pinto or other legumes ( beans)
20 lb WHITE rice
2- bottles of canola ( cheapest good oil, or coconut, olive) 48 oz. each
3-5 lb. sugar
Foil/plastic sealed powdered milk
Coffee or Cool- Aid or whatever
Some cans of vegatables &
Meats you will eat and rotate to keep fresh

After Short term is taken care of-
I am not a Mormon but check out their minimum
Storage requirements to a year
400 lbs of grains, whole wheat , whole corn, WHITE RICE
60-90 lbs. beans
Etc. You will need a $70.00-$150.00 grinder to make flour,
but you can boil whole wheat & Sprout Whole Wheat !
WHOLE WHEAT, WHOLE CORN ( animal feed) -VERY CHEAP !
DON’t PURCHASE SEED COATED WITH CHEMICALS
FOR PLANTING-It would KILL YOU TO EAT IT!

Purchase to $1.00 each food grade used white
5 gallon
Buckets & lids from donut shops-clean them
With soap hot water & Comet.
Begin buying cheap Whole grains& out in buckets
Best with Mylar bags sealed with a hot iron with
Oxygen absorbers BUT WL KEAST A CLEAN BUCKET
KEPT COOL FOR LONGEST STORAGE.