First things, first. I’m no financial advisor. I have no money management education or certifications. What I do have is my own personal opinions and experiences that have worked very well for me. If you decide to use any of my advice and it doesn’t work out for you…. I’m not responsible.
Prepping takes money…… later. At some point every prepper will hit a point when they have to start buying stuff. Tools, gear, materials, land, etc. will all come into the mix. However, spending money should NOT be the first thing you do. In fact, there is quite a bit that needs to be done BEFORE you spend any money. The only thing I would suggest you buy at the start is a pen/pencil and a notebook/pad of paper. You’re going to need to make lots of lists and jot down ideas. I make to-do lists to keep track of things I need to tend to. I make shopping lists so that I don’t go into a store and end up buying a bunch of stuff that I don’t need. I jot down ideas that I have of things to work on so that I don’t forget about them later. I also make and revise budgets based on changes in income or expenses. Budgeting is EXTREMELY important.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t have piles of extra cash lying around that you can spend frivolously. Every dollar counts. Put your money to good use. If you are running out and running up credit cards to buy stuff you can’t afford, you are screwing up. If you are drowning in debt you are in a terrible spot. It is a spot you can get out of, but, it’s not a good spot to be in. It doesn’t matter if you have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gear and food if a creditor can foreclose on your home and send you packing with just the clothes on your back. There are numerous books available that can help you understand how your money works and how to manage your money. I’ve read some of Dave Ramsey’s books and can say that he has a very straight forward approach to money that is also very logical and simple. His method also works. It takes time, but it works. Total Money Makeover (by Dave Ramsey) is worth the read. Be forewarned, managing your money takes discipline. It takes work. It takes sacrifice. But it is SO worth it.
I suggest that you start off by figuring out exactly how much money you make each week or month. Make note of every expense you currently have. Then, take note of just how many of those expenses are needless. Starbucks coffee is definitely needless. Buying that new model phone is needless as well. Cut out the needless stuff immediately. You will be so surprised by how much money you can free up. Then make note of the truly necessary expenses and see just how much it costs each month just to live. (Factor into your budget a little bit of money to go toward buying a few extra groceries each time you go shopping and you can start building up your food supply a little at a time. This really can be just $20-30 dollars a month.) If you’re spending more than you are making, you’re in trouble. Once you’ve determined how much money you can free up, start shifting that money into a savings account. This account is to be left untouched unless there is a loss of income. I have been laid off twice in my life, once about fifteen years ago and again about four years ago. It happens. The first time I was laid off, I was fortunate enough to have another job the following week. The more recent experience was quite different. I was without regular work for several months. The work I could find was not adequate, although it did help. The savings account was what made all the difference. In the past couple of years I have seen people that have been laid off and had to endure anywhere from a couple of months to more than a year of not having a job. I would hate to be one of those people and can certainly sympathize with them. I personally think that a minimum of six months of expenses, including food for your household and fuel for your vehicle, is a good goal. This buys some security that can take LOTS of pressure off while you sort out life and go on the job hunt. It takes time to reach this goal. Do what you can, as you can, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you can reach it. This money is not a rainy-day fund. Nor is it to be put toward buying a new house or truck. This savings is to be left untouched unless there is a major loss of income. It is your safety net. (As a side note: While you are working through the first stages of your financial prepping, go through all the stuff you own and determine what is truly necessary and useful. If there is anything you can get rid of, get rid of it. Try to sell it first to see if you can get any money back. That money can be put toward your savings and help you reach your goal that much faster.)
Once the savings account is in order and all the extraneous money has been worked out of your expenses, start dumping money toward debt. Start with the smallest debt account you have and attack it. Put all the extra income you can toward paying that debt off. Once that one has been knocked out, turn to the next smallest and do the same thing. And on, and on, and on until you have demolished your debt. I hate debt. I hate knowing that someone else has the power at any moment to call in that debt and leave me reeling. I hate feeling like I don’t have the power to do something I want to do because I am financially beholden to someone else. A few years ago, I was able to reach a point of being completely debt free. I can tell you without a doubt that it is a truly great feeling. Due to a few life events, I am no longer in that debt-free state but am working diligently toward it and will be there within a year, maybe less. Attacking debt can be a long and drawn-out task. The more debt you have, the longer it will take. One suggestion that could make it seem not so arduous is to set milestones for yourself with some form of a “treat” along the way. Maybe for each debt account you close, you allow yourself to buy a piece of prepping gear; i.e. that multi-tool you’ve been wanting, a bag for the Get Home Bag (GHB) you’ll be setting up soon, etc. Once you’ve gotten out of debt you can really start working to some bigger purchases and filling out the weaker areas of your preparedness situation.
Just because you’re not buying anything, doesn’t mean you’re not prepping. There are numerous ways you can put this non-spending stage of preparedness to use. Knowledge and skills trump gear. There are plenty of books to read. There are plenty of skills to start practicing. By the time you get to the money spending stage, you might actually find that you don’t need to spend nearly as much because you have developed the skills to be able to do so much more with so much less.
Be disciplined. Stay focused. Get Prepped.
Good advice.
LikeLike