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Chuck Oholohan

Chuck Oholohan

New Friend
Neighbor
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
2
Location
South Dakota
Amateur Radio Call Sign
Skippe
Hello fellow preppers,

I am new to the forums. A bit about me: I'm a single father (recently divorced) of three beautiful girls. My family means the world to me. Recently, I got what I guess you could call the "prepper bug." With all the unrest around the world, particularly radical Islamic terrorists, I no longer feel comfortable leaving the safety of my family to others. It's time to take matters into my own hands!

I've been reviewing the forums and love the information so far. Like I said, I'm very new to this. I'm wondering does anyone have any experience prepping on a budget? Truth be told, I don't have a lot of extra money to spend on fancy gadgets and what not. We did just have eight years of an Obama economy! What should I focus on? Where should I spend my limited funds? What items can I go without for now?

I currently have a collapsible knife that I bought last week from Menards. I love it, and I feel much safer with it on my person. When I go to bed, I put it on my nightstand. I also have a pair of binoclurs that I used to use for bird watching. They still work well. This week when I went to the grocery store I bought a few extra items than I normally would (some meat, a gallon of water, and some ramen noodles). I don't intend to eat or drink these extra supplies. I figure if I buy a little extra each week I can eventually accumulate a decent stash.

Well, folks, how am I doing? And what should I focus on going forward? Are there particular posts on the forums that I should study? Thanks in advance for all of your help. I'm looking forward to meeting people, learning more about prepping, and forming some lasting relationships.

EDIT: I forgot to mention one thing. A friend of mine, after I told him I wanted to start prepping, recently said that you have to be rich to be a prepper! Is there any truth to that? I'd love to prove him wrong. And I'd hate for my family's safety to be limited because of my tight budget. I'm willing to put the work in!

-Chuck
 
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Glad to have you on board, Chuck. Feel free to have a look around the forums. Many of your questions may have already been answered! Also, LOVE the avatar. I'm a big Trump supporter (can't stand libtard crybabies). There are a lot of good preppers here. I thought I was the most prepared person around but once I joined here I realized that wasn't the case!
 
Thanks, Skeeter! It feels great being a part of this prepping community. I'm still getting acquainted with the forums, so I'll keep digging for gold. I realize I have a ways to go.
 
welcome from Arkansas new folks are always welcome,,,as for having a small budget,,,,,,,,,,,,welcome to the club,,,,
 
howdy from a Texan .... and welcome to the forum and family...there's quite a few knowledgeable folks here that'll gladly tell ya what you need to know,or at least point ya in the right direction and/or give ya a good idea or 2..and by all means jump right on in with any replies you have on a topic.and start new topics if/when needed

you have three beautiful girls.so you might wanna look through the women's section,seeing how their needs are diff then yours.

make sure the food you buy now.is what yall eat now.on account,any change in diet,can wreak havoc on you and the girls..
yall be in south dakota.might start out prepping for things where yall live.hurricanes,winter blizzards(if any)..power outages,etc etc. those things can be of help in other areas if you go about it right,just take your time.and when you pick something up while at the store,be it batteries for a flashlight,or something else.ask yourself,do i need this,and is there multiple use's for it.and do you really need it??
 
Welcome from Alabama. You're in the right place to learn!

I I don't know about anyone else, but this prepper isn't rich.
 
this Finn welcomes you.
nope,you don't need to be rich to prep,it's more of a mindset,you started the way I did,baby steps,little by little.
food,water,shelter,protection and knowledge..
 
You definitely aren't the only one preppin' on a budget, either! I grew up in a family of 6 in a two bedroom house. Can you imagine four kids sharing a bedroom? I know I can. Then I joined the military after high school so know what it's like to eat food that tastes like **** for three years straight. My go-to prepping items are tuna and mackerel, that way if SHTF it can feed me and my two cats.
 
Like I said, I'm very new to this. I'm wondering does anyone have any experience prepping on a budget? Truth be told, I don't have a lot of extra money to spend on fancy gadgets and what not. We did just have eight years of an Obama economy! What should I focus on? Where should I spend my limited funds? What items can I go without for now?
Click to expand...

The trick isn't so much in gear, or even supplies. It is all about sustainability. You want to be able to have a continual source of food and water. That is the basic place to start. Is there a body of water nearby? A well? Do you know how to take bad water and make it drinkable? That is more important than fancy gadgets (though a water purification straw is definitely a good thing to get (around $20).

Same with food. You can build a chicken coop with rather cheap materials. Can even keep them in most cities (and hens aren't that noisy, unlike a rooster). Daily eggs could be a life-saver. Can grow a lot of food just on a patio if you know how. Don't need fields or expensive greenhouses.

KNOWLEDGE is the most important prep. And for the most part, it's free. So that is my main recommendation.

For example, you're a survivor in a small city. Where do you look for water? Do you know to check toilet tanks (not the bowl), hoses, water heaters, ice chests outside of stores, etc.? Knowledge of where and how to find what you need is important.
 
Hello from South Africa.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
Hi from Zimbabwe, I am new here but can relate with prepping on a budget. I'm not sure if you familiar with what happened in Zimbabwe but basically we had a economic collapse brought about by hyperinflation. All I can say is food, food and more food. Everything else can be found after SHTF, with difficulty but it can be found. Fuel maybe would be something else that I'd say if you had a bigger budget but when it gets done to the real bad times you want food in your stomach and not fuel in your generator or vehicle. When it comes to food I recommend the cheap stuff. We have dried beans here that we soak and cook in water. I've lived on that and rice for months at a time when times were tough. Cheap and it keeps well. Stay away from anything that needs to be kept cool. Fuel goes first and with that electricity, your food will be gone. I would say get a few spices and sources because eating the same stuff everyday gets old. A different spice mixes it up nicely. Hope this helps yous, I will maybe write a full post soon about how we managed here.
 
I would definitely start with the basics. As far as food goes, pick up a few extra items as you can afford. With the ramen noodles, store them in a food grade bucket to keep out the little buggies from getting onto them. They will keep for years but make sure you do rotations of all your food supplies. For example, I store my rice in 5 gallon buckets in their original package, when adding a new bag, it always goes to the bottom of the pail and the one on top gets dumped into my canister in the pantry. Do some exploring cause a lot of what you have asked has been discussed before. Good luck but ask questions when you need to
 
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