You can afford more survival perparations

Let's say you have little money but you anticipate a modest tax return, maybe $500, and you want to know how to spend it for survival purposes. Some will recommended a bulk food buy, others a small solar charger system, and several will insist that a gun and ammunition are the only logical choice assuming you have none of these items already.

I tend to agree with the gun advocates because you'll have a rare chunk of money that could be spent on a relatively big-ticket item. Many of your other needs can be filled with smaller purchases and we'll work on making money available for them.

Before you buy a gun check local ammunition availability. There has been a serious ammo shortage for months now and it does you no good to buy "the best gun for defense" if you can't get ammo for it. Once you select the gun you want, get as much ammo as you can afford right away so you know you've got it. Find someone who can help you learn to use your gun if you've never had one before. Firearms training courses are highly recommended.

Next is water and food storage. The water won't be difficult or costly but don't risk putting it off. For an entry-level goal, figure out what you would eat and drink in two months vs. what you have on hand, then work at making up the difference.

You may think your budget is too tight to do much but let's see if we can shake loose $20 or $50 a week. There are many ways of saving money if you put your mind to it:

Combine trips. Shop on the way home from work.

Question the necessity of every item you put in the shopping cart.

Look for store brands and other bargains.

No more Saturday/Sunday shopping trips.
The less time you have to spend money the better.

Eat a low-budget breakfast. Oatmeal is really cheap and healthy.

Make your own coffee for the day. Instant works.
(Or go off of coffee. It's a drug dependency.)

Plan dinner. Thaw, soak, pre-boil, throw in crock pot, etc. in the morning.
(No excuse for takeout or eating out later.)

Don't buy anything but gas at the gas station. Nothing!

Skip your mid-morning snack or eat an apple you brought from home.

Eat a simple lunch you made at home. No chips, no desserts.

Skip your mid-afternoon snack.

Cancel your magazine subscriptions and your cable TV.
(Get a part-time/volunteer evening job if your life seems suddenly empty.)

Lower you phone bill. Call when it's free. Don't call when it's not.

There are many things in your life I have no clue about so you need to do a faithful budget and look at each dollar you spend during a typical week or month. Do you wear clothes only once before washing? Do you take showers whether you need them or not? Do you do dry-cleaning more than twice a year? Do you have a bowling night, card night, give money to bums, kids, grand kids, did I say bums? Do you put money in the collection plate because your pastor said God demands it of you?

Do you spend money on a hobby? Is your hobby emergency preparedness? How about switching hobbies.

What do you NOT need to buy for your car? Don't buy it then. And don't wash it so often. Do you own your house? Do you hire people to do maintenance that you could do yourself? Do you spend gobs on your lawn? Look ahead to when the utilities quit working and the trash man hasn't come for three months. Is your great-looking lawn really so important to maintain? Let the lawn suffer now so you don't have to later.

Bottom line, set new priorities. Set a one-month savings goal and see if you can beat it.

Or maybe this survival thing isn't for you. I know, tough choice...