Advice on how to prepare when barely skirtting by as it is?

[yenni]

I believe wholeheartedly in food storage and other preparedness essentials. However my mother and I are barely getting by as it is. I wish to listen to the prophets and do what they say. I'm interested in what tips you all can offer for those who can't really afford to do food storage and such to the full extent.

[Elgama]

honestly get a box, and pray asking Heavenly Father to help you fill it and just add say a tin or packet of beans one week, a tin of skimmed milk the next, it soon adds up and you will be blessed for doing what you can. Aim to fill up one small box over the next year, if you have any food left over at end of week look at what you can freeze. it may not be a years worth of storage but you will be being obedient to the prophets and I firmly believe that is enough to bring blessings and protection, even if you don't have a full years worth

-Charley

[applepansy]

I agree with Elgama. Just making the effort will bring blessings.

applepansy

[Misshalfway]

I agree too. Isn't it like the widows mite? We give what we can give to obey the commandment. We pray that God will empower us to achieve what He asks of us and we wait in faith for Him to open the way.

Do you best and leave the rest to God. He holds us in his hands anyway. He will order and provide as you obey in faith.

[Elgama]

I know more than anything of these blessings my 3 months storage lasted me 12 months when I needed it. I remember during a time I had very little money to spend on food each week, the Lord would bless me if I fed the missionaries once or twice a week (during a time noone else was), the weeks I felt I couldn't my lettuce gave me 4 bags of salad and we struggled through the week, the weeks I did it I would get 7 bags of salad out of the same size lettuce (with the extra big bags for the days we had the missionaries) The Lord will find what you need out of what you got - think of the lady that fed Elijah, she went from starving to fed, or the feeding of the 5 thousand.

I know when I pay my tithing, feed the missionaries and store my food to best of my ability my meagre amount becomes abundant

-Charley

[NeuroTypical]

Keeping your grocery budget the same, and just putting a few cans of food in a box every week, is not only a great way to start, it also helps with a diet.

[Misshalfway]

I think maybe tucking a little cash away each week or month. even just 10 dollars. It might also help to have back up plans. Plans don't take money. You know...what will I do if...sorts of plans. You might keep your hand me down clothes and trade them, if things got bad. Or you could trade services if you needed supplies. I don't know......Just trying to think creatively. I find myself trying to do that just in case my husband loses his job. We are trying to get prepared, but we have a bit to go to get there. I have been working over the last year to get my 72 hour kits and my food storage. I takes a while, but our ward started helping us with monthly attainable goals and we all are working together to slowly meet the goals. I think it helps when each month has a really simple thing you can do.

[Madriglace]

I lived on my 3 months of food storage for nearly a year while I was out of work .. I also paid tithing on what litle I got and never ever went without when I needed it. I am back at work now and doing great and I still look back and can't help but be so very grateful to a loving Father.

As the others have said put away a can at a time .. nothing big but something. I hate Mac n" Cheese but when it is on sale for 19 cents a box I get a couple. lso sometjing I do is when you buy something put your change in a jug ... you will be amazed how fast it grows. As much as preparedness is for our good it is also about obedience. If we obey and do our very best we will be blessed beyond anything we can imagine.

[yenni]

I know more than anything of these blessings my 3 months storage lasted me 12 months when I needed it. I remember during a time I had very little money to spend on food each week, the Lord would bless me if I fed the missionaries once or twice a week (during a time noone else was), the weeks I felt I couldn't my lettuce gave me 4 bags of salad and we struggled through the week, the weeks I did it I would get 7 bags of salad out of the same size lettuce (with the extra big bags for the days we had the missionaries) The Lord will find what you need out of what you got - think of the lady that fed Elijah, she went from starving to fed, or the feeding of the 5 thousand.

I know when I pay my tithing, feed the missionaries and store my food to best of my ability my meagre amount becomes abundant

-Charley

Your 3 months lasting 12 reminds me when God blessed me with an ever-lasting gas tank during the summer when prices where sky high. For me there was no other explanation than He blessed my gas tank for a good three weeks!

[gabelpa]

The blessings from faith are sure (I'm Elgama's hubby and I remember those bags of lettuce). Also, there is one thing that you can store up, use, and it never run out. Knowledge.

Learn what new things you can do with inexpensive foodstufs, learn how to make things from scratch. Heck, learn to make the things you use to make things from scratch (Learn to make flour, butter, yoghurt, etc).

[LDSVALLEY]

You can do food storage for zero or little extra cost. When you are living close to the edge financially is when you need it the most. If you do a little at a time you will reach what our family calls critical mass food storage, the point when you only buy 80% of your food when it is on sale, this increases the spending power of our food budget by 20% per month on average.

Like all things it requires some organization. Sit down and work out a meal plan, it takes only an hour or two at the most, have as wide a variety as possible. That way you know what foods you need. I suggest you make it for an odd number of days, not a week or two weeks or month but 15 days, or 17 or 9 etc. So you don't have the every Monday is fish day etc.

Here is how it is free or close too. Let us say you really like soup for lunch because it is fast. So you eat 7 cans of soup per week. (it could be 7 per month, 5 etc. doesn't matter) Anyway let us say soup is normally $1.20 per can so when you buy 7 per week you spend $8.60. The store has a 50% off sale, most people buy either 14 cans and wait two weeks to buy more or buy the normal weeks worth and save the $4.30. With food storage in mind you buy the 14 for the same price you normally spend for 7.

Take the extra seven cans and put them in food storage. Next week buy your normal seven and switch them for the ones from last week. Do this every time there is a sale on soup and you will slowly build a food storage on that item and it costs nothing extra. As you do this for most of the longer lasting items on your meal lists you can buy mostly on sale only items and put the savings into buying more sale items for your food storage.

When we moved a few years ago I spent 4 years renovating our new home and let the storage drain to save space while rebuilding rooms. We started struggling with our food budget, it took me six months to figure out we had let our storage drop below the critical mass level. It has taken our family of 5 two years to get back to that level but now we have slid over to that critical mass side again and things are easing up.

Another way is with Air miles etc, many places offer free points for whatever we buy. You can use them to buy food items or save money in other areas and use it to buy food storage. My Mother is not a member and does not do food storage but every year she grows tomatoes, carrots and beans on her balcony. You don't need much space to grow some things, they can be canned or frozen.

Every one looks for the BIG things. The reality is the church teaches doing the little things bit by bit over time. There are dozens of little things you can do that over time will create food storage for little cost and in the long run increase the amount of money you have to put where you need it.

[LDSVALLEY]

Sorry for a second one but this too is important.

Fourteen years ago my wife announced we were expecting our first child. Her unemployment had run out that month and I was down to part time. Looking at our debt which was not high and a child coming I gave up and put us into bankruptcy to give us a fresh start.

Seven years later, and five years after joining the church, we had three children and my wife was a stay at home Mom. I lost my job, my Father was evicted from his apartment for drinking issues and soon after we had an offer to move into a house in the country. I had felt impressed for the last two years to follow the church instruction on storage and debt. We were not at a years food storage but had made much progress and over the two years I had rounded bill payments up to the nearest dollar or ten dollar when I had extra.

We were able to spend two months fighting the system and keeping my Dad in care until we had him tested for Alcoholic induced dementia and put under government care. I was able to take a temp job in the financial industry which had interested me and we took the house offer and moved. Over those 6 months, because we had followed the church as best we could before that time, we had no problem making ends meet. I got to go on a couple of school field trips, help my Dad, try new fields of work and spend time looking for work I'd like to do instead of finding the first job I could.

It might seem hard to do at first but if you follow the guidelines of the church it works. Just go slow and steady.

[yenni]

Thanks all for the great tips so far! One thing my RS did was give everyone a quart sized mason jar for our spare change. Somehow, physically seeing my savings helps me to save more.

[lestertheemt]

We have a lrg. plastic bottle that we had put spare change into. A year ago we were going on a trip and asked dh if we should use that to help w/ gas (gas prices where through the roof) he agreed but honestly thought that there might be $50. Needless to say he was amazed when we walked out w/ over $200!

Every lit bit helps! Buying an extra can of soup or tuna doesn't seem much, but over the monthes it truly startes to add up.

[hope0711]

I love this link! Food storage has saved our bacon when we didn't have any bacon!!! You already know this, but here is a reminder. Going out to eat (even fast food) adds up in a big hurry. If it costs 3.00 on the dollar menu for a meal, try going thru the ads and seeing what you can buy for 3.00 instead. We tried this for FHEand it was fun seeing what our kids came up with. It does take planning to eat at home instead of eating out. My 3.00 thrill with coupons last week was 4 boxes of cereal and 2 doz eggs. Now if I could do this on a regular basis.....

[ninjormon]

For starters remember a year supply is what you can survive on, not what you would regularly eat, kinda like a diet. Rice, beans, and milk will keep you full and strong for cheap. If your barely getting by then you should be able to qualify for government assistance. My wife and I built up our storage while on food stamps. We bought out the shelf of rice and beans and pretty much lived on that for a month but learned to like it.

[amightyfortress]

I know more than anything of these blessings my 3 months storage lasted me 12 months when I needed it. I remember during a time I had very little money to spend on food each week, the Lord would bless me if I fed the missionaries once or twice a week (during a time noone else was), the weeks I felt I couldn't my lettuce gave me 4 bags of salad and we struggled through the week, the weeks I did it I would get 7 bags of salad out of the same size lettuce (with the extra big bags for the days we had the missionaries) The Lord will find what you need out of what you got - think of the lady that fed Elijah, she went from starving to fed, or the feeding of the 5 thousand.

I know when I pay my tithing, feed the missionaries and store my food to best of my ability my meagre amount becomes abundant

-Charley

A bit off topic, but just wondering... can I invite missionaries to my home for a meal if I'm not LDS? I know finances are a bit tight for them and they have to get by alot on the kindness of others. I've learned so much from the LDS websites and although I haven't converted, I'd like to pay it back and think it would be fun to make a nice meal for some of the missionaries from time to time and hear about what they are working on.

[LDSVALLEY]

Our Missionaries, we have 2 sets, have a standing meal appointment every Wednesday with a non member family. They often have meal appointments with non members. So yes they welcome food and companionship from non members. It is very kind of you to be so willing, thank you.

[PreparednessPro]

I posted a blog on this subject. Hope this helps.

How to Prepare for an Emergency on a Tight Budget?

Another message and another recipe.

This time I’m going to start with the recipe. It’s called Chicken a la Queen, and it’s great whether you find yourself in an emergency survival situation and living off of your food storage or not.

Chicken a la Queen

2 5-ounce cans of boneless chicken or turkey meat

2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni

½ cup of minced onion

1/3 cup cooking oil

2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce

1 ¼ cups of water

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese. (Of COURSE I use more than that. You can also substitute Velvetta cheese if necessary.

Dice the meat if it is in large chunks. Set aside chicken in natural juices from the cans. Be sure the oil is hot before you sauté UNCOOKED macaroni and onion in large skillet, stirring frequently, until macaroni turns slightly yellow. Add tomato sauce, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Mix in chicken and juices; simmer 5 minutes more. Sprinkle the top with cheese.

For those of you who I’ve heard from constantly that claim you aren’t able to afford to be prepared, this one is for you.

First of all, I’ve discovered Pinching Your Pennies Home. It’s really, really great and replaces all of the time that you would have to spend pouring over coupons. And it’s FREE membership, unlike many sites. A large troupe of women volunteer their time every day to make sure you’ve got the best deals available. You can even end up spending a 10th of the price of groceries with their help...

Click here if you want to continue reading:

How to Prepare for an Emergency on a Tight Budget? Preparedness Pro

[Madriglace]

I posted a blog on this subject. Hope this helps.

How to Prepare for an Emergency on a Tight Budget?

Another message and another recipe.

This time I’m going to start with the recipe. It’s called Chicken a la Queen, and it’s great whether you find yourself in an emergency survival situation and living off of your food storage or not.

Chicken a la Queen

2 5-ounce cans of boneless chicken or turkey meat

2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni

½ cup of minced onion

1/3 cup cooking oil

2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce

1 ¼ cups of water

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese. (Of COURSE I use more than that. You can also substitute Velvetta cheese if necessary.

Dice the meat if it is in large chunks. Set aside chicken in natural juices from the cans. Be sure the oil is hot before you sauté UNCOOKED macaroni and onion in large skillet, stirring frequently, until macaroni turns slightly yellow. Add tomato sauce, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Mix in chicken and juices; simmer 5 minutes more. Sprinkle the top with cheese.

For those of you who I’ve heard from constantly that claim you aren’t able to afford to be prepared, this one is for you.

First of all, I’ve discovered Pinching Your Pennies Home. It’s really, really great and replaces all of the time that you would have to spend pouring over coupons. And it’s FREE membership, unlike many sites. A large troupe of women volunteer their time every day to make sure you’ve got the best deals available. You can even end up spending a 10th of the price of groceries with their help...

Click here if you want to continue reading:

How to Prepare for an Emergency on a Tight Budget? Preparedness Pro

Thanks a bunch ... this recipe is going in our May Newsletter for RS.

[Gwen]

as you are saving spare change keep your eyes open for things like this Costco - $74.99 After $10 Off Food For Health? Emergency Food Kit one of the good things about building your storage in kits like this is at 23 lbs if you have to evacuate you can pick it up and put it in your car and take it with you.

[PreparednessPro]

You're definitely going to need water in the event of an emergency. The experts say to have a gallon a day per person minimum for drinking, hygiene, cleaning etc. Right now, water is free, so start filling up old water bottles, milk or pop bottles, or whatever you can. Keep in mind that these types of plastic will start to break down so they're not ideal, but if someone is dying of thirst, that won't matter.

Also, educating yourself is FREE. There are some terrific blogs out there where people dispense free advice and information regularly on how to prepare, even just in your mindset. You're welcome to check out Preparedness Pro -- we have a great blogroll of excellent preparedness/survival blogs that you'll learn a lot from.

Best of luck!

[EandLDOW]

Look for really good sales. If you find a great buy on something you like to eat, buy as much as you can. Disregard the expiration dates. As you get more, you'll rotate it through use and replace it with fresher stuff.

There are forums that give a weekly "good buys" listing at various stores around the country (US mostly, but also Canada).

When you do your regular shopping, pick one or two items on your shopping list and instead of buying one, buy two of each. Gradually you'll build up some significant storage.

As the prophets constantly remind us, avoid debt.

just some ideas.

[heidijp]

I am a non-member and just an occasional lurker to this site (as I STRONGLY believe in food storage). Your question prompted me to sign up so that I could share what I have learned. During the Great Depression a lot of families survived almost solely on dried corn. Mothers would grind the corn up and make cornbread, johnnycakes, etc... Unfortunately a lot of people did not know that unless the corn is treated with lye the niacin is not available nutritionally. This led to pellagra (which can cause death). 2 Parts grain to 1 part bean is a complete protein. Corn is the cheapest way to get your food storage in order if you are on an incredibly tight budget right now.

I think we all agree that very hard times are coming, and I would hate you to put off the bulk of your food storage until you can afford it.

If you buy dried corn at the feed store or deer corn you can buy it at $6-$7 for a 50 lb bag. You will need to clean it before you use it (removing dry cob parts or any rocks in the bag), however this is something you do with pinto beans anyway. At $7 per bag this would figure out to be $51.10 for 365 lbs of corn (the amount I would buy for each person). You can wash out two liter bottles or milk jugs and put the dried corn in them for storage. Walmart also sells 18 gallon totes for $4.50 each (these hold about 125 lbs of grain each, so you would need 3 per person).

The corn can be brought to a boil in lye water (Aztecs used wood ashes) and then soaked overnight. The hard shells can then be rubbed off of the corn. Rinse the corn WELL. At this point you can run it thru your old fashioned meat grinder to make a masa paste and make corn tortillas out of it. They are delicious when made with fresh soaked masa like this. I will not kid you. This is a lot of work compared to opening a can of soup BUT you can get a years worth of calories set aside for your family, even if you have several children. I also recommend buying oil for your stockpile. A 48 ounce can of crisco is going to have over 10,000 calories in it. Calories are important if people are starving. Straight oil/shortening is going to be the cheapest/most compact food in your food storage. Oil/fats do go rancid over time however, and you will need to keep them out of sunlight in a cool place to slow that process down.

If you get a years supply of food set aside like this (the basics that would prevent starvation), you can then work on improving the quality/quantity of your food storage to include items that your family likes and uses on a regular basis.

My family are not Mormons. I had a hard time getting my husband on board with food storage. I checked out a bunch of old Great Depression documentaries (with actual footage from that time) and watched them with him. Some of the children in the movies looked like concentration camp victims and these children's mothers looked as if their spirits had been crushed to have their families go hungry. After I watched the documentaries with my husband, he was able to understand my fears and is behind my food storage efforts 100% now.

I strongly urge you to get as much as you can in the way of calories in your house NOW. I can not tell you how much better I felt about my family's security after I had the minimum in place. After I had that in storage I started buying extras (salt, cocoa, tuna, bathroom tissue, etc) each time I went to the grocery store. It does add up fast.

If you are saying to yourself that you wouldn't want to eat all that corn, then remember that you could always trade with someone else for white flour or sugar or beans. The main thing I think is to get started and get as much as you can calorically per $1 spent until you have what you consider to be an acceptable minimum in place. The corn works out to be 14 cents a pound at that price. Rice in bulk on sale right now is 40 cents a pound, cheap flour 30 cents a pound.

All grains/sugars have roughly 1500 calories per lb dry weight. That is barely enough to survive on. You would lose weight. Your children and husband would lose weight. If you are nursing, you might lose your milk.

I have thrown out my food storage due to weevils, poor rotation, not using what I have. I am still learning and still trying to improve what I have and how to store it. But my family will not starve until we get the first crops in. I pray that you and yours have a similar plan.

[pitcher]

One of the most important things to learn is the corrct way to store your food. You can waste a awful lot of money by storing incorrectly. I have had to throw food away because I did not know how to package it. I recently found a book "Emergecy Preparedness the Right Way" that gives a lot of good information on packaging as well as other areas of preparedness.