The more time that I spend thinking about survival/preps, the more that it becomes clear to me how important it is to think through the challenges that you are most likely to face, and figure out your game plan for those.
Most of our biggest challenges in life will be financial in nature. I've personally never needed my bug out bag, but I have needed my emergency fund on more than a few occasions. If you do not have one, set one aside. You'll be glad that you did.
Get your finances in order so that you can save and prepare--and a big part of that should be paying off debt and building up savings. The recession hasn't made this easy, and we're all feeling it--I know that I am.
Food storage is simple, but again, another prep that is often used. When finances are tight, we rely on stored foods to help supplement what we can purchase at the store. We also save money by stocking up on foods when they are on sale. They're not flashy, but they'll keep your family from going hungry when things are tight--or if there's a disaster that disrupts the food supply.
Be realistic in your preps. Very, very few people in recent times have needed to abandon their homes and head into the wilderness to survive. Many, many people have been laid off, seen their incomes drop substantially, or seen their homes foreclosed on. Which would e the wisest to prepare for?
