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11/7/12

Preparing on $40 a Week: Last Week & Index!

It's over (for now!)
This has been a fun series to write, and it's actually helped pull me buckle down and fill in a couple gaps in my preps, too. This is our last week of the series - if you've been following along, you've made it to the end!

This final week is pretty simple. Take $40 in cash and add it to your bug out bag (or, if you're disciplined, a back corner of your wallet). $40 isn't much, but it'll fill up a tank of gas, pay for a cab, buy a week worth of cheap food, and so on. It's also the start of an emergency savings - add more funds to it as you can, and don't spend it unless there's a real emergency.

If you've been following week-to-week, you should have some money in the "bank" - around $15. I'd recommend spending that money on a quality knife sharpener...I'm partial to this model - the Eze-Lap brass sharpener. Good for getting a basic edge going and then strop to get a finer edge as needed. Works pretty well and the all-metal construction will last you through years of hard use.

If you've missed a week here or there, here's the whole list of posts. You can also see them by clicking on the "$40 a week" label at the bottom of the post.
  1. Everyday Carry Knife
  2. Everyday Carry Light
  3. Bugout Backpack - they've jacked the price up a bit on these, but still a good deal!
  4. Survival Knife
  5. Fire Gear & Container
  6. Sleeping Bag
  7. Shelter
  8. Water Filter
  9. Budget Individual First Aid Kit
  10. Protective Gear
  11. Chopper/large cutting tool
  12. Bug Out Food
  13. Toiletry Kit & Odds n' Ends
  14. Headlamp
  15. Food Storage Week 1
  16. Food Storage Week 2
  17. Food Storage Week 3 & Barter Goods
  18. Start emergency savings
Yep, your total spend will be around $720 when you total it all up - the price of an entry level AR-15 or a decent long-weekend vacation. Nothing to sneeze at. But, it's gear that will last you a long while, and it's stuff that you can put to use every day, not just leave sitting in a closet/trunk/garage.

The preps we put together are by no means exhaustive, but they're a dang good foundation. And, if you want, continuing regular $40 investments in preps quickly adds up - food, water, fuel, savings, etc. Just keep at it!

Thanks again for following along with this series - this was the first time I've done something this extensive & weekly on T-Blog, and it was, I think, a big success. This certainly is not the last you'll hear of the $40 a week concept or budget minded prepping in general. Stay tuned!