Preparing for harder times
Food Storage
I have to admit, I have pretty-much been coasting through the current economic crisis, taking out installment loans whenever necessary. Although my heart goes out to those people who are struggling, we personally hadn’t been one of those who had lost their homes, lost money in the stock market, or lost their jobs. But then, last week, the reality of all of it hit home.
First, although his job was safe, half of my husband’s company was laid off. That same day, my daughter’s husband lost his job and a close friend told me she had received a 60 day notice that her company would be closing and she would be out of work. Another friend, a real estate broker, had to close the doors on her business and she had to go to work as a receptionist in someone else’s office. Still another friend’s brother lost thousands of dollars just this week in the stock market and had to take out installment loans just to get by. To top things off, my daughter called and told me her husband’s company, Micron, is laying off 1500 employees by Christmas.
We Need to Prepare for an Emergency
We had a family meeting and decided that we need to set in place some safeguards and prepare, just in case things get worse before they get better. We also decided not to get installment loans to do this, rather do it in an economical fashion. But how do you prepare for the worst? We decided that our family would concentrate on the following four areas:
- Build a Three-Month Supply of Food
- Store Drinking Water
- Live Within your Means and Build a Financial Reserve
- Grow your friendships
Build a supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week. Store canned foods with high liquid content, dry mixes, and foods that do not require refrigeration, cooking, or water, as much as possible. (Note: Be sure to include a manual can opener.) First start building a one-week supply of food, then gradually increase your store of food until you have a three month supply. Be sure to rotate this food regularly to avoid spoilage.
Store drinking water. If you go even one day without water, you can be suffering. You should store at least one gallon of water per person per day. A two week supply should be the minimum.
It’s time to cut back. When you buy anything, decide if you really need to have it. Can you instead put that money into food or water to store or can you put it into a financial reserve? Save a little money each week.
When the crisis hits, nothing will be more important than how prepared you are and how strong your friendships are. If September 11, 2001 was the worst day in American history, September 12th surely was the best. September 12th, 2001, we saw more compassion in one day than any day any of us can remember. Churches filled up, neighbors said hi to one-another, families came together, we called everyone we loved just to say hi,we hugged strangers. Don’t wait for the big catastrophe; reconnect with each other now.
Don’t take out installment loans or go into debt to purchase your three-month supply of food, your drinking water or to build a financial reserve. But do what you can, as fast as you can. With these tips, if a crisis hits, you will at least have food, water, money and friends.
Economic crisis or not, having an emergency stockpile is a great idea. I actually used to work for a public health department and spent a whole summer working on an Emergency Preparation campaign. It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when” you will be victim of a natural disaster. No part of the country is safe from mother nature. She can unleash her wrath in a number of ways. Anyway, having non-perishable food and water is one of the smartest things you can do for your family, but there’s no need to buy all of your supplies at once. Just try buying a couple extra cans of soup each time you go to the grocery store.
I even have an emergency backpack in my car, in the unlikely case that I crash or breakdown in the middle of nowhere. I have enough food and water in the backpack to last me 3 days, an emergency blanket, a radio, and some other survival necessities.
So basically, I’m saying that being prepared is the safe, smart way to go.