Spend my money

How are you preparing
Neroblue
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 8:21 pm

Spend my money

Post by Neroblue »

Hi ,, new here ........can i get some ideas please........i have a small van ,,,,a big shipping container and £3000 to start ,,,,,,family of 4 ............may i ask what you would buy .....thanks
jansman
Posts: 13623
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Spend my money

Post by jansman »

Tell us WHY you are prepping,what concerns you.Then we can advise.Remember,prepping isn't just about 'stuff',it is a mindset too,and knowledge and skills are far more valuable.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
pseudonym
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Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: Spend my money

Post by pseudonym »

Research, research then once you have all done that.... research some more.

As above what are your main concerns?

I for one started by reducing my debt... paid off and got rid of credit card, double payments until no Mortgage left.

I also reduced my heating bills by replacing windows with double glazing, insulated my loft, installed a woodburner.

Reduced my food bills by buying one/two levels down on items.

All things to help you start and not a crossbow or man trap in sight. :mrgreen:

HTH
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
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Plymtom
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Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 1:11 pm
Location: Plymouth

Re: Spend my money

Post by Plymtom »

Indeed if you want the thread to be all about you, rather than having a good look around (which I understand can be overwhelming) then we need much more to go on, it sounds pretty serious with £3000 to throw at it, but then it's £300 above of our annual shooting budget excluding fuel, and we only do that for fun as apposed to any imminent threat of a zombie outbreak, so.... without a clue as to what and why? All I can say is stock up on non perishable food ( don't buy what you wont use), toilet paper and water storage, a container implies you intend to bug in so expedition level outdoor gear is not on the list yes?
If you have room for a container, do you have land? Because if you do the gardening experts here can offer some great advice, which leads to food preservation, beefing up your domestic security is also something well covered, which having a few bob to spend can help tremendously, but think about all this and tell us what and why before you go spending your £3000 on crap you'll never use, and don't buy as much as a catapult ( or any other projectile throwing toy) or sharp pointy thing unless you have both a place to play and the intention of making it an (hopefully social) activity for the whole family.

Watch that TV film "Blackout" the UK version, you'll see many things highlighted, the first coming to mind for someone with a few quid is a generator for power cuts, may be a white elephant you couldn't use without attracting the wrong sort of attention, same goes for cooking smells, £3000 is a great jump start for any "hobby" and i say hobby because on the more serious scenarios you are looking at maybe needing it, so you may as well make it enjoyable, after all you wouldn't want a container full of tinned meat if you're a veggie, nor a boat if you get seasick, after you have made clear to yourself just what scenarios you wish to cover, you can then play to your strengths and interests, have realistic goals, looking back it's a very good job we had a limited budget and no lump sum to throw at it because when you first decide to up the ante ( I say it that way because many here were of the mentality of keeping well stocked up "just in case" and more realized we were preppers as apposed to deciding to become preppers) you'll see many who regret throwing cash at the stuff which seems crucial and yet isn't.
I have a strategy, it's not written in stone, nor can it be, this scenario has too many variables, everything about it depends on those variables, being specific is not possible.
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itsybitsy
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Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2010 5:51 pm
Location: East Yorkshire

Re: Spend my money

Post by itsybitsy »

Neroblue wrote:Hi ,, new here ........can i get some ideas please........i have a small van ,,,,a big shipping container and £3000 to start ,,,,,,family of 4 ............may i ask what you would buy .....thanks

It's not a case of what *we* would buy, as each person's personal situation is different to the next. However, if you're asking for a list of basic items you should start with, I would go for:

Food, water, heat, light, first aid/personal hygiene, any meds you or your family need.

LEARN STUFF.

Do you have pets? If so, they need preps too.

Start small, build up gradually.

LEARN STUFF.
Yorkshire Andy
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Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm

Re: Spend my money

Post by Yorkshire Andy »

https://www.ready.gov/be-informed

https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan


https://www.ready.gov/get-involved


So far you've not spent a penny!


Now onto basics

So now £50-£100

https://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit


After that it's upto you to focus on specific kit for what your preparing for
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong ;)

Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
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oldman
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Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2017 11:15 pm
Location: London

Re: Spend my money

Post by oldman »

Hi Neroblue,

I started off with a risk assessment, something people in industry seem to have a problem with. First make a list of all your risks, flooding, zombies, power cuts, and make it as long as you can. Next rate the risks on how likely they are to happen, zombies can be rated as a zero but power cuts are a ten, once you have done that you will be able to see what you need to prepare for. If, like me, you live on a hill there will be no need to prep for flooding but a hill top location will cause problems with the water supply if the pressure goes down.

You should also estimate how long the problem will last, in the UK a power cut will usually only be for a few hours but a flood may last a week. This will give you an idea of how much stock you will need for each eventuality.

Some things are a simple fix, take a car, will it break down? yes (my old things are always packing up). The easy fix is getting RAC or AA cover and remembering to take my phone with me.

Each of us will have our own set of risks to mitigate so the first part is down to you. Once you have a list of risks then we can help.
"Just when one least expects it, the unexpected always happens" - Dr. Rance
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FlashPan
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Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:18 pm
Location: Norf Laandon

Re: Spend my money

Post by FlashPan »

When I first started prepping I didn't think how would I survive if......... I thought of how to survive if I could not get access to food/water, help from services (Police, Army, Gov etc) and how to protect myself...in a nutshell, how to depend on and look after myself (and the Mrs....suppose I got to include her now :roll: ;) ) as no one else will. Then I thought of what would I need to fulfill that for staying at home (bugging in) or having to leave (bugging out).

Looks like you got the bugging out (van) sorted and bugging in (container - could use the van as well?) sorted. So now you have a roof over your head what else would you need to keep yourself alive? Food, water, heat, clothing, light, power etc etc.

Let's take light for instance. Are candles or torches the way to go? What is better in which situation? When the candles are used up, then what? When the batts to the torch are gone, then what?

A lot of prepping also comes down to personal preference.

Over the years I have wasted lots of money on stuff that was A: poor quality B: did not do what I intended it to do C: over complicated or reliant on other materials to keep on functioning D: too bulky/heavy E: thought I needed it but actually did not.

As others have said do you own research and also follow others experiences (I think YouTube is a great resource). Also it comes down to your own mistakes (or practice) and realising them at the time.

I do not think that anyone can prep and then just stop when they have all the equipment. Always something newer, better or lighter coming out. Something (even a skill) you never thought about before.

An extra prepping element you need to think about is what is your bugging in and out is not available? Van is off the road and container is X miles away?

Welcome to the club :)

Cheers
Gordon's Alive!?
featherstick
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Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:09 pm

Re: Spend my money

Post by featherstick »

What Oldman says.

Work out the risks and the needs, and go from there. Don't spend anything yet.
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Deeps
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2014 8:36 pm

Re: Spend my money

Post by Deeps »

Nero hasn't been back since the day he posted the OP so all this might be falling on deaf ears.