Shopping For Survival Supplies

By Ray Gano

When your walking around a store – any store – and your doing your shopping, how often do you think about your survival supplies? Is it something you make a list of and make a special trip to town? Or do you incorporate your survival supplies shopping into your everyday life?

Lets take the other day for example, Tracye and I went shopping at the local super Wally-World. While we were walking through the store, I picked up a 2 pack of strike on box matches. At 250 matches per box, that is 500 matches.

I took inventory of my matches a while back, and it came to like 6 or 7 boxes of 250 matches per box. So that equals out to around 1,500 – 1,700 matches. I am one who believes you can never have to many means to make fire, so I picked up another 500. I also got a box of  Federal 9mm ammo, 12 gauge #4 shot.

When we got to the food section, we checked our grocery list and as I was walking around I grabbed 2 jars of peanut butter to put up. One can never have to much peanut butter.

My wife picked up some corn bread mix for this weekend. While we were standing there in the isle, I was wondering “how well corn bread mix would store in vaccum sealed bags with oxygen absorbers? The mix has an expiration date of 2013. Right now with the holidays they were .47 cents per box. How can you pass that one up? That is the kind of stuff I think about when shopping. So we got some extra boxes

Here is what I added to my preps from this trip -

50 rounds of Federal 9mm ammo
25 rounds 12 gauge #4 shot – #4 is great for small game - rabbit - squirrel - etc
2 jars of peanut butter
5 boxes of corn bread mix
2 boxes strike on box matches

The ammo is going to be put in their boxes and stored, peanut butter, corn bread mix and matches will be stored.

If I did not get the ammo, the cost of the food and matches was under $10.00

I see new preppers / survivalist that put a lot of time an effort into their preps. If I put a “lot” of time and effort into it, I would probably get burned out. So I try to take the slow and steady approach. This is why it has to be a lifestyle. Prepping is what you do all the time, and you do this by taking baby steps. An item here, jar of something there and once you do this for a month or two, you will be amazed at how much supplies you have on hand.

One of the problems that I see especially today, is that people put “too” much time and effort into survivalism. Yea, I know this is an "oxymoron" statement, but hear me out. They feel like they are behind the "8 ball" and they are trying to play catch up. They are prepping in a panic and always on the "go" with their preps. Its like they jump in with both feet, take off running, but after a while get tired and drop out of the race. This is why I say take baby steps. Think like a turtle and be slow yet steady. Or think like a squirrel, a squirrel buries 1 nut at a time.

It is never to late to start, in fact right now with the holidays, it is an excellent time to start. There are many great deals on food as well as supplies. You can save a lot of money because all the stores are compeating for your christmas food and gift dollars.

In the prepping world January is when many of the mormon churches start the preps. Because of this many, prepping companies, like Shelf Reliance have great sales on their shelves and supplies.  Provident Provisions, a long term food company, has great sales going on now till around March. Do your research and look around at long term prep companies and see what you need, odds are that you can find what you need on sale.

Now is a great time to start your preps, things are on sale and the ability to take baby steps will allow you to really make a good prepping effort in a short amount of time without buring out. Remember the corn bread mix? When you see sales like that, buy extra, you will be glad you did.

When I find good deals, I will try to share them with you so that you can take advantage of the savings as well.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will be glad to answer your questions.