My first question is, what equipment do you already own, that can be "re-purposed" for survival, and thus save your one thousand dollars for other gear?

For instance:
-Do you own any garden tools? Especially a shovel. A shovel can be used to pry open a door, plant a garden, dig a car out of a snowdrift, or put out a fire. A rake can be used to thresh grain, rake food over the coals, catch fish, kill rats, or as a weapon.

-Do you own any home maintenance equipment, like a flashlight, matches and candles, etc? Those are survival goods that you don't need to pay for---you merely need to organize them for access in an emergency.

-Do you own any vehicle maintenance equipment; a jack can be used to open a locked door, or shore up a wall that is sagging after a flood. Do you have any other tools in your own vehicle or a work vehicle? A cell phone is survival gear, if your car breaks down.....

-Do you own sporting equipment that can double as survival gear? A tackle box often has pliers and knives, as well as fishing line that has a wide variety of uses.

-Do you own any professional equipment? Tool kits, work trucks, diagnostic equipment can all be repurposed if you think about secondary uses.

-Do you have access useful items or material, that you don't "own" in a legal sense, but could still expropriate in an emergency? Examples might be: crops in a field near your home, construction materials at a nearby jobsite, piles of timber felled by workmen cleaning out a brushy lot, or tools in the super's work-room in your apartment complex. Obviously, it is stealing if the owner still wants the item. But if they are dead, or have fled, then it becomes lost and abandoned property...


Only after a careful inventory of the above should you begin planning to spend the thousand dollars. Several critical items will have to be purchased unless you already own them.

Other posters have given some great advice. The only thing I would say is to diversify your efforts. By this I mean, instead of buying 3 firearms, I'd buy one, or maybe two, and try to pick them that would be general purpose. For instance, if I was buying one gun, it would be a .22lr rifle. They are cheap (less than 100 usd in a pawn shop, with no real paperwork), the ammunition is ubiquitous, and they are fairly quite and easy to learn. A second gun would be a 38 revolver. It is less deadly, but easier to clean, wont jam, and is much easier to hide than a semi-automatic (and usually weighs a lot less).

Likewise with food. If you have 80 dollars, then don't spend it all on 80 bucks worth of white rice. Buy some oil, some rice, some bullion cubes, some cloves of garlic. Then Add some cans of veg-all and an opener.

I'd look at water the same way. A 30-gallon plastic drum, with a pump; plus several 3-gallon jugs that you could actually carry away if you needed to, plus some water bottles. A diversified set of containers, in case one of your systems fails.

In your supplies, include what are currently considered to be time-wasters. A deck of cards, poker chips, some detective novels, a blank journal. Once you get off the grid, you suddenly regain whole hours of every day; it can come as quite a shock if you have to develop a personality apart from your iphone and facebook.

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As far as preparations go, $1000, spent one time, is a LOT less useful than $20 a week stuffed in your sock drawer, and used every quarter to bring your game up to a higher level.

Likewise, "living into your prep" is better than spending money. Instead of just buying seeds, plant a garden now and grow your own seeds---that way you'll be truly prepared. Instead of buying 5 guns, buy a 22 rifle and become really proficient with it. By hunting with it, you gain proficiency, and can add some rabbit meat to the rice. You'll also get in shape through the exercise and fresh air of hunting, which will do you more good than a jar of vitamins ever could. And you'll learn the lay of the land, so you'll be ready and confident when you are hunting for survival.

One thing I've discovered is bulk pancake mix, when it is labeled "complete." This means that no milk or eggs are required, and all you have to do is add water. You can get a 10 pound bag of Krusteaz complete pancake batter, plus 3 gallons of syrup, "enough for 270 pancakes" (!) and all for 20 bucks.

You can get a gas grill or camp stove, powered by a 3 gallon propane tank, that will cook all those pancakes while being "off the grid."

Originally posted by Starwise

BABY WIPES!! I buy these by the large packs..Instant shower

Say what??

Epic hygiene fail....

Originally posted by Hellas

Originally posted by Starwise

BABY WIPES!! I buy these by the large packs..Instant shower

Say what??

Epic hygiene fail....

Have you ever lived through a hurricane? Lived without electricity for weeks on end? I assume NOT! Baby wipes are hygiene! What rock have you crawled out from under? Do you not have children? Baby wipes may not be antibacterial but they do help bathe.

At the hospital I work at, we had to use them for a day....So I would say the epic failure is your inability to comprehend the intention

Originally posted by Starwise

Originally posted by Hellas

Originally posted by Starwise

BABY WIPES!! I buy these by the large packs..Instant shower

Say what??

Epic hygiene fail....

Have you ever lived through a hurricane? Lived without electricity for weeks on end? I assume NOT! Baby wipes are hygiene! What rock have you crawled out from under? Do you not have children? Baby wipes may not be antibacterial but they do help bathe.

At the hospital I work at, we had to use them for a day....So I would say the epic failure is your inability to comprehend the intention

You know normal people prefer just water.. And if thats not possible than they collect rainwater. But go on with your baby wipes.

And we bathe babies, too you know.

200 pounds of whole kernel corn
200 pounds of beans
200 pounds of rice
10 canned hams
50 pounds of sugar
2 cases of evaporated milk
2 cases of canned chicken
2 cases of canned tuna
2 cases of canned crackers
1 gallon if hot sauce
1 gallon of soy sauce
1 gallon of honey
1 gallon lemon juice
2 pounds of Coco
2 pounds koseur salt and pepper
2 pounds garlic salt
2 pounds peanut butter
5 gallons olive oil
5 gallons peanut oil
2 pounds of tea
1 pound each of flavored bullion cubes


200 watt solar panel
2 250w gel car starters
1750w power inverter


1 scoped 22 cal rifle
1000 rounds hollow point

2 5 gallon water bags
water purifier

A good bicycle is something to consider. No gas required, quiet, and can carry a surprising amount of gear. We have one for each family member. A book and parts for repair would be good too.

$1000 does not go very far with food storage and weapons acquisition. But you need two weeks of food and water storage and perhaps a cheap shotgun for self defense and killing food if in a rural area. Next is water purification as you wont last more than a week without water (they say 3 days but the time varies - temperature, water content in food, etc) but it is critical. If you are in a temperate zone you will need clothing for extreme conditions (rain poncho, outer coat for extreme cold)...these can be purchased used for cents on the dollar. Then I agree with the other posters regarding sustained food. You cant buy a cow or a bunch of bee hives but you can buy a half dozen chickens on the cheap. Also purchase seeds and plan to plant a sustainable garden in the spring.