Survival Isnt Just For SHTF Scenario, Many Need Tips For Survival NOW!

Ive posted here for a couple of years, and always love the things that are shared. Most have something to do with the worst case scenario, such as a cataclysmic event, but there are many today that are in need of helpful hints for dealing with very scary prices at the stores, and can barely afford food for survival now, nevertheless in a major situation.

I am asking other ATS members to add little hints that you use in order to save on necessities today. Many are afraid to ask for help, so leaving this for those that wouldn't normally ask is helpful. Even if you do not need this for yourself, you can share this with others.

I am going to add a little bit of tips that can be used today that I do with my family (I have 3 children at home), If you have any money saving tips for those in need please post them.

There are many deals at the supermarket that have limited quantities such as buy 1 get one free. I love these deals. So I take 2 of my older children, give them some money, and we all buy one and get one free. Even though there is nothing they can do if they know we are together we will all go into separate lanes This in fact is even better with buy one get 2 free, if you do not have children to take with you, you can ask some friends and you can all walk out with something.

Many fruits and veggies prices are on the rise, and eating healthy is getting harder and harder to do. Its difficult to get fresh veggies if you know that you will not eat them all in a short period of time, but the price is right. You can make a small $5.00 investment in green bags that are made to keep veggies and fruits fresh for weeks. They are reusable also.





Sometimes its hard to not eat the same thing when you are on a budget, and seasoning and stocks are difficult to keep up with but can be a healthy alternative. If you buy a large bag of chicken which is the leg quarter (which is wayyy cheaper due to not being cut up) many people like to remove the rib bone, and there is nothing to do with it.




Every leg quarter is a thigh and leg attached, but when you buy thighs, there is no large bone. This is great when your making soup as well as you have all the ingredients for stock already (carrots, celery, onions), you can cut the bone out of the top of the thigh and put it to the side. Get a pot of water, add some carrots , celery, onions, bay leaves, whatever you have on hand, and you boil it down to make a stock.

Now what it you dont have space? Easy. You can buy 3 pack ice cube trays for $1.00 and add the stock to the trays and freeze. Whenever you need it you can remove it like ice cubes, this is also very good if your sick, and need broth.


Now EVERY supermarket has clearance items!! Just ask where they are located. These items are not spoiled but due to expire in a week or less. If you buy this and do not intend to use them in the time allowed, then you can make them ahead of time, and freeze it.

BTW this clearance stuff also guys for almost all stores. Furniture, electronics, even rent to own places.

Many items will be called refurbished, which is a product that someone took back. I have gone to Lowe's, and bought for half off displayed items (which is the items already assembled on the shelf, its what you look at before you buy) shelves, appliances, etc,. I bought my washer and dryer less then half off at a local Rent A Center. They have a room in the back for people that couldn't pay for there things and had them returned. They CANNOT sell these things full price.

Well I hope this was a bit helpful, and I look forward to seeing some more great tips.

Peace, NRE.

Where I live there are wild green onions growing everywhere. I taught my child how to recognize them, and harvest them. Get to know your native wild edibles, when they grow, when to harvest. Plant your own garden, or get a few pots of your fav veggies and fruit. Seeds don't cost all that much and can last for years before planting! Yes, you will have to wait until the edible part ripens, however, this will save hard earned money in the long run.

Buying a brisket when you can afford it and cutting it in to equal pieces will also save on meat in the long run. Taking some of that meat and making it into Jerky will also preserve it. Be careful though, more often then not, my jerky doesn't last more then a few days unless I hide it.

Buying one get one free is a great way to save
However buying something just because its on this type of sale..and its not something you need..is a waste of money .

My friends and I went in on a whole cow and a whole pig. It was less than half the price for meat at the store, and was delicious, we froze it and it lasted for a long time. The less palatable parts IMHO tongue, tail...was used for broth. Just go to the country and ask around. I also let a guy hunt on my land and he offered to split the meat. And he dressed it for me as well.

Originally posted by granpabobby
Buying one get one free is a great way to save
However buying something just because its on this type of sale..and its not something you need..is a waste of money .

Great advice! And to add. If money is tight go in with a buying partner for the buy one get one offers. Then it is like everything is half off! I find this very helpful especially with things like soap shampoo and other toiletries and cleaning supplies.

There are 3 things you MUST have to "survive".
Air, water and food in that order.
Air and water are free at the moment for the most part, but food is not so much.
You can "survive" off of what the land provides but if you want to LIVE, the best option is to plant a garden.
This goes for pre collapse or post collapse, imagine eating the freshest of your favorite foods.
Of course I have no banana or coconut crop but I save enough that I can easily buy those if I want to.
Gardening is not hard, even a caveman could do it.
In fact, history suggests that they did!

I am only 20, but my girlfriend(of 5 yrs) and I live on our own. The best thing I have done and think everyone should do is let water account for at least 90% of your fluids.

I take a brita filter bottle to school and use the water fountain. I use a brita filter pitcher at home. I have water with me at all times.

This has saved tons of money and has reduced my carbon foot print as well as increased health benefits.

I'm working on the girlfriend.

reply to post by granpabobby


I agree, but when there's nothing to eat that buy one get one free anything looks alot better.

I dont do this as much as I used to now, but I used to take a weekend and prepare a week of meals. Freeze them like t.v dinners. This was a great help when I forgot to defrost something.

One of the greatest things that are always on sale after the holidays is turkey. If they are buy one get one free after the holidays, I will buy 4. One to freeze for a dinner, as I dont think turkey should just be for thanksgiving, and cut up the rest. So I cut them into breasts, wings, legs and thighs., and I use the gizzards to sautee homemade stuffing, and my kids eat the rest, as I am not a fan.

The wings I will add to soup, the thighs for a different take on chicken, and the breast for sandwiches or turkey slalad, and of course the carcass for broth. The 4 turkeys will make about 10-12 dinners for 5, and it will stretch even further if you have less people in your family.

Peace, NRE.

reply to post by Wetpaint72


I am all in the free samples like this. link
This is the site I use. link If anyone has anything better please share!

Edit to add a free coffee! link

Originally posted by g146541
There are 3 things you MUST have to "survive".
Air, water and food in that order.
Air and water are free at the moment for the most part, but food is not so much.
You can "survive" off of what the land provides but if you want to LIVE, the best option is to plant a garden.
This goes for pre collapse or post collapse, imagine eating the freshest of your favorite foods.
Of course I have no banana or coconut crop but I save enough that I can easily buy those if I want to.
Gardening is not hard, even a caveman could do it.
In fact, history suggests that they did!

Hey buddy! I live in Florida,

I got coconuts bananas lemons limes avocado( soon), starfruit, papaya, and mango....wanna trade!
Also trade can be very important. I know there are trade marts here sometimes, folks bring fruits veggies, canned jams honey and all kinds of food and everyone just swaps stuff! I haven't done it yet but they had one one the news last week. It looks fun, and helpful.

I don't see what the problem is with a beef tongue (as posted above). It has very little fat, and it's an entirely voluntary muscle-type of meat similar to other meat parts. It is NOT an "organ meat". It just doesn't have a bone in it like you see in some steaks. There are places in Japan that have restaurants where the tongue dishes are the main entrees and their main specialty. They are roasted, baked, or grilled as tender slices with sauce.

Now, about getting the most for those coupons, definitely it's a bargain if it's something you're actually going to use. Sometimes you can hold out until the item goes on sale and still get the use of a coupon.

For those "buy one get one free" deals, you can always walk out with your initial purchase, put it all in the car and come back into the store for another purchase (it's considered another separate visit). I had a friend who bought bought out a particular type of breakfast cereal that he liked when it went on sale. The price was marked down and there was a coupon on the inside of the box that covered the entire cost. So, he purchased the first box and cut out the coupon, then continued to go back to the supermarket with each subsequent coupon until the shelf was empty. He didn't mind that some packages eventually didn't get used until after the expiration date as long as the packages stayed sealed until he got around to eating them.

Another idea is to find out when the larger cities have bulk trash pick-up days - as opposed to regular trash pick-up.

Neighborhoods tend to throw out a lot of useable items including furniture (and sometimes working electronic items) that people feel that they just don't need or want anymore.

Call it scavenging if you want, but many of those items can be re-used or even sold, for those who have the time to do so.

Pieces of wood (like scrap wood) and poles and rods can always be re-used to make things like gardens for growing vegetables later.

Sometimes microwave ovens just need a new fuse to get them working again. If you it's not the fuse (test it by bypassing the fuse holder for a short time), you can always take the microwave oven (and other electronic items) apart to re-use its components. The transformer and the fan are usually still useable. The microwave source usually has two very powerful donut magnets that can be used in a variety of projects (or just as refrigerator magnets). Computer hard drives also have very strong magnets inside.

I love the green bags idea, I need to pick some up.
Without a freezer it's hard to take advantage of sales because at the moment my freezer is full to bursting.
It's just me and the wife at home now and one problem we had was too many leftovers. Learning how to prepare the right amount or being able to incorporate leftovers into something else keeps me from throwing away any food at all. It's very rare that it happens.
Extra bits of meat and veggies I will usually just throw into stir fry as I'm not a big fan of soups.
Buying flour and sugar in the big 25lb bags will save you 30 - 50% over what smaller bags will cost you.
Eggs are one of the cheapest and most versatile sources of protein and we eat a dozen a week (throw leftover meat, veggies and cheese into omelettes.
Potatoes, pasta rice are a cheap way to fill up - Ramen noodles are comparatively expensive by weight.
Buy the large spice containers often found in the foreign foods aisle and never buy the pre-made seasoning packs for chili, fajitas, etc/

Turn off all electronics you are not using. Stereo systems on standby use quite a bit of electricity. Keep the thermostat down and wear more clothes, put it on a timer if you can - no use keeping the house warm when you're not home.

Great thread idea Having your own garden - even in the city - is always a great idea. We grow as much as we can and in the fall we bottle/can/dry/freeze to get us through the winter. The food tastes better too I also live in an area where there are many, many,.... many different wild berries. Starting in June right up to November - longer depending on the frost - there are wonderful nutritious berries out there fee for the taking. Again we take what we need to last through the winter. The best thing I ever bough was a book of all edible plants for my area - it pays for itself again and again in the money you save not having to buy something when I can get the same or similar out in the wild.

I've already posted this in another Thread.

I've found this Survival podcasts
Maybe this is something that could be of interest for you.
This guy has many podcasts you can listen to, all about Survival scenarios.


The Survival Podcast

EPISODE-148- BUG OUT PLANNING AND DOCUMENTATION

Today’s show covers the formalized planning and documentation process I have personally developed to handle any situation where bugging out is required. This plan is designed to keep decision making logical and get family members in touch with each other and to rally points on the way to your Bug Out Location should the ability to rally at home firt be compromised.

Tune in today to hear…

Planning your initiaion sequence and requirements
Setting up and utilizing means of communicaiton during a bug out
Know where to go – 3 locations – 3 routes and for both long distance and short distance
Procedures for arrival and waiting and departing rally points
The need for full documentation including maps, plans and contact data
Why your data must be “uniform”
Basic op sec for your data, with out paranoia
Multiple routes for all BOLs and Rally Points
Grab and Get lists beyond your basic kit (short and long)
Chane of Command – Group Hierarchy for Civilians
Planning for Pet Evacuations and the Doggy Bug Out Bag

I'm not sure how many others do this, but before I do a grocery run I'll go through a few recipe books (I have TONS of them!) and work out a menu for the week. As I do this I write out a list of ingredients I don't already have which ends up being the main body of my grocery list. This has proven to reduce grocery bills and saves time aimlessly wandering the aisles loading up a shopping trolley with impulse buys.

reply to post by davidchin


I'm sure it tastes lovely, it was purely psychological on my part!
I am certain I could get over it if I had to!

reply to post by Silverkiss


Very good advice.

BTW its a well known fact that if you happen to go into your grocery store and noticed that things have moved around, it is a subliminal ploy to get you to spend more time in the store, and impulse buy.

I have noticed this about 3 times in the past 2 years my store has done this, but I avoid as much as I can.

Peace, NRE.

I try to buy to buy bulk on some foods we like to eat a lot. Spaghetti and other types of pasta are a good source of relatively cheap food. I keep out what we will eat soon, some I seal in Foodsaver bags for longer term use and the rest in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers for long term use. Most pasta sauces have a shelf life of around 2 years. This makes a filling cheap meal either for now or later.

Homemade pizza is another inexpensive meal. 3 1/2 cups flour, 1 tbl spoon yeast, 1 tbl spoon sugar, 1 1/2 cups warm water, pasta sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you like. The dough mix will make 2 pizzas after letting rise overnight. Experiment a little with what you like and then you can adapt some ingredients from your long term storage.

There are ways to save money and store food for the future if you shop smart. There are a lot of people doing this because prices are going up and their paychecks aren't.

One show I have recently come across (although many on ATS may already know it) is Grow Your Own Drugs. It is on the BBC but I find it can easily be applied to other areas too.

Another great resource (which I found through ATS) is Eat the Weeds. As this guy lives in Florida he does have a lot on things that just do not grow further north (where I am) but he does cover other plants/weeds too.