Ask the Readers: Are You Saving Up for an Emergency?

We don't stockpile food for emergencies. We always have some canned goods on hand and that would be enough for any short-term emergency so we don't worry about the long-term stuff.

I will never live down the scatterbrained list of Y2K supplies that I had purchased as a newly married 18 year old bride.

I do many things that I'm sure others do too. The most important thing is to store food that you already enjoy and are willing to eat.

My best tip would be water. A Red Cross leadership camp I went to as a teen had a large section on emergency prepare. I rinse milk bottles and fill them with clean tap water and a cap of bleach. (I keep about 60 in the garage) In any sort of disaster or small weather related storm that cuts off water/power it would be a shame to use the purified bottled water for basic washing needs. When a pipe burst down the street and our water was cut off for 2 days, we could also use it to flush the toilet as needed.

As far as Y2K type end of the world stuff? I like to keep a small selection of seeds as well as sprouting seeds for greens that would grow in less than a week. We have a couple months of food for the family. After that I guess we'll see how good fried cat tastes. :) In our financial future we will expand our reserves but we are focused more on cash than canned goods right now.

We plant a largish vegetable garden each year and so I have been processing the harvest for use in winter months. However, current conditions have us feeling like it would be prudent to have several months worth of food and supplies on hand. I stockpile on-sale grocery and other supplies anyway, but it is now a more organized effort. In addition, I do not freeze as much as I did previously, as that form of storage depends on a reliable electric supply. Our emphasis is now on canning and dehydrating the harvest from our garden and I am careful to have a nutritionally balanced array of canned and dried products. We are in the process of creating emergency "go" packs for each member of the family (including pets) in case the need to evacuate should ever arise and we are setting up an emergency communications system with out-of-state family. In short, it is better to be prepared and never need to use it than to be left in the lurch in event of some form of catastrophe.

I'm saving up for a computer emergency, when my faithful 12" Macbook putters out eventually. Too bad I'm starting NOW, instead of 2 years ago. Silly me.

As I never co-mingle my funds, so despite having the money for other things, I have "no money" set aside for the new apple that's beautifully packaged on my bedside table. Need to work for it... it's no fun otherwise.

Financial Samurai

I think it's nuts to buy that much food!!! I've heard all the arugments on how it saves money, but I disagree we shop 1 time per week for 1 weeks worth of groceries. We tend to buy only 1 ingredient foods, so they don't have all the preservatives and wouldn't last longer then a week anyways. People think we're the crazy ones till they realize we only spend about 250.00 per month for 2 people to eat:) So we may not be "prepared" for an emergency...but we save a ton of money and are much healthier for it:)

We have a set of shelves downstairs next to the freezer where we try to keep a supply of items we use a lot that don't have short term expiration dates. These are mostly things I buy when they are on sale. Canned goods, condiments, noodles, etc. I think of them as emergency supplies for the blizzard of the century or some similar disaster, but it's mainly a question of buying extra when the prices are low.

I'd really like to increase the amount of food reserves we have, but the budget doesn't allow me to get too far ahead.

I think I have enough food to last me maybe a couple weeks. I just moved recently, so I haven't really thought about stocking up for an emergency in the new place. It's something I probably need to work on though. I don't think I even have bottled water right now, come to think of it!

We can spagehtti sauce each fall---usually 50 quarts. Some is given to family and friends, but we could make do on it for some time. I do not put meat in it. I would check on the shelf life of some products if you are looking at a 2-5 year goal. Even home canned products have shelf lives and I do not know of any that would be safe after the 2 year mark. Also meat, even when frozen is only good for so long. I will not risk my family getting ill from something I have kept on hand too long. My mother in-law has meat in her freezer I swear is 2-5 years old. If she gives us anything to take home, we just throw it away. I would say the same with rice and pastas, as far as how long they can be kept. We do not eat a lot of rice, but we do eat alot of pasta, and I have had some get funky whiteish marks on them; I throw them away.

I would like to keep much more, but I have a few weeks of food stocked for a bad time. My storage space limits me right now, but ideally I would have about 1 year of stocked food in rotation.

I don't currently stock up, though I usually have about a week's worth of food (but not water) on hand effortlessly. It's a little crazy how I have no water stored for emegencies, though. Anything can happen, and I shouldn't always take for granted that the tap water will flow 100% of the time!

Good luck everyone!

What are the odds that I will need more than a couple days of food, not very high. What are the odds that when I need those foods the power would have gone out (including my freezer), pretty good. So in order to do this effectively, I would need a generator, the food on hand and a lot of space.

I would rather "save' for the emergency of lay-offs and car repairs than end of the world stuff. Just seems more likely. But I do have a full freezer (stuff bought on lowest price), it is full to give us an extra bit of funds if we should lose our jobs.

frugality seems to be the new cult that everybody is following now. i wonder what luxury good makers are going to do with all that stuff they make??

I really don't have the room to stockpile much food. I have some canned stuff and some rice and pasta but not nearly enough if there would be some major disaster. However, I live in a pretty populated area and am willing to take the chance, unlike those who are in rural areas.

I live in a small apartment with three roommates. There's no way I could store that much food if I wanted to.
In the future, I'd rather store rice/beans, etc., than canned food. BPA freaks me out, and while canned food would be ideal in the event of a disaster, I still think there are better alternatives. I guess I would buy soup in boxes, foil packets of tuna, etc.

We are working on setting up some food storage. We are targeting 1 year of staples, and several months of more perishable stuff. We also are building up a couple week's supply of water.

Having things on hand is nice because we don't have to worry about running out of ingredients, and we can wait for big sales to bulk up on stuff.

I generally don't stock up, I'll only buy extras of something if I find a really good deal, but even then I'll only buy a little more than I need because I don't have the extra space in my apartment.

We have about a month's worth of well-rounded meals in our freezer and pantry - mainly a result of sale purchases. Newer items get cycled to the back/bottom, and we use the oldest items first. I haven't bought meat for about 3 weeks now, thanks to our stockpile. I'll buy it again when it goes on sale. We keep our grocery bill to $40/week for 2 people this way.

We have mini-emergencies around here a lot - mainly icy roads and lots of snow. It can take a few hours to get shoveled out, and it's nice to know that we won't starve if the plow truck misses our road! It's also nice to have a well-stocked pantry if you have a busy week at work or don't feel good.

Living in southern california with grocery stores within 2 miles, stocking up would be for earthquake emergencies or such. We do keep canned/dry goods that would last through an emergency of a week or so, but that's all. If the freezer is till working, we likely have another week or two as well.

We have 2 dogs and 2 horses that are fed quite well. When they misbehave we tell them that their living with us insures “We’ll never go hungry!” But seriously, we have a summer home so about 6 months out of the year we keep a basic stock in both locations. When we close up for the winter we have a pretty full pantry in our regular home. We stock up when we find good sales or go to the Warehouse Club (my husband has a membership through his work). Our problem is that we can always find something to eat!

I do try to keep extra food on hand in the pantry and freezer. I keep extra water and am assembling an emergency kit in case a disaster should strike. Every part of the country gets hit by something and people should be prepared.

It must be in the air, because I posted about this to my own blog just 2 days ago.

Briefly, I've concluded that I need to keep only 1 week's worth of stuff on hand. This is because after 1 week either the emergency will be over, or I will have left town.

For just about everything, though, I end up keeping more than that, because it's more cost-effective to buy things in larger quantities. Also, if you wait until you're really close to being out of something, or until you have absolutely none of it in the house, then you risk paying a premium for it. In supermarkets, stuff goes on cyclically, and the cycles don't necessarily jibe with my rate of use, but I'll follow the supermarket cycles when I can.

One last comment: like some other posters, I have a hard time prioritizing water storage because of space limitations. It can be helpful to remember that just about everybody does have a pretty large "store" of water already: in the water heater! Teach yourself how to tap it and you're set for at least a couple of days.

I have been slowly building a backstock of grocery supplies and other items for the last several months as finances will allow. I am stocking up on foods that will last a long time (rice, beans, etc.), as well as some shorter term foods that we enjoy (such as cookies and crackers). I have also started canning, dehydrating, and trying, not very successfully, to garden. My goal is to eventually have at least a 6-12 months supply of food for us. I also plan to get laying hens soon.
I live along the southeast coast (hurricane zone), so we have always kept emergency supplies during hurricane season. However, with the state of the world these days, I feel absolutely compelled to stock much more and to try be prepared for anything.
I am surprised at reading the comments how many people do not take preparing for emergencies more seriously. Our national grain stock is now kept at lowest levels per person ever, grocery stores operate with "just in time" shipping and will run out quickly, our food supply is in danger from drought & other weather events, shipping breakdowns, hybid seeds (totally another discussion), animal diseases, and the list could go on.
I have worked as a post-disaster responder for many years, and have seen heart-wrenching situations where people did not have food, water, clothes, hygiene necessities, or even food & milk for the baby after a disaster. There were times I've had to share my own resources (I've learned to take extra along with me on the road by now), or go find people help, or tell them where to go to get a meal or supplies, or help them communicate with others, etc. Do you want to be that person relying on someone else's good heart to help you out? (That being said, thank God there are still some good people in this world that are willing to help.)
Have supplies stocked in both your home & in your car. If you're short on space, stock them under your bed, behind or under your couch, in your closet, wherever you can stick them. A "go bag" in your car for quick getaways is essential. Don't forget the toilet paper (as mentioned above), hygiene items (include baby wipes, great for adults too, and hand sanitizer), a few changes of clothes, necessary items for baby, something for kids' entertainment, pet food (starving animals thrown out to fend for themselves are not a pretty sight), any special items for the elderly in your family (throw in a few cans of Ensure as well), essential medicines, contacts or glasses, and food & water.
Have your important papers ready to pick up and go if need be, as well as some cash (put some away in the house & in your go bag in the car & don't touch it for anything else).
One of the MOST important things in emergencies or disasters is preparing your mind *beforehand*. Instead of being one of the masses who are freaking out (for lack of a better term) and are non-functional because they are in shock, you will have already walked through various scenarios in your mind and prepared yourself. You will know how you will respond to a given disaster & you'll be ready to take care of yourself/your family, as well as help others when you can. Know what you have on hand, know what you are lacking, know what you can spare to share with others, and have some plans...plan A, plan B, etc. If you stay in your home, how long will your supplies last? Do you have people that you can trade with? How will you warm yourself & cook? What about water? What about light to see by? How will you get news? If you have to leave, where will you go? What route will you take to get there? How will you communicate with your loved ones? A preplanned map of your evacuation route in the car is also a good idea. If you have children, according to their age, think how best to prepare their mind and share some of your plans with them. I could go on, but you get the picture.
Planning for yourself or your family could get much more involved, but these are the essentials. Encourage others that you know to be prepared as well. After a disaster/emergency, supplies get tight very fast, then they are gone.
You and your family's survival is up to YOU! Don't count on FEMA or Red Cross or anyone else for your survival. That's who the masses are counting on, and as we can see from Katrina, that's not a very reliable plan of survival.
Don't neglect your faith. It is sheer faith in the almighty GOD that has seen many people through disasters.
Wishing you all peace and joy in these troubles times.

would love to have more, but the apartment has limited storage space. i buy grains when they are on sale and try to keep some basic beans and veggies in the pantry, too. i'm with the amazon grocery shopper above - buying in bulk and saving money = win/win.

With SoCal on fire seemingly everyday these past few years, it's been important to stock up on canned, dried, and boxed food. More importantly has been keeping large portable jugs of water in case we have to throw everything into the car and take off for safety. Keeping a backpack full of supplies has been a key to success.

My husband took me to meet one of his firends and we get along real well and he told us about a few thing that no one thinks of and now we are all on the same page and every week we give him at least 25 dollars and he goes and get stuff that has a long shelf life and we stock pile all kind of food so far i think he has a total of 3 or 4 months of food stred away the next thing is we are working on getting thing to have a huge garden at his house as i had my mother in law teach me how to pressure cook food and now i can do it by my self so when the time comes i will be able to do it with out any problem and i help my in laws with there garden every year i think it was last year we canned over 50 cans of green beas and then we had to bag like 20 as we ran out of jar

I have a reasonably good stock of food for the family. There are toiletries around and sufficient cleaning goods as well. I found that the more important thing to do is learn new to me skills. I have learned to can. I can sew and crochet. I am pretty good at gardening and I am working on bread baking from scratch.

Slowly I am working on self sufficiency. I like the fact that I can make more food for my family and not buy a lot of pre-prepared it gives me the good feeling that maybe I am not feeding so many preservatives.

it takes extra money to be able to stock pile like that. We don't have extra money. We barely make due with the $200 per month food budget we have now.

I grew up on a farm and we would often not be able to get into town during inclement weather.
As a result of this, I've always made sure to have a few months worth of food at a time.
I keep a large plastic storage bin in my kitchen(the trash can and the composter sit on top of it) and make sure it is full of dried beans a rice and some canned veggies at all times. I also make sure to have canned tomatoes because they can make anything taste better. I also keep some extra seasonings and stock cubes in there. I'd hate to have an emergency and end up eating plain rice for a long time!
I go through it about once a month and put anything that needs to be used in my regular pantry so that i remember to use it soon.
It doesn't take too much to keep the bin full--I just buy a bag of beans or some rice or pasta every time I go to the store.

is much more and much less than the other commenters I guess LOL!

We do have a large stock of food mostly because I buy the things we use most when they're at their best price - the longer they store the more I keep - not for disaster emergency as much as for convenience and financial 'emergency' [I consider it more part of my emergency 'fund' than my emergency 'supply']

I have stocked up to some extent on water and am trying to increase it too - and to figure out a way to keep some in the car [I had some 'juice box' type stored but they didn't hold up well in the storage places I have available there] that works well for us [since my place for storing water is an upstairs closet - hard to move lots of it in an evacuation situation]

I stock my freezers for my convenience - I do NOT count them as emergency storage because of the power outage possibility.

We do keep a supply of food on hand. Where we live we could have hurricanes, or tornadoes, so keeping things stock up for emergencies is something that needs to be done. It is always good to know you are prepared.

I grew up on a small dairy farm in the middle of no where (eastern Nebraska). About twice a year we'd have no power for 2+ days & snow drifts higher then a mountain. Between that & my Dad hating to drive town to get one things we always had a bit of a stockpile.

Due to needing a job (something that paid better then a Pamida cashier) I had to move to a bigger town :(
Even though Walmart is down the street from our house, we stockpile.
I cook from scratch buying a good deal of our stuff @ Ethic markets which are cheaper(yes, cheaper then Walmart) & that sell things in bulk.
I love the fact that when there's a big storm we can just stay home, make some yummy baked thing & watch movies all day while the snow (and sometimes rain) blows.
We go grocery shopping once a month & I'm able to feed myself & my growing boy on about $100 a month. About twice a year we'll get the 20lb bags of rice and such so that probably bumps our monthly average up to 180-ish. Until I can figure out why our garden doesn't really grow, we're kinda bartering & getting other peoples over flow veggies & fruit this year. I'm learn to can this fall - for fun. Someday I hope to get us to the point we only go to the store for TP & scotch tape. Then we can spend all our weekends living life, not pacing around a store.

The time we save by not running to the store all the time is spent going to the park, reading, socializing, gardening, doing my son's sports & working on our fixer upper house.
This winter we're going to experiment growing our greens indoors - not to save money but for fun & to see what happens! If it works then (like so many of my "experiments") the money saving part will be gravy.

Personally, I don't stockpile food for an emergency. I'm trying to decrease the amount of "stuff" I keep around my house, and having another cupboard filled with emergency just doesn't make sense for the amount of space I have. If something were to happen, I guess I would have to ration the small supply that I do have available.

Can I come to your house if something happens?

I try to use the pantry stocking method of shopping: when items that I use regularly are on sale, I buy several depending on the shelf life. I try to keep at least one extra week of all essential items on hand and several months work of food in general.

I got a great deal on a new brand of organic soup once so I bought several. After I tried a few, I decided I didn't care for the soup, but I kept the extra cans for three more years because I figured if I really needed something to eat in an emergency, the yucky soups would at least keep me alive.

My husband and I have a small pantry in our kitchen (2 mos. supply) and just recently decided to invest in an "emergency/catastrophic conditions" food storage area in our basement that will last for a couple of years.

The reasons for this are threefold:

The dollar has been devaluing slowly, but surely for the last few decades - and is now worth only about 70% of its value. That fact, coupled with double digit inflation that will hit in a few months as a result of our humongous national debt, leads us to believe that the more food we can stockpile now, the better.

Food shortages may occur in the coming months or years, as a result of decline in agricultural production worldwide and/or fuel shortages interrupting the distribution chain.

We are no longer living in the country we knew as children. Look forward to supply interruptions (fuel and food) - possibly even shortages and taxes on particular items. And one very big tax that could really hit us all in the wallet - the V.A.T.(value added tax)- which is basically a consumption tax!!!

My husband felt very strongly about this and researched the shelf life for all foods and necessities exclusive of fresh meats, poultry fish,fruits and vegetables from a spreadsheet he downloaded from the Internet. He also purchased special 5 gal containers that can be sealed airtight with an additive that eliminates any oxygen that is left in the container. The containers are solid and also vermin-proof.

Consequently, with an extensive checklist in hand, including the shelf-life of 95% of products we consume, we have been building up our supplies slowly this summer. The longer the shelf life, the larger the quantity i.e. --white rice - 20lbs, brown rice - 10 lbs, sugar - 20 lbs, flour - 10 lbs, assorted spices - by the pound,etc...all the way down the line to oils and those with a shorter shelf life.

Remember, our plan is to have enough to last us for at least 2 years. Assuming prices increase at least 15-20%, we will have saved at least that much annually.On an annual grocery budget of about $ 8000 and household supplies/pet food/cosmetics -- we are talking possibly $10,000 total and what is 20% of that? That sure isn't "chump change" to us.

Wake up before it's too late - stop SNORING and start STORING!

Jane

I like to buy food by the case from Amazon. They have good deals with the subscribe and save program plus I use an Amazon credit card for a 3 per cent cash back. I buy soups, dried fruit, sardines, etc.

We live in a tiny apartment, with barely enough room for a week's worth of food, so if some sort of horrible disaster were to hit... I guess we'd be in trouble. But we don't live in a place where there are hurricanes or blizzards, so hopefully we'll be okay!

Growing up, my mother easily had months of food in the basement. Most of this was due to bulk shopping in order to save money, but we lived in a rural area and it wasn't uncommon to have winter storms that kept us stuck at home for a few days. While Dad could usually still get out to go to work, the roads weren't good and people only did the driving they had to - which meant no trips to the store, and definitely no taking the kids out in the car.

I live in an apartment with little room for storage and I often think I should stock up more. I definitely need to put together at least a multi-day emergency pack with food and water. I do have a few gallons of drinking water in a closet, plus a few 2 liter bottles of tap water for things like toilet flushing and the like. I figure that plus the cans of soup and boxes of granola bars will get me through a few days.

I would like to be the sort of person who keeps a good stock of supplies and then rotates through them. My problem is that I buy things and then end up having to replace them because they go bad.

My reason--emergency storage. Too many times I have run out of something I use because of a faulty memory or just too busy and didn't buy it before I ran out of it.

I live on the Texas Gulf coast. We have to keep supplies of bottled water, canned food, food for our pets, etc. in case of hurricanes. After Ike last year we were without electricity for almost two weeks. We plan ahead by having not one but two gasoline generators to power some items like the freezer but it isn't enough for the kitchen so we bbq a lot. You would be amazed at how versatile the bbq pit is!

I have always been the one that purchased all things that were on a great sale...if it was 2 for $5.00, then two it was...I also have the container in the garage for emergencies complete with clean and fresh under garments...a person can never be too ready! When Yk2 was upon us, I was ready...it was all in vain, however, in the recent days, I caught a show on TLC called "HORDERS". Oh my gosh! I am too afraid of becoming one of those and so I gave a ton of my reserves to the local food bank...in the case of a disaster I will have to rely on the fact that I hope good karma comes my way because I gave so much to the food banks...no one can accuse me of being a "HOARDER"...priorites you know! :)

I am a firm believer in stockpiling. Emergencies happen all the time, and they aren't just the weather related kind. I have many times been able to live off mostly my stockpile for a month or so, while scraping the cash together to pay some large bill coming up. I am thinking right now of the $1200 root canal and the $3000 transmission replacement. Stuff happens and you need to be prepared.

I can feed my family well for at least 2 months on what I have on hand and probably another month on random, not necessarily balanced foods.

I always found it easier to keep the basics on hand and have some extras in case I ran out. Family of five. Then I was doing better financially so I would buy extra of somethings to have on hand. I was unemployed this year for several months and we were very blessed to have that food stored. We had some home maintenance expenses, car expenses, and dental work done. So food wasn't really in the budget. I am also interested in where the husband in the above post found the online list of expiration dates of food?

The more food I have in the pantry the easier I rest at night. I also don't worry so much about money if I have a full pantry. I love the planning and storing of all food. It helps me through the winter months when heating is so expensive and I have a house full of people at the holidays!

We survived an ice storm, earlier this year that left us without electricity for 7 days. We learned a lot during those seven days.
We ate very well during the storm. Inviting family and friends, along with their food from their refrigerator, to our home. We prepared meals together, pooling resources, from what would spoil first. The only thing in short supply was desserts as they usually reguired an oven. One day, I did plug in my bread machine to the generator and made a cake from a mix.
I always keep 2-3 dozen eggs on hand. In a real emergency they can be hard boiled and they keep well with lots of protein.
I write the date (just month & year) on all of my canned items and rotate stock every time I add to my pantry. I keep extras of veggies, fruit, canned meats & pasta-type meals, flour, sugar, oil, and cereals (which can always be eaten dry if necessary).
I also freeze milk, in 1/2 gallon jugs (keep about 2 inches head room for expansion). Milk takes a long time to defrost, so you can use it to keep other things cold in a cooler.
Food is not the only necessity. Fire is a biggie. Propane helped us prepare food on the BBQ grill. Wood helped us heat water for all kinds of purposes. Washing hair, (and bodies if you were rugged enough to undress in 40 degree temps) and cleaning pots and pans. Gasoline, we keep a rotation of several cans on hand. Even the gas stations could not pump gas without electricity. If you have a generator, gasoline is a must. A rope/clothes line to hang up towels or clothing to dry.
We have city water. But many people around us have pumps. Many were not prepared with enough water for day-to-day usage. They went to fire stations or neighbors to collect gallons of water each day. I have 3 five gallon bottles of water in my garage, even though I have city water.
We used coolers to keep food cold. The refrigerator is too big to try to keep things cold for a long period of time. Solar emergency blankets sold in the camping section of your local discount store can serve two purposes. Keep you warm or keep your food cold. I have several on hand.
Paper plates were a necessity. Washing only pots and pans in our limited supply of hot water. I keep plenty on hand now.
Lamp oil and old-fashion oil lamps were the only reliable lights after about 4 days. No recharging necessary. Also matches or multi-purpose lighter and small candles.
I also keep a to-go bag in my pantry with items necessary if we need to leave suddenly. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, travel or sample sized shampoos, band-aids, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, matches and emergency solar blankets. I keep this in the pantry so food items can be thrown in quickly.

We don't have emergency food supply but after reading this, I am seriously considering it. We do have an emergency supply of water but we should probably add food to it too.

Lol. I don't go overboard but I do spend a nice chunk of change every three months on staples. I buy bulk items like rice, pasta, beans, chicken cubes, dried spices n seasoning, flour, brown sugar, cereal etc. Dry goods that lasts however I do it out of convinience, I hate shopping n long lines. I really dislike running to the store every couple of days unless it's for fruits veggies or milk. I keep three months of food always going. Easy convinient and frugal for me. It's not easy keeping a grocery list for a house of 13. Sheez. :-)

The roommate and I keep a fairly large supply of staples in the house -- dried beans, barley, rice, oats, red winter wheat, pasta, salt, flour, sugar, honey etc., as well as cans of tomato sauce and such. We keep water purification supplies on hand. We've talked about getting a small stove to boil water outside in case of power outages. I've been cooking grains with boiling water and a Stanley thermos for years -- it's energy-efficient and means I don't have to actually cook anything in the morning.

My colleagues might think this is strange, but I don't see anything wrong with saving up for financial independence AND saving up for possible zombie apocalypse. I just set aside a certain amount of money from my monthly budget for buying preparedness supplies. Why not cover both sides? Invest in index funds AND ammunition. ;)