The Poor Man’s Prepping

[goofygurl]

goofygurl, have sent you two PMs abt the coupons as you suggested but my messages are not registering that I have sent them. Don't know what the prob is. Have you received them?

I have not.

[zombiepreparation]

I haven't been watching the news (or much of anything) for sev weeks. I knew about the horrendous fires in CO and the wide spread heat wave (am IN the heat wave) but out of touch with most else.

Turned on CNN just a few mins ago (I've bailed on outdoor July 4th party today... triple digit heat) and saw a WTF report from W.Virginia:
*Hundreds of thousands without elec for days and expecting more because of a storm they had
*Home fridge/freezer food spoiling
*Middle of heat wave
*Grocery stores with rotting cold/frozen foods and all other shelves BARE (pictures)
*Several people w/out food/water up to four days (interviews)
*Food banks shelves empty. (pictures)
*Folks driving from place to place looking for food/water with no luck (interviews)
*No gasoline because no electricity to pump

And Georgia:
*Flooding causing widespread loss of homes
*All flood water undrinkable because of septic tank flooding
*Thousands w/o basic necessities

Talk about your leaning toward the TV to catch every word and mentally racing through my prep inventory.
"Need to refill my water buckets, need to complete my hobo stove and solar oven and gather bio-fuel and buy charcoal, need to think about how to eat and/or distribute fridge/food for quick eating in such an Event, need to think about how to cool apartment, need to get more baggies and bathroom tissue, need to..." You get the picture.

Talk about a sudden end to the prepping block I'd been experiencing!

My thoughts are with all of you in these areas experiencing these and other Events I've been oblivious to recently.

[zombiepreparation]

[edit]

[zombiepreparation]

I am posting this here as a heads-up in case other Poor Man's Preppers are not aware, as I was not, of how these triple digit temperatures can make this happen:

One city 29 miles from here has gone on a 'boil water alert', and another 43 miles from here has also gone on a 'boil water alert' because of...I have now edited in perhaps more accurate information: "On Wednesday residents were advised to boil their water for at least the next 24 hours because of low water pressure in the area. By Thursday morning, water was deemed safe to drink again." -- and in another city -- "residents remain under a mandatory water restriction. That means no unessential use of water <snip> officials are concerned that its storage levels are getting too low. After 26 hours without any water from [its source supplier], due to a pump failure, the city was only able to replenish half its supply. A water main break is limiting the supply further." Have to go to work and can more info abt the other citys on last night's news report.

Our temps are expected to increase by one degree daily for the next three days before we get double digits for a few days.

Tonight I will start filling all containers I have with filtered water, replacing all stored water with fresh water, and cleaning and filling my four five gallon food grade buckets with water, just in case. That should give me right at 30 days of potable water @ one gallon a day.

I am filling as many non-potable water containers as I can find with fresh water for my plants because three cities around here have issued a mandatory moratorium on watering outside, including gardens. And I guess also for flushing, though I didn't gather from the news blurb that that was a problem.

Heads-up triple digit temperature Preppers!

[zombiepreparation]

So I've cleaned and set up 67 gallons potable water (that was a surprise) & 14.5 gallons non-potable and finished my current inventory:

**With availability to get water I have 50 days of tasty eating & another 27-29 of boring eating, plus another two weeks of survivable eating = I will have reached 90 days of survivable food preps.
**With no availability to get more water I have right around 60 days ready.

In my tiny 'Manhattan size' dwelling too. There are fireworks still going off all over the city celebrating me meeting my goal. (Okay they're going off because it's the 4th but I'm spinning it my way. )

Today is a food/water prepping milestone reached. (first goal was 3 days, second was two weeks, third was 30 days, fourth was 60 days.)

Next food/water goal is 90 days, then six months, then nine months. When I reach one year of food/water preps (with containers for 365 gallons available for quickly filling with water if I have enough time before the Event reeks its full havoc) I will have met my current food/water goals.

I still have to get all my medical up to speed but even that, after inventorying, is closer to 30 days with some stuff and around 90 days with two I-can-not-do-without items. Am not yet medically prepared or even on the road for physical trauma preparedness though and I know it.

Then there's all that other stuff. Then there will be no room for me anymore.

[prepper7]

Seriously inspiring things!

[goofygurl]

Okay, so due to recent financial boo boo's on my part, me and mine are going OLD school poor mans prep. Basically, a cross country move, resulted in almost all of my preps being stolen by a former landlord before I could get them brought down here with me, leaving us VERY little to work with. We do have the preps that Barr had on hand, but we lost A LOT...and I mean..A LOT.

So we're down to this. 8 liters of water, a few dehydrated meals and that's it. No emergency candles, no anything like that. Food is the scarcest thing to us right now, so I'll be working on that for the next couple of months, hoping to hit some good sales and coupon deals while I do it. Luxury items are scarce too..tp and laundry soap being the lowest (as in about 5 rolls of tp and 1/2 a box of detergent).

We'll be okay and I'll get it worked out, just takes time.


and yes, I do want to go up there and reclaim my shit, but I'm 100% positive that it's all gone by now anyhow. I'd bet they had a grand old time passing MY hard earned preps out to their family after they went into my home (I still had a lease until 7/1 and was paid on rent until 7/1. They went in around 6/20) and stole what was mine.

[prepper7]

Okay, so due to recent financial boo boo's on my part, me and mine are going OLD school poor mans prep. Basically, a cross country move, resulted in almost all of my preps being stolen by a former landlord before I could get them brought down here with me <snip>

Holy crap, that's just too vile! I'm so sorry to read of your situation. I hope you find a way to get compensation for your stolen preps.

[zombiepreparation]

Okay, so due to recent financial boo boo's on my part, me and mine are going OLD school poor mans prep. Basically, a cross country move, resulted in almost all of my preps being stolen by a former landlord before I could get them brought down here with me <snip>

Holy crap, that's just too vile! I'm so sorry to read of your situation. I hope you find a way to get compensation for your stolen preps.

Oh, GG, P7 said it perfectly; too vile, I'm so sorry, and hopes for compensation. Oh oh oh oh. I'm sitting here picturing the whole thing, where you were, where you are, what you had, it being taken from you, the big move, the new place, the uncertainties. You have a lot on your plate Ms.GG. Drink extra water, make yourself sleep, give & receive affection offered, be angry/hurt about it as needed, grieve the loss fully, use distractions when useful, put one step in front of the other. I mean, you know how to 'coupon' for heaven's sake! A skill that is still beyond me! You're the woman! At some point this vile time will be in your past.

I'm going to be angry with you tonight in a show of solidarity!

[prepper7]

<snip> So my point is to know what I have paid and when and where. Correct so far?

Yes.

So I will know, umm... when the prices have again, what... reached the price of my choice. Correct? Here is where I get lost.

Sort of. Your price book lets you know the highest price you must pay for an item (and where). In my area, I know that I needn't pay more than $.99 for a dozen eggs (and $.77 or $.88 sales are not uncommon).

It also prevents you from being fooled by fake and not-very-good "sales". Let's say I look at the Walgreens flyer and see that peanut butter is on sale for $3.59 (reg $3.99). Not bad, right? But looking at my price book, I see that the last time I purchased peanut butter was three weeks ago and I paid $2.79. At Ralphs. So, I pass on the Walgreens offering -- especially as I don't need peanut butter now (goes back to, you shop in your larder for things you need, you shop in the shops for things that are on sale)!

Over time, you may identify sales cycle patterns from your book data, but the book serves a simple purpose; to give you a "go/no go" signal. It lets you know if the advertised price is a good price, a "buy" (or a "buy lots") price.

I've downloaded the Price Book template, made an Excel book, entered my list and prices from my receipts, looks good, (again) but Am I making a new page or maybe entry each time I shop? How do I get from logging all this information to knowing what the best price is and when and where? All the templates are single purchase cells, which I understand, but does this book get really really big and am I flipping through months of shopping trips and comparing unit prices? I can't figure out this part.

You get your area's best price by comparing the advertised price to the lowest price in your book. If it's equal or lower, you buy. Since you've noted where you've made your purchases, you know where that price was paid. You would make a new entry (or update the price and location) every time you buy (you can also make note of prices that you notice whilst shopping, even if you are not buying).

Unit pricing is important so you compare apples-to-apples. If a 64 oz bottle of Minute Maid OJ and a 48 oz bottle of Tropicana OJ are on sale, unit pricing tells you the better value. Take a look at the paper towel and bathroom tissue sizes (big roll, double roll, extra-big roll...) if you want to tear your hair out.

Yes, if you never purge any data, the book will become large.

The people in the above links talk like the Price Book is showing them something but doesn't indicate [to me] how, nor are the templates showing me. I keep thinking that there should be columns that keeps automatic (formatted) entries of the best price purchases on each item in each store and date of that price. Or is it all hunt through back shopping trips? Which doesn't make sense to me.

Some of your confusion may be due to the many type of price book systems. I personally wouldn't find a "paper and pen" system the best fit for me, but there are people who totally rock that method. I think that for the computer savvy, electronic books are the fastest and easiest to use. The advantage of an electronic book (such as an Excel spreadsheet) is that it can be sorted, the computer does the hard part.

Does the price book you downloaded not allow you to sort the sheet by item and price? Which one did you get?

Anyone with info on this can PM me if it seems more appropriate there.

Can't think of a better place than here; and others may be assisted by the dialog.

[goofygurl]

Unit pricing is important so you compare apples-to-apples. If a 64 oz bottle of Minute Maid OJ and a 48 oz bottle of Tropicana OJ are on sale, unit pricing tells you the better value. Take a look at the paper towel and bathroom tissue sizes (big roll, double roll, extra-big roll...) if you want to tear your hair out.

Break it down to single roll cost. Is easier. I'd rather break it down to single roll cost and pay .15 per single roll than .93 for a big roll that equals 4 single rolls anyhow.

[goofygurl]

As for them stealing my shit, I'm over it and done. Is why I waited until now to post...so that I could without any anger, etc coming across in my post. I spent time angry, I spent time wanting to cry and then I moved on. I will say this, I lost at least 1.5 years worth of food for 1 adult and 1 child, at least 150 single rolls of tp, razors, body wash, shampoo, etc. They even stole the freeze dried strawberries I had in the closet that were a REVIEW item for my job. Yes, I got to taste 1 package out of the 6 before I left, so I CAN review them, but that's not the point.

They went as far as pulling my daughters toys out of her toy box and letting their kid go thru them and stealing my vacuum cleaner.

There will be no compensation. Just picking up, moving on and starting over again. I stocked it once on the cheap with coupons, I can do it again.

[duodecima]

Unit pricing is important so you compare apples-to-apples. If a 64 oz bottle of Minute Maid OJ and a 48 oz bottle of Tropicana OJ are on sale, unit pricing tells you the better value. Take a look at the paper towel and bathroom tissue sizes (big roll, double roll, extra-big roll...) if you want to tear your hair out.

Break it down to single roll cost. Is easier. I'd rather break it down to single roll cost and pay .15 per single roll than .93 for a big roll that equals 4 single rolls anyhow.

Slightly off topic- is it just me or are the new 'double rolls' the same size as a 'single roll' was, back in the day? (or smaller, the cynical side of me asks?). Just comparing my scott 1000 to the chramin I picked up, I think there's less paper in the regular rolls...

GG - that sucks, sorry to hear it.

Also, perhaps the extreme couponing thread might be a better place for some of this? Keep this thread for all the other "poor man's" thread.

[prepper7]

Unit pricing is important so you compare apples-to-apples. If a 64 oz bottle of Minute Maid OJ and a 48 oz bottle of Tropicana OJ are on sale, unit pricing tells you the better value. Take a look at the paper towel and bathroom tissue sizes (big roll, double roll, extra-big roll...) if you want to tear your hair out.

Break it down to single roll cost. Is easier. I'd rather break it down to single roll cost and pay .15 per single roll than .93 for a big roll that equals 4 single rolls anyhow.

The Toilet Paper Principle: Stock-Up Price For TP from dealseekingmom.com is an handy buying tool, too.

Look at the total square feet, insert a decimal point in this number two places to the left. If the cost of the package minus coupons is less than or equal to this figure, it's a decent deal -- basically $0.01 or less per square foot!

E.g.,
TP #1 = 400 sq. ft.; price = $6; stock-up price $4, so not a fabulous deal....
TP #2 = 650 sq. ft.; price = $5; stock-up price $6.50, so definitely a bargain!

[prepper7]

Also, perhaps the extreme couponing thread might be a better place for some of this? Keep this thread for all the other "poor man's" thread.

Okay.

[prepper7]

<snip> There will be no compensation. Just picking up, moving on and starting over again. I stocked it once on the cheap with coupons, I can do it again.

I'm sorry, I didn't intend cause any further frustration with my comment. It's good that you've come to terms with what's happened and have made a plan to rebuild. Best of luck to you.

[majorhavoc]

Unit pricing is important so you compare apples-to-apples. If a 64 oz bottle of Minute Maid OJ and a 48 oz bottle of Tropicana OJ are on sale, unit pricing tells you the better value. Take a look at the paper towel and bathroom tissue sizes (big roll, double roll, extra-big roll...) if you want to tear your hair out.

Break it down to single roll cost. Is easier. I'd rather break it down to single roll cost and pay .15 per single roll than .93 for a big roll that equals 4 single rolls anyhow.

The Toilet Paper Principle: Stock-Up Price For TP from dealseekingmom.com is an handy buying tool, too.

Look at the total square feet, insert a decimal point in this number two places to the left. If the cost of the package minus coupons is less than or equal to this figure, it's a decent deal -- basically $0.01 or less per square foot!

E.g.,
TP #1 = 400 sq. ft.; price = $6; stock-up price $4, so not a fabulous deal....
TP #2 = 650 sq. ft.; price = $5; stock-up price $6.50, so definitely a bargain!

Yes, yes, but your evaluation criteria fails to account for the relative strength of various brands of TP, which is directly proportional to the amount needed for each use. I prefer to use the far more sophisticated "ass-wipes per roll" metric that more precisely gauges the actual value of your bath tissue purchase. A handy downloadable ass-wipe app (versions available for both iPhone and Android) can be found at http://www.omgthisshitfeelslikesandpaper.com. HTH

[prepper7]

<snip> I prefer to use the far more sophisticated "ass-wipes per roll" metric that more precisely gauges the actual value of your bath tissue purchase. A handy downloadable ass-wipe app (versions available for both iPhone and Android) can be found at http://www.omgthisshitfeelslikesandpaper.com. HTH

That, right there, is funny!

[zombiepreparation]

<snip> I prefer to use the far more sophisticated "ass-wipes per roll" metric that more precisely gauges the actual value of your bath tissue purchase.

That, right there, is funny!

I discovered a couple of weeks ago that there is one brand of B-tissue that has the same sheet count per roll as Scott Brand 1,000 sheet per roll (Scott 1,000 tissue being the criteria I use as comparison base for all B-T) and has the same number of rolls per package as Scott.... however I noticed in all those numbers printed on the wrapper that each 'sheet' of the other brand is, in the printed numbers, just a leeeetle smaller in actual size than the standard square. So I stood the Scott tissue next to the other brand and sure enough the whole package is just the leeeetle-est bit smaller than the Scott.

That falls under your measuring system doesn't it? Less paper per sheet = less wipes per roll?

[prepper7]

<snip> ... however I noticed in all those numbers printed on the wrapper that each 'sheet' of the other brand is, in the printed numbers, just a leeeetle smaller in actual size than the standard square.

Bit of tricky business, that. That's why I like to use the square-foot measure; it can't be manipulated by manufacturers.

[CG]

You might be interested in these links on cooking in a thermos.

http://www.thermoscooking.com
http://www.pssurvival.com/ps/food/Survi ... pdf#page40

[goofygurl]

<snip> There will be no compensation. Just picking up, moving on and starting over again. I stocked it once on the cheap with coupons, I can do it again.

I'm sorry, I didn't intend cause any further frustration with my comment. It's good that you've come to terms with what's happened and have made a plan to rebuild. Best of luck to you.

No frustration caused.

[prepper7]

The Thermos cooking sites look interesting, CG. Thanks.

I've a case of Irish oatmeal that I never make because (I'm lazy) it takes so much longer than my Quaker Instant. This could be a way to have higher quality, tastier oatmeal.

[goofygurl]

Has anyone ever tried doing a Dollar Store BOB? We check out the one near the grocery store quite often, and I'm amazed at the amount of stuff they carry that I could see going into a BOB- not the highest quality, of course, but better than not having it at all.

I've been thinking about it, and when I have the money to spare, I'm going to try this out. One trip to the dollar store, with pics of what I got. We have several of them, so maybe a trip to each, but I think a basic kit for 72 hours could be put together in one day, for not a lot of money. It could be a Starter Kit, something that's there and ready to go, while putting together a better setup. When the better kit is ready, if it's not been used, it could be gifted to someone who is getting started.

Hey KOTR, did you ever do this? If not? I may do it next month just to see. If so? Did you post and I missed it?