100 Super Cheap Preps for the Next Disaster (51-75)

Part 1.  Part 2.

51.  Take your cell phone and video tape all of your possessions.  Be sure to video everything in the house, garage, and outbuildings as well as any possessions in the yard.  Back up these videos with your regular files to use in the event of an insurance claim.
52.  Develop some hobbies.  As we saw during the pandemic lockdown, people had a lot of time that they didn't know what to do with.  Other than bingeing Netflix or YouTube, it is a good idea to develop non-internet-related hobbies to entertain yourself and your family when you have free time.
53.  Pre-prepare and pre-stage your disaster gear.  If you live in a flood-prone area, put your survival gear in the attic along with the tools to extricate yourself from said attic if this becomes necessary.  If you live in tornado alley, stage your emergency gear in the basement.  If you live in an area prone to earthquakes, put your gear where you can access it even if the house falls down.
54.  Make a list of every bill you pay (monthly, biannually, annually, etc) and look for ways to reduce these bills.  This can be as simple as changing cell plans to checking with you local assessors office to see if they offer any type of property tax exemptions that you qualify for.
55.  Slowly build up your food stockpile.  Buy a few extra things (bag of beans, canned food, etc) each time you go to the grocery store in order to build up your stockpile.  Be sure to keep this food organized and rotate it in with your regular food so it doesn't go bad.
56.  Consider buying an Instapot when you find one on sale.  These do-everything crockpots/pressure cookers are a great way to cook everything from beans to meats quickly and easily.
57.  Spend a week or two this summer camping or backpacking with the family.  This is a great way to practicing wilderness survival skills when the weather is good.
58.  Take a walk around your neighborhood and find resources that could be useful in a disaster: water sources, dumpsters, fruit/nuts growing wild, etc.
59.  Take a walk around your home and neighborhood at night at see what you can find.  This will be a good reminder to close the blinds at night otherwise you can see everything in people's homes and they won't be able to see you standing outside.  You will also get a feel for who is home and who is gone at night, as well as what other activities are happening in your neighborhood at night.
60.  Practice using alternate forms of transportation besides your vehicle.  Walk or ride a bike to do errands, ride the city bus, take a train or Flix bus to a more distant place for the day or weekend.
61.  Improve the security of your home by doing free or cheap tasks that will make your home safer.
62.  Review, update, and improve all of your medical kits.  Check your EDC first aid kit, vehicle first and kit, and home first aid kit and make sure the supplies aren't expired, and that you aren't missing any critical items (many of which can be bought cheaply at the Dollar Store or local pharmacy).
63.  If you live in an area prone to tornadoes or hurricanes, buy a NOAA weather alert radio.  Your safety is well worth the $30 cost of one of these valuable radios.
64.  Spend the weekend doing a "Swedish Death Cleaning" of your home.  Getting rid of stuff you no longer need can both open up more space in your home and make you some extra cash if you decide to sell the stuff you don't need at a garage sale or online.
65.  Put all of your emergency supplies in one place where they are organized and easily accessible.  You don't want to have to run all through your house to find candles and matches when the power goes out, hunt down a flashlight in one place and batteries in another place, or gather stuff from all over the house when you only have minutes to evacuate your home.
66.  Do some research and find out what the most likely disasters are in your area.  This is especially important to do when you move to a new area.  Do you live in an earthquake or flood-prone area?  Do you live where a dam could break or where winter storms are common.  After you find out what disasters are most likely to happen, use this knowledge to prioritize where you spend your disaster preparedness time and money.
67.  Invest in items that you can use everyday that will help save you money.  If you have lots of trees on your property, a wood stove may be a good investment to provide heat as well as a place to cook.  Lehman's Store will give you lots of ideas for useful, old fashioned items you might find useful (don't forget to look for these items at your local thrift stores and garage sales to find them even cheaper!).
68.  Pick up a hobby that will both save you money as well as give you options for earning money.  Computer repair, building computers, solar tech, building furniture, etc. are all fun hobbies, can save you money, and are usually in demand for paying gigs as well.
69.  Look into gig-type jobs if you need to build up your savings quickly.  Driving for Uber or Lyft, delivering pizza, short-term contract work, etc. are all quick ways to make some extra cash.
70.  Do a bit of searching to see if there is unclaimed money waiting for you (add this money to your savings or buy more emergency preparedness supplies with it!).
71.  Speaking of free, did you know that there are still places that will give you free land?  If you are looking to get away from the crowds, this may be an interesting opportunity to look into.
72.  Spend quality time with your kids (sans electronics and internet).  Play chess, play Monopoly, play tag, play hide and seek, set up an archery range if you have room on your property, play paintball...play games together, have fun, and the kids won't even know they are learning useful survival skills.
73.  Work on big projects.  You can start with a cheap, broken down bicycle you find at the thrift store and fix it up to usable condition.  Maybe move on to motorcycles and cars.  This way you learn valuable skills and end up with items you can either use or sell.
74.  When you do decide to splurge on higher priced items, check discount sites first like Steep and Cheap, several online discount ammo stores, Tech Bargains, etc.
75.  See if paying an annual fee will net you a bigger discount than paying the regular individual price.  You can save big on car insurance by paying six months at a time, a cell phone plan by paying a year at a time, buying a lifetime National Parks Pass or an annual state park pass will save a lot over paying the daily entry fee, etc.

Part 4....