You Don't Need Money
to Start Preparing.

Fill every large container you own from the tap right now — pots, jugs, clean trash cans.

Fill your bathtub if you have any warning (WaterBOB is optional — a clean tub liner works).

Target: 1 gallon per person per day. A family of 4 needs 12 gallons for 72 hours.

Bleach works: 8 drops of unscented household bleach per gallon purifies tap water for storage.

Know where your nearest creek, river, or lake is. Boiling kills bacteria and viruses.

Do a pantry audit today. Write down what you have and how long it lasts.

Rotate, don't hoard — buy an extra can of what you already eat each grocery trip.

Target: 3-day supply minimum. 2 weeks is the real safety margin.

Rice, beans, oats, canned goods — cheapest calories per dollar, long shelf life.

A manual can opener costs $3. Add it to your cart today.

Write down 5 important phone numbers on paper. You will not remember them without your phone.

Pick a meeting point within walking distance of your home. Everyone in your household must know it.

Pick a second meeting point across town in case the first is unreachable.

Designate one out-of-state contact everyone calls to report status — local lines jam, long-distance often stays open.

A battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio costs $20–$40 at any hardware store.

Take photos of every important document: passport, ID, insurance cards, prescriptions, deed, birth certificates.

Upload to a cloud service (Google Drive, iCloud) so you can access them from any device.

Put physical originals in a single waterproof zip-lock bag stored in one known location.

Write down account numbers, insurance policy numbers, and contact numbers on paper.

If you have medications, know the generic names — brand availability collapses in disruptions.

A sturdy backpack you already own is fine. Don't buy a new one.

Add: 3 days of food (granola bars, jerky, nuts), water bottles, first aid kit ($10 at any pharmacy).

Flashlight + extra batteries. A $5 hand-crank flashlight is better than nothing.

Change of clothes, rain poncho ($2), basic medications, phone charger.

Cash in small bills — ATMs and card readers fail in power outages.

Introduce yourself to your immediate neighbors if you haven't. This is not optional.

Know which neighbors have skills: medical training, mechanical ability, agriculture knowledge.

Know which neighbors are elderly or disabled and will need help evacuating.

A neighborhood with 10 prepared households is exponentially more resilient than 10 isolated households.

CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training is free in most US cities — takes one weekend.