Lists

Prepping begins with a list. You look at what you need and then look at what you have. Anything you need that you don't have, you put on the list.

When I started building my list, I very quickly got to about 80 items. I realized that I couldn't do it all at once, so I went through the list and prioritized it. I keep my lists in Excel (and then print a copy) for easy maintenance, sorting, etc.

I then budgeted a portion of my pay (roughly 2.5%) and put it in a separate account. Each item on the list gets researched on the web to find the best price and quality I can reasonably afford, and then gets bought in order. As time goes on, I plan to devote more of my pay to prepping, and to saving in gold and silver.

My master list gets updated, and I keep track of all the things that I've bought for prep. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment to see that list of tools, food, and items grow, knowing that I've removed a little bit of insecurity from my life.

Granted, you can't plan for everything. But having a plan gives you a degree of flexibility.