100 Preparedness Tips

With our country being disassembled inch by inch, hurricanes, earthquakes on the daily, and financial disasters...everywhere...it pays to be prepared for anything that might happen. Here are some tips...

Money

1. Have an emergency fund, the bigger the better.
2. Keep cash safely stored in your home in case ATMs go down.
3. Make every effort to be debt free ASAP.
4. Put your life savings/investments in a variety of places (stocks, CDs, mutual funds, etc).
5. Always carry cash with you in case credit cards aren't able to be processed.
6. Carry debit/credit cards from three different banks in your wallet (in case some but not all bank systems go down).
7. Save as much money as possible (buy stuff on sale, shop at thrift stores, etc).
8. Pay phone and other bills annually if possible (this will keep your service going even if payment systems are down for an extended period of time).
9. Check your free credit report annually to make sure nothing is out of line in your reports.
10. Be aware of the many financial scams going around and avoid them if possible.

House

1. Keep your home in good repair and have the tools/materials on hand to make repairs if needed.
2. Keep your home well organized so you can find the gear/supplies you need during a disaster.
3. Keep your home well stocked with consumables that you use often (TP, shampoo, soap, paper towels, etc).
4. Have multiple sources of water on hand (bottled, tap, from a nearby creek, etc).
5. Have multiple ways to cook during a disaster (kitchen stove, patio grill and fuel, camping stove and fuel, etc).
6. Have multiple ways to heat your home during a disaster (furnace, kerosene stove and fuel, wood stove and firewood, etc).
7. Make sure your home is secure (dead bolt locks, window alarms, solid core doors, etc).
8. Be prepared to evacuate your home if necessary (due to wildfire, chemical spill, etc). 
9. Have a solar battery bank on hand for use when the power goes out.
10. Have a year's worth of food stockpiled (helps when there are shortages or steep price increases).

Car

1. Have a comprehensive car emergency kit in your vehicle.
2. Keep a battery jumper box in your car (charge it up regularly).
3. Always keep food and water as well as a good first aid kit in your car.
4. Keep your vehicle in good working order and make repairs as needed.
5. Keep basic car repair tools and materials on hand.
6. Keep seasonal items for your vehicle on hand (chains, snow tires, ice scraper, etc).
7. Always fill the gas tank up when you hit a half tank.
8. Keep a regularly updated overnight/emergency bag for each family member in your vehicle.
9. Keep a map in your glove box in case GPS goes down.
10. Keep a few "wag bags" in your vehicle in case you end up stuck in traffic for hours.

Job

1. Keep your resume updated no matter how secure your job is.
2. Keep up with your business networks (this is a great way to find out about jobs before they are even posted).
3. Have multiple sources of income (a job and some side hustles, for example).
4. Be exceptional at your job and always keep learning and improving your skills.
5. Be strategic when job hopping.
6. Always prepare like you will be laid off without warning (this happens a lot lately).
7. Take advantage of any benefits your job offers (401k matching, educational support, etc).
8. Know your job's policy manual backwards and forwards (this way you won't miss out on things like paid severance if worse comes to worst, etc).
9. Look towards your work future and plan for impacts from AI, corporate downsizing, etc.
10. Make yourself invaluable at your workplace.

Family

1. Teach your kids how to respond in a disaster (if you are injured, they might need to save YOU).
2. Make a family communication/reunification plan if you all happen to be in different places when disaster strikes.
3. Have multiple ways to communicate with friends and family after a disaster (cell phone, email, social media, HAM radio, mesh network, etc).
4. Teach your kids useful skills like gun safety, Stop the Bleed, what to do in active shooter situations, what to do about bullies, etc.
5. Pay attention to the mental health of family members, before, during, and after a disaster.
6. Take time to prepare for pets, livestock, babies, the ill, and the elderly and their special needs during a disaster.
7. Teach your family what the most common disasters are in your area and how to prepare for these situations (ie: where are the community tornado shelters, what to do during an earthquake, etc).
8. Have a list of people that can help during a disaster: lawyer, doctor, plumber, auto mechanic, etc.
9. Teach your kids age-appropriate skills: cooking, how to do laundry, helping with gardening and chopping firewood, etc.
10. Volunteer as a family, attend preparedness classes together, go shooting and camping as a family.

Skills

1. Learn how to source and purify water.
2. Learn armed and/or unarmed self defense skills.
3. Learn basic first aid skills.
4. Take advantage of community events like health fairs to learn CPR, AED use, etc.
5. Watch YouTube videos to learn new disaster-related skills or brush up on old skills.
6. If there is a skill you want to learn, find a local expert to teach you (ie: Master Gardeners, local fishermen, etc).
7. Learn basic outdoor survival skills then go on an unsupported, week-long backpacking trip to test your new skills.
8. Consider volunteering. CERT, SAR, and volunteering as an EMT are interesting ways to learn useful survival skills.
9. Learn skills from your oldest relatives like canning food, how to wash clothes by hand, etc.
10. Teach yourself basic things like how to change a tire, how to fix a leaky faucet, etc (YouTube is great for this).

Hobbies

1. Pick up outdoor activities like orienteering, bicycling, camping and hiking to learn valuable survival skills.
2. If you plan to have firearms, learn how to skillfully use them by participating in shooting hobbies such as USPSA or IPSC.
3. Consider HAM radio for a fun and useful hobby.
4. Reading is an underrated hobby these days, read useful books which you can get free from the library.
5. Old-timey hobbies like woodworking, sewing, etc. are both fun and useful during a disaster situation.
6. Have a garden--it's useful (provides food), enjoyable, good exercise too.
7. Even traveling can be a good preparedness hobby. Seeing how people live, especially in third-world countries, can be eye-opening (and useful for disaster preparedness).
8. Enjoy hobbies with your family members; this is great for team-building as well as learning useful skills together.
9. Cooking, baking from scratch, making specialty foods (like wine making, cheese making, making pickles, etc) are both useful and enjoyable hobbies.
10. Team hobbies such as playing softball or volleyball is a great way to stay fit and make friends.

Health and Fitness

1. Maintain your health so you won't be reliant on a mountain of prescription pills which is so common these days.
2. Exercise every single day to maintain good fitness.
3. Eat nutritious, whole foods instead of the massive amount of junk foods that fill our supermarket shelves.
4. Use relaxation and stress management techniques to deal with the everyday stresses of our world.
5. Enjoy fitness activities that blend exercise and socialization like pickleball, bowling, etc; being social is good for your mental health.
6. Set some big fitness goals (like running a marathon) which will improve your health and teach you how to achieve big goals. On a side note, being able to run long distances may be useful in a disaster.
7. Regularly track your health metrics such as weight, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, etc. and keep them within a healthy range.
8. Pay attention to illness and injury prevention tasks that can keep you healthy (ie: stay up-to-date on vaccines, wear a helmet when biking or skiing, etc).
9. Get regular dental, hearing, vision, and mental health care.
10. Try going an entire weekend without being online/on social media--it will do wonders for your mental health.

Gear

1. Create a useful Everyday Carry kit.
2. Create a personalized Bug Out Bag.
3. Put all of your disaster supplies in one area, stored in marked plastic tubs.
4. Have all of your personal documents in a safe place that you can grab at a moment's notice if you need to evacuate (passports, birth certificates, marriage/adoption/military/immigration records, etc).
5. Have hard copies of your contact lists, banking info, passwords, etc. in case your computer dies and all of your digital files are lost.
6. Make a "survival tablet".
7. Invest in quality survival gear (everything from rain jackets to tents to battery banks to flashlights and more).
8. Have support gear for your survival gear (ie: a cleaning kit for your guns, sharpeners for your tools, etc).
9. Look for ways to gather gear at a discount (use sierra.com, steepandcheap.com, the Dollar Tree, thrift stores, garage sales, etc).
10. Way down at the bottom of your gear list might be a "bug out vehicle" or "bug out cabin" for real SHTF situations.

Don't Forget

1. Don't forget to rotate your food stockpile in with your usual food so things don't expire.
2. Don't forget to back up your computer files regularly and keep at least one copy of your files backed up off-site.
3. Don't forget to review your "end of life" documents at least annually.
4. Don't forget to put your emergency plan in writing and give a copy to each family member.
5. Don't believe everything you see online/o YnouTube (and don't watch so much "sky is falling" stuff, it will make you crazy and most of it is false anyway).
6. Don't overlook the value of good sources (I like Ryan Hall for weather, S2 Underground for national and world threats). Use proven, reliable sources for disaster and impending disaster news).
7. Don't forget to add in good/fun things to have in the event of a disaster (keep a chocolate stash with your emergency food, have new games and coloring books to have on hand when the power goes out, etc).
8. Don't forget situational awareness anytime you are in public places. By paying attention you may be able to avert disaster.
9. Don't forget to do these tasks at your own pace (ie: don't run up a credit card to buy all of your survival gear at once...slow and steady preparation is the way to go).
10. Don't forget to have fun when doing these activities; even though preparedness is a serious topic, a bit of fun and levity makes it a less depressing topic.

How Prepared Are You?

I was just watching this YouTube video from Prepper Princess and it made me think that we need to become even more prepared than we already are!  I've been feeling the same way as she has--that something big (and bad) may be coming--but then I thought maybe I have just been doing too much doomscrolling and watching too much news.  So here are the tasks I am going to be working on in order to become even more prepared...

• I'm going to buy a battery power bank with a solar panel.  This can provide free electricity from the sun to charge up a battery bank which can then be used to run small appliances/laptops/TV/etc. if there is an extended power outage.  Note that since we live in the desert, and I don't want to spend the huge dollars needed for a whole-house generator, we would be pretty screwed if we don't have air conditioning for an extended period of time (although people did live in this area before air conditioning was invented but how they did this I have no idea).
• Since we live in the desert, we do not have any real sources of water if the municipal system goes down.  Currently we stock small and large (5 gallon) bottles of water but there is a limit to how many we can store and how fast we can use it.  Water would be our biggest problem if there was total societal collapse.
• We stockpile food every week.  We try to rotate through our stocked food regularly but since we stock so much, we usually end up sending big boxes of canned and packaged food to family in the Philippines (which they greatly appreciate!).  This week Albertsons had tuna for 50 cents a can which is a great price so now we have 20 extra cans of tuna in our pantry...this is pretty much how we can afford to stockpile food, by buying up loss leaders and sale items as they are posted in each week's sale ad.
• We are still debating about whether or not to pay off the house since the payments are so small and the interest rate is just below 3%.  Dave Ramsey says to pay off the house ASAP which is what we may do but currently my investments are bringing in much more than 3%.
• We stash some cash at home but I am afraid that if the house catches fire, all of our money would go up in flames if we keep too much cash at home.  We do have a fireproof safe but I have no idea how fireproof it really is plus, for safety reasons, we don't want to keep too much cash at home.
• I hadn't thought about stocking up on vitamins but I probably should do that.
• We don't have much reason to stock up on firewood since we don't have long cold periods here, plus we have no fireplace to burn it in.  I think I will buy another propane tank for our outdoor grill in case natural gas is cut and we need to cook on our outdoor stove.
• We generally keep the gas in our car topped off but trying to flee our city, which is located in the middle of the desert, along with several million other people would be futile (just watching the news show 20-mile backups on the freeway when everyone is heading back to California after a holiday weekend looks pretty crazy).
• We do keep a good stock of hubby's necessary medications by ordering/picking them up the moment they are available.  He could probably go an three extra months without getting his prescriptions if necessary.
• I have a HAM radio and a HAM radio license (which was required for a job I used to do), but I have very little experience or knowledge of using a HAM radio so this is something I need to work on.
• We definitely need to acquire/stock up on non-electric types of entertainment.  Pretty much all of our entertainment revolves around online stuff--hubby plays online poker, I read library books on my Kindle app, and we both like to watch TV--so next time we go to the Goodwill I am going to buy some hard copy books, maybe a few board games, buy some DVD movies, etc.
• I need to buy more ammo.  We have guns but haven't been shooting in ages.  The last time I was thinking about stocking up on more ammo, the prices were crazy high because of demand so this is something I need to look into also.
• I need to go through all of our preparedness supplies and see what we need/what is expired/what is missing/etc.  The last time I did this was right after the pandemic began so it is about time I do this again!

I think this is a good starting point for us.  How prepared are you for total societal collapse?

Emergency Preparedness Supplies

I was perusing the internet this morning and came across this ad for a two-person, three-day emergency preparedness kit "on sale" for $449!!!???  I thought it was a joke but apparently they fully expect to sell such kits even though you can buy the same items that are in the kit for about $50 per person or less.  I feel sorry for anyone who falls for this garbage.  Here's the contents of the bag and where you can get the things they have in their bag for less than an arm and a leg:

• Bag (get a super cheap daypack from the Goodwill or Ross/TJ Maxx)
• Solar hand crank emergency radio (you can buy one on Amazon for $22.90)
• 3 day water supply (buy a case of bottled water from the grocery store for $2)
• 3 day food supply (buy granola bars, instant soup, canned pasta, etc from the grocery store which should be less than $10 per person)
• Soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste (buy these in travel size form at Walmart or Target for $1 each)
• First aid kit (make your own with stuff from the Dollar Store)
• Multi tool ($1 at the Dollar Store or buy a higher quality one online)
• Emergency ponchos ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Mylar space blankets ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Instant hand warmers ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Signal whistle ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Chocolate ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Tea (from the Dollar Store or just take some from your pantry)
• Duct tape ($1 at the Dollar Store)
• Tube tent (about $5 on Amazon)
• 2 N95 masks (still hard to find but regular masks can be found online or at Walmart)
• Survival matches ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Candle ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Gloves ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Utility bag ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Paracord ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Playing cards ($1 at the Dollar Store)
• LED headlamp ($1 at the Dollar Store or buy a higher quality one online)
• Stainless steel flask (these cost a few dollars online or find one for under $1 at the Goodwill)
• Waterproof notebook and pencil ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Flashlight ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store))
• Glowsticks ($1 at Walmart/Amazon/Dollar Store)
• Signal flare (these cost a few dollars each on Amazon)

On a final note, I took a free CERT class in my community and they gave me a bag containing all of these items and more for free!

Substitute This for That

I spent most of my childhood growing up on a farm with my grandparents.  They were not rich by any stretch of the imagination and most of the things they did was dictated by having grown up during the Great Depression.  There are A LOT of things that people are running out and buying right now that my grandparents (and many people around the world today) would have never even considered buying.  Here's how to substitute common items for things that you would otherwise think you had to buy to survive the coronavirus or any other disaster...

• Instead of kleenex, use a handkerchief.  It saves paper, saves money, and many people around the world still use hankies instead of spending exorbitant amounts of money on paper to blow their nose into.
• Instead of paper towels, use rags.  This is what everyone used up until paper towels came into common use.
• Instead of Clorox wipes and similar products, use rags soaked in water with a little bleach in it.
• Baking substitutes.  Whether there has been a run on a necessary ingredient at the grocery store or you run out of an item and don't want to trek to the store to get more--but you still want to bake your cake--there are several things you can use to substitute for all kinds of baking supplies (examples here, here, and here).
• Instead of toilet paper, there are several other things you can use (which about 70% of the world uses on a daily basis because toilet paper is expensive when you are poor).
• Instead of disposable items, use more durable alternatives.  Basically anything that is meant to be thrown away after one use has a non-disposable alternative.  Nalgene water bottles, titanium eating utensils, fabric or nylon shopping bags, rechargeable batteries, reusable coffee filters, using a tea ball instead of a tea bag...anytime you go to throw away something, think of what could be substituted for the item that you would only need to buy once.
• Use cloth diapers instead of disposable diapers.  Yes it's more hassle but it is also much cheaper and you won't panic if suddenly every store in your town is out of plastic diapers.
• Instead of buying dozens of household products like laundry soap and cosmetics, having a few general purpose items on hand will allow you to make many of the products yourself that you would otherwise pay top dollar for at the store.
• Did you know that instead of throwing your vegetable scraps into the garbage bin or compost pile you can regrow many of them and create your own, unending, mini garden?
• I try to eat vegan as much as possible and in doing so, I've needed to find substitutions for using animal products when cooking.  Here are a bunch of substitution ideas for commonly used foods.
• Before you run out to the store to buy an item (or if the shelves are bare due to panic buying) consider alternative substitutions for what you need (the internet is full of clever ideas to both save money and re-purpose items around your home).
• Homemade cold and flu remedies can be an alternative to store-bought items.  There are a bunch of caveats to this of course...never try to make prescription medicine at home, if you are really sick go to the doctor immediately, don't use vet medicines like fish mox unless it really is the end of the world and you have no other alternative, and strive to always have the most common first aid items on hand (Tylenol, ibuprofen, etc).
• Sometimes when there is a shortage of a certain food, you just have to go without.  There have frequently been times when there was no lettuce in the stores, tomato shortages, etc.  Making meals without a few common items isn't that difficult to do, plus you can often substitute some foods for other foods without a great difference in taste.

I'm guessing that all of this panic buying will blow over soon but until then, then internet is full of useful and interesting alternatives for nearly everything that you think is a necessity in your life.

20 $10 Disaster Preps

Watching the California wildfires disaster unfold on TV makes me think that everyone can be a little more prepared for a disaster, even if they don't have a whole lot of money to throw at preparedness.  For just $10 a week, you can stock up on items that will be really useful during a disaster.  $10 will buy...

1. Four cases of bottled water at our local grocery store.
2. 10 cans of soup (that's ten meals!).
3. A smoke detector (it will literally save your life during a fire).
4. 10 N95 face masks (particularly valuable during wildfires and dust storms).
5. Matches and candles at the dollar store.
6. A flashlight and batteries.
7. A cheap AM/FM radio to keep you informed when the power goes out.
8. A tarp and rope at the dollar store.
9. A big container or two of sanitizing hand wipes.
10. A basic first aid kit.
11. Warm clothing on discount day at the Goodwill.
12. Spare batteries for electronic devices.
13. An AC/DC/USB outlet for your vehicle (to charge your phone/laptop during a power outage).
14. Ziploc bags in assorted sizes.
15. Garbage bags in assorted sizes.
16. Several gallons of bleach (for cleaning and purifying water).
17. Food from the dollar store (oatmeal, snacks, beef jerky, etc).
18. Emergency stuff like a compass, a whistle, etc.
19. A back up charger for your cell phone (under $10 at Ross).
20. A roll of quarters (for vending machines, a phone call if you can find a pay phone, for emergency cash needs, etc).

20 (Free) Ways to Prepare for a Disaster

There have been so many disasters lately!  From hurricanes to mass shootings to wildfires...it seems as if we have had a decade's worth of disasters all in the course of a year or so.  Here are some free ways to prepare for a disaster:

1. Take advantage of any free classes offered in your community.  Many community organizations (fire departments, hospitals, Red Cross, etc) offer free classes in the community to teach skills that would be useful during a disaster such as first aid, AED, CPR, earthquake preparedness, hurricane preparedness, and other similar classes.  
2. Take advantage of free disaster preparedness item giveaways in your community.  Again, community organizations often offer free things to help avert a disaster like the fire department giving away free smoke detectors, the hospital giving free child car seats to new parents, the county offering free home earthquake preparedness evaluations for your home, etc.
3. Develop a communication plan with your family.  If you are separated from your family during a disaster, it is a good idea to pre-plan a couple of friends or family members everyone can call to report that they are OK.  Sometimes phone calls and texts don't go through in the immediate area of a disaster so it is useful to call a family contact who lives outside of the disaster area to check in and relay messages to family members.
4. Back up all of your important documents and pictures onto your computer and from your computer to a thumb drive.  Instead of evacuating with boxes and boxes of pictures and documents, you can ensure you have all of these important items on one small thumb drive.  If you don't have a scanner, libraries often have free scanners you can use to do this.
5. Make an evacuation plan.  In case you are given a few hours to grab what you can and go, you need to have an evacuation plan already in place so you will know the best routes to leave your area.  Check out Google maps or other map programs on your computer and determine the best ways to leave your area.  Then drive these routes and check out anything that may make these routes inaccessible during a disaster (like overpasses that could crumble onto the roadway during and earthquake).  Part of your evacuation plan should also be also be a checklist of items you need to toss in the car at the last minute so you don't forget anything important when you leave.
6. Utilize the free resources of the internet to prepare for a disaster.  Find out what kinds of disasters are most likely in your area.  Read various websites to determine the best way to prepare for these likely disasters.  Google around and see if there are any preparedness classes in your area.  Read news articles about how people who have already went through such a disaster prepared and survived and take notes.
7. Attend community events that focus on preparedness.  Our city often has free vaccination clinics, preparedness fairs, fire department tours, and other events to show community members what types of resources are available in the city and provide disaster preparedness resources to help citizens prepare for a disaster.
8. Carry things in your car that could be used during a disaster.  We always have a spare blanket in our car, a case of bottled water, some granola bars, a basic first aid kit, some spare tools from our workshop, etc.  All of which would be useful during a disaster.
9. Download apps to your cell phone which would be useful during a disaster.  From Facebook to reddit to local news apps to weather apps to emergency alert apps to a Waze app...there are dozens and dozens of free apps that can help you during an emergency.
10. Use social media to your advantage during an emergency.  If you need help or information during an emergency, you can follow various social media accounts on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/etc that you can use to ask questions, ask for help, and receive important information (during the shooting in Las Vegas I got a lot of information from the police Facebook and Twitter accounts, I asked questions from our local Emergency Incident Facebook page, and messages for donations of food and water for the first responders and shooting victims were sent far and wide over social media).
11. Know what to expect (and what to do) during a disaster by reading your work's disaster plan as well as your kid's school's disaster plan.  For further reading you can also read your community's official disaster and mass casualty incident plans.
12. Learn how to handle basic disasters in your home.  Everyone should know how and when to turn off the natural gas line to your home as well as the main electricity breaker and the water main coming into your home.  Everyone should know how to evacuate your home from each room, both upstairs and down, what to do if there is a fire, what to do if there is a medical emergency, and how to prevent break ins and thefts from your home.
13. Be physically fit.  This can be as simple as good food choices and some daily exercise and stretching.  If a disaster happens where you need to haul yourself out of an upstairs window, run from an attacker, or duck and cover during an earthquake, all of these things are easier and safer to do if you are in good physical condition.
14. Determine ahead of time where you can evacuate to if needed.  Ideally you will have friends or family you can stay with across town, across the state, and across the country depending on how wide-spread the disaster is.  Of course you would offer the same shelter to your friends and relatives in return as part of their evacuation plan.
15. Always carry a useful EDC (everyday carry) bag.  For ladies it's our purses for men it might be a backpack or messenger bag.  There are a lot of things you can carry with you on a daily basis that would be useful during a disaster such as a tampon (for its usual purpose as well as stopping bleeding from a gun shot), a condom (for its usual purpose as well as for a make-shift tourniquet), bottle of water, matches, bandanna, etc.
16. Make a bug out bag.  A bug out bag is a backpack full of useful items that you can grab and take with you during an emergency.  It should include a change of clothes, toiletries, emergency supplies (tarp, para cord, matches, etc), some cash, a couple bottles of water, some food...basically everything you would need if you had to evacuate and go stay at a hotel for a few days.  With the bag already packed and ready to go, you don't need to put such a bag together when you are only given minutes to evacuate.
17. Volunteer in your community.  There are many community organizations that provide free training (and often free food and snacks!) to volunteers who help out by becoming a volunteer EMT, volunteer with the Red Cross or Search and Rescue, volunteer with the fire department or hospital, etc.
18. Know what services are available in your community during and after a disaster.  Where are your local disaster shelters?  What services will FEMA offer after a disaster?  Did you know the FBI, as well as many communities, have a crime victims assistance center which offers a range of services and help to victims of crime?
19. Do some things to earn money to help bulk up your emergency fund.  Have a garage sale, take in some recycling, sell some unneeded stuff on ebay, apply for class action refunds...any extra money you can earn can go into your emergency fund for use during a disaster.
20. Decide ahead of time how to help special needs family members during a disaster.  If anyone in your family needs prescription meds, see if they can get 90-day refills instead of 30-day refills so they always have extra medication on hand.  If you have pets, pack a bug out bag for them with extra pet food, a water dish, a blanket, etc.  Same with babies and toddlers; pack their bug out bags with any special items they may need (extra diapers, toys, etc).  For family members with serious medical issues, talk to their doctor about what they should do to prepare for a disaster (ie: people who need regular dialysis, people who are bed-ridden, etc).

12 Cheap Tricks for Disaster Preparedness

Like most of the nation I was glued to the TV watching the hurricane disasters unfold, first in Houston then in Florida.  While many of the people caught in the disaster areas were prepared (yeah Cajun Navy!), many others weren't as prepared.  Those were the people crowding into almost empty stores, hours before the hurricanes hit, arguing over the last case of water or gallon of milk.  Here are some inexpensive ways to prepare for a disaster:

1. Shop loss leaders and use coupons.  We recently bought a case of water for 99 cents with a coupon at our local grocery store (24 bottles of water for the price of one an a convenience store!) and a case of canned soup for $8.  Milk is often a loss leader (and can be frozen), and the Dollar Store has lots of canned and shelf-stable items that can be eaten during a disaster.  Just remember to rotate your stored food and/or donate the stuff you don't eat before it expires to a food bank then restock again.
2. You can buy a fancy first aid kit full of items you may never use or you can make your own for cheap.  Again the dollar store, Walmart, even Amazon can provide individual items for your first aid kit for very inexpensive prices (100 bandaids for $1, a box of alcohol wipes for $1, aspirin and Tylenol on sale, etc).  You can Google a list of first aid kit items such as this one.
3. Empty the change in your pockets into a jar (roll and exchange for cash as it adds up), add random bits of cash to the jar, stick unexpected money in the jar (like birthday gift money, rebate checks, etc)...eventually you will have a good bit of cash to use during an emergency.
4. If you have a way to store gasoline (such as in your boat, or in containers to use in your lawn equipment), do so.  Many people who were trying to evacuate found that gas stations were out of gas so having extra on hand and topping off your tank at home is a good way to ensure you can actually evacuate if you need to even if there is no gas to be found in your area.  Remember to rotate your stored gasoline so it doesn't deteriorate.
5. If camping or backpacking is your usual hobby, you will be extra prepared for a disaster.  Your camping/backpacking gear (stove, tent, sleeping bag, etc) is a boon when it comes to needing to evacuate or live outside of your home due to damage.  Note that you can get great quality outdoor equipment for cheap during REI sales, at www.steepandcheap.com, at Amazon and even at Walmart and Target.
6. A great place to find low-cost disaster gear--everything from wool clothing and work gloves to work boots and cast iron cookware--is at the Goodwill or other thrift stores.  I mean you can pay top dollar for this sort of stuff but so many of these things get donated that it pays to be patient and pick up things you can for a fraction of the price of new.
7. Buy things for your home that can do double duty.  A patio gas grill is great for summer parties but it is also an excellent place to cook when the power/gas is out to your kitchen stove during a disaster.  We buy $1 plastic tarps at the Dollar Store to have on hand and they can be used for everything from paint drop clothes to covering outdoor equipment during a storm to pitching a tent with during a disaster.  And those solar patio lights that you have outside can be brought in during the evening to provide light when the power is out.
8. If you want some excellent free training that will be useful during a disaster, volunteer in your community.  EMTs, Red Cross volunteers, Search and Rescue volunteers, CERT team members--there are many community organizations that provide free disaster-skills training to their volunteers.
9. If you have ever had the power go out for a while, you know that the family usually gets that "now what am I supposed to do look" as they try in vain to get their non-responsive electronic gadgets to work.  Buying a car charger for your cell phone and gadgets is a good idea as is having board games and books on hand to keep people entertained during long power outages.
10. Think long and hard about buying expensive disaster equipment.  Based on where you live, having a chainsaw on hand can be super useful or not useful at all (we don't have big trees here in Las Vegas so we don't need a chainsaw; my sister, on the other hand, has so many huge trees on her property that without a chainsaw they could be stuck at home for days if they don't have a way to remove the trees that fall across her driveway themselves).  Ditto generators.  We don't have disasters here where we can expect the power to be out for a long time, but our family in New England often get power outages during the winter that can last for a week or longer so all of them have generators.
11. Put together a list of disaster supplies that you need and add to your supplies a little each week.  Buying all of these items at once can be a financial hardship for many but if you pick up a couple of things each week (box of wooden matches and a couple of lighters this week, a tarp and flashlight next week, etc) you will eventually end up with a very comprehensive disaster supply cache with minimal financial impact since the things are bought over a long period of time.
12. Knowledge is free and knowledge is probably the most important thing to have during a disaster.  Hit up your local library and do some research online and learn as much as you can about what to do during a disaster.  Basic first aid skills, how to pitch a tent in the back yard, how to start a fire with a myriad of household items, how to survive a financial disaster, what to do before, during and after a hurricane...there are hundreds and hundreds of survival skills that you can learn to be better prepared for a disaster in the future.

The bottom line is that you shouldn't have to race to the store hours before a disaster is set to strike and spend thousands of dollars on over-priced emergency supplies.  Start today to build you disaster supplies cache, a little at a time, as the items come on sale, and you will be all set when--not if--disaster strikes your area.

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 7 of 10): Extended Illness

Unfortunately, one of the disasters that we are most likely to experience, whether for us or a loved one, is an extended illness.  I've run out of fingers and toes needed to count how many people I know who have been diagnosed with cancer, been in a major car wreck which takes months and months to recuperate from, or been struck with some other type of chronic disease (hepatitis, MS, etc).  At least with many other types of disasters, you are in prime physical shape to deal with the fall out (job loss, lack of money, for example). BUT, when you are the one who is struck down with some terrible physical condition, not only do you have to deal with the challenges of daily life (keeping a paycheck coming in and keeping the kids fed) but you also have to deal with treatment/recovery which is a full time job in itself!  Here's some ways to prepare for the possibility of an extended illness:

1. You need health insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance.  Just the cost of these various types of insurances is enough to scare most healthy people away but when you become ill and can't work for a period of time, or worse, you suffer a lengthy illness then die leaving your family to pick up the pieces, having comprehensive insurance coverage will be worth it's weight in gold.
2. You need an emergency fund.  Unfortunately these days, many people barely have a job. Forget about a job that will pay them lengthy sick leave benefits at their full rate.  An emergency fund (the bigger the better) can help keep the bills paid and food in the cupboards in the event that you are out of work for months.
3. A giant stockpile of food is helpful in many types of disasters...and this is one of them.  If you suddenly find yourself unable to work (or worse--unable to leave the hospital) at least having a couple month's worth of food in the pantry to keep the kids fed is a great idea.  This is where "extreme couponing" comes in handy.
4. It's a good idea to build a solid social support network now, before you need it.  In the "olden days" your social network was kind of built in with lots of local family, neighbors, and friends.  Now that people are so transient, family may be thousands of miles away and unable to help out much if you become home-bound.  With family, neighbors, friends, and co-workers that you can count on (and they know that they can count on you) suffering a lenghty illness or recuperation means you won't be suffering alone.
5. If you are the only one in the family who cooks, cleans, does laundry, or takes care of the other minute of every day life, start spreading the work around.  A friend of mine was suddenly hospitalized with a serious illness which took months to recuperate from.  We, her friends, were kind of astonished that neither her husband nor teenage kids had the slightest idea how to cook (they ended up eating out a lot), do laundry (we gave them a few lessons), deal with the banking, set dental appointments, or do any of the other hundreds of tasks that she had always done for them but was suddenly unable to do.  It was a learning experience for everyone.
6. Have a bag of emergency supplies (an overnight bag with toiletries and a change of clothes) ready to grab at a moment's notice.  This has been mentioned in other posts in this series but it works for an extended illness as well.  What usually happens is that someone is in a serious accident or they are at the hospital when they find themself suddenly admitted and the rest of the family is called and hurries over.  It is much easier to grab the pre-prepared bag then try to figure out what to pack in the midst of anguish and grief.
7. Have your papers in order.  This is another pre-planning step that you need to do before you suddenly are unable to do it.  Having things like an updated Will, Living Will, and medical power of attorney prepared ahead of time will greatly help whoever is there to take care of you.
8. Take care of your health starting today!  Many extended illnesses (heart disease, stroke, etc) are the result of years of bad living.  By doing what you can--such as exercising daily, eating a healthy diet, and being proactive in your health care--you can lessen the possibility of suffering from many of the extended/chronic illnesses that have become so common in our society.
9. Make a "how to" book.  This is a good idea but many people feel overwhelmed even beginning such a task.  This book should give complete instructions for how someone else can step into your life and basically take over where you left off.  Everything should be covered here from instructions about your children (the name of their school and teacher, their Social Security number and birthdate, allergies, etc) to your information (banking info, investments, personal info, etc) to list of assets (type of car and VIN number) to usernames and passwords to your online accounts.  Here's a good form to get you started.
10. Make your home relatively user-friendly.  One thing I've noticed most often when someone is seriously ill or injured is the difficulty they have with actually coming home from the hospital or rehab.  Usually their home is so cluttered that it takes a major cleaning effort to get enough stuff out of the way to make room for their hospital bed/wheelchair/supplies.  What once was a perfectly functioning home suddenly becomes loaded with obstacles--from stairs to door widths to overflowing rooms to uneven terrain between the parking area and front door to the many other things that can make a home not so wheel-chair friendly.  While you don't want to live in a sparse home based on the remote possibility of your future disability, decluttering occasionally is still a good idea.

While none of us really wants to contemplate being disabled and dependant on others, there is still a statistical probability that such a thing could happen in your lifetime so take this opportunity to get prepared now.

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 5 or 10): Natural Disaster

When people talk about preparing for disaster, this is usually the topic they are thinking about--natural and man-made disasters such as an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, major winter storm, flooding, etc. Fortunately, these things don't happen often but when they do, you need to be prepared ahead of time. Here's how:

1. Always keep enough food, bottled water, and other important items stored in your home for use in an emergency. If you can't get out or all of the stores in the area are closed for an extended period, this is what you will have to live on until things get back to normal. (Note: be sure to include items such as medications, baby formula, baby diapers, adult diapers, pet food, and any other specialized items that you can't live without).


2. Review your insurance coverages. Many people are surprised to find that their home and auto insurance won't cover things like floods, hurricane damage, earthquake damage, etc. Be sure that your insurance covers these things and/or get specialized riders for natural disasters that are common to your area such as hurricanes and earthquakes.


3. Have a selection of emergency items in your home for use before, during, and after a disaster. These would include but aren't limited to: NOAA radio, wrench to turn off the gas, a flashlight for each family member, extra batteries, matches, camping gear, a first aid kit, etc.


4. During certain disasters, you may have to evacuate so each member of the family should have their own bag of emergency gear that they can grab and go with only a few moment's notice. This bag should include a change of clothes, shoes, food, water, toiletry kit, etc.


5. Know what the most likely disasters are in your area and in the areas you are visiting. Right after we arrived in Atlanta, there were tornado warnings blasting across the TV screen. We had no idea where we were in relation to the warnings and we had no idea what to do if a tornado was coming our way since these are virtually unheard of in Seattle. A little bit of Googling will give you pages and pages of information on how to prepare for disasters that are likely to hit your area and what to do during and after such disasters.


6. Get in the disaster knowledge loop so you will receive warnings of possible disasters that are heading your way. This can be done in a number of ways. Our local Department of Emergency Management has a place on their website where people in the area can sign up for email/text/phone call warnings that are sent out when a disaster is imminent. You can also sign up here for alerts and warnings. You may also want to bookmark websites that would be useful during disasters that are likely in your area such as this and this.


7. Hold regular practices with your family. These should include fire drills, lockdown drills, communication planning and drills, earthquake drills, tornado drills, etc. Plans and ideas for holding these drills can be found by Googling these topics.


8. Plan for a disaster. Do you have a plan for who would stay with your kids if you can't get home? A plan for helping out elderly neighbors and relatives after a disaster? A plan for sheltering outside if your home becomes unlivable? A plan for your pets if you need to evacuate? Think of a variety of disaster scenarios then think of how you would react in those situations.


9. Learn skills that would be useful during a disaster. Many communities have first aid classes for the public, HAM radio clubs offer lots of info and classes on using these radios during a disaster, your local Search and Rescue generally needs volunteers and provides excellent training for how to respond after a disaster, and even simple skills such as fishing, hunting, foraging for wild food, and growing your own garden can be very useful in the event of a major disaster.


10. Learn about your community. It is a good idea to find out ahead of time: where your community disaster shelters are, where the evacuation routes out of your city are, where there are alternative sources of water that you could use after a disaster (be sure to know how to purify it!), where local sources of food are (ie: parks that have fruit or nut trees), what tsunami or tornado warnings sound like if these are available in your community, etc.

Resources:

• FEMA


• 72 Hours


• Ready.gov


• The Epicenter

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 4 of 10): People Problems

One type of disaster that can sneak up on you when you least expect it is problems caused by other people. You can be living your life, happy as a clam, financially stable, and secure in your preparedness then "BAM!" someone calls you with a problem that while it isn't your problem, they may want to make it so. Here are our ten rules for dealing with people problems:

1. We never co-sign for anything for any one. This includes but is not limited to: cell phone contracts, cars, mortgages, loans, credit cards, student loans, etc.


2. We do keep a separate emergency fund to help others if needed. There isn't a lot in this fund but with a giant family, it is pretty much a given that someone will need help and if we are so inclined, then at least we will have the money on hand.


3. We don't loan money to anyone for anything. If we have the money to offer and we feel it is a worthy cause we will gladly offer it as a gift but we never loan money then expect to get it back because past experience has shown that this only leads to disappointment and relationship drama.


4. We don't bail people out of jail. This rule was instituted when the boys became teenagers. Our feeling was that if you got arrested you were most likely at fault no matter what the Miranda warning says and if you choose to do something illegal you can sit in jail until you can work the problem out with the judge.


5. We won't buy from your MLM business, go to a presentation that is trying to sell us something, become one of your MLM "downlinks", or otherwise enter into a "great business opportunity" with anyone.


6. I won't enter into a business partnership with anyone. I have seen way too many business partnerships crash and burn to think this is a good idea. I will, however, provide you information, moral support, consulting if it is within the realm of my business expertise, and otherwise support you into your new business if you would like.


7. The hubby and I freely provide: someone to vent to/talk to, a free meal if you stop by the house, a place to sleep in an emergency, a free ride if you have been drinking, moral support, useful information, help with a wide variety of problems/projects if we have the time, and provide other non-financial assistance whenever possible.


8. We won't sell you anything on credit. Mostly this involves the sale of cars and other larger items that people may not have the money for. Trying to collect the money a year down the line on more than one occasion in one of these deals has turned us off of this permanently.


9. We don't take sides and we don't like drama. Having a big family and lots of friends, there is bound to be drama between people and families from time to time. We like to stay "above it all" as firstly, we don't like drama, gossip, or rumors; secondly, unless a person has earned our wrath personally, there are always multiple sides to an issue; thirdly, we live far enough away from the bulk of the family to be able to stay out of local dramas; and fourthly, these things usually work themselves out eventually so we will just wait. And stay neutral. Like Switzerland.


10. We treat people how we would like to be treated, namely, with honor, respect, patience, humor, and firm parameters so as to avoid miscommunications and other inter-personal issues. We expect the same in return.

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 3 of 10): Job Loss

Continuing on in our series about ways to prepare financially for the most common types of disasters that you may face in your lifetime, today we will look at how you can prepare ahead for job loss.

A decade ago, losing a job was a big deal but, for many people, all you had to do was dust yourself off and go get another job. These days that has changed quite a bit as over the past few years people have lost their jobs and there are literally no comparable (paying) jobs to be had. Scary. Here's ten ways to prepare yourself now for the possibility of losing your job.

1. Have an emergency fund. Notice how this is the common denominator of ALL of the preparedness plans? With an emergency fund of six to twelve months worth of expenses in savings you will be able to give yourself quite a financial cushion if you should suddenly lose your job.


2. Have six months to a year's worth of food in storage. It seems like a lot but there are a few reasons for this. First, if you find yourself the host of an impromptu family gathering, you can easily pull out enough food to feed everyone, often without even having to run to the store. Second, in the event of a major natural disaster when the stores shut down, you will be fine holed up with your stash of food. Finally, if you find yourself in the middle of an extended job layoff and you only have to pick up perishables once a week instead of ALL of the groceries your family needs, you will be able to save a lot of money (and stress!). Consider watching 'Extreme Couponing' then begin your stock up plan.


3. Be amazing at your current job. I have hired people away from other jobs simply because I saw them working and they were AMAZING. Great work, great attitude, great people skills...think of how you currently conduct yourself at you job as a never ending job interview. People who do a great job tend to be noticed (and sought after!).


4. Be aware of what is happening in your job and in your industry. Often job loss shouldn't come as a surprise because there are a number of clues in the months leading up to termination that should scream "there won't be a job here much longer!" Clues can range from the internal--your boss is bouncing checks like a mad man, to the external--the housing market is circling the drain so if you are even remotely in this industry it may be time to jump ship.


5. Know what benefits you are entitled to. When termination is imminent, figure out what you can get on your way out. A 'golden parachute'? That would be nice. Severance pay? Back pay for unused sick time and vacation time? Unemployment? Re-employment training? Take whatever you can get as the time between jobs can be lengthy.


6. Get out of debt and stay out of debt! It is much easier to cover your bills with unemployment or side jobs if the bills are small. If you are drowning in debt, a job layoff will probably push you over the edge to bankruptcy. Ditto with keeping any other debts you have as small as possible. Your house payment should be no more than 25% of the family's income (this way even on one spouse's income the mortgage can get paid), car payments should be as low as possible (actually you should pay cash for cars so you will have NO payment), and sundry items (gas, clothing, cell bills, etc.) should be able to be immediately ratcheted back if necessary.


7. Always be prepared to change jobs at the spur of the moment. Always have your resume updated, network to "stay in the loop" in your industry, continue to refine and add to your current job skills, etc. This way, whether you become unemployed or you just run across an amazing job opportunity, you will be ready to bounce.


8. Always have multiple streams of income. I have done this for most of my life and it just makes me feel comfortable. Having side businesses or side jobs is a great way to always have money coming in no matter what your current job status. For example, I know quite a few guys who started in construction trades, became white-collar office workers, yet still keep doing construction-type side jobs (roofing, flooring) both for the extra money it brings in and for the added exercise it provides.


9. Look at other options when the hatchet falls on your job. This is what I did at the end of last year when my biggest business client went toes up. Instead of sticking with the status quo (find another client or another job to replace the income I was losing) we decided to make a radical change (sell the house and sell almost everything else we owned) in order to try something new (traveling and living on one income). Granted not everyone can easily do this but many people have made very radical lifestyle changes (one family decided to live in an RV and travel, another family decided to bike from the North Pole to the South Pole) in order to enjoy opportunities that having a regular job wouldn't have allowed them to do.


10. Don't be afraid to seek help. A job loss is a pretty scary, disorienting thing. If needed, don't be afraid to ask for and seek out what you need whether it is food from the local food pantry, psychological counseling to get you through a rough patch, financial assistance from family and friends, support from your church, or just a hug from your SO. Everyone goes through hard times and everyone deserves a little help now and then just as you help others when you are able to.

Preparing for Disaster Series (Part 2 of 10): Death

Back in my social service days, death was another disaster my clients had to deal with. Since most of my clients were youngish people, usually with small children, their spouse dying was a HUGE crisis. I mean, when you are young, there are a lot of things to worry about--your finances, getting and keeping a job, taking care of your kids--however someone dying young usually isn't even on the person's radar. But it does happen and the scramble afterwards to take care of funeral arrangements, pay bills, and help people through the grieving process really made me aware of the fact that you can die at any time so this is another area where it pays to be prepared ahead of time. Here's ten things to prepare for right now in case the worst happens:

1. If anyone depends on your income (spouse, kids) be sure to get life insurance (term life insurance is best). I have seen a 55 year old woman who never worked a day in her life have to pick up menial jobs to make ends meet because her husband let his life insurance lapse and then he died, leaving his wife too young to collect social security which basically left her penniless. Fortunately, for young people, life insurance is very inexpensive.


2. Have a Will, Living Will, durable power of attorney, and medical power of attorney. These documents (properly written and notarized of course) make the death and dying process much less complicated. Unless any of these documents could be contested, many states will let you draw up your own documents as long as they are officially notarized. For a bit more protection, you can draw up your own documents to save money then pay an attorney to give them a quick read through to ensure everything is correct.


3. Have an emergency fund! Right after someone dies, there are all kinds of expenses that need to be taken care of, unfortunately it usually takes life insurance a while to pay out so the money in an emergency fund (kept in an account where both spouses can access it) can really help a person through the first few weeks after a death whether to pay bills or pay for funeral arrangements.


4. Discuss your final wishes with your SO. It's kind of an odd conversation to have, especially when you are still strong and healthy, but many people can end up in the poor house when a loved one dies because they guilt themselves into spending way more than necessary on a fancy funeral and burial plot when, if the loved one would have been asked, wouldn't have cared what kind of casket/burial plot location/flowers/etc they got. FWIW, I would rather the hubby keep his money and enjoy it rather than spending it on me when I am dead and can't enjoy it. I told him that if I am practically dead to pull the plug (I'm a fan of compressed morbidity), have me cremated (it's way cheaper than a burial), and to skip the funeral service and have a party to remember me at home (again, as long as he has friends to support him when he is grieving, I'm happy with that...besides, funerals make me sad).


5. Get out of debt ASAP. One of the main reasons I became so focused on getting out of debt was because a lady came to my office one day four months after her husband had died. She had literally never handled the finances and didn't know what to do with the four month's worth of mail she brought me in a giant bag. After sifting through the mail I asked her if she knew they were nearly $100,000 in debt not counting the mortgage. Of course, she didn't know. Her husband always juggled the bills (looking at his mess of bills the stress from juggling these debts probably speeded up his demise!) and she thought everything was fine. Everything wasn't fine and in the midst of her grief she ended up having to file bankruptcy too. That situation really hit me hard and I realized that there was NO WAY I was going to leave my husband with that kind of mess (or vice versa, end up with myself in that kind of mess if he were to die first) which pretty much made me super focused on paying off all of our debt.


6. Know what death benefits you are entitled to. In my case, my husband is a veteran so there are a number of death benefits he is entitled to from the VA. If you have minor children, they are also entitled to death benefits if a parent dies. Searching out all of the benefits you are entitled to can save you a lot of money so it pays to find out what you are entitled to.


7. Have all of your important documents in a single place where both spouses can access them. After someone dies, there is a mountain of paperwork to do. To streamline this process it helps to have all of the family's important documents together in one place (I keep these in a safe as well as keep scanned copies of each document in my computer). Among the documents you need: birth certificates, Wills, powers of attorney, medical power of attorney, adoption records, insurance policies, financial records, list of creditors, marriage records, divorce records, military records, etc.


8. Give stuff to people when you are still living, enjoy people too while you still can. Suffice it to say that seemingly normal people can act like rabid hyenas after the person who held the family together dies. From experience I have learned that it is best to give stuff to people when you are still alive (this ensures things go to who you want them to go to and you get to see them enjoying the things you give them) and I have also learned that it is way more important to spend time with people NOW while you can enjoy them instead of showing up at the funeral wishing you had called/visited your loved one more often.


9. Prepare an "if I die" letter. This is probably the last thing people want to think about, especially if you are young and healthy, but I have seen way more than my share of people die in the prime of life so I know that putting such a thing off until later can often be too late. This letter should include things you want to say to your loved ones, advice about what they should do after your passing (ie: how to arrange home matters and business matters), user names and passwords to all of your online accounts (some people even write a final blog post to be published after their death), plus anything else they need to know.


10. Don't forget anything. Before and after death, there can literally be a hundred things that you need to do. In addition to this checklist, here is a bunch of other good lists of things to remember to do both before and after a loved one dies.

10 Free/Cheap Ways to Prepare for the Next Disaster

The pictures coming in from the huge disaster in Japan are just horrendous. I have a few friends in Tokyo whom I immediately texted right after I heard the initial reports of the earthquake yesterday and they were all able to text back to let me know they were OK. Talk about scary! The other scary thing is that a disaster like that can happen right here on our own soil as there are a number of earthquake faults running under the US (not to mention hurricanes, terrorist events, tornadoes, etc). Here's 10 free and cheap ways to prepare right now for a future disaster:

1. FREE: hold regular earthquake drills, fire drills, evacuation drills, and communication drills with your family. This way, when a disaster actually happens, everyone will know exactly how to react because they have practiced so many times before.
2. CHEAP: Each time you go to the store, buy an extra case of bottled/jugged water, especially if they are on sale. The first thing many people need after a disaster is drinkable water (and naturally, it is usually in short supply or not available at all in the affected disaster areas).
3. CHEAP: Also when you are in the grocery store, pick up some sale food and put it aside for use during an emergency. Canned and packaged items that require little or no cooking are great to have on hand during a disaster. Note that emergencies can be of the natural disaster type (earthquake, tornado) or of the personal disaster type (job loss, extended illness).
4. FREE: Make a family disaster plan so everyone will know what to do during an emergency. Here's an example.
5. CHEAP: Acquire the stuff you need to put together "evacuation" bags for each family member. Each family member should have a bag that includes a change of clothes, a toiletry kit, a bit of cash, a bottle of water, some packaged food, a flashlight, a radio, and other items that would be useful if they needed to evacuate at a moments notice (see the list in #7).
6. FREE: Take advantage of free classes offered in your community that would teach you skills that would be useful during a disaster. For example, our fire department offers free CPR classes, our Department of Emergency Management office offers free family disaster preparedness classes, and our local Red Cross offers free basic first aid classes.
7. FREE: Learn about what kinds of disasters could occur in your area and how to prepare for them. Here's a good place to start.
8. CHEAP: Evaluate your home so that it can better withstand a disaster. Something as simple as tying flat panel TVs and tall bookcases to the wall can go a long way towards mitigating damage during an earthquake. Of course you can go even further and bolt your home to its foundation and do other more money and labor intensive projects. Here's some more ideas.
9. CHEAP: Having a solid emergency fund isn't exactly cheap but during a disaster, you can always use cold, hard cash. Everything from buying extra food, putting gas in the car, or evacuating to a hotel will be much easier if you have the cash on hand to do so. Even putting $10 a week into your emergency savings can add up to quite a bit of money in a year.
10. FREE: Watch these disaster preparedness videos. They all offer excellent advice on how to survive a number of different disasters.

Of course I am praying for everyone in Japan right now and this incident has only reinforced the idea that EVERYONE, no matter where they are or what their financial circumstances, can and must make the effort to prepare themselves in case the next disaster occurs in their neighborhood.