Ask somebody what it takes to prep, and chances are they’ll start rattling off lots and lots of material things: food, water filtration systems, vehicles, shelter supplies, weapons, electronics, clothing, tools and a whole lot more.

The truth is that preparation really begins with a decision and with the mind. That’s all you need. But it’s also true that having a budget to finance your prepping efforts really does help. When you’re broke, flat broke, everything is a whole lot harder.

If you’re on a strictly limited budget or even completely penniless, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that your prepping efforts have to go on the back burner. But they really don’t, not if you are determined. Keep reading and I’ll tell you how to prep even when you are totally strapped for cash.

First Step: Shift into Survival Mode

Don’t take this the wrong way, but if you are totally broke the very first thing you should do is go into survival mode. I’m not kidding!

When you are in survival mode, you’re always thinking, always refining, doing everything possible to improve your chances of a good outcome strategically and tactically. Your next moves, your next steps, and even your next thoughts…

Going into a mode like this will help you rectify your financial woes, yes, but it’s also going to equip you with something that money cannot buy: experience, expertise, and resilience.

So much of the stress attendant with any kind of crisis situation is the fact that it is both unexpected and that we haven’t been through it before.

By getting your game face on and acting accordingly, you’ll be going through the motions that will pay off later on in life should the worst happen.

Not for nothing, actual survival skills like ensuring you’ve got clean water, food, proper shelter and sanitation will also alleviate the discomfort, worry and uncertainty you’ll be facing when you are broke, broke, broke.

Focus on Skill-Building

It’s easy to get discouraged, dare I say even depressed, if you’re trying to prep without any cash.

After all, all of your friends are going to be dragging home tents, crates full of dehydrated food, solar systems and all of those other wonderful gadgets and toys that we convince ourselves we need.

Once again, even if you don’t have two pennies to rub together you can still improve your situation by skilling up. Building skill, so much of the time, doesn’t cost a nickel, even with most activities that are traditionally thought of as financially intensive.

For starters, there’s nothing stopping you from heading out into your backyard, into your local area or elsewhere learning to identify edible and medicinal plants.

You can grab your debris and start practicing traditional, primitive fire starting techniques. Setting up and taking down a tarp shelter in different ways doesn’t cost a dime. I could go on but I trust you get the picture.

Similarly, how about something that is expected to cost money, like a trip to the shooting range to improve your marksmanship. Even if you can’t afford a single round, you can still engage in dry practice and safe handling.

Take a tip from me on this front: treat empty wallet prepper practice the same as you would being terribly bored in the same situation. I guarantee you’ll think of at least a handful of engaging and worthwhile pursuits so you can refine your craft.

Don’t Have Skills? Learn for Free

I can already hear some of you out there throwing a flag on the play. “But you don’t understand, I’m broke and totally unskilled! There’s nothing I can do…”

Nonsense, stop looking for an easy way out. The first thing you need to do is slap the daylights out of yourself so you snap out of this defeatist mindset.

The second thing you need to do is open up your phone or computer or head down to the local library. There is a vast ocean of information from experts available online covering every conceivable prepping topic.

Your local library will doubtless have at least a few books on survival, bushcraft, and related topics, and almost all of them have public computers with internet connections. There’s just no excuse for not having access to information. And you are, after all, reading this very article online…

Get Involved with “Your People”

The single biggest mistake every prepper can make is thinking, vainly, foolishly, that they can go it alone. You can’t! Lone wolves get slaughtered, or else they get injured or sick and then die. Wolves need a pack, and so do preppers.

Now, who is your pack? Who are your people? Whoever you’ve got. If it’s your family members, neighbors, friends or if you are lucky enough to have a dedicated mutual assistance group, make it a point to get involved with them. There are two reasons you’ll want to.

The first is to facilitate the building of bonds that will actually pay off in times of crisis. If people don’t know you, and don’t know that you are worth a darn, they probably aren’t going to help you when the chips are down.

The second reason you want to get involved with your group is so you can help them. Everyone has problems that need solving, and this is an opportunity to solve them and also get yourself a little cash.

Odd jobs, errands, sensitive situations, and all the rest: everybody needs them done but not everyone has the time or the skill sets to sort them out.

Tackling these problems is further practice for you and also a way out of your current situation.

Practice Scavenging, Repurposing and Bartering

One tenet of prepping that’s generally accepted is that any major catastrophe that results in society crumbling will see what’s left of society switch back to a barter system.

That, and supply chains will be non-existent for the most part and that means you can’t just head down to the local store to get what you need.

Because of this, you’ve got to know alternative ways to find or make what you need, or else trade with other people for it. You already know what I’m going to say: start acting accordingly now while you don’t have money, because for you, typical routes of acquisition already don’t exist!

You can dumpster dive for goods and resources, repurpose existing materials, tools and gadgets to serve other purposes and trade the things you do have, including your skills and labor, to other people for things that you don’t have.

These are the three legs of the tripod that make human existence possible at even the most tenuous societal and group level. This is another good learning experience for you, because being plunged into this sort of circumstance “cold” is a shocking thing indeed.

Stretch Whatever Money You Have

This should be obvious. If you are broke or nearly so, every single dollar is precious. But it’s even more precious when you treat money as a truly vital resource that can solve survival problems.

Stop spending frivolously, start clipping coupons, start haggling and ruthlessly cut every single thing from your life that you don’t need. TV, frivolous subscription services, the works. Start calculating what you’re actually spending on calories with the food that you buy.

This is boring work and you might even think it’s degrading, but your ego’s got nothing to do with it: this is about survival, and even if you truly aren’t on skid row, tightening down your belt is a form of practice once again.

Giving things up, doing without, living in austerity and keeping your wits and your cheer is priceless. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise!

Wise preppers know that attitudes are contagious, worse than any germ. If you are ticked off, sullen and are going full Karen about your circumstances the people around you are going to do the same and pretty soon your group or what passes for one will tear itself apart.

On the other hand, if you are happy or at least calm and in control, that calm attitude will also spread and help others to do the same.

Get Fit, No Excuses!

Here’s a big one, and one that many preppers are guilty of, including your author here for a long time.

All the gear in the world won’t save you if you can’t even save your own life when under duress. Let me state it plainly: if you aren’t fit you’re going to die. I can think of dozens of survival scenarios where your chances of survival are directly linked to your physical fitness.

Evading pursuers on foot, crossing raging flood waters, digging yourself out of a collapsed home in the aftermath of a severe storm, and on and on.

More than this, there are countless lesser emergencies where fitness equals life. Luckily, you don’t need a gym membership and you don’t even need any equipment.

If you have your own body you’ve got everything you need to turn yourself into a proper athlete. Look up a good body weight exercises workout plan and get to it!

Stockpile a “Bite” at a Time

I saved the best for last because it’s something I’m passionate about. The notion that you can build a stockpile even when you’re barely scraping by seems insane to some people, but it isn’t.

Have you ever heard the old aesop about the best way to eat an elephant? Remember how you do it? One bite at a time! The same thing goes for building a stockpile.

There’s always something you can put back. If you buy a few canned goods, get just one can to put back. How about some instant oatmeal? Take one pack out of the box, and put it back. A little here, a little there…

You can do this for everything too, not just food. Take out utensils, batteries, socks, underwear, everything! Start stockpiling just a little bit at a time and pretty soon you’ll be sitting on an impressive emergency kit.

For doubters, keep in mind that if you have enough gear and supplies to survive just 3 days, chances are extremely good you can survive anything! It doesn’t take long to attain that goal using this technique.

The post How to Prep When You Are Flat-Broke appeared first on Survival Sullivan.

By: Tom Marlowe
Title: How to Prep When You Are Flat-Broke
Sourced From: www.survivalsullivan.com/prepping-when-flat-broke/
Published Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2025 17:11:16 +0000

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