Whatever the catalyst, survival for any period of time comes down to the same things: shelter, water, food. And depending on your situation: meds and medical skills.

You'll either shelter-in-place or evacuate somewhere (transportation).

Something you can do for no or low-cost these days is to acquire knowledge. So I'd put that on the to-do list, especially in regard to first-aid. Other useful knowledge would include food preservation (canning, dehydration).

In regard to transportation, I'd have a bicycle for backup. Power outage means no functioning gas station (unless they have a generator). Great little-used bikes can be found cheap at garage sales. Or Craigslist.

I'd also have a bicycle trailer to haul cargo. Used child trailers can be found cheap or their are cargo trailers (less common) or you could build your own.

How's your supply of water? Seems few people have near enough water for drinking, let alone sanitation. A rain barrel, or two, could give you a supply for flushing toilets, etc. They are not as expensive as I had expected.

Once you have a few months of supplies (very difficult in regard to water storage) then I recommend focusing on normal life and preparing for things like old age (retirement savings).

And, of course, continue daily wise preparedness habits -- such as keeping car gas tanks above half-full.



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