Hey Scotty,

That is indeed the heater I bought. By 'no emissions' I meant smell and yes you should crack a window and install a CO detector. On ignition there is a kerosene smell but it dissipates quickly so I light and extinguish mine outside. The price was $299 and CT sells 10 litre jugs of 1K kerosene for $26. I'm in the process of purchasing bulk kerosene and have found it in 5 and 55 gallon pails and drums. I'll have to get back to you on that cost. I burned it in the garage (3 car) for 12 hours at an outside temp of 3 celsius. It used about 6 litres in that time and the garage was deliciously freaking hot. I have no doubt whatsoever that it will do the job come lights out.

Yes wood is cheaper. Much cheaper and as my dad used to say "warms you 7 times for every one piece". But I don't have access to much wood. Although I live in a rural setting I would have to scrap my neighbors for it. So my intention is to eventually find a wood stove/fireplace and install that. Although I can't carry that cost right now. Strategically I'm not a big fan of the plume of smoke marking me as a 'have' over the 'have nots'. I hate the idea that I could run out of kerosene and then have nothing. But budget prepping is all about making the best possible decision, implementing it and then supporting it. I know I'll get some flak for it on prepper boards but really could not care less.

I love this prepping stuff. It forces me to think in so many creative and industrious ways. I love the sense of accomplishment too.

I agree with setting goals. For food storage I aimed for 3 days, then 3 weeks now I'm approaching the coveted 3 month mark. The first thing we do each month is buy groceries. Prioritizing and organizing is key.
IMO: a wood stove is the best source for cheap heat and cooking. $5 for a 1 month harvesters permit will get you 5 cubic yards of firewood. I live in an older neighborhood where at least 80% of the homes have wood stoves/fireplaces so the smoke will make me no more of a target than my neighbors. Apparently you can't have wood heat in many newer subdivisions due to how close the houses are to each other.
City tap water is already treated with chlorine and will last 1 year if stored in a clean/sterile container. Ensure you are using a food grade jug. By a pool testing kit if you want to ensure your chlorine/bleach levels.
Get a PAL and Buy a gun. Even just a .22 - something is better than nothing. I also have a pellet gun. A YouTube prepper called "aware patriot" pointed out the advantage of being able to silently hunt small game in a urban/suburban setting (birds, rabbits, squirrels, the neighbors cat JK... Maybe?)
I have a couple cans of gas on hand and keep them on a 3 month rotation. Once you make the initial investment it costs you nothing to keep it stocked. They can be used to power a genrator but more importantly I won't have to line up at a gas station at the 11th hour or during a crises.
So ya... That's how I'm prepping. Take care of the basics: food, fuel, security, heat.

I've split this post and moved the firearms posts to a new thread of it's own. You can find it here: http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=2303

Please continue the conversation about firearms there and everything else here.

sounds good Anita. Cool you can do that. Thanks

So here is an intersting question to put fwd to you guys....

I want to walk that fine line as between living a life as normal as possible hoping for the best but still preparing moderately so for the worst. I have decided to work towards a week or two worth of food as my beginning goal. My question for you guys with the above in mind... I have $1100 coming from my TFSA that I am cashing in. I will have a bonus in March of about $1200 and tax return around the same time of approx $1200. So... how would you spend this money? I am considering a bug out truck and camper or van? Good idea or waste of money? How about a heavy duty 4 season tent and wood stove for it in case of extreme bug outs? Buy more food? Invest in silver pre 1965 dimes? Buy more bullets?

What would you do with this money when you are just getting started but dont want to become too extreme... just ready.. in case.

Looking fwd to your own thoughts.

Everyone has a different situation so your plan needs to be highly individualized. First I would say don't rush to spend you extra income. You never know what life has in store for you so thoughtful, careful planning prior to purchases is always prudent.
As far as prepping purchases are concern start with the four pillars of prepping; shelter, water food and security.

You already have shelter so unless you are absolutely convinced that you need to bug out in the majority of SHTF events we can move on to the others.
Your location determines how much water you can store. If you can store any reasonable quantity water that is a bonus. Water is cheap so will not impact your wallet too much. I would recommend that you make an investment in a good water filter. If you purchase one of these you do not need to store much and if you go for something like a Berkey filter you will complete your water needs permanently. A really good filter system is about $300.
Food is always a good investment. Buy and store what you eat. That way you can rotate your stores and make sure your stores are not out of date. Also you are not tying up the money that you invested in this prep. Look at what you spend on groceries in week and then you can extrapolate how much you need to spend to cover the length of time in your plan. If you spend $125 a week and you want to store food for a month then it will cost you around $500.
Finally security, I believe that you said you have already taken your PAL. This is always a good investment. If you haven't a course will cost you about $150 and the license a further $60. A cheap rifle is under $200 and $100 more gets you started with ammunition. A gun does you absolutely no good if you do not practice. Therefore I recommend that you join a gun club. Costs vary according to location, in our area it is between $100 and $200 per year. If you do not join a club and go out to the range or you do not hunt don't buy a gun. It will be waste of money. A months more food supplies will serve you much better. A good knife has many uses and should be considered if you don't already have one. You will be looking at under $100 for a reasonable knife.

You mentioned gold and silver. As someone once said you can't eat gold and you can't drink silver. Start with the basics. Buy the stuff you need to keep you alive for the period that you think is appropriate for your situation. Once you have covered the basics then you can start in on other things. Again you are not planning to fight a small war so be prudent when buying ammunition. True ammunition could be used for trade in certain circumstances but that consideration would be down the road.

I seems that bugging out may be a major consideration for you. My advice would be don't plan to bug out unless it is absolutely necessary. Don't bug out period if you don't have a safe predetermined location to go to. That is unless you are fine with being a refugee. If you find it absolutely necessary to build your plan around bugging out then you will have to rethink your allocation of funds. You are limited with how much water and especially food that you can carry with you. Once that food is done what are you going to eat? If you have a secure location that you have purchased and have this location already stocked with food then that is ok. However that kind of plan is going to cost you tens of thousands of dollars to complete. Always remember that you have to live. Prepping may be a priority but it should never be your main focus in life.

Awesome feedback and much food for thought there. Thanks ICRCC.

all very good advice. I would also add that food preps arnt just cans of tuna and beans. Sure. That is a good start, and very innexpensive, but who wants to live on that for months. I would consider food preparation and cooking ability as part of your preps as well. Unless you are willing to eat only canned goods, then you will need some way to cook incase of the event where your stove and oven are of no use. I would recommend a good camp stove and extra cooking fuel which can be found reasonably priced this time of year, now that camping season is over.

Also, I know that you are considering the sks rifle as your first fire arm. I would also recommend for your consideration some form of pump action shotgun. Easily the most versataile weapon available, it can be used for hunting and home defense. Even higher end mossbergs and remingtons can be found in the $500 range, but decent lower brand name versions can be had for as little as $200. That's a massive ammount of fire power for such a small price.

Scotty,

Let's think of prepping as investing. Are you really looking for a long term investment that has daily benefits post-SHTF or a more short term investment that in the early stages of a SHTF scenario pays big dividends, once?? The later would be a BOV. If there is fuel, if there in not an EMP, if the roads are passable, etc., etc. the list is almost endless. The what if's. But on one day in very bad times a good BOV could be worth its weight in gold. Or it could be a boat anchor with wheels????? Hard to see the outcome in the crystal ball.

On the other hand, not wanting to draw attention from neighbours and live an almost normal life, yet remain prepared to take action in the event of a natural disaster or man-made crisis, you may want to look at specific pieces of gear that can almost guarantee life by themselves. To this I speak of a serious two bag sleeping bag system with a Gore-tex bivy bag. The inner bag should be the best down sleeping bag you can afford - shop for quality construction, useful features and high quality down. The outer bag should be a synthetic fill that can handle being washed and dried, regularly. The last item is a bivy bag. Get a quality bivy bag or a military bivy bag that is new in the box. Most military items are simple but tough.

If you have the space & budget, get two of the synthetic bags - one for regular use now and one in reserve. A high quality down bag should last 15 - 20 years when treated well, sometimes longer. The synthetic bag does not need to be hugely expensive, but it needs to fit over your down bag. In winter conditions without external heating source(s) frost will be an issue, by putting the down bag inside the synthetic bag you move the frost point beyond the down bag. This is good, it keep the down bag drier and you warmer. A housekeeping point, never, ever, breath into your sleeping bag. This extra water vapour from your breathing will soak your down in a matter of hours or days.

Another item you could add, would be a vapour barrier bag inside your down bag to prevent any water vapour from escaping, this vapour barrier would have to removed and aired out daily to remove the moisture from building up.

Another point to prolonging the life of your down sleeping bag, wear a full set (long johns, long sleeve shirt, sox, and toque) of poly-pro's to sleep in. This set of poly-pro's would be used only for sleeping. When they need it, you can launder them easily. If your down bag gets soiled it is very difficult to launder AND once you do the insulation breaks down and it is no longer as warm as it once was.

So, a good sleeping bag system with bivy bag you can use now, like normal people, and go camping OR in a SHTF scenario you have a shelter system that does not require anything.

One final point, sleeping pad. If you plan to survive a night sleeping on the bare ground you will need a layer of insulation between you and the ground. Closed cell foam is the minimum level to start at. Avoid air mattresses if you plan to use this in winter conditions, the layer of air is usually too great for you to warm, thus you lose heat continually. Now self-inflating sleeping pads and the air & down sleeping pads are not the same as a pure air mattress, they both have insulation. Open cell foam should not be used as it will absorb water/moisture, like a sponge. However, if you put the open cell foam inside a waterproof cover you have basically just built a self-inflating sleeping pad.

I hope this is helpful. Once you have a quality sleeping system setup you may want to quickly ensure you have a method to carry it cross-country on foot if necessary. Look at quality backpacks. Get a good dry bag for each of the sleeping bags to store them inside the pack without fear of them getting damp or wet when hiking between camps. Make sure the pack is fitted to you, an uncomfortable pack is nearly as crippling as boots that do not fit.

You spoke of food stores. I have recently been working on filling a Rubbermaid tub, it looks like it will hold enough "normal" foods for the three of us for 10 - 14 days. Inside the tub I have purchased some Rubbermaid stacking storage containers 2.5 litre & 5 litre. They are called modular canisters. We have 10 Lipton's mashed potatoes & gravy, 2 corned beef, 2 tuna, 2 chicken, 2 turkey and 2 cans of ham. As well, we have 30 packets of instant oatmeal, 24 pop-tarts(hey they last forever in the sealed Mylar wrappers!), 3 lbs of rice, 1 lbs of dried kidney beans, 1 lbs of baby lima beans and 1 lbs of navy beans. Lipton's chicken noodle soup x4 packages = 4 lunches for 3. Still need to add some salt, sugar, tea and hot chocolate, and drink crystals. I used my pc points to get much of it so the direct cash outlay has been minimal to this point. The plastic tub is easily loaded into a vehicle to get from home to a muster point. It would take some time and repacking to distribute among backpacks. Almost forgot, 3x 500g jars of peanut butter and trail mix bars.

Wall tents and stoves, excellent idea if you can do it. You might want to seek out Deluxe Wall Tent in BC, their website shows some pretty serious year round living options with a tent. Most use an extra tarp system to build a cabin tent out of the wall tent. I think the key is the wooden platform base they sit on. If you can make it work a 10'x12' with 4' walls would be a good start.

Hope these are the suggestions you were looking for.

Cheers,

Mountainman.

Thanks guys... more and more awesome feedback. I'm sure I'm not the only one who can and will benefit from this kind of advice.

Cheers

Scotty did you post earlier that you are a single father of one child? If that's so... let's talk about your BOV idea. You have enough great info on food stores and I congratulate you on your attention to security (by the way, the SKS is the best all around firearm I have ever owned). $1100 is such a win when you have to pinch pennies every day so best of luck what ever you do.
I'm thinking putting together a BOV would be a good idea for you and your child. Not because it's the best thing to do prep-wise but because of the opportunity to get out in it and practice all the things you are learning about prepping and survival. My kids are youngish and really enjoy the chance for a 'lights out' weekend, hunting, fire starting, shooting and such. Granted, you don't need a BOV to do all that but it does lend a certain gravity to the event. As in "okay if we have to bug out, we bug out in this vehicle so let's learn to do that".
It was mentioned before that you need a bug out location. If not a safe structure then at least a safe location. I live in the country but my community is 500+. Honestly, I often wonder how long I could defend this place come SHTF or WROL. So bugging out is a concern of ours and something we practice every change of season (winter and not winter!) I can't even imagine what city folks would go through.

But.. if I was to advise you on the super responsible thing to do then I would say look into your medicine and first aid preps. Particularly fish antibiotics. Found at pet food stores in human dosages and very close to shelf brands. Read up on them because once the SHTF you will never find antibiotics and that bothers the hell out of me.

Yes, single dad. I do have to contend with finding her mom in a situation. Because we share custody there is the chance my little girl might be at her moms when/if it happens. Either way... I will be putting the 3 of us together. There might be a 4th because the ex has a boyfriend who is a pharmacist and to me that is a golden asset to have in the community. Many people die of disease and infection... none of which is ever cured by a Dr. They only give the go ahead and the suggestion to the Pharmacist to give the cure. In my experience... the Dr. is sometimes wrong and the Pharmacist goes back to the Dr. with their suggestion for the correct Rx and dosage. To me... a pharmacist is more important. Like to find a nurse too. lol. Anyways... I do have a BOV... its a 4x4 subaru station wagon. We can carry a fair bit, sleep in it, get to places most vehicles cannot and its cheap on gas. The reasons I bought it. Just been thinking of tents and campers as of late but will hold off on that. I agree that food is primary at this point in my evolution. The gun is excellent security but I am also very experienced in hand to hand combat and a top notch traditional archer as well (I can fire off 9, sometimes 10 arrows in 30 seconds and hit the chest of a man at 20 yards with every arrow). The rifle is primarily for long range sniping and food hunting. Ideally however.. I really opt for silent hunting. Guns pinpoint your location. If I didnt have a gun and wanted one and heard a gun shot... by nightfall I probably would be the proud owner of it if I was desperate enough. Im not that kind of guy but there are many out there with better skills than my own who are that kind of guy. Silence is golden.

I have been welcomed into the southern group of people who are choosing to work with each other should a bug out be required and we have locations established to seek out depending on the situations that unfold. Perhaps you should be meeting with us next time we gather? Or, depending on your location seeking out like minded folks and start your planning? Anyways, I do have a bug out location in mind that I could get to in a few hours by car and then 4x4 it up the route I discovered. Its into an awesome valley with fresh water and game galore. Its moderately well known but because of its location, distance and difficulty in getting there... I think I would be A-okay if I went for the solo (with my family) bug out. Its a last resort which I will keep in mind. I think being prepared for BOL's isnt just about 1 location... you should in reality have several because you never know what curve ball is going to come your way. Location A and B could be compromised and then what? Good thing you had a location C right? Exactly.

Its just great to hear idea's and where peoples minds are so that you can gauge your own panic compass and see if you are in tune with the world or losing your marbles entirely. lol. So far everyone here seems pretty smart. I'm glad.

One thing I could use... is a location where I could drive to and park and teach my lit'lun and possibly even the ex and her bo about survival outdoors. I need a place where you can get away with cutting down some blow down or hacking up deadfall. If you guys know of such places... please, by all means... fire the location/map. I would be eternally grateful. I have only been here a few yrs and have yet to find these places. Out in BC you just drive a few miles up a logging road and have fun without any issues (even if illegal officially) but out here its flat land and prairie on 3 sides of us and heavily patrolled on the other.

Well if your single, I suggest you start trolling the hospitals for a date with a nurse 😀

Scotty,
You can find several of those locations within driving distance of Calgary; you'll need to purchase the $5 firewood collecting permit first of course.

Places like Waiprous (sp), Fallen Timber or Burnt Timber come to mind. We hunt north of Crimson Lake and that is full of lease roads that give you access to some lonely country once your past the drilling rigs etc.

I can show you on a map at the next meeting if you remind me. I'd try a google link but they never work for me.

I wouldn't mind seeing that map as well. Where could I get one?