The power has just gone out. You find the flashlight and light some candles. You realize its dinner time and the kids are hungry, now what? Going out to dinner might not be an option if the power is out in the whole city. Crackers and a jar of peanut butter might be okay for one night, but what if the power outage lasts for longer than that? Power outages can happen at any time. They could last a few hours or even a few days.
Order of Operations It is important to start by using what is in your refrigerator first. When the power goes out, the fridge will be able to keep food cool for 24-48 hours. Don’t open your fridge more than you absolutely have to. Know what you are looking for, open and close the fridge quickly and efficiently. If the power is still out, eat what is in the freezer next. Food will remain frozen for 2-3 days as long as the door stays shut.
Alternate Cooking Methods Our ancestors have used fire to cook food for millions of years. Learn from their ingenuity and adjust your own cooking methods.
Fire Starters Fire has come a long way in the last several years. Products like EasyFire make building and maintaining a fire as easy as ever. Using nontoxic inert minerals, paraffin wax, and recycled wood, you can create more than enough heat to safely cook any meal. Use a firepit, fireplace, or other safe, ventilated container to maintain an easy fire.
Cooking Outdoors A functional and fun trend is the backyard firepit. This is a great area for cooking during a blackout. Take a note from the Boy Scouts of America and make a good old fashioned tin foil dinner. A tin foil dinner can contain just about anything. Take a sheet of aluminum foil and fill it with meat and potatoes. Add a few herbs and some salt and pepper. Roll the edges of the foil together and toss it in the fire for a while. Bury the tin foil dinner in a bed of hot coals so it cooks all the way through. Check to see if it is done, if not roll it back up and put it back on the fire until everything is tender and cooked.
Barbeques, grills, and camp stoves are ideal for the 4th of July, they are also the most obvious ways to cook during a power outage. Since they run on propane or charcoal they won’t be affected by the blackout. DO NOT grill indoors on a charcoal or gas grill. It will produce lethal carbon monoxide.
Emergency Stove Candle or Stove-in-a-Can stoves use wax hydrocarbon fuel. Chafing dishes use the same principle to keep food warm. You’ve probably seen the blue flames under trays at parties or other catered events. These little cans are great for heating up food during an emergency. They won’t be able to cook a full course meal, but they are able to heat up a can of beans just fine.
Use Your Food Storage People sometimes protect their emergency food storage, assuming that a bigger emergency is around the corner. In reality, events like blackouts are exactly when you should use your food storage. It provides convenient, easy meal prep. For instance, MREs have built-in MRE heaters to cook without needing any other cooking method. If you have more freeze-dried food, that’s almost as easy. Freeze-dried meals only require hot water to produce a full, delicious meal.
Use Your Car Your car engine gets hot enough to heat food. Simply wrap your food in several layers of aluminum foil, open your hood and place the foil on the engine. Close the hood and turn on your car. (PLEASE make sure your garage door is open so you have plenty of ventilation.) Cook your food until the internal temperature is safe (usually 160 degrees for meat). You may need to flip the foil back and forth to ensure even cooking.
Alternative Cooking Methods
Do you have any advice for cooking without power? We’d love to hear from you.
Source: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2012/08/will_we_be_cooking_without_pow.html
So you have a savings account, now what? How much money do you need to put in there? Financial experts talk about having an emergency fund, but what does that really mean?
An emergency fund is not your savings for a car, house, or other large purchases. Savings for a downpayment on a home should be in addition to your emergency fund. The emergency fund is there for a rainy day (car breaking down, expected medical expenses, etc.) and not for a weekend trip to Las Vegas.
During a disaster or a job loss, your emergency fund will allow you to keep living your life and more importantly paying your bills. So how much do you really need? The bare minimum should be six months of expenses. In other words, what does it take to keep a roof over your head for six months? Say your mortgage is $1,500 a month, plus $300 for utilities, $400 for groceries, $100 for the phone, $89 for life insurance, $400 for health insurance. You’ll need $16,734 in your emergency fund to live off of for six months. This does not include going out to dinner or to the movies or on that family cruise to Mexico.
Though in reality, most people don’t cut their expenses back when faces with finical disaster. Err on the side of caution and save more than you think you’ll need. It is better to be safe than sorry. What are your household expenses? Not just the mortgage and groceries. How much do you eat out? How many movies do you see a month? A weekly date night of dinner and a movie would be around $50, that is $200 a month.
Take an honest look at your spending. It is easy to say I’ll cut out this or that, but it is harder than you think. How much are your really spending each month, add that up and times it by six to eight months. $2,789 for the mortgage, etc., plus $200 for weekly dates, $100 for ballet lessons, $100 for soccer practice. $25,512 will allow you to live with your current lifestyle for eight months. This is how much money you really need in your emergency fund.
On average it takes one to two years to find a new job after a job loss. The bare minimum of six months of essentials won’t last long. Plan to save eight months of your real expenses you will be much better prepared. Then if you cut back to the essentials your emergency fund will last much longer.
Are you spending more than you are making? If you have massive amounts of debt your emergency fund will quickly be eaten up. Look at your real expenses and compare them to your monthly income. Does it add up? Ideally, you should have some money left over to put into an emergency fund, if not it’s time to cut back. Saving six to eight months of income should allow you to meet your needs and have some left over. This will cushion your funds and make them last longer if necessary.
Photo Credit: http://www.fiscallysound.com/your-emergency-fund-why-you-need-one-and-how-to-start-one/
The top reasons why people don’t prepare are because they think it is too difficult, too expensive, and too time-consuming. But, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, putting together a basic family preparedness plan with a bug out bag for each family member can generally be done in an evening.
In an effort to help you and your family prepare, Food Insurance® has put together a list of essential items to help you as you put together your own DIY Bug Out Bag:
Continue reading “Essentials for a DIY Bug Out Bag”
Along with your year supply of food and water do you have your year supply of Duct Tape? All you need to do is google “Duct tape” and you will soon realize how important this sticky substance can be to your long term survival. We put together this list of 12 survival essentials that you can make with duct tape to help people get excited about this wonderful tool. Feel free to let us know what you would add to the list. A special thanks to Gaye over at http://www.backdoorsurvival.com/. She put together a list a couple of years ago about what you can make with Duct Tape and we used some of her ideas, so thanks Gaye and keep up the good work!
When getting ready to buy supplies to prepare for an emergency, people often ask whether it is better to buy a little at a time or all at once.
The answer is… it really depends on you.
The two major factors are your financial situation and your personality. Each method has its advantages and its disadvantages. Those two factors will help you to navigate which path is better for you. With that said, here is a list of pros and cons for each approach.
Continue reading “Buy Now or Save?”
Does storing food for an emergency seem a bit overwhelming? Or complicated? Or burdensome? Or financially draining? Well, truthfully, taken in its entirety and all at once, it can seem difficult. Continue reading “How Much Should I Budget for Food Storage?”
Many families find the financial costs of emergency preparedness do not fit into their budget. If all of your funds are already accounted for, it would be hard to create a little wiggle room for emergency supplies. However, if you’ve done your research, you’ll know that planning for an emergency should be on the list of priorities. Here are 15 suggestions for how to work around a tight budget to obtain critical emergency supplies.
Continue reading “15 Ways to Add Room to Your Budget”
This past week on Glenn Beck’s website, there was an insightful post about the basics of home defense readiness. In introducing the topic, the author made a stirring point: “When designing any emergency response plan, it is important to first identify the most realistic threat you are likely to face… Mounting a defense against the threat you are most likely to face will help manage your fear and your finances in equal measure.” Continue reading “5 Budgeting Tips for Emergency Preparedness”
Do you remember when you planted your very first bean seed in a paper cup way back in elementary school? You watched it sprout and grow into a gangly plant and you were so proud to show Mom. Imagine the pride you’ll feel growing your own garden. Not only will you feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you add a green thumb to your skills, you will be providing a food source for your family in the case of an emergency. Continue reading “10 Tips for Starting Your Garden”
