Stockpiling for Storms, Are You Prepared?

Mr. Coupon from We Use Coupons has wrote a great article that I wanted to share with you all. I hope that none of you will be personally affected by Hurricane Irene. I really believe that everyone should always be prepared for any kind of storm.

Have 3-5 days of nonperishable food. Remember to focus on foods that don't require cooking or water to prepare. Often times you will be without electricity for extended periods of time. Some good stockpiling options: tuna and canned chicken. Both have long expiration's and often have good coupons.

Stockpile high energy foods. Couponers will often see energy bar coupons. I personally don't like energy bars, but if they are extremely discounted, I buy them primarily because I know they have a very long shelf life AND because they are great in an emergency. One bar can keep me going for a long while. More good, cheap stockpile options are peanut butter and cereal/granola bars. They are high calorie and little space is required to store them.

Don't forget your vitamins. Walgreens and other major drugstores often do BOGO sales on vitamins and with coupons often the cost to get them is very, very low. Stock up on these and make sure your supply is healthy during hurricane season.

Special food needs. I'm a 29 year old male. I personally have no special food needs. If push came to shove, the 30 boxes of cat food might look really nice, BUT I have an 18 month old in my household. Cat food isn't going to fly with her LOL. She is eating normal food, but she still loves her bottle of milk. If we were faced with a disaster and she needed her milk, I would have no options. For that reason, I have three cans of powder based formula in the basement. I got them for free with coupons and formula checks. Remember not to forget your family members, including infants or the elderly, with special diets.

Water. In my household, we have four large jugs from Walmart that I believe are 10 gallons each. They aren't that expensive, but we feel it's necessary to help deal with any disaster. When we see a bottled water deal (often times in conjunction with Kool-aid or Crystal Light) we stock up! Water is something worth paying for!

Let there be light. If your home is left without electricity, you will need a way to see at night. Couponers are very aware that there are GREAT deals on batteries and candles. Glade often will put out great candle coupons that make them free every so often and they smell good! Battery deals are everywhere; you just have to pick the right time and store to buy! Stock up.

Gotta have gas. My wife and I just got an extra propane tank. We had a great rebate for it and decided it would be wise to always have access to some type of cooking surface if we lost power. Gas or fuel is an important resource in an emergency, but it's difficult to stockpile. Have the containers ready and try to fill up your car before the storm!

We believe it is best to have at least two weeks of food on hand. As we have seen from major disasters here in the United States, sometimes FEMA is slow to react. It is probably unlikely that a disaster would cut the food supply for that long, but having that stockpile would be a great relief. Canned foods are a great option for getting to the two weeks of food on hand if you aren't a serious couponer. Del Monte, and many other major brands, routinely have coupons that reduce the cost of canned items tremendously. I often get canned items for under $.05 each. Another option is to can items yourself! We have many WUCkies who do just that.

Thanks, Mr Coupon!

Mr. Coupon also interviewed Dale Bader, a Broadcast Meteroologist, that was affected by the April Tornado outbreak in Alabama. You can read more here.