Single Parent Prepping: Less is Not Weaker

For a single parent on a budget, sometimes it’s tough to just put food on the table, let alone stockpile enough back to get you and your kids through a SHTF situation.

Under the circumstances, preparing for survival it’s still possible, though it will take a bit of effort. You also have to consider how you will protect your kids after the fact, and also teach them how to survive.

Today we’re going to offer some suggestions to help you get started on your path to single parent prepping!

Food

Especially if you have children who depend on you, it’s imperative that you have enough food stockpiled to get you through a disaster. The problem is that food is expensive and just buying enough to get you through the week can be a struggle. You’re going to have to think outside the box.

• Use coupons and take advantage of BOGOs. Sunday papers have great coupon flyers and if you pair them with BOGO offers, you can often get food for free, or nearly so. There are many online sites that teach you how to work the system to get the best deals so find one for your area.
• Grow your own food. Plants are inexpensive and seeds are downright cheap, so consider growing some of your own food for eating now and canning for later. Even if you only have window boxes, you’ll be surprised at the amount of food that you can grow.
• Join a local farmer’s co-op. Often farmers get together and offer package deals on a variety of foods. You can purchase a membership and receive a box of food on a regular basis for considerably less than what you’d pay in the store. You’re also building a network when you work with your local farmers that may serve you and your family well in a post-disaster situation.

Shelter

Depending upon what disasters you’re preparing for, you may need to find an alternative place to stay.

Having a plan for a safe place to go to in an emergency is always a good idea, regardless.

Since your money may be tight as a single parent, prepping for disaster by finding shelter may be a bit of a challenge. Building a standard bunker may not be possible. Here are a few ideas.

• Buy or rent a home with a cellar. You have to find a place to live anyway, so when you’re looking, find a place that already has a cellar or some other form of emergency shelter.
• Build an inexpensive shelter. There are several ways that you can build your own fortress right in your own yard for very little money. Cellars, earth houses and bag fortresses don’t take up much space and they cost very little if you use recycled or repurposed materials.
• Network with your neighbors. You most assuredly have skills that you can trade for shelter. Whether it’s knowledge or a physical skill, offer to trade it in a disaster situation for shelter for you and your children.

Security

This may be the toughest part of single parent prepping: defending your family. Nobody wants to think that physical defense will be necessary but the truth is that it’s a possibility. Though you may think that defending your family isn’t possible by yourself, that’s not the case. If you’re a single mom it may be that you’re smaller but that doesn’t mean that you’re weaker.

• Buy a gun and learn to use it. If you’re serious about defending your family, you need to own at least one weapon that you know how to use. A .38 is a good handgun for both a beginner and a person on a budget. It’s effective, easy to handle and the ammo is relatively inexpensive. A rifle may not be bad either because you can hunt with it if SHTF.
• Take a self-defense class with your kids. You and your kids stand together through everything else. This is no exception. Local community centers and YMCAs often offer self-defense classes for free or for very little money to families.
• Make your home secure. Get a dog, have solid locks on all your doors and windows, landscape your yard so that it’s difficult to gain access to your home. Do what you need to do batten down the hatches so that you can keep your kids safe.

As a single parent prepping for disaster, there is a greater burden on you because you don’t have anybody but yourself to depend upon. You’ll need to educate yourself as much as possible on everything from medicinal plants to home defense.

Build networks with your neighbors and other single parents and start building your stockpile. As you’ve probably already learned, you can do anything that you want to; it may just take a bit more effort. Happy prepping!

Read more about prepping skills on Conquering the Coming Collapse.

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

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