Beans and Rice? Maybe Neither.

One thing that is said over and over with trying to get prepared is "there is no money". There is almost always a way to find the money to prepare. If preparing is something that you actually want to do, you will find a way. Kind of like if your kid needs braces and you weren't planning on that. You will find a way to come up with the money. Think about your wants versus needs. Do you need to have steak for dinner? Do you need to go out to the restaurant? Do you need that new (fill in the blank here)?

We all seem to think that, well, we deserve it. We had a rough week at work. The kids were awful this week. My boss is an idiot. Well, of course your boss is an idiot. That goes without saying. I don't care where you work, that is likely the case. Bad week at work? What if you had no job? What if you were not able to get to that job? On and on it can go.

Start today. Don't put it off any longer. Take a look at what you can pick up today. Or maybe this weekend if running to the store or library is not an option during the week. When you make out your grocery list, add a few extra items that you already buy. Look for sales and stock up on something. It doesn't need to be double what you normally buy. Just one or two extra every single week will add up before you realize it.

Let me give a little advice, though. Do NOT stock up on beans and rice. Unless of course they are already part of your diet. If you don't like beans or rice now, why would you think that you would like them when you are under a whole lot of stress? Do not think that you can suddenly change your diet to something that you don't like when things go bad. You will simply not eat. Stock up the foods that you and your family already eat on a regular basis. Do not underestimate the value of having normal-for-you foods on hand. Just think about that. When you have a rough time of something now, what do you reach for? Ice cream? Cookies? Chips? Some of these items may not be something you can keep on hand all the time. In my house, if I buy chips of any kind, I have two options. I can put them in the kitchen where my son will have them devoured in about 30 seconds. Or I can hide them. He can't eat what he doesn't know is there. I do have to make sure to get them out of hiding before they go stale though or I have wasted my money. (Not an issue here, my son would eat junk food over any other single option.)

If you do eat beans and rice, as we do, then by all means stock up on them. Find new and creative ways to cook with them. The same old boring stand-by's will be just that. After how many meals will you decide that you simply do not want to see another bean or grain of rice? This is called appetite fatigue. You can starve to death if appetite fatigue sets in. Even with piles of food around you. I know you say that won't happen to me! Well it can. Think about it this way. Make a big pot of soup. Or chili, or whatever. Now, that is all you can eat for the next seven days. Every meal, same thing, over and over. How many meals will go by before you simply cannot eat another bite? That would be a good thing to know. I have tried it. I can go about three days, max. Sometimes, less.

If you have kids, think about some of their favorite foods. These items are some of the first thing you should stock up on. It can be a great comfort for your children to have a meal of their favorites. If you can keep your children calm in an emergency situation, even if it's just a power outage, that leaves you free to deal with things.

Another thing to keep in mind when starting your stocking: think about items that do not need to be cooked. Some of these things would be canned soups, canned meats, etc. May not be the tastiest cold out of the can, but would sure beat going hungry.

One more thing. Rotate. Rotate. Oh yeah, one more thing. Rotate. It does you absolutely no good to stock up on anything if you put it on the shelf and it goes bad before you ever open it up to eat. (See why stocking up on what you already use is a good idea?) Think FIFO. First in, First out. That will save many dollars that you don't have to waste on lost stocks.

Get started today. Or this weekend if you must wait. But do not put this off. Get to the store. Get to the library. There is all kinds of info out there to learn. Find it.

Hard times are coming our way and we all need to get ready. Be vigilant.