Frugal Family: Pennies for Preparedness Edition

If we have learned anything this week, it that New Yorkers are often unprepared for emergencies. We all needed to make last minute shopping trips and scour the stores to ensure for basic preparedness.  
When faced with such situations, watching the wallet is sometimes the last thing on our minds. Here is how you can weather future storms for next to nothing with a little advanced planning.

• USE YOUR SMART PHONES: With a run on basic supplies up and down the east coast, there was no place to find a last minute flashlight.  Now, easy to install, and FREE Flashlight apps are available for all iphones, ipods, Blackberries and Android phones.  Whether a natural disaster, or just driving at night, this is a great tool they you will always have with you.

• EMERGENCY TELEPHONE: One of the best things you can own in case of an emergency is a corded land-line phone. With all of our wireless devices, they seem unnecessary, but for less then $10 it is an essential in case of power and cell phone outages.  New models are very compact and easily stored. Visit Land Line Phone to see inexpensive options.

• PORTABLE FLASHLIGHTS: Equip everyone in your family with a small, keychain flashlight. For only about $1 apiece, this will ensure that you will be prepared for a power outage at home, in the office or on a train. Purchase in bulk for greater savings. See Key Chain Flashlights for options.

• IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS: Replacing important documents and identification after a storm can be costly and frustrating. Scan all medical cards, insurance information, drivers licenses, social security cards and other necessary information in a google document or another cloud source that can be easily accessed from any computer. This is completely free and can be shared within families should other people need access to your information.

• MAIL ORDER SUBSCRIPTIONS: Check with your health insurance company to see if you can receive your prescriptions by mail order. Usually, these services provide a 90 supply of medications, so you always have them at home in case of emergency. Additionally, you will typically find a monthly savings for ordering the three month supply by mail.

• STORING WATER: When buying milk or juice or the next few weeks, consider buying in large plastic or glass bottle containers. When done, rinse well with soap and water. Store some empty containers away to have on hand and fill two to always keep in the refrigerator. This will eliminate the need to purchase and carry bottled water.

• FOOD NECESSITIES: The food that will last the longest during an emergency also happens to be the most inexpensive. Skip storing expensive frozen foods that would likely go to waste should power go out and only purchase items such as peanut butter, cans of tuna, canned vegetables and granola bars. These items will get you through an item year of preparedness.