Start Prepping Here – 11 Things (Under $20) a New Prepper Should Buy

If we stand back and just look at what’s going on around us, sometimes things can feel so overwhelming.  The national debt is skyrocketing.  Cancel Culture is ruining the lives of everyday people like you and me – let alone successful businesses.  We watch the hypocrisy of tech companies de-platforming Social Media platforms for not censoring their users when other social media platforms allowed death threats to conservative senators and did nothing to them.  Oftentimes, events such as these start people thinking along the lines of becoming more prepared.  And that will sometimes lead to the question for a new prepper – Where do I even start preparing?

We already have several parts to this “Start Prepping Here” series.

The First 11 Things a New Prepper Should Learn

The First 12 Things a New Prepper Should Do

The Why You Do the Things You Do

The Basics of Water Storage

The Basics of Food Storage

The Basics of Sanitation

Prepping for Personal Safety

***There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links. My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. All of these are the items that I have bought for my own family.  If you click on a link, your price will remain the same.  If you make a purchase, we may make a small commission that aids in the cost of the running of this website.***

So today, I’m going to give you 12 purchases for $20 or less (at the time of writing this article) that you can make in order to start your own preparedness journey.

Pocket knife

I am of the belief that everyone needs a pocket knife – whether you’re a new prepper or you aren’t.  Moms need pocket knives – not just dads.  I use my pocketknife all the time and when I forget to put it in my pocket in the morning, I oftentimes regret it.  This knife is my personal favorite.  According to Amazon, I’ve purchased it four time so far.  It’s not that it breaks or gets too dull.  I just use it so often that I misplace it from time to time.

Most recently, we were out at the farm.  We were warned that one of the pipes has frozen in the past, and we should keep the water running.  Since the mid-west has had this polar vortex cold snap, we were keeping the water slightly more than trickling in the three faucets – nonstop for almost four days before we just decided to turn the water off to the house altogether since we aren’t living out there yet.  But underneath one of the faucets was slightly dripping.  I used my pocket knife to cut a .5L water bottle (we had already stocked water for drinking) in half and placed it under the slightly dripping sink supply line.

Without my pocket knife, we would only have had a small opening to hit.  This just made good sense, and you never know when you’re going to need it, whether it’s to open a box, cut back a small branch, or shave kindling for a fire.

Lifestraw 

I’m a firm believer that everyone should have a way to filter water with them at all times.  One of the most economical (and effective ways) to filter water is a Lifestraw.  It’s lightweight.  You can carry it with you everywhere.  It allows everyone – new prepper and experienced alike to safely drink from almost any water source that you come across.

Life Bivvy

If you ever find yourself stranded in your vehicle, having one Life Bivvy per person is a good option.  It’s a sleeping bag designed for retaining body heat. Why might you need one?  Do you live in an area that can get cold at some point during the year?  Or do you travel to places where it can get cold?  While these are not designed for cushion, they are designed to keep you warm in a situation where your body could lose body heat and result in hypothermia.   They are incredibly small (3″x3″x5″) and lightweight (5.6oz)!  So it’s easy to carry them with you.  I suggest keeping them in your vehicle as opposed to your Bug-Out-Bag.  But even then, they take up almost no space and don’t weigh your vehicle down.  It’s a great $20 investment for a new prepper.

Zippo lighter

Everyone needs to be able to start a fire, and a cigarette lighter is a great way to do it.  Why a zippo?  One reason that I like this lighter is that it’s refillable.  A Zippo is easy to strike – have you seriously tried striking a Bic lighter lately?  Not that classy is important, but it’s a nice side benefit.

Multi-tool

When it comes to Multi-tools, Gerber is one of the best name out there.  This one costs less than $20, so it’s a great starter multi-tool.  Why a multi-tool? As its name belies, it’s got a whole bunch of different uses from one small tool.  This particular version of the multi-tool has needle-nose pliers, tweezers, package opener, pliers, bottle opener, scissors, cross driver, flathead driver, with a lanyard ring.  So much you can do in such a small package.

Pepper Spray 

Before we moved to Illinois, my kids had started picking up chess as a hobby.  We had a chess coach who used to come by our local library and taught several of my kids chess.  When we moved here to central Illinois, we joined the local homeschool chess club.  Our second week at chess club, we were attacked by a young man wielding two knives.  Our chess coach put himself between us and our attacker, but no one had a weapon or anything else that we could use to defend ourselves against him.  Even if we had had a concealed carry permit, playing chess at a public library wouldn’t have legally allowed us to have a firearm.  The day after the attack, I went out and bought my first bottle of pepper spray.  I’ve carried one since.  New prepper or seasoned vet – pepper spray is a must.

Snap-On Toilet lid

New Years Day three years ago.  I woke up and used the restroom.  I flushed the toilet and went to wash my hands, but there was a problem.  Nothing came out of the sink and the toilet tank didn’t begin to fill. During a severe cold snap, our pipes had frozen.  It ended up taking four days to get our water back on.  But until that time, we had to have a way to use the restroom, wash our hands, clean our dishes.  So in order to take care of our restroom situation, we purchased a snap-on toilet lid for a five-gallon bucket.  Want to know how to set up a portable restroom?  We’ve got you covered.

And the five-gallon bucket can be gotten at most grocery stores for FREE.  Just head to the bakery section and ask them if they have any empty five-gallon frosting containers.  Most times, they will give you empty ones for free.

So whether you’re a new prepper or you’ve been at this for a bit – make sure that you have a snap-on toilet lid, bucket, and heavy-duty trash bags.

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5-gallon water container

During those four days, we also had to wash our hands.  The best way to handle that is to use a five-gallon water container with a spigot.  We put this over the side of our kitchen sink and used the spigot to wash our hands after we used the restroom.

Backpack

One of the things that most new preppers do is to set up a Bug out Bag.  Having a good, sturdy, yet lightweight backpack will go a long way when planning your Bug-Out-Bag

A Year Without the Grocery Store and Companion Workbook

As you start on your preparedness journey, food is usually one of the first items that we women consider.  It can also be one of the most complex parts of your journey.  A Year Without the Grocery Store will help you step-by-step on your journey. While everything around us is in disarray and filled with confusion, you can take control of this area of your life and know that your family will have plenty of food, no matter what your circumstances.   More importantly, if you’re consistent, you can accomplish this in fifteen minutes a day or less!

Then A Year Without the Grocery Store Companion Workbook gives you all the worksheets that you could hope for or need to actually make what you read about in A Year Without the Grocery Store a reality.

What About You?

For those of you who’ve been at this awhile, what other items under $20 would you suggest to a brand new prepper?  Share with us in the comments below so that we can all be better prepared.

Together, Let’s Love, Learn, Practice, and Overcome!