Where are your priorities,
what is important to you?
Is it buying a bigger house, more than you can really afford, not leaving room for major home repairs? Or, it is buying a modest home, giving you a little wiggle room for those major home repairs that come along without having to go into debt for them?
It is buying a bigger fancier car you really do not need, going more in debt? Or, is it buying a modest car that will provide you for your needs, not wants?
It is buying new clothes and shoes continually, where you need bigger closest? Or, it is only using up, wearing out, or only buying them when needed.
It is buying a bigger flat screen TV, more electronic and sports toys you really do not have the money or room for? Or, is it putting that money into an emergency rainy-day saving account?
Is it going into debt for expensive vacations? Or, is it saving for a less expensive vacation and putting the extra money into your saving account or buy some extra food storage?
It is spending more time playing on those electronic toys? Or, is it time spent with your family preparing them spiritually to have a strong testimony of the gospel by reading the scriptures daily, having family prayer daily and weekly Family Home Evening?
Is it going into debt for things you really do not need, but only want? Or, is it more important to save and buy more food storage and emergency supplies to provide for your family?
What are your priorities?
President Gordon B. Hinckley stated, "I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.... No one knows when an emergency will strike.... We cannot provide against every contingency. But we can provide against many contingencies.... We have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic or go to extremes (get into debt). Let us be prudent in every aspect. And, above all, ..., let us move forward with faith in the living God and His Beloved Son.... I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of the scriptures (Matthew 24 and Luke 21) and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constant before us."
One day there will a time when food costs will be so high you cannot afford them. In Revelation 6:6 we read, "Then I heard a voice in the mist of four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, ...." What does this mean? There will be a time when it will take a days wages to buy a small portion of wheat or barley (food). Why not be gathering your food storage now to avoid the higher cost of food, which I promise you will come, and provide for your family? How We Made it Work . . .
As I look back over our 43 years of marriage I am amazed at how we made it all work. About 8 months after we were married, and pregnant with our first child, we purchased a modest 1,350 square foot house with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. As the next several years went by we added 6 children to our family. Many people asked how we made it work with 8 people in our family and only one bathroom. With a little scheduling and patience we made it work. We have lived in the same house for 43 years. Over the years we have not been without the occasional unexpected emergency bill (major car repairs, plumbing issues, house repairs, medical and others). My husband was the only one working. We decided it was more important for me to be home with the children that have a lot of things we really did not need. Throughout the years I supplemented the income by doing child care in our home, sewing costumes for a children's theater and decorating cakes. We did not go on expensive vacations, they were usually locally, museums, the park, the beach, picnic's, etc. We only went on 3 large vacation trips while raising our children, once to San Diego and twice to Utah, which we saved for before going. We focused our money on needs more than wants, but there were the occasional wants. Because of us being frugal we were able to put away cans and packages of food for our food storage, which came in handy a few times when money was tight. We even had enough whole wheat stored for the whole family, but at the time no wheat grinder. We really did not start storing the more expensive long term food storage until children started leaving the nest. We had an 8 person tent, a charcoal BBQ, a couple of lanterns and flashlights if an emergency arose. We were comfort and happy. We listened to the guidance of Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost. We worked hard and made it all work!
New May Monthly Assignments
Food Storage: Grains
What are grains? They consist of wheat (both red and white hard winter), flours, oats, barley, quinoa, popcorn, etc. You can store them in #10 cans and 6 gallon buckets for long term storage (20+ years) and packages for short term storage (1+ years). You need 300 pounds of grains (store a variety) per person in your family for a year. Determine how much you need to store for your family and your your goal of 1-Month, 3-Months, 6-Months or a year. As all foot storage, store your grains in a cool, dry, dark place. You can purchase grains from your local grocery store, from long term food storage companies like the LDS Dry Pack Cannery, emergencyessentials.com, honeyville.com, foodinsurance.com, thrive.com, foodforhealthinternational.com, etc.
Emergency Preparedness:
Emergency Cooking, Lighting and Heating
You should have in your emergency supplies at least . . .
One, or more, way to cook if you cannot use your conventional stove/oven. You should also have enough fuel for the type of cooking equipment you have to last for about 3+ months. Examples: Coleman Stove with propane, Butane Stove with Butane fuel, Gar BBQ with propane, Charcoal BBQ with charcoal, outside Fire Pit with wood and matches, etc.
One, or more, way to have lighting if the power is out. They can be battery operated or solar. It may be a good idea to have booth. You should have a working flashing in each room of the house with batteries and emergency lanterns. Examples: Coleman lantern, Battery or solar lanterns, Flashlights (battery and/or solar), candles (unscented) with matches, etc. A gas (DO NOT use inside the house) or solar generator would be great to have to since you can run electrically appliances and electronics from them.
One, or more, ways to provide heat for colder weather if you cannot use your conventional home gas or electric heater. I love the idea in the picture shown. It really does provide heat. Click here to see how to build it. Examples: Fireplace and heat candles. You can line a room with mattress to keep the heat inside the room. You should also have warm clothes and blankets. DO NOT use a charcoal BBQ inside the house, it will KILL you. For more information and great ideas on Emergency Cooking, Lighting and Heating check out the posting on the right of this blog under "Postings", "Cooking, Heating and Lighting in an Emergency".
Emergency Preparedness Ideas
Many people have fire extinguishers in their homes and cars but do not know how to properly use one and check to make sure it is full. You can take your fire extinguishers to your local fire department and they will check them for you and possibly refill them. Please watch the videos below to know how to properly use a fire extinguishers. Keep them in a safe place away from children, but accessible.
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