Top 10 Cheapest Emergency Foods

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Prepping has never been more expensive, especially when it comes to stockpiling food. Ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are pushing up the price of energy, droughts and heat waves are killing crops, and data centers are making water more and more scarce. All of this means that food is going to keep getting more expensive.

Fortunately, you can still get a lot of emergency food for a reasonable price if you're willing to search and to buy things in bulk. You'll also need to be willing to eat some of the basics: rice, beans, pasta, and so forth, but they can still be quite delicious if you use the right seasonings.

In this article, we'll break down the top 10 cheapest emergency foods. For each food, I included the number of calories you can get for a single U.S. dollar. We'll count down from least calories per dollar to most calories per dollar.

Cheapest Emergency Foods

10. Canned Tuna

Every stockpile needs more than one type of meat, and tuna is a great option. Be sure to look for canned tuna in oil, as it has far more calories. May as well get as many as you can.

Amazon sells a 48-pack of Chunk Light Tuna in Oil for less than $50 (as of this writing), so you can get it for less than a dollar a can. How does that break down for your servings?

Each serving has 160 calories and an impressive 20g of protein. So, you pay $0.52 per 100 calories. However, considering what a high source of protein this is, it is worth the price.

Calories per dollar: 192

9. Powdered Milk

In times of an emergency, you might not have a source of fresh milk, but you do need calcium in your body for optimal health. That’s why all fully stocked pantries need to have powdered milk. Not only can you use powdered milk in recipes (I use it in my bread machine recipe), but it can be reconstituted into drinking milk.

You can buy whole milk powder from Amazon. They have many choices, including Peak Dry Whole Milk Powder. For less than $60 (as of this writing), you can get an 88 oz tub. You can mix ¼ cup of the powdered milk into a cup of water to make drinkable milk.

Each tub has around 104 servings, and each serving is 120 calories with 7g of fat, 8g of carbohydrates, and 6g of protein. That equals $0.57 per serving.

Calories per dollar: 208

8. Instant Potatoes

Every prepper needs to have some comfort food in their stockpile, and mashed potatoes are just that. While they don’t add protein or fats, they’re a great source of carbohydrates, which is needed during an emergency.

You can find pouches for $1 in most stores, but there is another choice. Amazon sells Chef’s Quality: Mashed Potatoes Complete Instant. This is a 5.43 lb container of instant potatoes for less than $30 (as of this writing). In this container, you get 145 servings! Each serving has 60 calories; it’s only ½ cup of prepared mashed potatoes.

So, what does that equal? You pay $0.19 per serving; that’s a lot cheaper than the pouches in the store. Even if the store pouches are double the serving size, that’s only $0.40 rather than the $1 you typically pay.

Calories per dollar: 322

7. Dried Beans

Pretty much all beans are high in calories, usually over 100 calories per 1/2 cup. Plus, they are very high in protein, which you're going to need if you're living on survival food (which is mostly carbohydrates).

Of all the beans, black beans aren't quite the highest in calories, but they're my favorite, and I found a better deal on them than anything else. Amazon sells a four-pound bag of Iberia black beans for a very low price. 

You can get over 6000 calories for less than $10 in most places.

Calories per dollar: 774

6. Peanut Butter

Having peanut butter on hand is always a good idea. It’s a source of fats and protein. A single serving of peanut butter contains 190 calories, 16g of fat and 7g of protein, and it tastes so good. It’s filling, so a little can go a long way.

The cheapest peanut butter I could find is at Walmart. You can buy a 40 oz container of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter. Each jar contains 34 servings, and it only costs $6.97. That equals $0.20 per serving size of 190 calories.

Calories per dollar: 923

5. Lard

The first place I checked for lard was Amazon, but I was surprised to find that Walmart had hands-down the best price for lard I could find. You can purchase a 4lb bucket of lard by Armour Lard for $9.47.

That equals $3.33 per pound. There are around 140 servings inside the bucket, and each serving has 120 calories. You pay $0.10 per 120 calories.

Calories per dollar: 1259

4. Oats

Oats are another great grain and a form of fiber that everyone should have in their diet. Old fashioned oats are a versatile choice, and you can find many different brands, including generic ones.

The best value that I found was at Costco. They sell Quaker Oats Old-Fashioned Oatmeal in 10-pound containers for $8.79 (as of this writing). In each container, you get 113 servings, and each serving has 150 calories. That means you less than 8 cents per 150 calories.

Calories per dollar: 1928

3. Pasta

Pasta goes into every stockpile. It’s filling and stretches to fill multiple bellies. If you have kids, as I do, pasta is the best way to make a cheap meal that everyone likes and keeps them full all night.

In general, pasta is easy to stockpile. I’ve found that, in most cases, it’s not cheapest to buy pasta in bulk. What’s cheapest is to buy the single, store-brand boxes from Walmart. Each box of Great Value pasta is 16 ounces for $1.24. The only way that I can find it cheaper is if I have a coupon.

Calories per dollar: 1984

2. Vegetable Oil

There are many different forms of fat that you could add to your stockpile. Vegetable oil is one of the cheapest and easiest to find. Almost every store that you visit will have vegetable oil available, which makes it incredibly easy to stockpile.

One of the cheapest places to get your vegetable oil is Walmart, which sells Product of Wesson Vegetable Oil in a 1-gallon bottle. That’s a total of 128 fluid ounces for $11.18. Each serving has 120 calories, and a 1-gallon bottle has 252 servings. That means you are paying less than 5 cents per serving size.

Calories per dollar: 2705

1. Rice

Everyone wants to have rice in their stockpile, and it’s typically one of the first foods that disappear off the shelves whenever an emergency takes place. Finding the best price for rice is tricky since there are many different types of rice on the market.

Hands down, the best price available for rice in bulk is from Costco. You can purchase a 50-pound bag of Member's Mark long grain rice for $21.98. In this bag, you receive 504 servings, and each serving has 160 calories. Altogether, that means it costs $0.04 per 160 calories or serving size.

Calories per dollar: 3668

Final Thoughts

Stockpiling the right emergency foods doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. Remember to look at the calories per dollar to be sure it’s worth adding to your stockpile. That also lets you find the best value for your money.

You May Also Like:

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• 50 Emergency Supplies at the Dollar Store
• How to Store Pasta So It Lasts for Decades

The post Top 10 Cheapest Emergency Foods appeared first on Urban Survival Site.

from Urban Survival Site

What To Stock Up On In September

Are you ready to hear what to stock up on in September? This is the month to replenish your canned tomatoes or soups! You may also want to buy a bag or a bushel of apples to preserve for later. I enjoy updating this post annually.

You can dehydrate some apples, make applesauce, or even pie filling. Who doesn’t love apple slices dipped in caramel? The list is never-ending for apples.

The weather in September is usually not cold early in the month, but it can quickly turn cold in many areas. It’s a great month to stock up on foods we know we will use, marked down drastically. What a great way to save us a lot of money on groceries. I call it my stock-up-on-soup-ingredients month. If you need to replace camping supplies or garden tools, this is a great month to look for sales.

Why This September Feels Different

Every year I sit down to write this post about what to stock up on, and every year I ask myself if I am being too cautious or not cautious enough. This year I keep coming back to the same conclusion. The world we are preparing for today is simply not the same world it was five or ten years ago, and I think it is time we talk honestly about why that matters for your pantry.

When I first started writing about food storage, most of what I worried about was fairly local. A winter storm that might knock out power for a few days. A job loss that might tighten the budget for a season. Those things still happen, and they still matter, but they are no longer the only things on my mind.

Grocery prices have climbed in ways that are hard to ignore. A cart of groceries that used to cost me a certain amount now costs noticeably more, and that is not because I am buying differently. It is because the cost of getting food from the farm to the store shelf has gone up at almost every step, from fuel to fertilizer to packaging to labor. When costs rise that broadly, they tend to stay up. They rarely come back down the way we hope they will.

Supply Chain/Shipping Delays

Our supply chains have also shown us, more than once now, just how fragile they can be. A single disruption, whether it is a shortage of a key ingredient, a shipping delay, a labor strike, or a weather event in a region that grows a crop we depend on, can empty shelves faster than most people expect. We saw pieces of this in recent years with certain canned goods, baby formula, and eggs. It does not take a massive event to create a real shortage. It only takes one weak link.

Weather patterns are also shifting in ways that affect what shows up in stores. Longer droughts in farming regions, more intense storms, unpredictable growing seasons. Farmers are working harder than ever to produce the same amount of food, and sometimes they simply cannot. When a harvest comes in smaller than expected, that shortage works its way down to your local grocery store within months.

Then there is the simple matter of how many people are depending on the same system at the same time. Our population continues to grow, our supply chains continue to stretch thinner, and more households are living without much of a financial cushion. That combination means smaller disruptions have bigger ripple effects than they used to.

Not Speaking Out Of Fear

I want to be careful here because I never want to speak out of fear. I want to speak from preparation. I am not telling you the sky is falling. I am telling you that the systems we have leaned on for decades are under more pressure than they used to be, and a family who has a few extra months of food set aside is a family who does not have to feel that pressure the same way everyone else does.

This is why I keep saying it every year, and why I mean it more than ever this year. Stocking up is not about panic. It is about peace of mind. It is about being the kind of family that can open the pantry and know you are covered, no matter what the news says that week. That peace is worth working toward, a little at a time, starting now.

What To Stock Up On In September

Seasonal Produce

Apples

Apples will be priced at deficient levels because the trucks are now delivering the in-season apples! If you haven’t done it before, you may want to learn to dehydrate some apples. They are one of the easiest fruits to dehydrate. Here is my post with pictures: How to Dehydrate Apples. This is my favorite Apple Peeler/Slicer.

You may want to stock up on frozen apple pies, as they will often be marked down with coupons or featured in online ads. If you love making applesauce, this is the time to use freshly picked apples. Apple butter and apple juice will also be on sale.

If you want to buy Apple-related products in jars or cartons, look for markdowns galore. Also, look for additional sales in your mailbox flyers on everything made with apples.

Note that due to supply chain delivery issues and drought in parts of California, although prices will be lower this time of year, they may not be as low as we’ve seen in years past. Do some comparison shopping to see which store has them priced the best.

Nectarines

Oh my gosh, the nectarines today were so beautiful, and when we cut into them, they were so juicy and sweet! I love buying fruit in season.

Avocados

I saw these beautiful avocados today and grabbed a few to eat on toast and some for sandwiches.

Onions

It’s a great month to dehydrate onions and make onion powder. In case you missed this post, Dehydrating Onions and Making Onion Powder, these onions were beautiful today! Remember that onions come in various colors, so choose a variety and add some spice to your salad or casserole.

Fresh Green Beans

If you were lucky enough to grow green beans this year, you know how delicious fresh green beans taste. When our girls were young, we had a huge garden, and one entire section was dedicated to bush beans. We had them with dinner just about every night and also canned a bunch to eat throughout the winter months.

White Rice

If you can afford it, please stock up on rice. White rice can be stored for 4-5 years in an airtight container in a cool, dark location. Brown rice is only suitable for 5-6 months. I don’t store brown rice; it’s not worth it to me based on its short shelf life. If I do, it goes in the freezer.

Pasta Boxes

Please stock pasta if your family likes it. Remember that unopened packages have a shelf life of 2 years from the date of purchase. Also, note that Gluten-Free pasta has a very short shelf life, depending on the ingredients. Store them in an airtight container, or use your FoodSaver. Using your FoodSaver or airtight containers doesn’t change the shelf life. It’s two years from the date of purchase, or as stated on the box ends.

Granola Bars

Granola bars are a great snack or a quick breakfast on the run. Please note that they have a shelf life of 12 months or less. Please inspect the boxes before purchasing them. Yes, you can freeze them to extend the shelf life, but using your FoodSaver will not extend the life of the products you store on your pantry shelves.

Fresh Eggs

Today, I stopped at the grocery store and was surprised to see the egg shelves almost empty. Those of you who have chickens are so lucky! In case you missed this post, How Long Are Eggs Good For? This has been a tough year for the egg supply. I try to pick up eggs in 5-dozen packages when I can. Costco often has them available in this way, but they may limit the number of packages you can purchase.

Update: now I get my eggs from the fresh chickens my friend has. This is my first year ever, and I love it!

Labor Day Snacks like Chips and Dips

This month is a great time to stock up on a few bags of chips and dips that your family will enjoy! College football has begun in several conferences, and the NFL preseason is already in full swing. We’ll soon see MLB playoffs and the World Series, so don’t get caught short on treats. Stock up when you see these items on sale.

Don’t forget Labor Day is this weekend; we’ll get together with friends and family.

Stock Your Freezer

If you have room in your freezer, please stock up on the frozen vegetables on clearance. You can always dehydrate them for soups and stews later.

Wheat is still in Short Supply.

I went to Costco today to look for my favorite Lehi Mills Wheat buckets. They are still not available, so we must be patient. I know it’s hard, but start saving for a wheat grinder if you don’t have one. We’ll get wheat, but I’m not sure when. If you have that wheat grinder, you can always trade grinding their wheat in exchange for some with them.

In the last couple of years, so many people have rushed out and purchased wheat, wheat grinders, and flour without any idea how to make bread. Check my archive for several posts outlining how to use wheat and make my no-fail bread. There’s nothing like hot bread right out of the oven, especially with honey or your favorite jam.

Garden Seeds

I strongly believe that we should grow our own food; we can do it. If you have access to a Farmer’s Market, that is awesome. After a move, I have not had a garden for four years; it’s rough. Hopefully, next year I can find affordable raised gardens and soil.

Camping Supplies

As summer ends and schools resume, family vacation time draws near. Stores need to clear out this summer-oriented gear, so watch for camping gear to go on sale. If you have had an eye on that tent you want, sleeping bags, lanterns, camp stoves, etc., this is the month to buy them.

You may want to consider giving your family camping equipment as gifts for future vacations or emergency preparedness. If they have any coolers left, this is the month to buy one or two. This picture will remind us all to stock up on flashlights and batteries. My sweet friend, Harry from Texas, sent me some C and D batteries because I mentioned a few years ago that I couldn’t find any. I’m deeply grateful to my readers, such as Harry, who have blessed me in numerous ways.

I was surprised to see folding chairs at the store today, as I had heard there was a shortage.

Canned Soups

You will see canned soups marked down a couple of months each year. September is an ideal month to stock up on a case or two of your favorite soups. My favorite cases to buy are cream of chicken and cream of mushroom. Here in Utah, many local stores hold case lot sales. What a great way to increase your storage inventory.

If you can’t use a whole case, consider splitting it with your neighbors. You’ll all have some food storage, and you’ll save money along the way.

Canned Tomatoes

If you are low on canned tomatoes, this is the month to stock up on a case or two of diced, paste, or stewed tomatoes. Just think of all the soups, spaghetti, chilies, and stews you can make. Watch for coupons to purchase green chilies, too—you’ll love the savings!

It feels great when I can prepare several meals from my pantry. With winter coming, get your slow cooker ready. Life is good when dinner is cooking in the kitchen, right?

Children’s Clothing

The department stores are clearing out the back-to-school kids’ clothing, so you may want to stock up on the sizes you will need in a few months. Summer clothes are drastically reduced, but supplies are limited. The stores are preparing to stock winter apparel like heavy coats, sweaters, hats, and gloves.

So, if you can gauge the sizes you will need, it’s a great time to stock up on sandals for next year. Swimsuits will be priced significantly lower, so it’s a great time to snag a few sizes for next summer. I have seen some summer clothing marked down to pennies on the dollar.

You may want to consider stocking up on items that make great Christmas gifts or birthday party favors; who doesn’t love a new shirt or blouse?

Breakfast and Lunch Items

Keep an envelope with those coupons, as you will save a significant amount of money. Typically, cold cereal is on sale this month, and sometimes, with coupons, you can buy one box and get one free. Cereal is always on sale in September. If you have some coupons from your weekly mail delivery, I recommend using them to save even more.

The kids will return to school, so you will see bargains on peanut butter and jelly at lunchtime. Also on sale are frozen breakfast items like waffles, bagels, French toast sticks, and burritos.

Gardening Supplies

My favorite thing to do in September is to plant Daffodils or Tulips and wait for them to peek through the dirt in February or March. I love flowers!!

Watch for clearance prices on hoses, garden hand tools, gloves, grass clippers, seeds, potting soil, and pots—a lot of pots! Inspect your home for damaged garden tools and replace them immediately.

The stores are gearing up for the holidays, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations. This is when I buy 10-12 garden glove sets for less than $1.00 each, so I’ll be ready for some heavy-duty gardening next spring.

Grills and Meat

This is the perfect time to replace your barbecue if you think it’s time for an upgrade. The stores are clearing them out to make room for fireplace units and portable heaters.

If you need ketchup, mustard, or relish, grab them while they’re marked down. Stock up on the ones you need now and in the future. It’s an excellent month for a neighborhood party, with hot dogs, hamburger patties, buns, and steaks marked down big time.

You will see big clearance prices on bags of charcoal briquettes; they’re an excellent emergency fuel! Please store them in airtight containers. I try to buy chemical-free briquettes, as they will last indefinitely when stored in airtight containers. How To Store Fuel

Personal Hygiene Products

Be sure to watch for online coupons and mailers in your mailbox. You will find great deals on toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shampoo, and conditioner. This is the month I stock up on bars of soap, big time.

Look for everything you may need in your home for emergencies, including personal hygiene products. Stock up when the prices are at their lowest.

These items seem to last forever, literally. Hand sanitizer containers will be marked down so you may want to donate a few to your local school teacher’s stash. Let’s do our part by helping cut down on the sickness this time of year.

If you can obtain facial tissues at a low enough price, consider donating a box or two to your favorite school or teacher. I promise they will appreciate it. Here again, stock your Home Pharmacy and your emergency first-aid kits.

What to Stock Up On Each Month:

• What to Stock Up On In January 
• What to Stock Up On In February 
• What to Stock Up On In March 
• What to Stock Up On In April 
• What to Stock Up On In May 
• What to Stock Up On In June 
• What to Stock Up On In July 
• What to Stock Up On In August 
• What to Stock Up On In September 
• What to Stock Up On In October
• What to Stock Up On In November 
• What to Stock Up On In December 

Final Word

As always, I want you to know that this isn’t about fear. It’s about faith, family, and doing what we can with what we have, one small step at a time. September is a perfect month to take stock of your pantry, fill in the gaps, and feel that quiet confidence that comes from being prepared. You don’t have to do it all at once. Just start. I hope you enjoyed my post today on what to stock up on in September. It’s all about buying the items we need at bargain prices. Please keep prepping; we must do it. We can sleep at night knowing we are prepared for what comes our way. May God bless this world, Linda

Copyright Images: September Sunflowers AdobeStock_214570996 by Anna

The post What To Stock Up On In September appeared first on Food Storage Moms.

from Food Storage Moms

Diversion Safes – The Complete Prepper’s Guide to Hiding Valuables

A real safe tells a burglar exactly where to focus. A diversion safe tells them there is nothing here worth their time. Both have a place in a serious prepper’s security plan, but only one of them is cheap, invisible, and sitting in most houses already disguised as something completely ordinary.

This guide covers what diversion safes actually are, why they work, the best types for different situations, where to place them, what belongs inside one, and where they fall short. By the end you will know how to build a layered hiding strategy instead of relying on a single point of failure.

What Is a Diversion Safe

A diversion safe, also called a concealment device, is an everyday object modified or manufactured to hide a compartment inside it. The object looks and often functions exactly like the real thing: a soda can that still has weight and a pull tab, a book that sits on a shelf with other books, a wall outlet that looks identical to every other outlet in the room.

The entire concept relies on one assumption: a thief searching your house fast is not going to open every can, book, and jar. They are pattern-matching for likely hiding spots, and a diversion safe is specifically built to fail that pattern match.

Why Diversion Safes Work: The Psychology of a Burglary

Residential burglaries move fast, and the numbers back that up. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program reports that residential properties account for 62.8 percent of all burglary offenses, with an average dollar loss of $2,661 per burglary. A burglar working under time pressure does not have the luxury of a thorough search.

Convicted burglars have repeatedly told researchers the same thing: they head straight for the master bedroom, dig through dresser drawers and nightstands, check under the mattress, and move on. Kitchens, bathrooms, and common-area bookshelves are searched last, if at all, because experience has taught burglars those rooms rarely hold cash or jewelry.

Occupancy matters too. Bureau of Justice Statistics research found the burglary rate for occupied households stayed roughly stable at 8 to 9 per 1,000 households between 2000 and 2007, meaning a meaningful share of burglaries happen while people are still home and moving even faster than usual. A diversion safe hidden in a low-priority room is specifically designed to get skipped in that narrow window.

Types of Diversion Safes

• Can safes: hollowed-out food or household product cans (soda, shaving cream, WD-40, canned vegetables) with a false bottom or twist-off top
• Book safes: real or replica hardcover books with the interior pages cut out to form a compartment
• Wall outlet and switch plate safes: install in place of a real outlet cover and hold a compartment behind the wall plate
• Everyday object safes: fake bolts, screws, tent stakes, tennis balls, and hairbrushes with hollow interiors
• Furniture and fixture safes: hollow legs on tables or chairs, false-bottom drawers, hidden compartments built into shelving
• Plumbing and pipe safes: fake PVC pipe sections or faux pipe fittings meant to blend into a basement or utility area

Each type trades off differently on capacity, cost, and believability. A can safe holds very little but is nearly free and infinitely available. A wall outlet safe holds more and is harder to find, but it requires actual installation and a little electrical know-how to look convincing.

Where to Hide Your Diversion Safe (and Where Not To)

Placement matters as much as the disguise. Putting a diversion safe in the master bedroom defeats the purpose, since that is exactly where a burglar is already searching thoroughly and where an odd-feeling book or can is more likely to get a second look.

• Good spots: kitchen pantry shelves, bathroom cabinets, garage shelving, a laundry room, a bookshelf in a common area
• Poor spots: master bedroom, home office desk, anywhere near an obvious real safe, anywhere a burglar already expects valuables

Never cluster several diversion safes in the same room. If a thief gets suspicious of one item, that suspicion spreads to everything nearby, and you have just told them exactly where to keep looking.

Store-Bought vs. DIY: Which Actually Fools a Thief

Experienced burglars who search residential properties for a living have started to recognize the most popular commercial diversion safes, especially the ones sold in bulk on major retail sites with identical packaging and a slightly-too-clean shine. A can that looks and feels brand new on a pantry shelf that otherwise holds dented, half-used products stands out.

A homemade diversion safe built from an item you actually used first, refilled to the correct weight, and placed exactly where that item normally lives will beat a store-bought option every time. Weight is the detail people forget most: an empty hollowed-out can is instantly obvious the moment someone picks it up, so add sand, rice, or washers to match the real product’s heft.

DIY Diversion Safe Ideas

• Hollow out a real paperback or hardcover you already own rather than buying a fake book shell
• Cut the bottom off a genuinely used product bottle (lotion, cleaning spray) and rebuild a false bottom with a section of PVC pipe
• Bury a labeled PVC pipe with a screw cap in a flower bed or under a garden structure, sealed with plumber’s tape
• Convert an old tennis ball with a slit cut into it, used in a garage full of other sports gear
• Build a false bottom drawer using a shorter drawer box inside a deeper drawer frame

What to Store in a Diversion Safe (and What Not To)

Diversion safes are built for small, replaceable, grab-and-go items, not your entire financial life. Good candidates include a modest amount of cash, a spare car or house key, small jewelry pieces, or a backup USB drive with encrypted copies of important files.

Keep the important originals somewhere genuinely protected instead. Ready.gov’s financial preparedness guidance recommends storing critical documents in a safety deposit box, an external drive, or the cloud, and specifically advises keeping a small amount of cash at home in small bills, since ATMs and cards may not work during a disaster. Birth certificates, passports, deeds, and irreplaceable family documents belong in a real fireproof safe or a bank box, not a hollowed-out soup can.

Firearms and ammunition are a poor fit for diversion safes as well. A concealment device is not designed for quick access in an emergency, and many state safe storage laws have specific requirements for how firearms must be secured, particularly in homes with children.

What Diversion Safes Can’t Do

A diversion safe provides zero protection against fire, flood, or any real disaster, since most are thin plastic, cardboard, or repurposed household containers. Anything genuinely irreplaceable that also needs to survive a house fire has no business in one.

They also fail completely against a thorough, professional, or tipped-off search. If a thief already knows valuables exist and has time to look carefully, tapping walls, checking for mismatched item weight, or simply emptying every container in the kitchen will defeat almost any diversion safe eventually.

Diversion safes offer no protection once someone tells a thief where to look. This is an OPSEC issue as much as a security one: the fewer people who know a diversion safe exists or where it is, the longer it stays effective.

Layering Diversion Safes Into a Full Security Plan

Treat a diversion safe as one layer, not the whole plan. A real bolted-down fireproof safe should hold your most critical documents and larger cash reserves, a bank safe deposit box should hold anything you rarely need quick access to, and diversion safes should hold the smaller items you want spread out and hidden in plain sight.

Spreading valuables across two or three diversion safes in different rooms and different disguise categories means a thief has to find all of them in a search window that is typically over in minutes. Combine that with basic deterrents like visible cameras, good exterior lighting, and solid door hardware, and you make your home a slower, less appealing target from the moment someone considers breaking in.

Common Mistakes People Make With Diversion Safes

• Buying an obviously mass-produced can safe with a suspiciously smooth, unweathered look
• Putting all valuables into a single diversion safe instead of spreading the risk
• Clustering multiple diversion safes together in the same cabinet or shelf
• Forgetting the item’s weight, so it feels hollow the moment someone picks it up
• Storing genuinely irreplaceable documents inside one instead of a fireproof safe
• Telling too many people where a diversion safe is hidden

Legal Considerations

Using a diversion safe to protect your own personal property is completely legal in every U.S. state. The legal issues only show up around what you put inside one: using a concealment device to hide contraband, stolen property, or items from a court order or law enforcement search crosses into a separate legal problem entirely.

If your household includes children or anyone not authorized to handle firearms, check your state’s safe storage laws before treating any concealment device as acceptable firearm storage. Most state laws require firearms be secured in a way that prevents unauthorized access, which a diversion safe is generally not built to satisfy.

Signs a Diversion Safe Won’t Fool Anyone

A diversion safe fails the moment it looks staged rather than lived-in. Watch for these red flags before you trust one with anything valuable.

• It sits alone on an otherwise empty shelf instead of among genuinely similar items
• The label, paint, or finish looks newer than everything surrounding it
• It is noticeably lighter or heavier than the real product would be
• The seam where it opens is visible under close inspection or normal light
• It occupies a spot that makes no sense for that type of object, like a hairbrush in a garage or a can of soup on a bookshelf

Run your own hand-search test before relying on any diversion safe. Pick it up the way a bored burglar would, and if anything about the weight, sound, or feel gives it away in three seconds, it needs a better disguise, a better location, or both.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do diversion safes actually work? Yes, against the most common threat, which is an opportunistic burglar working fast and searching predictable spots first. They are far less effective against a determined, professional, or tipped-off thief who has time to search thoroughly.

Can a diversion safe replace a real safe? No. A diversion safe should hold smaller, replaceable items you want spread out and hidden, while a bolted, fireproof safe or bank deposit box should hold your most critical documents, firearms, and larger cash reserves.

How many diversion safes should a household have? Two or three spread across different rooms and disguise categories is a reasonable target for most homes. More than that becomes hard to track and increases the odds you forget where something is hidden.

Are diversion safes fireproof or waterproof? No, almost none are. Treat anything stored in one as replaceable, and keep anything irreplaceable in a rated fireproof and waterproof safe instead.

Hiding Your Valuables Is Only One Survival Skill

A diversion safe can help protect a little emergency cash, spare keys, or other small valuables—but real self-reliance means preparing for far more than a burglary.

What happens when the power goes out? When water stops running? When stores are empty, repairs become unaffordable, or you suddenly have to depend on what you can build, grow, preserve, and fix yourself?

The Lost Skills of Independence was created for exactly that kind of preparedness.

Inside, you’ll discover practical, old-fashioned self-reliance skills and projects designed to help you become less dependent on stores, utilities, contractors, and fragile modern systems.

Learn practical ways to secure essential resources, preserve food, handle everyday problems yourself, and build a more resilient home using skills that generations before us considered ordinary knowledge.

Because protecting what you already have is important.

Knowing how to provide for yourself when something goes wrong is even more valuable.

Bring Back the Skills That Made People Truly Independent

Don’t wait until an emergency forces you to learn them the hard way.

Discover The Lost Skills of Independence and start building a more self-sufficient life today.

GET THE LOST SKILLS OF INDEPENDENCE HERE!

Bottom Line

Diversion safes work because they exploit the way real burglaries actually happen: fast, predictable, and focused on the rooms and containers experience has taught thieves to check first. Used correctly, spread across a few disguise categories, weighted to match the real object, and reserved for smaller replaceable items, they add a genuinely effective layer to a home security plan that should also include a real safe, good deterrents, and basic OPSEC about who knows what is hidden where.

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The post Diversion Safes – The Complete Prepper’s Guide to Hiding Valuables appeared first on Ask a Prepper.

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Grand Canyon Flash Flooding

Grand Canyon Flash Flooding: What Just Happened and What It Teaches Us! This past weekend, a wall of water tore through Bright Angel Creek at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Severe monsoon storms dumped rain at a rate of up to an inch an hour, and in the steep, rocky terrain of the canyon, that water had nowhere to go but down, fast.

Grand Canyon Flash Flooding

Campgrounds, footbridges, trails, and infrastructure at the canyon floor were wiped out in minutes. At least two people have died, more than a dozen remain missing or unaccounted for, and over sixty hikers and campers had to be airlifted to safety. The National Weather Service has kept a flood watch in place for northern and central Arizona, warning that more flash flooding is possible.

The National Park Service: December 1966

This isn’t the first time this exact stretch of the canyon has been hit hard. The National Park Service’s own records point to a flood in December 1966 as the most catastrophic flash flood ever recorded in the canyon, and it struck the same area, Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch. That flood stranded visitors and mules at the Ranch, uprooted the cottonwood trees lining Bright Angel Creek, destroyed much of the Bright Angel Campground, and wiped out sections of the original Transcanyon Pipeline. Repairs took several years to complete. Sixty years later, the same narrow drainage funneled another wall of water through the same ground.

Almost Black Water with Debris

If you’ve never stood at the bottom of a canyon during a downpour, it’s hard to picture how fast things can turn. Survivors described the water as almost black, thick with debris, moving so quickly that a footbridge was destroyed just ten minutes after their group crossed it. That’s the nature of flash flooding in the desert southwest. The ground here is often rock and hardpan clay, and it can’t absorb rain the way soil elsewhere can. A storm miles away, one you may not even see or feel, can send a wall of water down a narrow canyon before you have any warning at all.

That’s exactly why flash floods are one of the most underestimated hazards for anyone spending time outdoors in the West, especially during monsoon season, which typically runs from June through September in Arizona.

A few things every family should know and practice, whether you’re hiking a slot canyon, camping near a wash, or just driving through rural roads during storm season.

Know Before You Go

Know before you go. Check the weather forecast for the entire watershed above you, not just your immediate location. A storm forty miles upstream can flood a canyon under blue skies.

Watch for warning signs. A sudden increase in the speed or muddiness of a stream, a rumbling sound like a train in the distance, or falling debris in the water are all signals to move to higher ground immediately, without waiting to see what happens next.

Never camp in a wash or narrow canyon bottom during storm season. Even if it looks dry, that dry streambed is exactly where fast-moving water will travel.

Never drive or walk through moving water. It takes surprisingly little water, often less than two feet, to sweep away a vehicle, and the depth and force of floodwater are almost impossible to judge by sight.

Emergency Communication Plan

Have an emergency communication plan. Cell service is unreliable or nonexistent in many canyon and backcountry areas. Consider a satellite messenger device, and always tell someone your route and expected return time before you go.

Build flood awareness into your family preparedness plan, not just your fire or earthquake plan. Keep a basic emergency kit in the car with water, a first aid kit, a flashlight, and a way to charge your phone, and talk with your kids about what to do if you’re ever caught near rising water.

These aren’t abstract tips. They’re the difference between the families now waiting for news of missing loved ones and the sixty-plus people who made it out safely because they moved to higher ground when the signs appeared.

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy, especially the families still waiting for word on those unaccounted for.

Age-Appropriate Hiking in the Grand Canyon and Places Like It

The Grand Canyon draws families from all over the world, and it’s entirely possible to have a wonderful, safe experience there with kids of nearly any age. The key is matching the trail to the child, not the other way around. A hike that’s a fun stretch of the legs for a teenager can be miserable, or even dangerous, for a younger child, and the canyon doesn’t forgive poor planning the way a neighborhood park might.

Toddlers and Preschoolers

Toddlers and preschoolers, roughly ages two to five, do best on the paved Rim Trail. It runs along the South Rim and doesn’t require any descent below the edge, which matters because every step down into the canyon is a step that has to be climbed back out later, often in rising heat. A jogging stroller or a child carrier works well here, and short outings with frequent breaks keep everyone happier than trying to cover distance.

Elementary Age Kids Six to Ten

Elementary age kids, roughly six to ten, are often ready for a short partial descent on a trail like Bright Angel, going only a portion of the way down to a landmark like the first rest house or Ooh Aah Point on South Kaibab, then turning around. The rule of thumb worth teaching kids early is that going down is the easy half. The National Park Service has long emphasized this because so many rescues involve people, including families, who hiked further down than they could comfortably climb back up.

Tweens and early teens, roughly eleven to fourteen, can usually handle longer partial descents and are old enough to genuinely understand safety instructions rather than just follow along. This is a good age to start teaching real trail judgment, reading the sky for building storm clouds, recognizing the sound of rushing water in a side canyon, and understanding why the family turns around at a set time no matter how far they’ve gone.

Older Teens Fifteen and Up

Older teens, fifteen and up, who are in good physical condition and have hiking experience, may be ready for more ambitious trips, potentially including a supervised descent toward the canyon floor with proper permits and planning. Even then, the canyon’s extreme elevation change and heat make it a place where experience and caution matter more than raw fitness.

A few points apply to every age group. Below the rim, temperatures can run twenty degrees or more hotter than at the top, so a cool morning at the trailhead can turn into a dangerously hot afternoon lower down. Water and salty snacks matter more than people expect, since dehydration and heat illness are the most common reasons hikers of all ages need rescue. And with monsoon season bringing sudden storms, any family hiking below the rim should watch the sky and know that a distant rumble or a change in a creek’s clarity means it’s time to head for higher ground immediately.

Right now this is especially worth keeping in mind. Following the recent flash flooding in Bright Angel Canyon, the corridor trails, Phantom Ranch, and the North Kaibab Trail remain closed as the park assesses damage. Families planning a trip should check current trail conditions before finalizing any hiking plans.

Junior Ranger Program

The Junior Ranger program is a wonderful way to build excitement for kids of almost any age without requiring a strenuous hike. Booklets are available for different age groups at visitor centers, and completing one with a ranger-led talk earns a badge, which often makes even a short, easy hike feel like a real accomplishment for a child.

The goal with any age group is the same. Let curiosity set the pace rather than mileage, turn around while everyone still has energy for the climb back up, and remember that the safest hike is the one where you knew your limits before you started.

Hiking Supplies Checklist

Flooding: Everything You Need to Know

Final Word

The canyon has a way of humbling even experienced hikers, so there’s no shame in choosing the shorter trail or turning around early with a child in tow. The best family hikes are the ones everyone remembers fondly, not the ones that push a child past what their little legs and growing judgment can handle. Plan for the age you actually have, not the age you wish you had, and the canyon will give your family a lifetime of good memories.

Nature doesn’t send a warning text before a flash flood hits. It sends a distant rumble, a slightly muddier creek, and a few dark clouds on the horizon. Learning to notice those small signs and act on them immediately, without waiting for confirmation, is the single most important skill for surviving flash flooding. Whether you’re exploring a canyon or simply driving home during a summer storm, respect moving water and always choose higher ground first. As always, may God bless this world. Linda

Copyright Images: US Grand Canyon Depositphotos_320279708_S, Grand Canyon View Depositphotos_479389028_S

The post Grand Canyon Flash Flooding appeared first on Food Storage Moms.

from Food Storage Moms

The Hidden Cost Of Inflation: How Shrinking Products Warn You About Scarcity

Most people notice inflation when the number on the price tag goes up. I notice something else too. The box gets smaller. The jar holds less. The package looks almost identical, but there are fewer ounces inside. A product you have bought for years suddenly uses cheaper ingredients. The store brand disappears for a few weeks […]

from Survivopedia