Do you know what happens when newbies run into prepping and survival? They buy stuff… and it’s usually gear they end up regretting doing it 6 months later when they know better. Little do they know there’s an entire list of things they can do to increase their chances of survival, things that are 100% free. This will allow them to read more about survival and still make progress.

We already have an article on all the ways to save money prepping, today we’re gonna take things even further by focusing on those preps that won’t cost you a single penny. Trust me, you’re gonna love this list.

#1. Work Out

No, I’m not talking about paying for expensive gym memberships, equipment and supplements. You don’t need that. In fact, gym workouts are entirely focused on strength and looking good in the mirror.

I’m talking about survival fitness. What we need as preppers is to also improve our flexibility and stamina and you can do that at home or by walking around town. As long as you have a pair of running shoes, you’re good to go.

Walking, jogging, body-weight exercises, hiking – these don’t cost a thing.

#2. Forage

Whether you live in a rural, suburban or urban area, there’s one thing you can do in all of them: foraging. As long as you’re not trespassing and you know which plants to eat, you have a wide variety of wild edibles for your next salad.

#3. Create a Home Inventory List

Since pretty much all of the things we take for granted today will be gone post-collapse, I’m willing to bet there are a lot of items hiding inside your attic, your garage, your basement and your closets, that you see as garbage but can prove to be extremely useful post-collapse.

You don’t have to make a list per se but you do have to take every item one by one and ask yourself:

How would I use this post collapse? Would it be of any use to me 3 day, 3 months or 3 years in a post-apocalyptic world?

If you don’t know the answer, just remember what you used that item when you used it, turn back the clock 5, 10 or 20 years and imagine if you’d still be using it.

If you still can’t find any use for them, maybe you should do a little reading online. For example, your old laptop box can make a great cache for some of your preps. It can even make nice tinder.

You’ll be amazed to see that over 80% of the things you have can be re-purposed: old clothes, old boxes, old backpacks, tools etc.

#4. Bartering

Who says bartering is something you will only use post-collapse? You can use it today to give away some of the stuff you don’t need for other stuff that you do. No taxes to be paid, no hassle AND you get to practice a crucial survival skill.

Get in touch with fellow preppers and see if they have things you might need. Oftentimes, when buying in bulk, we end up having too much of one thing.

Also, check your inventory list (the one you just made). Just because you don’t find value in some of the stuff you found, that doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Don’t limit yourself to taking only to preppers, some people like collecting old stuff as a hobby.

#5. Make Your Emergency Plan

Figure out the disasters most likely to hit. Decide what you’ll do in a variety of bug in and bug out scenarios. Get your family on board with this

#6. Do Drills

Now that you have your scenarios in place and everyone knows what to do, how about a little practice? Common scenarios include bugging out, giving first aid, bugging in and home invasions. If you can get your family on board, that’d be even better.

#7. Learn a Foreign Language

If you live in the North of the United States, you probably want to bug out into Canada. If you live in the South, you might end up in Mexico. You can find plenty of free sites that teach French and Spanish.

#8. Scan Your Prepping Plans for Holes

If you’ve been doing this for a while, it’s time to step back and play devil’s advocate for a little bit. See your house, your bug out location and your preps from the bad guy’s perspective.

What would I do if I were a burglar? What if I were a rioter? Or a nosy neighbor?

There’s no such thing as a prepping plan without holes.

#9. Get Stuff for Free Using Coupons

If you’re looking to turn yourself into a coupon king or queen, you can do it for free.

#10. Harvest Rainwater

Rainwater harvesting may or may not be legal where you live but you don’t need an an entire system just yet. If you have a few barrels, you can just place where the pipes and and use water to water your garden or plants, do the dishes, flush the toilet, wash your dog etc.

#11. Get Free Stuff From Fast Food Restaurants

This may or may not be your cup of tea but, as you know, a lot of fast food restaurants offer free plastic forks, knives, spoons, chopstick, napkins, wet wipes and small packets of salt and pepper. These all come in wraps, of course, ready to be stockpiled.

#12. Reorganise Your Preps

If you’re looking to stockpile even more stuff, you’re probably gonna need more space. Reorganising everything is free and keep in mind that you can store a lot of things in places like your attic. Careful about rodents, though, they’re able to chew their way through plastic so you should use metal buckets or, maybe just hang some of your preps with Paracord.

#13. Digging a Cache In Your Back Yard

It’s free, though you’ll need a proper container (such as a PVC pipe) to store your preps. Plus, it’ll give you quite the fully body work-out. And all you need is a shovel.

#14. Designate and Prepare Your Safe Room

You should at least move some of your preps inside and try to reinforce the door by yourself. Remember, we’re only talking about things that don’t cost a penny.

#15. Label Your Preps

If you’re thinking about expanding your preps, you’re gonna want to know what’s in each container. This is something you do when yo actually seal it but it’s never too late (as long as you know what’s inside without opening it).

#16. Mark Your Bug Out Routes On a Map

It’s good to know all possible routes out of your town or city because you never know which ones you’re going to take in a bug out situation.

Even if you live in a rural areas, you should still have those because,in the heat of the moment, your mind could freeze and forget about them. Having everything clearly marked on your maps could save you precious seconds that might make the difference between life and death.

#17. Train Your Dog

Some preppers have bug out bags for their dogs and that’s very thoughtful but how will you control it when chaos breaks loose? if it’s not listening to you now, it sure as heck won’t do that when SHTF.

#18. Become a Gray Man

Blending into the crowd or a post-apocalyptic society isn’t something you have to wait until it happens to practice. Being “average” when you’re anything but, is an art and I suggest you start practicing today.

#19. Sign Up For Free Classes

Online, offline, webinars, it doesn’t matter. As long as you can interact and ask questions on survival, homesteading, or firearms, you should probably join.

#20. Work On Your Skills

Buying survival items costs money but practicing and suing them is free. As long as you already have them, it’s time to improve your skills.

#21. Read!

Reading is free and there’s enough survival information to keep you busy for years. The more you read, the better you can judge for yourself which info is good and which isn’t so you can make better prepping decisions.

Good luck!