The New Year is a time of making resolutions and goals for the year to come and leaving any regrets behind you. As you are thinking of what goals you would like to accomplish this year, along with the usual goals of spend more time with your family, reduce debt, lose weight and exercise more, maybe you can make a goal to get your food storage and prepare for emergencies. Now is the time to make the goal to be prepared.

In breaking down your preparedness goal you first need to determine exactly what you want to accomplish. If you plan to set aside a little money each week or month to go towards your family's preparedness, you will be surprised what you can afford.

To start, you could plan a budget for buying emergency supplies that deal with water. A reliable water storage system like the 55 gallon barrel and a 25 gallon boxed water kit is essential. Water is the first item we recommend to store because it is the most crucial item to have available during an emergency. It is recommended to have both portable and stationary water sources. You could also plan out a budget to buy a really good portable water filter or purifier. There are also different types of prepackaged water you can purchase, such as water in pouches or foil-lined cardboard “juice boxes” filled with water. These small containers are excellent for small children and babies.

Another step to reach your preparedness goal is to set up a schedule of certain things you want to buy each month Maybe you want to be prepared by having 72-hour kits for everyone in your family. Perhaps you want a total preparedness package consisting of 72-hour kits and a year's supply of food storage for each member of your family.

One month you could buy emergency preparedness items that deal with warmth, such as emergency blankets, sleeping bags, hand and body warmers, and wool blankets. Another month you could focus on purchasing items that deal with emergency lighting, such as 100 Hour Candles, propane lamps, light sticks, matches, or a flashlight. This may seem like a lot of items to buy, but purchasing them in stages will help ease the stress on your pocketbook.

The next step you need to think about is setting a goal to save enough money to buy food storage. You can accomplish this by setting aside a weekly amount, and then at the end of the month, buy food storage with that money. By rotating your food storage into your daily recipes, you can eat the foods you enjoy and you don't have to worry about the expiration dates on your food storage items. One good way to rotate food is to buy 2 or 3 cans of canned goods especially when they are on sale. This way you slowly stock up on food storage without budgeting. So if you actually use your food storage and you are constantly rotating and eating it, your food storage cost will never exceed the original investment. Remember, normal canned vegetables and fruits come in smaller cans, have a shorter shelf life and can only stack so high. They are also packed with excess water. Freeze-dried or dehydrated #10 cans of food are a lot more compact in a smaller area and can store over 5 years compared to the 1 year shelf life of store bought canned food.

Another New Year’s goal could be to encourage your neighbors and family members to start preparing as you are. Maybe this year you can decide to give gifts of preparedness to help your family members and loved ones get prepared.

When you are planning your New Year's resolutions, think about setting a goal of food storage and preparing for emergencies. If you make a plan and a budget, it will be easier to get the things that you need without added stress and worry. Now is the time to get prepared. You can do it!