From all indications the world, and by extension, the good old USA is in melt down mode. Are you prepared for the days ahead? And just what does that mean you might ask? It could be said, are you prepared for whatever eventualities that could come your way?

Some wise folks have for been warning for years to get out of debt and stay out. Some have been warning to get a cash reserve on hand for financial emergencies. Some have been warning to store food and other needful things to see a family through a lean time when things may not go just right. Be it loss of job or injury or death of a provider.

The average family is only about two pay checks or ninety days away from bankruptcy. It is almost impossible to catch up on delinquent bills when behind by as little as a month. Things just seem to snowball from there.

By doing the minimum of just putting a few dollars aside every pay day and buying a few extra cans of food and setting them aside for storage can be the difference of saving your home or not sending your children to bed hungry.

2011 has been an unprecedented year for bad weather. What with floods from one of the country to another and tornadoes and hurricanes destroying entire communities, it is apparent that a body cannot always count on having a roof over their head and food in the pantry.

Government cannot always be there to save you. Indeed if the past is any indicator they do not plan on it and in reality it is not their job in the first place. It is a thing called taking responsibility for self.

When there is no more food stamps and housing allowances to be given out and no paycheck to be counted on, what will be the next move?

They say a word to the wise is sufficient. A stitch in time saves nine. What are you preparing for, or are you?

Remember, in an emergency, grocery stores only have a day or two of supplies on hand. If it is an emergency you will not be the only one trying to survive.

These are a few things think about having on hand all the time. Enough for at least three months use. These are items that will fly off the grocery shelf first off. On the other hand they are things that can be obtained slowly and will store well (almost indefinitely) for whatever need may arise down the road.

• Water
• Cooking Oil
• Spices
• Coffee
• Alcohol
• Baking Essentials
• Honey
• Dried Fruits
• Nuts
• Instant rice
• Rice
• Beans of assorted varieties
• Grains
• Pasta
• Canned soups
• Canned meats
• Salsa
• Salt
• Cereal
• Toilet Paper
• Canned Veggies
• Canned Fruit
• Popcorn
• Dog Food
• Ramon Noodles
• Peanut butter

What are some things that would be good to have just because? A short list might include some of the following.

• 90 days of food used every day
• Six months cash for rent and necessities
• Emergency Dynamo Radio
• Emergency nonelectric heater
• Candles
• Water - One gallon per day per person for 30 days
• Emergency cooking device
• Emergency LED Flashlight
• Extra Batteries for Flashlight
• Toilet Paper
• Medical prescriptions
• Extra Bedding
• Cold Weather Clothing
• Personal Hygiene items
• Emergency Power Source

Some things you may not want to store much of would be;

• Perishables like fresh fruits and veggies
• Frozen goods
• Hard to prepare foods

There is a difference between being laid off and having a hurricane or tornado tear through your neighborhood. You may want to store different things for different eventualities. But still some will cross over especially the need for food in either situation.

Getting prepared it is not hard if it is done a little bit at a time when you are not under pressure and when you have the means to work at it. When you are faced with losing your house is not exactly the time to start thinking about putting an emergency fund aside for a rainy day. Hopefully you will never need to use any of these things when you are hard pressed for any reason.

But as they say, better safe than sorry. You do not want to be sorry and you do not want to send your children to bed hungry when you had a chance to prevent that most unhappy situation.