Survival preparation can be an expensive endeavor, especially if your budget is already tight from bills and other every day expenses. It simply might not be possible to afford many of the expensive items needed. But you should not let this discourage you from creating your own bug out bag; there are alternatives that can save you money while building an effective bag for your survival.
Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Disaster Survival Kit
Bags
To buy a hiking bag at a camping supply store can range between 60 to a few hundred dollars, for many this is where their plan of building a bug out bag ends. While these bags are excellent their price is simply out of reach if you're on a tight budget. Fortunately there are alternatives that can save you a lot of money while still getting a top quality bag. Remember you don't need something fancy, you want rugged and reliable. Check with military surplus stores, depending on where you live there should be at least one or two within a decent distance from where you live. If you don't mind the bag being a little used you can pick up a rucksack or another suitable bag for as little as 20 bucks (This is exactly what I paid for mine at a military surplus store where I used to live, including tax)
Supplies
Items such as a magnesium fire starter, water proof matches, emergency rain ponchos, and glow sticks can be found at stores such as Wall-Mart for very cheap. While I'm not a fan of the store they offer most of these items for fewer than 10 dollars. Rain ponchos and emergency blankets for example can cost as little as 1.20 (Depending on where you live), they also take no room in your bag so you can store lots of them. For matches you can buy packages' of 4 for around 2 dollars, and magnesium fire starters for as little as 5.
Food
Buying rations can be expensive; sticking with canned food is a cheaper alternative. Canned soup for example can be as a little as under a dollar a can. Check with stores that sell food in bulk as this may save additional money when purchasing larger cans. Remember to watch the salt content; you want to avoid food with high amounts of salt as this can dehydrated you.
Spare Clothes
One should always have a couple changes of warm clothing (Depending on season and your location). To save money on spare clothing there are a couple options. One is to check with stores that sell discount clothing such as Winner's or an equivalent, I've seen winter jackets for example as low as 20 dollars (Canadian). Another option if your budget is really tight is to check second hand stores such as Goodwill which sell used clothing. Remember to always check over anything you buy that's used to ensure it's not to worn out and damaged. Generally these types of stores will allow you to purchase a large amount of clothing for very cheap. I was able to find a whole garbage bag full of useful clothing such as military surplus, jackets, toques, gloves, and even a sleeping bag that is rated to minus 40 Celsius for about 25 dollars, all of it was in like new condition, and the sleeping bag still had the original store tag on it.
Other Places To Look
The key for anyone looking to do anything on a budget is to think outside the box and look in areas that most would overlook. Other places to look for supplies for your bug out bag while keeping the cost down are the following
-Garage Sales
-Flea Markets
-Liquidation Stores
-Dollar Stores
-Craig's List (Be careful with online shopping, there are many scam artists out there)
-Going out of business sales
-Classifieds
These are just a few ideas to get you started. To find more useful post apocalypse survival information and tips check out my website The Razors Edge a post apocalypse survival guide.
A little about me
I am a former Canadian Forces soldier who has served the military honourably for 7 years. My website
http://www.therazors-edge.com is a collection of that military experience mixed with my fascination for the apocalypse and end of the world related topics. I wanted to create a practical real life guide that can help you survive if our civilization collapses.
The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster
Making your own household items is a great way to save money and keep your home clean and fresh! 
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