7 steps to self reliance

First thing is to establish a 2 week emergency kit.

Step 1 - AFTER you have your 2 week kit prepared, you should start paying off your bills. Save an emergency fund of $1000. Pay minimum on all debts until you get this in the bank. If your job won't allow this, get another one, or two. The extra hours you invest NOW will save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest as you pay off those debts early.

Step 2 - Stop using credit cards for anything. PAY CASH. And CUT UP YOUR CARDS so you won't give in to temptation. Credit Cards are the #1 debt of Americans. If you are afraid of MURPHY, get a DEBIT CARD and keep your emergency fund in your checking account.

Step 3 - Make a budget. List ALL your obligations and the amounts for the month. Spend every dollar on paper BEFORE you do it for real. Make up several envelopes labeled RENT, CAR, GAS, POWER, WATER, FOOD, Credit #1, Credit #2, etc... and put the money, IN CASH, into these envelopes. Use only what is in the envelope and use it only for what it is labeled for.
At the end of the month, any excess can be applied to your preps. If there is more money in say your water bill envelope, than the actual bill was for, use it on the "snowball" I'll get to in a minute.

Step 4 - Pay off your debts using the "snowball". This means you list your debts [EXCEPT THE HOUSE] by AMOUNT OWED and pay minimum on all but the LOWEST. ATTACK the smallest with a vengeance. Pay as much as you can afford to pay on this one until it is paid off. Then as you move to the next smallest, roll the amount you were paying on the aforementioned bill into the payment to this one. Move upward through your debts in this fashion ATTACKING each one until it's gone. (note - this is why you cut up your credit cards. you can't keep running the bill up if you don't use them)
Have a yard/garage sale and sell off all the junk you don't use and don't need. Use that money to pay for miscellaneous survival preps.

Step 5 - When you have gotten your debts paid off, increase your emergency fund. Go for a whole month's worth of your obligations/bills amount and graduate up to six months’ worth. This helps out a lot when those unemployment or MURPHY situations come up. Or shoot for the ultimate, one year of all bills and expenses.

Step 6 - Now you can build your preps to a ONE YEAR supply of what you need. You have a large amount of income freed up from paying off all your debts, so it won't take long at all.

Step 7 - If you have a house, this is where you attack the house note. You have plenty of income to do this now. Get a breakdown of the INTEREST vs PRINCIPLE and pay your regular note PLUS the principle for the next note. Make sure your extra payment is put towards the principle.

DO NOT get depressed and "fall off the wagon". This plan takes time. Maybe even a couple of years depending on your debt. It's up to you. Live in financial peace and freedom, OR, as a slave to the debtor. Your "mindset" will have EVERYTHING to do with whether you are successful in this.

Article from "Preparing 101" by ECCMMDOC

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