One thing you should always have on hand in your fridge is a piece of living bread starter. This is how bread makers start their bread every day. The easiest way to make bread every day is to cut off a portion of today’s dough and then mix it into the batch you are making the next day. This mother dough, which contains the yeast that helps bread get big and fat, is what a survivalist will need on hand to make bread every day.

You can also use a yeast-based starter to make bread as well but to save money and maybe even save your life you need to keep this piece of dough living and fed. Yeast needs only a bit of warmth and air to grow. All you need is a piece of cheesecloth laid on top of it to keep it clean.

To start a basic batch of dough you can mix the flour, warm water and yeast and cover it with fabric held in place with an elastic band (or a real cheesecloth.) Give it a stir and let it bubble until it rises. If you are doing this in this old-fashioned way it can take about three days for yeast to rise. You will know it is working because the yeasty smell of bread rising is unmistakable. You will know it is ready when the bread weeps a little bit of yellow liquid.  At this point it is ready to use but you need to keep part of it for your bread starter.  You have to make bread at least once a week to keep it going. It does keep about three weeks without being fed but for best results make sure you are feeding this yeast with a bit of flour and water every day.

Some survivalists preserve dough by adding a little more flour to make it stiffer and then roll it into small balls the size of a walnut.  The pellets are left to completely dry and then are ground into a powder that can be put in a bug out bag. To use this add the powder to a paste of flour and water and you can make bread.  You can also add oatmeal, raisons or any kind of cooked grain to make it more palatable.

You can make bread in just about anything but it bakes quite well in any kind of fire or oven with a cast iron bread pan.

These are hard economic times so it is daunting for many to try and save up for an emergency. However there are ways to do it without spending a great deal of money.

First off only buy expensive groceries and hygiene products when they are on sale or when you have a lot of coupons for them. You can even try your hand at Extreme couponing to save a few bucks.  Do not fear buying in bulk when you can afford it.

There are some items you can make yourself. For instance it is quite easy to make your own laundry soap from washing soda and borax.

You will always save money if you cook from staples rather than buy processed or pre-packaged food. Staples are things like pasta, rice, beans, oats and corn. Add ingredients to these basic staples and you will save an incredible amount of money over time.

Baking your own bread is also another great way to save money in the present. Automatic bread makers are quite cheap and the fresh bread tastes wonderful too.

Growing a garden can save you money from March until December, especially if you can your own stuff.  Some of the easiest vegetable to grow are tomato, onions and cucumbers.  Squash and zucchini also grow very swiftly.

It is also a good idea to can your own produce or take advantage of bulk sales and make your own jams, jellies, preserves and spreads.  For instance blackberries are three pints for two dollars in the summer but five dollars for one pint in the winter. It makes sense in both the present and in the future to start making as much food as possible at a very little cost.

Making pickles from your vegetables is also recommended.  You can make pickles out of just about anything including cauliflower, zucchini, pickles and cucumbers. You can also make your own sauerkraut.

Another way to save money is to eat seasonally. The same melon that costs five bucks in December might only be two bucks in the summer.

This might sound like a bit of a cliché but every millionaire in history has recommended packing your own lunch to save money.  Bring a thermos of coffee to work instead of paying five bucks for it.  Instead of pouring coins into vending machines, pack your own healthy snacks.  This is the brown bagging way to get rich!