While everyone has their own ideas on what constitutes freedom and self-sufficiency, these are just 4 of the areas that I feel are important.  Many times we don’t know where to start on our journey to preparedness or we hold back for a number of reasons, such as not enough time, not enough money or we are trying to do more research on certain things.  All the tips listed below are just starting points and can be broken up into individual steps as you have the time and money.   Just remember, all journeys start with a single step.

Finances

One of the biggest and most important steps you can take towards self-sufficiency is becoming debt free.  Debt is like a cancer that invades every area of your life. The stress from being in debt and living paycheck to paycheck can affect how you perform at work, it can affect your relationships and your health.  When we made our final car payment it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from our shoulders and it also felt like we got a raise in income.

Our plan of choice was Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball program – a plan that involves listing all of your debts from smallest amount to largest amount and paying the minimum payment on all but the smallest amount.  All the money you have left over in your budget goes to the debt with the smallest dollar amount.

In order to make the most of the debt snowball program you also need to have a budget.  If you don’t have a written budget that you follow, you will never know where all of your money is going.  If you don’t know where your money is going, then you won’t know how much money you are wasting.

A few tips for setting up a budget include:

1. Both, husband and wife, need to do the budget together and agree on the plan
2. Do the budget before the paycheck is cashed or deposited
3. Be specific and include everything that you are spending money on
4. Spend every dollar on paper.  Your budget “balance” should be $0 when you are done
5. Don’t forget to include a category for spending money or entertainment

Raise your own food

No matter where you live you can find room for a small garden or at least a few pots for vegetables.  If you live in a house with a yard I’m willing to bet you have room for at least one 4’x4’ raised garden bed.

Some of the easiest garden plants to grow are:

1. Lettuce
2. Spinach
3. Tomatoes
4. Radishes
5. Carrots

These 5 simple, easy to grow vegetables might not replace your entire pantry but they can supplement meals with a healthy salad every now and then.

In addition to gardening another great way to provide food for your family is by raising animals.  Even if you live in a subdivision with a fairly small yard like we do it is possible to raise chickens, quail and rabbits on a small scale.

Security

When most people think about security they think about guns and ammo.  While these are an important aspect of home security there are many more areas that are just as important.

1. Security cameras
2. Door locks
3. Outside lighting
4. Emergency plans (tornado, home invasion, blackout, bugout, etc)

Fitness

If you don’t take care of your body then all the stuff I’ve mentioned up to this point won’t really matter.  No matter what kind of shape you are in now, it’s never too late to start a physical fitness routine.  The most important thing is to just go do something.

1. Go for a walk – bring your family along and turn it into an evening routine that you do every day after eating supper
2. Get rid of your riding lawnmower and start push mowing your lawn
3. Take your dog for a walk
4. Download one of the many “Couch to 5K” running plans to your smartphone and start jogging
5. Buy a cheap weigh set off of craigslist and start lifting in your garage

I hope everyone finds at least a few of these tips helpful and can use this as a primer to get started on a path towards personal freedom and liberty.  Check back in the coming days for more specific and detailed posts on each one of these areas.

If you have any questions for me or any tips you’d like to add please comment on this post.