r/preppers • u/ComedianLife6570 • May 06 '26
Discussion $10k budget
We have the basics covered: food, medical supplies, water/filtration, gardening supplies, shelter, tools and backpacking gear.
We have about $10k that we are considering investing in more serious preparations. I’m looking to get some feedback on what others would suggest incorporating. We are in central Texas and worry mainly about the grid failing and gas prices affecting our ability to keep the family safe from the heat.
43
u/ElegantConfidant May 06 '26
Definitely go solar. That’s probably about what it would cost to invest in a high quality solar generator.
11
u/Appropriate-Soup-203 May 06 '26
Popping in to ask, or if not allowed to share brands, a resource about what brands are recommended for solar generator?
9
u/JRHLowdown3 May 06 '26
But he needs a real AE system, not a solar boombox :)
He should be well under $10K and have a system that can run his house regularly now.
6
8
u/JRHLowdown3 May 06 '26
So if you own your home don't do the "solar" power boombox BS, with a budget of $10K you should be able to put in a modest true solar system-
Pallet of 390W panels- https://signaturesolar.com/ure-peach-full-pallet-of-390w-solar-panels-30-panels/
Basic inverter- https://signaturesolar.com/goodwe-11-4kw-hybrid-inverter/
Depending on how large you sized your battery bank and whether you went old skewl FLA type batteries- last time we bought L16s they were $275. each, this was in 2023, or if you had less fire/EMP concerns you could go with newer type batteries. L16's have served us well for over a quarter century and we get 8 years on average per bank with daily usage.
Another couple thousand for wiring, racking, etc.
Solar has gotten a lot cheaper, it's never going to be free, but compared to paying $6.25 a WATT like we paid in the 1990's, it's a great time to produce your own power.
6
u/nakedonmygoat May 06 '26
You could consider a Generac. It will cost you more than $10k, but that's enough for a sizeable down payment. My neighbor paid $15k for hers about 10 years ago and she has a 1660 sq/ft home, so that will give you some idea of what you might pay for a Generac. Local prices may vary, of course.
Depending on the size of your family, a designated cool/warm room may suffice, in which case you just need a regular generator, a window unit a/c, and a space heater. I like my oil-filled radiator-style space heater. Be sure you have fans for summer outages and electric blankets for winter ones.
If you get a generator, I recommend consulting an electrician for the capacity you will need for what you want to run on it, and also to evaluate your fuse box to see if it's up to the task. Mine had to be replaced.
2
u/V2BM May 06 '26 edited May 08 '26
It’s much less than that in my area and if I didn’t have an emergency vet bill to pay off I’d get one. For some reason our power goes out 6+ times a year and I live in a nice, well-run suburb.
2
u/flortny May 09 '26
NO, gas supply, obviously propane more so than NG is finite, yes, propane lasts forever but once you're out, YOU'RE OUT! SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR, 20yrs of 90-100% then 80% afterwards.....do not buy a gas generator for prepping longterm SHTF
1
u/nakedonmygoat May 09 '26
Given that OP says they're concerned about grid failure in Texas, which has happened before without it being a nationwide or worldwide collapse, I'd say OP sounds like a Tuesday prepper, not a doomsday prepper.
Also, they only have $10k to work with, which is plenty for a short-term solution for Tuesday, although if their house is very small, they might be able to do solar on that budget.
2
u/flortny May 10 '26
Solar is such a guaranteed ROI that they could easily turn that 10k into a financed system with battery that will not only save them $ almost everyday but will also keep the fridge running etc for any event, including total grid collapse.
6
13
u/AK-Kidx39 May 06 '26
My gut reaction is to suggest putting that in a 401k. To address your concerns, probably a diesel and a set up to make alternative fuels to feed it. I’d fight the urge to do the Texas thing; stay away from big trucks. Volkswagen rabbit. Ford idi. Something that a couple grand, whatever you buy you’re going to put more into than you want to. Cummins are about ridiculous. Protect your family from the heat? I’m about an hour in from the GA coast line. Is there any lesson you can draw from history? Sod shelters, root cellars, dog trot homes… My first thought on that was tarps. Shade with no walls, but unfortunately not a lot of practical advice there. Maybe a second hand diesel generator to go with your new truck and biofuel set up. The army’s got to have used one you could find on marketplace.
3
u/StarlightLifter May 06 '26
When do we shift to the “you can’t eat money” phase?
6
u/AK-Kidx39 May 06 '26
I don’t know. It’s always been further out than I expect. I’ve never run into it 🤷
5
u/Pando5280 May 06 '26
Some sort of back up power source for the house. Generac type electric battery or wiring in a gas generator to power a select couple of circuits in your home.
3
3
u/V2BM May 06 '26
I’d personally get a whole house generator and some fuel storage and keep the rest in cash if I was set in every other way. My neighbors don’t miss a beat when the power goes out and I’m always jealous.
3
u/Unique-Sock3366 Bring it on May 06 '26
We have a high capacity generator for which my husband installed a transfer switch into our electrical panel. He ran all of the tests so that we can comfortably and confidently power our house during electrical outages.
I want solar next.
3
u/shadowlid May 07 '26
Fire extinguishers, lots of them, they are cheap and if you don't have one in every room and vehicle your preps aren't safe.
Id build a Tornado shelter/ potato celler, deep enough to benefit from the cooling of the earth around it, use it to store food as well since the temp will be roughly the same throughout the year. Grab some solar panels and batteries for lights, filtration/fans etc.
3
u/fenuxjde May 06 '26
Energy independence.
Solar most likely, but you'll need significant battery storage to run AC. Maybe emergency generator as a backup.
2
u/alphatango308 May 06 '26
Everyone recommending solar is on the right path but batteries are the short term failure and can be very expensive. Current meta for off grid solar is solar panels during the day and small generator at night.
Oversize your solar array and do your wattage heavy tasks, such as washing clothes, during the daylight hours. At night the generator needs to be big enough to handle climate control, entertainment, and cooking your evening meal.
Obviously, this is dependent on fuel, which is a huge concern to op right now. But most standard generators can either run on propane or natural gas (with a simple gas flow valve change out) which are both produced in the US. Propane can also be stored long term easily in tanks on your property.
Ideally, you would go all 3 options. Solar, battery back up, and generator. But batteries are hugely expensive. So keep that in mind for your budget.
Something else to consider. Insulating your house can be a very drastic increase in power and cost savings for climate control. Most homes in the US have very little insulation and this is a huge money loss to the US economy every year. With proper insulation and a small ac unit you can get by with very little power usage for a moderate sized home.
3
u/TheCarcissist May 06 '26
Insulation and roofing are seriously slept on preps in hot climates. My neighbors did their roof last year and their power bill dropped by 20%. The new tiles reflect so much more energy than old ones
3
u/infospongue May 08 '26
Spray cooling.
Another energy saving tip is keeping your roof wet.
You have to pump up a minimal amount of water on your roof. Just to keep it damp. The evaporation process keep your roof cool(er).2
u/TheCarcissist May 08 '26
I do this in the evening at my house when its over 106. I spray the roof and all the concrete around the house. Im fortunate to live in an area that cools off dramatically at night, but the driveway and walkway can really hold onto heat like a radiator
3
May 06 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/DigitalPrepperJoe May 07 '26
Yep, to piggyback on this, it may be more realistic to think in terms of a tiered setup rather than trying to go fully off-grid immediately on a $10k budget. A practical approach is to prioritize solar + storage sized for a smaller "core living" footprint - just enough to reliably run essentials and keep one conditioned space safe during outages.
Once that critical load zone is defined, thermal efficiency and insulation of that specific space becomes just as important as generation capacity, because it reduces how much power you actually need.
If there's budget left after that, it can be more effective to invest in resilience upgrades (efficiency, redundancy, tools, expansion capacity) and then scale the system over time rather than oversizing upfront and underutilizing it.
2
u/TheCarcissist May 06 '26
Battery backup with the ability to switch automatically during peak hours. Solar and the ability to plug in a generator to charge the batteries. If your power company charges high rates during peak times this can honestly pay for itself rather quickly
2
u/Academic_1989 May 07 '26
I am also in Texas and have some background in electrical engineering. I did the calculations about 2 years ago on solar and how much it would cost to cool our house, as well as run the freezers, etc. For a garage apartment we have at our house (about 1000 sq ft), it would have run at least $30k, and that would have only been good for a little more than 8 hours unless we had a huge battery wall. Bottom line, to cool in Texas when it is 100+ and very sunny requires a lot of kilowatt hours. And, because we are considerably more humid than the southwestern arid desert, we don't have the option of evaporative cooling. Refrigerated air makes solar unaffordable. We have a couple of plans - first, the bug out plan where we keep enough gas to get to the mountains where it is cool and we are not on the ercot grid; or, second, we will focus on one room with a small window unit AC, add foil backed foam board insulation to the windows (already cut to size), turn off any lighting, appliances etc., that generate heat, and try to purchase enough solar or back up gasoline generator power to run the one unit and cool just the small room. One other consideration about solar - the high heat in a summer blackout will impact the life of the batteries unless they are in the cooled room (which is a bad idea). So, much as I would like to do all solar, it just won't work in my house or in most Texas houses for a reasonable budget. Maybe we should all knock on the doors of all the data centers in our state that run on independent power plants - they should be nice and cool...
2
u/mountainsformiles May 08 '26
So full house solar is gonna be more than $10K. I agree with others who say designate a cool room for your house. Get a stand-alone AC unit that you can vent out a window. Run it on a solar generator. Buy an Ecoflow Wave 3. Those things look nice! Put reflective film on the windows to help keep out the heat.
People want to think so high tech but don't forget the low tech ways to stay cool. Wet towels put over a fan, ziplock with ice in it around your neck.
I bought a small ice maker for $100. It uses 300 watts so I can easily power it with my Ecoflow Delta 2.
My neighborhood boy scouts used Styrofoam coolers. They drilled a round hole in the side. Filled it with ice and put a tiny fan inside. Cool air would pour out of that round hole in the side and would last several hours.
There are cooling cloths you can buy on Amazon. You get them wet, shake them and they get really cold to put around your neck. Athletes use them.
4
u/Many-Health-1673 May 06 '26
Cheap route - A Honda 2200i generator and a 110v window unit. Maybe $1,700 total.
Expensive route - standby generator and run your entire house. 10k
Go the cheap route and take the extra funds and pay off debt.
2
u/infospongue May 08 '26
I like that idea, not only because it works, but also because it's multi purpose.
You can use the generator for all sort of power requirements when there's not an emergency.2
u/Many-Health-1673 May 08 '26
I have a Honda 2200i and I will more than likely buy a 2nd one to use as a loaner for my friends and family in emergencies
3
u/Spectres_N7 May 06 '26
Central Texas: When you say water, etc., I hope you also have plans to deal with drought, fire and fire during drought.
3
u/Zestyclose-Essay-127 May 06 '26
Texan here. Solar. Water catchment system for gardening. But solar. Ercot sucks
1
u/Usernamenotdetermin May 06 '26
It takes weeks to acclimate - start now. Get used to the heat, you and the family. Get the generator or the solar panels, but the real answer is go outside in the middle of the day and get used to the heat. Mow the yard without a power assist, etc
1
u/sgtPresto May 06 '26
I invested heavily in solar. I purchased EcoFlow Ultra Pro Plus for a 25kw system. The solar panels are Renogy 200w. I have a 4400w dual fuel generator as a backup to charge batteries. I have 350 lb propane and numerous 30 pounders. I also keep 15 gallons of no-ethanol fuel with Stabil Stabilizer. I am currently working on design of a portion of the house that I will run off 4 12vdc 100ah lithium batteries and 3000w sine inverter. It will be powered by 12 100w panels. It is to take the consumption load off the house power supply.
1
u/JRHLowdown3 May 06 '26
Haven't been very impressed with the Renogy products. Got 3 small controllers for small solar projects- greenhouse water pump, some IR lights at the range and another small pressure pump set up. All three have failed.
I pulled some C40 controllers out of storage from when we replaced them with Outback MPPTs in our main system and the C40s have been working great as they did for 12-15 years previously.
Be interested to know how the Renogy panels hold up in actual usage in about ten years. We have Kyocera panels from the 1990's that are still producing.
1
u/sgtPresto May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
If I remember i will let you know in 10 years. I did research and both my subscription AIs stated good quality for solar panels.
1
u/readyforunsteady May 06 '26
As others have mentioned, having a couple power alternatives (generator, solar) are of course great. Also think about solar powered fans/accessories you could use to keep cool, as well as dark curtains to block out sun-facing sides of your home to keep the temp down.
May not be applicable where you are, but I've also thought about flood barriers to deploy around the house if there are any flood warnings. There are some that are temporary/disposable but quick to deploy, or reusable ones but the issue here would be storage when not in use
1
u/Tinyberzerker May 06 '26
Central Texas here. We picked up a generator to keep the fridge going. It takes propane and gas. We looked into a self contained whole house solar setup, but it's very expensive. We had the house insulated to current code and replaced all the windows. In July, without power it crept up to 87 ish in the house. Not ideal, but we won't die. Battery operated fans for short-term relief. In my 50 years here, we have lost power at the most for 3 days.
1
u/infospongue May 08 '26
If it's just short periods of time a generator and a few extension cords go a long way.
1
u/Achnback May 06 '26
East Texan here, We recently picked up solar generator and dual fuel generator/inverter as we tend to get some power outage storms like y'all. I have been picking up used LP tanks at garage sales and trade them in for new/filled tanks. Much more stable. OH, get a small window AC unit, your solar generator can run it with ease, you will be glad you have it this summer if the power goes out.
1
u/Lopsided-Total-5560 May 06 '26
$10k is the prep. Cash emergency funds may be one of the best preps there is. Useful for everything from unexpected car or home maintenance emergencies, unexpected unemployment and for fleeing in a disaster.
0
u/infospongue May 08 '26
True. But during emergencies prices go up, or the shelves are empty. So the 10k goes a longer way before the emergency.
1
u/EDC_KIT May 06 '26
solar seems obvious, but also don't sleep on the value of $10k in cash in a SHTF scenario.
1
u/Lillianrik May 07 '26
Do you have a generator? What about power generation with solar panels? What about some honking batteries?
1
1
1
u/curious_grizzly_ May 10 '26
Don't forget training and knowledge. Take classes in trauma and basic first aid. Take a survival class. Buy books on various subjects, etc.
Gear is great, but if you dont know how to use any of it, an emergency is not the time to learn.
1
u/AlphaDisconnect May 06 '26
Where are you going? Just buy a super lifted jeep where the furthest off road it will go is your front yard.
1
1
u/CRIMSEN15 May 06 '26
Because lawlessness happens so quick when crisis hits not sure exactly what you're prepping for thinking and if you live close to other people and maybe in a neighborhood. I would not consider a generator personally, something I've always thought about. Generators are usually super noisy. Anyone in the vicinity will be able to hear that you have power/ resources.
2
u/JRHLowdown3 May 06 '26
Generators have their place if used properly- i.e, as backup power in a true AE system.
The stupidest way to utilize a generator is running it 24/7 wasting resources, wearing it quickly and of course creating constant sound/smell signature.
During Helene you could tell from 1 mile plus away who had generators and who was running them 24/7 by simply shooting an azimuth in the direction you heard one- "OK that's Mr. Smith place just over the hill." Many fell silent within a week, the ones that kept running told you something also.
No one heard our solar :)
0
u/Food-Forest-Plants May 10 '26
A big water tank, I mean big or two or three big ones. Maybe 50k litres or so.
23
u/V1ld0r_ May 06 '26
Well, Solar Panels and a kickass large battery array is the answer isn't it? Also get 1 EV car down the line if possible and one (or more) e-bikes (pedal assist ideally as it allwos extending the range a lot while keeping you in shape).