Getting ready on a tight budget

What you need

The £0 plan

You can do all of this today, without spending anything.

1. Fill clean bottles with tap water. Be Ready suggests 3 litres per person per day, for 3 days. Use clean drinks or squash bottles with lids. Swap the water every 6 months. Our guide to storing water explains how.
2. Gather your torches, blankets and warm layers. Put them together somewhere easy to find in the dark. Check the torches work.
3. Write important numbers on paper. Your phone may run out of charge. Our free household emergency plan makes the list for you and prints it.
4. Find your stopcock and fuse box. The stopcock turns off your water. It is often under the kitchen sink. Write down where both are.
5. Join the Priority Services Register if it applies to you. It is free. It tells your energy and water companies that someone at home may need extra help. Read our guide to the Priority Services Register.
6. Book a free home fire safety visit. Many fire and rescue services fit free smoke alarms. Find your fire and rescue service through the National Fire Chiefs Council.
7. Check the help you may be able to get. Our help with costs tool asks 5 private questions and lists schemes to check.

What you probably already own

Most homes already have much of the Be Ready checklist:

• Bottles and containers for tap water.
• Food in the cupboard that keeps without a fridge, like tins, cereal and crackers.
• A tin opener, if your tins need one.
• Torches, including a phone torch, a head torch or a bike light.
• Blankets, duvets, coats, hats and thick socks.
• Hot water bottles and a flask.
• Soap, toilet roll and any medicines you already use.
• Copies of documents. A phone photo or a photocopy in a food bag works.

Our checklist builder can show only free and lowest-cost options. Turn on “Show free and lowest-cost options only”.

Build a checklist with free and lowest-cost options only

What to buy, if anything

The £20 plan

If you can spare a little, add these over time. Prices are typical ranges for the cheapest sensible option, not links to buy.

• One or two extra tins each time you shop. Choose food your household already eats. A tin is usually £1.
• A basic battery torch. Usually £4 to £8.
• A multipack of batteries in the size your torch uses. Usually £3 to £5.
• A supermarket first aid kit. Usually £8 to £12.

Together, the torch, batteries and first aid kit usually cost £15 to £25. Prices are DRAFT and change over time.

If you burn gas, oil, coal or wood at home, a carbon monoxide alarm matters too. Ask your fire and rescue service about it at your home safety visit. Some fit them for free.