How to Build a Bug-Out Bag Without Spending a Fortune

When people talk about bug-out bags, it can sometimes sound like you need to spend hundreds of dollars and buy a bunch of specialized survival gear before you're prepared. I've put together a few emergency bags over the years, and mine didn't start that way at all. They have slowly changed and improved as I've learned more and had money to upgrade things. I always keep a bag for myself and one for my dad, and I also made a smaller bag for my girlfriend that she keeps in her car.

Her bag is more of a get-home bag than a full 72-hour bag, so I kept it pretty simple with things like water, snacks, a blanket, a power bank and charging cords. My dad's and my bags are more involved, but even those have evolved gradually over the years. One of the biggest things I've learned is that you don't have to build the perfect bag all at once. Start with what you have, cover the basics and improve it over time.

You Don't Need an Expensive Backpack to Start

My first bug-out bags were literally old backpacks I wasn't using anymore. Maybe there was a small rip or some other reason I had stopped using one regularly, but it could still hold emergency supplies. Eventually I upgraded to larger tactical-style backpacks that gave me more room and organization, but I don't think you need to start there. If money is limited, I'd rather have an old backpack with water, food, a flashlight and other useful supplies in it than an expensive empty backpack because I spent my entire preparedness budget on the bag itself.

Preparedness can make it really easy to start thinking, What if something happens tomorrow? The world is crazy and I need to buy everything right now. You can end up spending a lot of money that way. I've been improving our bags for several years, and thankfully we haven't actually needed them for an evacuation yet. Over time, I've learned that I can add something when I can afford it, replace something that isn't working well, and gradually make the bags better without trying to buy everything at once.

Think 72 Hours, Not Living in the Mountains Forever

I think one reason bug-out bags become so complicated is that it's easy to picture the worst possible scenario. You start thinking about what you'd need to leave civilization and live in the hills indefinitely, when a much more realistic use for many people is getting through the first few days after having to leave home. That's how I think about my main bags: they're basically 72-hour emergency bags, not everything I'd need to live in the wilderness forever.

If we had to leave our apartment because of an earthquake, fire or another emergency, the goal might simply be getting somewhere safe and making the next couple of days easier. We could end up at a shelter, hotel, friend's or family member's home, evacuation center or somewhere else entirely. I do have a larger backup bag that I've thought about building into more of a longer-term setup depending on the situation, but that's something I'm slowly working on. It costs more to build an extra bag like that, and I don't think it's where someone new to preparedness needs to start.

What I Keep in Our Bug-Out Bags

My bags have changed over time, but I try to cover basic needs first. I keep some water, shelf-stable food and snacks, power banks, charging cables, flashlights, extra batteries, extra underwear and socks, basic first-aid supplies and other small necessities. I also keep work gloves and eye protection because depending on the emergency, there could be broken glass, debris or other hazards around an apartment building or neighborhood

For water, I have bottles as well as water-purification tablets and filter straws. I also have a canteen cup and a small canteen stove that could be used for heating or boiling water outdoors, and I still plan to get the proper fuel tablets for it. Any stove or fuel that burns needs to be used according to its safety instructions and shouldn't be treated as an indoor apartment cooking solution because of fire and carbon-monoxide risks.

Some of the cheapest things in my bags are also surprisingly useful. I keep heavy-duty trash bags, zip-top bags and even things like spare shoelaces or cord because they take up almost no room and can have a bunch of different uses. Not everything in a bug-out bag needs to be some specialized piece of survival equipment.

Emergency Food Doesn't Have to Be Fancy

You don't necessarily need MREs or expensive freeze-dried survival meals for a basic emergency bag. I prefer keeping simple foods and snacks that we're actually willing to eat, especially things that don't require cooking because you can't assume you'll have a working stove or a safe place to cook. The exact foods can be different for everyone, and it's also worth remembering that food and especially water can make a backpack heavy pretty quickly.

I even keep instant coffee in my emergency supplies. I've learned that instant coffee doesn't necessarily require boiling water; it will still dissolve in cool or lukewarm water with enough stirring. It might not be the world's greatest cup of coffee, but if I'm already dealing with an evacuation, I'd still rather have some coffee than none. Small comforts don't suddenly stop mattering because there's an emergency.

Change Your Bag With the Seasons

I don't think a bug-out bag should be something you pack once, throw in a closet and never look at again. I make some changes depending on the season. When colder weather is coming, I'll add jackets and warmer clothing, and I'm especially conscious of this with my dad's bag because he gets cold easily. I'll make sure he has things like a beanie and gloves, while during hotter weather I can carry less cold-weather clothing and pay even more attention to having water available.

Going through the bags as the seasons change also gives me a reason to check everything else. Food can get old, batteries can go bad, power banks can lose their charge and clothing needs can change. Even if you don't add anything new, opening the bag every so often and seeing what's actually in there is useful.

Everyone's Bug-Out Bag Doesn't Need to Be Identical

My bag and my dad's bag aren't exactly the same, and I don't think they should be. A bug-out bag should make sense for the person who may actually have to use it. An older adult may have different needs from a younger adult, children shouldn't simply be given smaller copies of a heavy adult bag, and medications, mobility limitations, weather, pets, dietary needs and other personal circumstances can all change what someone needs.

Even the bags I've made serve different purposes. My girlfriend's smaller car bag is designed more around helping her deal with being away from home or getting home during a disruption, while my main bag is intended to cover more needs if I actually have to leave home for a few days. Rather than copying somebody else's packing list item for item, I think it's better to ask: Where am I realistically trying to get, who am I responsible for and what would we actually need?

Don't Forget Documents, Medication and Personal Needs

Gear is easy to focus on because it's the fun part of building a bag, but some of the most important things may be ordinary personal items. Depending on your situation, that can include necessary medications, identification or copies of important information, emergency contacts, some cash, hygiene supplies, glasses or other things you depend on every day. Those aren't exciting survival products, but suddenly leaving home without them could create a much bigger problem than not having the latest piece of camping gear.

Pets also need to be part of the evacuation plan. Food, water, a carrier or leash, medications and other basic pet supplies may need to be ready even if they aren't physically packed into your main backpack. The goal isn't to carry your entire apartment on your back. It's to think through the things that would become a serious problem if you suddenly had to leave home.

Don't Make Your Bag So Heavy You Can't Carry It

This is especially important if you don't know for sure that you'll be evacuating in a vehicle. Every useful item you find can start to feel like something you absolutely need, and before long you've built a backpack that's miserable to carry. Water alone weighs a little over eight pounds per gallon, so weight can add up quickly before you've even added food, clothing and gear.

I think it's worth actually putting the finished bag on and walking around with it rather than judging the weight by picking it up for five seconds in your bedroom. If you're depending on walking, biking, public transportation or some combination of those during an evacuation, a bag you can realistically move with matters more than squeezing in every possible piece of equipment.

Build Your Bug-Out Bag a Little at a Time

If I were starting over, this is probably the biggest thing I'd tell myself: don't go into debt trying to prepare for an emergency. Start with a backpack you already own. Put some water in it, add some food you already eat, a flashlight, basic first aid, a charging cable, power bank, change of clothes and whatever personal necessities make sense for you. Then improve it as you can.

Maybe next month you add water-treatment tablets. Later you buy a better flashlight or replace the old backpack. As your circumstances change or you learn something new, you change the bag. That's basically how I've built mine. My bags today are better than the ones I started with, and they're still not "finished." There are still things I want to add, including tarps and other equipment.

I actually think that's a healthier way to approach preparedness. You don't need a bunker, a $500 backpack or every piece of survival equipment on the internet. Start with what you have, prepare for the emergencies that realistically make sense where you live, and make your setup a little better over time.

Prep where you live.