Hi All

[Arzosah]

Welcome Pers! I won't add any advice, this is now a really good thread for that, just welcoming you in

[Frnc]

Hi all thanks for the welcome and advice so far!

A stash of cash of something I will start working on - power outage is something high on my list of scenarios - and I do think with moving towards digital currency and closure of banks/reliance on apps needs consideration!

Water is also something I've been considering - so far I have about 12 x 1l bottles of water in the garage which isn't going to serve a family of 4 well for very long! Thanks YA for the links for the water storage I'll take a look at these too

I recommend you buy some 10 litre food grade water containers. These are a perfect size. Wash with soapy water, rinse thoroughly, steralise with Milton tablets. Add water and cover with a bin bag. Swap the water once a year and re-steralise at the same time.

That reminds me, I have two I need to clean and fill. Get into the habit of keeping track of expiry dates and routine things like charging batteries and powerbanks, swapping the water, checking smoke alarms, first aid expiry, food storage expiry etc.

Lot of talk about torches. A head torch is by far the best option. Get one that uses 3 or 4 AAA batteries, as these are easy to keep spares for, rechargeable ones are best. I have emergency motion lights on the stairs which use the same batteries.

[PPrep]

Hi all thanks for the welcome and advice so far!

A stash of cash of something I will start working on - power outage is something high on my list of scenarios - and I do think with moving towards digital currency and closure of banks/reliance on apps needs consideration!

Welcome to the forum. There's little I can add to the quality advice offered, but will comment on online security and CBDC.

For me a part of prepping is to make any device that has network or online access as private as possible. This is good OPSEC and doing this will also enhance computer security. For example I "harden" my browser to make it safer, use a VPN (note this helps but is not a cure - all), and create as few accounts as possible. I don't use social media. I don't use smart technology or wifi, but this is very challenging for most people. There are security measures for smartphones, but these lack depth. There are many things one can do, depending on circumstances.

Regarding CBDC, this may arrive in the UK between 3 and 10 years' time. This can be forced upon many people by the Government only paying Civil Servants' wages, benefits and pensions using digital currency. In the early years, cash may still be used alongside digital currency. Bartering and local currencies are possibilities but can be cumbersome to use and administer. For the time being, support cash and consider precious metals if you can afford it.