Few crises have the potential to completely disrupt an entire nation quite like a high-altitude EMP does. As nuclear arms treaties fail and the world inches towards war, the likelihood of this crisis happening is growing. An EMP would affect every part of our lives, including food, water, fuel, shelter, defense, and more. Prepping for an EMP on a budget is something most of us need to do since we do not have money for highly-complex systems.
It is not enough to just focus on protecting your electronics. You need to prepare for every aspect of survival with a preference for non-electrical items or electronics that can be safely stored. Fully preparing for an EMP would be very expensive and resource-intensive, but there is quite a bit you can do for fairly cheap. Here are some tips for prepping for an EMP on a budget.
Water Supply
Having some water stockpile on hand is good, but having the resources to procure it is even better. Purchase water purification tablets and portable filters like a LifeStraw to buy you time to build a water distillery or other means of water treatment post-EMP. Bulk-size water filters are also inexpensive, and you can always boil water to purify it. Many of these filters are as low as $10 each and can provide clean drinking water for months.
You can go a step further by stockpiling activated charcoal to ensure you have effective means for chemical filtering. Having hardwood scraps and knowing how to make activated charcoal from scratch can go a long way toward building a clean drinking water source post-EMP. The key is to focus on physical and chemical cleaning processes that do not rely on electricity.
EMP Cloth
One of the most cost-effective ways to protect your critical electronics from an EMP is by using the EMP Cloth. Unlike expensive Faraday cages or specialized containers, this budget-friendly fabric offers a flexible and reusable way to shield devices like radios, flashlights, and small solar chargers. Simply wrapping your electronics in the EMP Cloth and sealing the edges can significantly reduce the risk of damage from an electromagnetic pulse.
Because the EMP cloth blocks out all electromagnetic signals, it will also block 5G and Wi-Fi. So if you want to create a safe space in your home where no electromagnetic radiation can enter, just use the EMP Cloth as a makeshift wallpaper.
For preppers who want affordable protection without investing in full-scale Faraday setups, the EMP Cloth is a practical option. It can be cut to size, layered for added security, and even used to line storage bins or bags. Whether you’re safeguarding emergency communications or preserving vital survival tools, this simple solution makes EMP prepping more accessible—without breaking the bank. You can buy one sized 15 feet long by 3.5 feet wide here for just $79.
Food Supply
Invest in a food dehydrator and vacuum bag system. Stock up on fruits and vegetables while they are in season or grow way more than you can eat in your garden, and then preserve the extras by drying and sealing them. Buy a variety of seed packs so you can plant an even larger garden when needed. Many seeds can be stored for years before use.
Vacuum bags are inexpensive and go a long way in your food preservation endeavors. Jars can also be used to pickle food with vinegar. You can go a step further by purchasing vacuum bags and jars that are compatible with hand vacuum pumps, ensuring you can still preserve food after the EMP strike.
Related: Native American Food Preservation Techniques
Some items, like beans and rice, can be purchased in very large quantities relatively cheaply and stored for a long time. Keep in mind that you need to purchase food for nutrition and shelf life without refrigeration, less so for taste. Focusing on the essentials and foregoing the luxuries will significantly help you reduce the cost of food stockpiling.
Shelter
EMPs are a bit of a double-edged sword. They can devastate all electronics, but they will likely not physically affect the rest of your home. As long as no fires are caused by the EMP, your home insulation will remain intact. However, you will lose the ability to heat and cool your home electrically, and even natural gas systems will fail because they rely on electricity from the source.
Purchase a small wood stove and the necessary chimney piping for your home. You must also plan heat protection for the hearth pad and the wall or roof where the chimney exits your home. Making it look good can become expensive, but by focusing only on function and safety, you can have a budget stove to get you through hard times.
Protection of Electronics
There is not much point in stockpiling electronics if they will just get destroyed by the EMP. Luckily, you can build cheap Faraday cages with metal trash cans or aluminum-lined boxes. Look for metal ammo cans, cabinets, and toolboxes at yard sales. Combine these with cheap electrical insulators like cardboard, conductive paint/fabrics, grounding wires, anti-static bags, and multiple layers of protection to give your electronics effective protection.
All the suggested electronics in this article can fit inside a metal cabinet. You can even fit a small generator. Be proactive about protection and always keep the spare electronics stored in the Faraday cage. You will not have time to react if an EMP goes off above your region.
Prepping for an EMP means always having shielded electronics. If solar panels are installed on your property, that is great, but you need a backup stored in a shielded container. Any electronics you use as a prepper on a daily basis are not actually EMP preps unless they are shielded.
Lighting and Power
Candles are a fantastic source of light and warmth that can be purchased or crafted very inexpensively. Go a step further by buying hand-cranked light systems. Many also come with a built-in radio and charging ports for your devices.
Portable solar panels become cheaper and better every year. Buy multiple panels or a foldable set along with the necessary connections for charging your devices. Many portable power banks have built-in solar chargers. They may take a few days to fully charge, but it will be sufficient to charge your devices.
At the very least, you should go to a junkyard, remove a working alternator from a vehicle, and safely store it with a car battery and a power inverter. Keep the engine belt as well, and you will have the essentials for crafting a crank-powered generator.
Communication Devices
EMPs do not guarantee total destruction of all electronics, so it is a very good idea to maintain the possibility of communicating with those around you, especially because many government and emergency communication systems are shielded against EMPs. A CB radio won’t have the longest range, but it will give you access to high-traffic channels with an improved likelihood of connecting with someone.
Walkie-talkies can be helpful for your family or for communicating with your local network. You can get a multi-pack of walkie-talkies for fairly cheap. While it takes some know-how, ham radio transceivers and the necessary components can also be purchased for cheap. You do not need anything fancy, just the essentials.
Defense
Full-fledged defense is extremely expensive. We can’t all have a survival bunker below our house, and electronic security systems are useless post-EMP. When your budget is the limiting factor in your preparations, as it is for most of us, focus on the essentials and work your way up.
Purchase basic tools and fasteners to fortify your home. You may not need to do so, but you will be happy to have the required items if you do. A big box of nails and a hammer can go a very long way, especially if you stock up on scrap wood.
Related: 5 Best Wood Cutting Tools
Even with all the massive price hikes over the years, you can still get a 12-gauge shotgun and shells for cheap. I love decked-out AR-15s as much as the next person, but it’s hard to beat a 12-gauge when it comes to home defense, even without the low-price factor.
EMP On A Budget – Knowledge Is Power!
The most cost-effective prep is to pack your brain with knowledge. We might not be MacGyver or some kind of wizard, but learning how to make do with very little will drastically reduce your prepping costs. Purchasing essential books can make all the difference in your survival.
Wherever you live, buy foraging, bushcraft, and survival books for that region. Many of these can be downloaded for free, but you will want to print them so they are actually usable after an EMP. A cheap printer can go a long way in stockpiling information for your survival and should be a part of your EMP on a budget prep.
As daunting as it may seem to prepare for an EMP, you can accomplish a lot while on a budget and mostly while prepping for any other crisis. Survival in any environment, including post-EMP, is about obtaining the essentials and buying time. Eventually, the lights will come back on, trucks will bring food to town, and life will return to normal.
What are your best tips for EMP on a budget? Let us know!
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you didn’t mention canning food after an emp, just drying and sealing it. a propane stove works just fine without electricity, you do have to use a match to light the burners. canning your vegtables makes them last for years and canning meat lasts years too. canning lids is one of the best barter items you can have and at about $2.50 a box they’re cheap enough to have alot on hand. after an emp the barter system will be in full swing. the idea of getting an alternator from a junk yard and the proper items to go with it to make a generator is a good one and i will look into that. this is a good thought provoking article, thanks.
As for canning lids. You can get the reusable Tattler lids or invest in the Weck Jars.
Debbie in MA
A true EMP will put the US back to at least the 1800’s… I would think that most Preppers, Survivalist always have EMP in the back of their minds, some even at the forefront … Anything having to do with energy, especially electricity will be history for a while… The only folks that can communicate are those who kept the EMP at their forefront… Like me, I use my commo equipment daily… I also keep my EMP proof can near by, so with any idea of an impending attack, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up, I stash everything in my can/cans… and just wait it out… PS.. DO NOT sell CB’s short for cheap commo.. They are AM band and have skip capability which opens up the range of reception and transmission to thousands of miles, not just local… I have stacks of QSL from all over the country to prove it on this band as well as others, and most Preppers know this… I bring this up because of the statement of CB’s being local at best, NOT… I would discuss all the other aspects of prepping, but not now, as I’m sure others on here will bring that up… Prepping has been a part of my life ever since the millennium…I’ve actually relocated rurally which made it all somewhat simpler, means I do not have to BO, as I reside in my BOL… Live long and prosper…
If we do have an EMP event, I am prepared to live simply with manual tools.
One Second After by William Forstchen is a classic series that realistically explains many perspectives of the many challenges created by EMP.
Just reread it a month ago. The Last Day by the same author is just as intense as it closes the first book with good information and HOPE.
“One Second After” was my scariest read.
Debbie in MA
MAGA has been saying this for years. And yet…nothing. Now that the Russian A#$hat trump is in office, we will have Russia to protect us for any invasion. I guess you MAGA maggots better start to learn Russian other than crappy English.
I learned a little bit of Russian to help break the ice for some of our customers from Baltic states, but it does no good now. Russian is a language understood by people from many other countries, but because it was also associated with ruthless oppression – no one wants to speak it.
What most Democrats and more than half of the Republicans I speak with believe is that Ukraine should be unconditionally supported. I am messaging our President almost daily to this effect, and I hope that he will change his stance on the issue.
Russia kills people, breaks treaties and cease-fires – and has no conscience about it. That is evil, and the good people of this world have a duty to be a terror to evil.
The largest ethnic minority in the Ukraine are people of Russian decent. In my opinion, this dispute in many respects is more like a civil war to resettle ancient boundaries along ethnic lines, that have been shifting back and forth for centuries. Just like there was the historical Russification of the Baltics and Poland, under the Czars, and then the communists, attempting to erase the language, religion and culture, today it has been the “Ukrainification” of the Russians in Ukraine under Zelenskyy to which Russia responded. That said, two wrongs don’t make a right and when you have both sides headed by “right” fighters, no one wins, everyone loses.. Ii’s long past the time for this war to come to a peaceful end.
All MAGA is doing ….is cleaning up the Democrats mess…like always….☮