If you live in an area that that gets lots of snow you should be prepared for it before winter sets in. There is no excuse why you cannot have some level of preparation regardless of your income level. The snowstorms that have been hitting the mid Atlantic states and far to the south illustrate that even those in these areas should have stocked up on essentials early on.

True, these states do not see this kind of weather every year or even every decade, but anything else could come long in between that would bring a need for having put away some food, water and fuel. Watching the news reminded me of here in Florida when a Hurricane approaches and people are stripping the grocery shelves of food and water when they should have done this already with the expectation that a storm could hit them.

This stocking of items for an emergency can apply for anywhere you live. You should be adding to your emergency supply a little at a time, if you are short of money a little here and there and you will finally get a few days worth of supplies put aside. Minimum of three days should do you but try to add more if you can. For food, you can buy the same items you normally eat but think about easy preparation.

You don't have to worry about refrigeration if its freezing outside. You can move your refrigerated items outside if your power is out. If the power goes out after a Hurricane you have a couple days before the refrigerator starts to get warm if you do not have a generator. Also make sure you have back up heating in case you loose your main heating source.