Is your family prepared for a lengthy period of martial law or civil war without power or water?

During such times, the difference between a helpless family and one that thrives can be a matter of $100 worth of supplies, a bit more if you don't already own a gun.

• Buy a gun and learn how to use it ~ here's a great guide for cheap and reliable guns. If you can't afford a gun then buy a long-handled hammer or an aluminum baseball bat for the car. I wouldn't recommend a baseball bat for home defense because small rooms, passageways and door frames will greatly restrict your ability to swing.

• Have an agreed meeting place for your loved ones if the mobile phone network fails.

• You can make a first aid survival kit for about $35 if you buy all of this stuff separately and it will be superior to most $300 kits! Most hardcore preppers and medical students will throw a conniption fit over cutting corners for medical supplies, but having the basics is far better than nothing at all!

• Bottled water lasts forever and large water containers can be filled from river or rainwater. Refer to this official CDC guide for using bleach to treat contaminated water. A standard bottle of bleach will treat up to 4,500 gallons of water or 12 years supply for one person. Add food coloring to treated water so there's never any confusion. LifeStraw Family cost $69 and will purify 4,755 gallons / three years of water needs for a family of five - see this demonstration video. Adults need about a gallon of water per day. These are also possible sources of emergency water.

• Do you have long-life rations? You don't need fancy stuff - just food with long expiry dates that you'll use anyway. These non-perishable foods will last forever if stored correctly... just make sure you have a non-powered can opener! Dehydrated beans and rice make a perfect meal that can be prepared only with water and without heat.

• Do you have plenty of extra blankets to keep warm on cold nights if the power is out? Don't forget about your old camping sleeping bags which are great when it's cold!

• Are you stocked-up on meds that your family depend on, such as diabetic medication or heart pills? If not, get extra - you'll use it so the peace of mind won't cost you a cent. If anyone frowns at you, tell your doctor you lost the last script and tell your chemist you're stocking up for a 3 month vacation in India. Pet stores sell fish and bird antibiotics with precisely the same ingredients as human antibiotics.

• Do you have candles, matches, stove-lighters and a couple of $5 LED hand-crank torches? Tealight candles can provide eight hours of light and costs about 20 cents each. Your family's morale will be boosted if they aren't forced to sit in total darkness. Put tealights in a glass for safety. Solar powered Christmas lights are cheap and effective too - leave 'em outside to charge and bring them in at night. Removing the stems from solar garden lights and keeping them near windows to charge during the day is effective too.

• Do you have a full BBQ gas tank and a cooker to fit it? You can connect a small camping stove to a large 20 Lb propane tank using an adapter cable that'll provide 70 hours of cooking at maximum heat. This video explains how.

• Hand-crank or solar USB rechargers for your iPhone or hand-crank or solar radio will allow you to listen to emergency broadcasts if the power is out. Ear-buds will extend the length of the battery charge but not all emergency radios have headphone jacks. WARNING: "cheap" USB chargers likely won't work with the newer smartphones because despite providing 5 volt, newer smartphones require a full ampere of charge which the cheaper USB rechargers don't provide.

• Children need structure. Cheap iPhone speakers and a USB recharger can provide your family with thousands of hours of entertainment. Fill your iPod with award-wining audio-books, short-stories and podcasts your family will enjoy. My sons love science fiction and creepy stories, so I downloaded 10,000 hours of Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM shows, Doctor Who audio-books and classics short stories. Your kids will LOVE an hour of candlelit classic storytelling before bedtime! Board games are also awesome if there's enough light.

• Isolationism isn't ideal because your community will wonder what resources you are hiding. Conceal what you have but remain informed by being socially active. Wait in line for humanitarian supplies as if you are starving and have nothing (worth stealing).

• Finally, don't allow apocalyptic scenarios to dissuade you from sensible prepping. Water and power failure is far more likely than civil war which is more likely than nuclear holocaust. Start small by preparing for two weeks without food, water and power and expand when you're ready. Also remember to buy plenty of extra toilet paper, toothbrushes and feminine hygiene products!

These are just some of the bare basics that will dramatically increase your family's ability to survive.

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100 Days Worth of Food for $100: LASTS 25 YEARS!

Here's a fantastic bush-craft video on how to start a fire using a ferrocerium rod.

Here's a fantastic bush-craft video on how to cook a simple stew.

How to make hardtack - the bread that lasts forever.