How many days could your family hold out, and how do you add more?
If the power went out tonight and stayed out, how long could your family manage on what’s already in your house? 5 days? 2 weeks? If a real number won’t come, that’s the gap this class was built for, and it’s a common one to have.
You can have a full pantry and a generator in the garage and still not know what they add up to.
So we’ll do 2 things together. First we’ll work out your honest number, grading water, food, heat, and power one at a time, because they hold each other up and a family in good shape on 3 of them can still be in real trouble because of the 4th. Then we’ll go to work on moving that number up, starting with the system that would fail you soonest.
You’ll leave with a number and a short list of what moves it.
The week we found out where we were thin
We’ve had a taste of this ourselves. We went 7 full days without main power a while back when we were upgrading our solar equipment, running a generator a couple hours a day. The chest freezer out in the shop held everything perfectly. The upright freezer inside the house thawed out much faster than we expected, and we spent that week shuffling food between the two just to keep it from spoiling.
That’s the thing about going without. You don’t find out where your setup is thin until you’re standing in it, and it’s almost never the part you were worried about. That week is a big part of why this class exists.
Here’s what you’ll walk out with
This is a working class, so bring something to write with. You’ll be grading your own place as we go, and by the end you’ll have your own scorecard filled in, in your own handwriting.
Can’t make it live? Register anyway and we’ll send you the replay.
Your honest starting scorecard
How many days your family could hold out right now, worked out with you during the class using what’s already in your house.
A grade on each of the 4 systems
Water, food, heat, and power, scored one at a time so you can see them separately instead of as one big worry.
The gap that would hurt first
Which of the 4 would fail your family soonest, since that’s the one to spend money on before anything else.
Where the money usually gets wasted
The purchases that feel productive and don’t move your number, so you can skip that part.
This works whether you’re in town, in the suburbs, or on acreage, and whether you’re starting from zero or tightening up a plan you’ve already got going.
This Class Is For You If...
- You’ve wondered how long you’d really last without power, and never sat down and worked it out
- You’ve bought some things over the years and aren’t sure whether they add up to a plan
- You’ve got water covered but suspect heat is your weak spot, or the other way around
- You’re on a fixed income and need to know where the next dollar does the most good
- You’re tired of conflicting information online
- You’d rather have a plan you can act on than one more thing to worry about
What to Have Ready
We’re going to work through actual numbers together, so come prepared with:
- A pen and paper (or a notebook)
- A rough idea of what’s in your pantry, no need to inventory it, just be able to picture the shelves
- How you’d get water and heat if the power were off for a week
- Your questions about any of the 4 systems
Your Hosts
Nick and Lisa Meissner live off-grid in the mountains of north Idaho with their family. They’ve spent 27 years building real systems for water, power, heat, and food.
They run The Ready Life: a YouTube channel, weekly newsletter, and online community for families who want to get squared away and self-reliant.
They’ve made the expensive mistakes so you don’t have to.
You'll leave with your scorecard filled in
Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 5PM Pacific / 6PM Mountain / 7PM Central / 8PM Eastern
It’s free, and the replay goes to everyone who registers.
Hosted by Nick & Lisa Meissner | TheReadyLife.com