I have failed to mention that the very first thing I did was pull together an EDC kit. It took very little in the way of time and resources, and the potential it provides far, far outstrips the effort and expense I put into it. I would recommend that be the first step anyone takes on the road to independence. Be prepared, you’ll never regret it!
(Please note that there is a difference between an EDC bag, a car kit bag, and a bug out bag.)

I started with a $15 backpack which I still use as my EDC, and goes everywhere with me. I have some spare cash, a knife, lip balm, a pad of paper, a pen, a sharpie, a cheap flashlight, a lighter superglue, mints, tweazers,..you get the idea. Personalize it for your own needs. Since an EDC goes everywhere and does not stay in the car (that would be a car kit), a couple of weeks ago I decided to add a spare set of keys to each of my vehicles. Guess what happened a couple of weeks ago that made me realize I needed to add them to the EDC…