I wanted to recap a few things we've gone over so far.

Inexpensive Emergency Supplies

Water: I think everyone understand this part. You want at least 1 gallon of water per person- per day.
Buying gallon (or larger) jugs of water at a local store is the easiest way to get started with the water storage. Once you get past storing 20 gallons, you'll probably want to look into either 5 gallon bottles or food grade white buckets for easier storage.

Food- start simple; Canned ravioli or pasta is cheap and easy. A few companies offer premade meals that don't require refrigeration. They have standard TV diner fare like roast beef and mashed potatoes. It tastes slightly better than the canned stuff, but it's still only slightly above jail food in taste.
I also think canned fruit is a great thing to have- it gives you something semi-healthy to eat, plus it has a little bit of natural sweetness and it also includes fruit juice for extra fluid intake. Note: buy fruit in natural juices instead of heavy syrup.
Remember that canned food requires a non-electric can opener unless you buy the cans with pull off tops.

If you have a larger budget, you could add energy/protein bars, meal replacement drinks and.or MRE's(Meals Ready To Eat).
These days, just about every grocery store and big box store near me has energy or protein bars in their pharmacy area They're anywhere from $1 to $3 each, so for a family of 4, they can become expensive calories very quickly. Same with the meal replacement shakes- they're convenient, but pricey for a large group. You also want to avoid the 'diet' shakes- you want as many calories in each meal as possible! So the "weight gainer" type shakes or mixes that only need water are good choices.
The MRE's can be found online, at local gunshows and at surplus stores. Prices and inventories fluctuate, so you're going to need to do your own searching on these. You may find you don't like some of the entrees, so it's best to try one, before you buy a case of them. The packages come with lots of extras like condiments, napkins, heaters etc.. and the can be opened up and stripped down to a smaller size if space is critical(like in a backpack). Current prices range from $5 to $8+
 per MRE.
You can also include Clif Bars or other energy/protein bars, preseasoned tuna packets or premade tuna or chicken salad, and kippered fish or sardines if you like those sort of things.

$5 First Aid Kit; I put together a basic first aid kit that anyone can do for just $5.
Alcohol wipes to clean cuts and abrasions

Triple antibiotic ointment for cuts and scrapes

Bandaids you could also use 6-10 Bandaids to tape down the large gauze pads if you had to


Gauze Pads- for larger wounds; use it with direct pressure to stop bleeding and then tape it in place for an emergency bandage

Super Glue- for controlling bleeding and closing large wounds. AKA "liquid stitches" 

What seems like a small wound can turn into a major problem in just 2 or 3 days. Especially if you don't have any access to an ER or doctor. Infections can spread through your body and kill you very easily.

Light When the power goes out, bumping around in a dark house is a good way to get hurt. It's also easily preventable. There is a great selection of inexpensive flashlights to choose from today that blow away what we had 10 years ago. To get strated on a tight budget, I always recommend the $1-$2 LED mini-flashlights that you can see in the picture at the top( and teh picture below). They come in different colors, and slightly different designs, buy basically, they all have 9 LED bulbs, have a machined, metal body run on 3 AAA batteries(included!) and have a push-button switch on the end-cap.The  Family Dollar stores in my area have them and sometimes has a 5 pack for $5.Harbor Freight has them by the bucketful.

This one has a length of paracord wrapped around it for better grip. I carry it daily when I walk the dog at night.

(Ha ha.. actually I don't have it any more. I just went outside and gave it to someone that was walking by with their 3 small kids in the dark.)

It's always better to have more flashlights, than not enough flashlights. Especially when they're only a dollar or two. One for the nightstand next to the bed, one in the kitchen and one in the car is a good start. I also think keychain flashlights are really handy- if nothing else, when the lights go out- you can use your small flashlight to find your bigger flashlights and/or your candles.

Speaking of candles... candles are an absolute necessity for a prolonged power outage. If you can't afford a $25 LED camping lantern- get candles!
flashlights are good for lighting up small areas- but candles can light up entire rooms.

The least expensive are the so called "tea lights". They are small candles that come with a small metal cup for a built in holder. They'll burn for several hours- but they don't give all a lot of light.

You can also buy a 6 pack  of small "emergency candles" for $1 at Dollar Tree stores. These give off more light- but you need to find a holder for them. You could improvise with a glass jar, or a coffee cup or bowl full of salt/rice/sand.

One way to get large size emergency candles cheaply is to make your own. All you need is a tin can with a lid- check thrift stores for empty tins- or you can use a tuna or tomato paste can.  When you go to thrift stores or garage sales - like all good budget minded preppers do- keep an eye out for candles.
New candles and wax are expensive. But wax can be easily remelted and formed into a new shape. 
Wicks can be made from any 100% cotton material. Use strips of clothe cut to size, or even shoe laces. Or you can be all fancy and buy your wicks if you prefer.

I've made a bunch of candles from 1, five pound candle I bought for $1.99 at a thrift store. I used a large kitchen knife - $1 at the same store- to hack the big candle into smaller chunks. Take the chunks and fill the can you want to use about 3/4 full and put the can on the heating element of you coffee maker. The heat will be enough to liquify the wax and it will reform itself to the new container. Carefully remove it from the heat and add the wick and make sure it stays in place as the wax hardens. Hot wax can burn the hell out of you, and small children should never handle hot wax.
Never. 


After the candle cools, you can wrap it in foil and store it away, The foil makes a perfect cap to extinguish the candle, so don't throw it away when you unwrap the candle.


If you want to take your emergency lighting to the next level- it's time to get LED camping lanterns. The Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme lanterns have been wildly popular and well reviewed. They run about $25 each and Rayovac claims a 90 hour run time on low and 40 hours on high- using 3 D batteries- not included.

So this version of the emergency kit is;
$5 on light- 1 or 2 flashlights,extra batteries, tealights, emergency candles and matches/Bic lighter
$5 on food: Ravioli, fruit, Clif bar or Snickers, gallon jug or 6 pack of water
$5 on first aid kit
$5 on supplies- TP, paper towels, hand wipes, sanitizer, and roll of foil or extra food and water.

This stuff is easy to do, and you can break it down into smaller "sub-kits" ie; light, food, supplies and add on to them as your budget allows.

A lot of it has to do with how many people you're doing this for.
Get food and water for everyone- enough for over night of 24 hours first- and then add the supplies later.
$20 can be enough for 1 person to be well stocked
or
$20 can allow 4 people to have minimal preparations.