STOCKWISEPrepared for less.

Apps and services

Two of Stockwise's own to play with, then four things worth setting up before you need them: an afternoon's work, most of it free. A [partner] slot is a programme Stockwise may join; until it does, every link is plain and Stockwise earns nothing from it.

Made here

Two of Stockwise's own

Both are a bit of fun with the sums shown: every figure on the page is stated, the official ones cited, the rest yours to change. Nothing you enter leaves your browser; the design lives in the link, so you can share it.

2 of Stockwise's own · free · nothing stored

  • The bunker builderSize a store room, shelve it, stock it and read how long the household lasts, drawn in 3D as you go.
  • The loo roll questionHow long the cupboard lasts, with a pyramid of rolls drawn to scale beside a person.

Find your way

Maps that work with no signal

Mobile data is often the first thing to go in a storm or a power cut. A map that lives on the phone still works. Download your own region, and the one you would drive to, while the Wi-Fi is up.

2 to set up · 2 free

  • Organic MapsFree, open-source offline maps from OpenStreetMap. Download your region before you need it.
  • OsmAndOffline maps and navigation; the free version covers a few regions.

Papers and passwords

Copies somewhere a flood cannot reach

GOV.UK Be Ready says keep copies of important documents in a grab bag. The digital half is scans of passports, insurance and prescriptions in encrypted storage, and a password manager with emergency access, so that when the cards and apps come back you can get into everything.

4 to set up · 2 free

  • Proton Drive [partner]End-to-end encrypted cloud storage with a free tier.
  • CryptomatorOpen-source encryption for files in any cloud you already use.
  • BitwardenOpen-source password manager with a free tier and an emergency access feature.
  • 1Password [partner]Password manager with shared family vaults.

Running AI at home is the same question as a power cut: what keeps working when the connection does not.

Kit finds the machines and parts to run AI at home, UK and EU, and scores each against its typical price, the way Stockwise scores a torch. A power station that keeps a phone going for three days runs a small home server through an outage too.

Kit: kit.littlejamjar.com

KitRun AI at home for less.

GraphicsMacMini PCsMemoryNVMeKit list

First aid

A kit is only as useful as the person holding it

The first aid kits on Stockwise hold plasters, dressings and gloves. What to do with them is the other half: an app that works offline, a course, and the NHS pages.

3 to set up · 1 free

Know before it happens

Warnings to your phone, free

The Met Office warns of storms days ahead, the Environment Agency of floods, and the Priority Services Register puts eligible households first when the power or water goes. All three take minutes to set up.

3 to set up · 2 free

A van is a home with its own power, water and heat: most of a preparedness kit, on wheels.

Turfrig reads the UK and European van market, scores every van for living in, prices the parts to build it and keeps its MOT story in one book. The same calm reading of the market, pointed at life on the road.

Turfrig: turfrig.com

TurfrigFind it. Build it. Live in it.

MarketEuropeRigbookRig builderOverland

Features and prices change; check the maker's own page. Stockwise gives information, not advice.