How was your recent winter experience?

1) You had a bunch of snow.  Maybe your car didn't do so well in the deep stuff.
2) You had some icy roads.  Was your car slipping and sliding everywhere.
3) You didn't have electricity at home due to the storm and rolling blackouts.
4) You didn't have food to eat because you usually eat out and the frozen meals you had in the freezer could not be cooked in a microwave without electricity.

Perhaps this might be a good time to take notes and ponder your situation.

Possible answers:
1) Perhaps buy a vehicle with more ground clearance to help you drive through the deeper snow.
2) Buy tire chains, or tire cables, so you can be safe while driving on icy roadways.
3) Buy a small generator, a 5 gallon gas can, a 50 foot 12 gauge extension cord, and a 3 way splitter.  Twice a year dump the gas in your car and fill the gas can with new gasoline.  During a storm or power outage you can use the generator to run a light, and a small ceramic heater and a hot plate to heat a can of soup or warm a cup of coffee or tea.  If your generator is large enough and your microwave is small enough you can warm your frozen meals in the microwave.
4) You can eat most canned soups and stews without cooking, just tuck the can into your sweatshirt for about an hour and it will be about 90* or more just from your body heat.  Hint: buy a hand operated can opener.  Things like Pop-Tarts and cereal and crackers and tuna and canned chicken can be eaten without electricity and last a long time in the pantry.

There are other options for each of these problems, and a search can help you find plenty of ideas on the internet.  You can make a few notes of what you need now and gather them over the next few months.  It's possible you may receive some extra cash in the next month or so, maybe some of it can help you gather necessities.  The best time to prepare for a storm or emergency is right after experiencing a storm or emergency.