it has been a while since my last instructable, mainly because of winter weather and school preventing me from doing much in my garage workshop. But today I'll walk you through my edc, and how I have made some stuff or purchased it on the cheap without sacrificing quality.
Basicly i try to keep all things I carry at minimal price and size.

Step 1: Suit Yourself

EDC (every day carry) is not about trying to get a do it all survival card, window breaking pen, or fire starting keychain. Although. these things are helpful, not every person needs them. I will walk you through what I carry, why I carry it, and hopefully help you decide if it is an item you may need to carry as well.

Step 2: Duct Tape? Really?

What I have found, is that I never know when I need a peice of tape to patch this, hold that, or seal that. but walking around with a roll of duct tape would be a little awkward..... so I came up with a soulution. In the picture above, I tied a diamond knot, in a length of cord, and wrapped duct tape around it like shown, and slid it into my key ring.
Do I need this?
Q: Have you ever been asked more than twice if you had some tape?
Q: Have you ever thought "of only I had some tape to fix/cover/seal/hold this"?
Q: Do you like MacGyver?
If you awnsered yes to two or more of these then you may want to try this.

Step 3: Paracord? Rope Version of Duct Tape.

paracord is in almost every survival kit. is is a very veritile type of cord. I don't list it's uses, but if you feel like the apocalypse is near, live close to the wilderness, or love hiking/ camping, then this is the right year for you.
Want to make you own? Check out the paracord guild website, he has free tutorials on anything paracord. he will help you make a bracelet unique for you.

Step 4: Light Up Your Night.

Here is where I bought a flashlight for my keychain, I don't know the brand but hopefully you can find one just like it, it is very bright (hurts eyes a lot if shined at face) and is about the size of my thumb.
Do I need this?
Q: Do you have a night job, or work in the dark?
Q: Are you up late into the night often?
Q: Do you often have to search in your car or bag in the dark?
Q: Do you have trouble seeing in low light?
If you awnsered yes to any of these questions, then this would be somthing to look into.
Note: of you need a brighter light, but have a budget, and still want it EDC-able, then I recommend you get the fenix E-25 AA flashlight. I have the old version(rated at 260 lumens, but the new one exedes 300) but both versions run on AA batteries.

Step 5: A Small Caribiner.

These have little uses but take of so little space. I recommend one of these to any one that have trouble losing their keys, or has trouble with them slipping out of pockets. simply hook it onto you keys, then use it to hook them to a belt loop. Problem solved.

Step 6: Multi Tool

gerber may not be the best knife or multitool maker out there, but the gerber crucial has held up well. all the tools lock, so you don't hurt yourself (yes the blade locks too) and is built solidly .
Do I need this?
if you ever needed a screw driver, a bolltle opener, a box cutter, or pliers when you are away from home, then this tool is the tool for you.

Step 7: Pen/ Paper

Sure, most phones have notepads on them, but sometimes the old stuff is the best. when the phone dies and you need to write the girls number down, a good pen and some paper won't fail you when you need it. I have been EDCing a Zebra f-301 pen now for a while and it has held up to drops and mild abuse. But rumer has it that you can modify a Zebra f-701 using a Zebra f-402 and a Fisher space pen refill to get a full steel construction pen that can write in space, upside down, or in water for around $13, so keep an eye out for that.

Step 8: My Budget Knife

for a while now I have been EDCing the buck vantage large knife, which I bought for about $33. It is made with high carbon steel, has a liner lock mechanism and is easily sharpened to a hair poping edge. I have nothing to do with this knife company, but I thought it would be worth mentioning how much I like it.
Do you need a knife?
Q: Do you ever need to cut packaging?
Q: Do people often ask you if you have a knife?
Q: Have you ever been camping, hunting, hiking?
Q: you you not own a pencil sharpener?
If you said yes to any of these, a good knife (not one of cost less than $25) will serve you like a knight guarding a castle, always ready.

Step 9: Other Stuff....

Anytime you see a cool EDC tool, what you need to think about is, "do I really need that?" because even if you carry the best most useful tools in the world in your pocket, it doesn't mean a thing if you won't ever need it.
I really hope you learned somthing new from my instructable today, or at least enjoyed it.
One last tip before you go, carrying $20 of extra emergency cash on you is a good idea, it could save a life.
Thanks for reading!