I wrote bits of this in another post, but I think it needs to be common knowledge if things get turbulent.
I popped a couple grand out of the bank the other day and scrapped my old debit card for a new one, to get me out of any subscription that still have the info logged in.
I don't think the money is gonna matter though. If the banks all go down, then the value of the dollar won't mean anything anyway. Cash will be as valuable as your ability to sucker someone into believing it still has value.
Gold and silver, unless you have it in your possession, is also as useless as money in the bank.
Even if you do have gold and silver on hand, don't expect to barter with it. People have no clue what it is actually worth anymore.
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Instead, buy food and stuff that makes stuff. Don't buy more than 2 weeks of food, though. A minor shortage will turn into a major shortage in the panic, which we learned from the Toilet Paper Shortage before the China Virus started up.
When I say "stuff that makes stuff" I mean buy firewood (or better yet, source your own) and hand tools that don't need electricity. If the power goes out, and people need to build stuff, all the electric hand drills in the world won't be worth anything but their weight in copper coils. Instead, buy braces, old wrenches at thrift stores (can be gotten for pennies), nails, screws, bolts, ANYTHING elastic, yarn, cordage(paracord/rope), matches and candles(to melt the ends of paracord), saws, tarps, knives, hatchets; you get the deal.
Barter is the oldest and honest form of commerce -- and one they can't tax or monitor!
Buy some craft books. Put your "manliness" or "girliness" aside and get things like cookbooks, knitting/crochet/sewing books, wood working books, mechanic books, and the like. If the internet goes down, you'll be glad you can still crochet a blanket or pair of socks. It's really not as hard as it seems.
Next, the holy grail of crafts... PVC Piping.
PVC pipe in all sizes is more valuable than gold in an extended blackout. It can be used to make tents, collect water, or heated up and shaped to form armor plates. You can duct tape a kitchen knife to the end to make a spear, or even lash it with some cordage and make a bow. The interlocking cylinder's are the most versatile crafting base for any project to date. Expect a single Tee adapter to be worth a sack of flour on its own.
Don't glue unless you're working with water. You can always tear down what you make and use it for something else. Don't cut pipe unless you have to. Measure twice, cut once. Learn to make wood dowels to connect two small pipes together, in case you screw up.
Once you realize you don't have to buy something-ready made and that everything is only a sum of its parts (that you can scrap and reuse) you really get a rush of independence that only a Creator knows.
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In summary...
Use these things to make things. Then trade the things you make. Make boxes, bags, knives(from old wrenches) and anything else needed for a more "rustic" lifestyle. You and others in your community will be glad you had the foresight.
So many goobers get all these mail-order "bugout bags" and prepper supplies, but they neglect getting the things that actually matter -- tools.
Make yourself so invaluable to your community, with your knowledge and intuition, that you'd be the last person they'd eat. It's a silly conclusion, but absolutely true in its merits.
Edit:
Feel free to add your own advice in the comments. Knots are something else to keep in mind.
If it gets bad these things (yarn, craft skills?!) should be WAY lower priority. You will die without clean water. You will die without food. Someone will kill you for your water/food if you don't have some kind of home or community defense.
Start a FIFO pantry, after about two weeks a can of Campbell's Chunky soup with be worth more than all the PVC pipe you can imagine. I think we agree on precious metals, they won't be worth as much as people think if there's no food in the grocery store.
If you have the other stuff covered and want to start a stash I would start with alcohol, cigarettes/lighters, coffee, Coke/Pepsi/Mountain Dew (soda will barter way better than crocheted socks). I agree on hand tools, that's a good one. Bicycles and spare parts will probably be in high demand. Good shoes, there's going to be a lot more walking all of the sudden.
Pray that it doesn't get this bad.
precious metals are a contingency plan for carrying wealth THROUGH a shtf situation, so you have something on the other side, if you survive.
Exactly this. I don't intend to barter with silver, but I'm smart enough to know that whatever system comes up next will likely be another fiat type system and if it's backed by gold, ca-mother fuckin-ching!
and if it isn’t, well gold will still be valued as long as there are humans to value it
Silver and gold are electrical conductors. They will always have value.
Consider this:
How will you carry all the crap you need to survive?
Bags.
They will get beat up and need to be replaced. There aren't enough in the current market as is. Plastic garbage bags and grocery bags will be gone in a month (hopefully we won't have to wait that long for things to settle down).
Re-gear your mind to understand that the most important commodity that absolutely everyone will need are containers -- things to put your things in.
I'm with you on the bottled goods, but only because they are far more important as containers than as a food stuff.
Food and water is always number 1 in a survival situation, but, if you don't have the tools to source and store your own food and water, after your supplies dry up you've got nothing and can offer nothing for trade.
"Bags."
Ok, why would I be carrying anything? I'm not leaving my home, where else am I going to go? It isn't going to be The Road or something where we're all trecking across the post-apocalyptic wastelands dodging the roaming cannibals.
Containers will be nice to have, but not "the most important commodity" by a long shot.
Trade is the focus.
You need bags to bring things you want to trade to market.
Other people need bags to bring things to market and take things home.
Everyone will need a bag, so knowing how to make them means you can trade with anyone, because after food and water it is the most common possession.
Unless you farm your own food, you will run out eventually.
There will always be something you want that someone else has and unless you have something to give them for it you're gonna be left without.
And chocolate
Yes! Recommended with any food storage. Tradable and good for morale. Food storage kits from places like My Patriot Supply include chocolate pudding.
😍 Carl & chocolate pudding, The Walking Dead. https://youtu.be/u8mkJLfV7j4
I'm a lifelong prepper, gun & gear guy. I've recently gotten big into PM's but don't understand people who think PM's will be of any use as a bartering / currency.
If our world truly collapses to the point where we aren't using a fiat currency, that IMO is a pretty serious and complete collapse of the economy and society, which means only hard goods; food, water, med supplies, guns, ammo; only that stuff will have any value.
PM's will regain value as we rebuild, but it will take them a long while to come back, IMHO.....
This is NOT to say that fiat is great; that we should not have a gold standard; just stating the fact that if things get that bad, we will have FAR bigger problems on our hands than using fractional gold & silver as "money" again......
Agree. Just look at how the super wealthy try to protect their wealth: they buy real estate, invest in the stock market, etc. Sometime a little PMs, sure. But that's all stuff that assumes society will be intact.
I heard Rick Rule (big silver guy) say in an interview that if we get to TEOTWAWKI, shotgun shells and those little airplane bottles of whiskey will be great currencies. I think he's got a point.
Rick Rule is definitely one that people should listen to.
Absolutely. It's very wise to store alcohol, tobacco, candy; things like that will be the new gold & silver if things get THAT bad.
Again; eventually gold & silver will regain their proper value, but if we have a big enough collapse...... can't eat it, can't shoot it, can't pack a wound with gold & silver....
Also; I'd never barter / trade / sell guns & ammo in a SHTF situation; you could end up arming your enemy....
Mountain Dew, you say?
Relevant clip from King of the Hill:
https://youtu.be/dtzyUdYljDc