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.
I agree with some of what you say but telling people to only buy 2 weeks of food is irresponsible at best. First of all, by this time you should already have several months if not years of food stocked up. Secondly, to prevent a major shortage, you should be purchasing a little bit at a time not go out making $1000 food runs. But this requires time and sadly we're running out of it very quickly for those not already prepared.
Owning your own land where you can grow your own food and have your own livestock is even better though. My grandparents lived through the Great Depression and barely even noticed because they were already eating their own crops/livestock and selling the rest.
The main use of holding gold/silver is not to use as barter but rather to preserve some of your wealth as a devolving society transitions from it's failed currency to the next one.
Toiletries/medicines are gonna be worth just as much as hand tools. In a collapsed society situation, many people will die from infection and lack of hygiene. Make sure you have plenty of soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, hand soap, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics, band-aids, gauze, wet wipes, bleach, etc.
Also have extra socks, underwear, undershirts, shorts, t-shirts, boots, shoes, to replace items as they wear out from the hard labor you will inevitably be doing.
Don't forget water filtration devices. Alexapure/Berkey/Propur gravity fed water filters with plenty of spare filters. These filter down to viruses. Containers to store your water too.
I agree. When I say 2 weeks, I mean 2 weeks of food RIGHT NOW. People panic buying will only bend the market to its breaking point.
If you already stored up to a year or more of food, you did the right thing and I have no qualms about it. More is better.
But everyone going out right now to buy years worth of food will only lead to ruin.
It could only take 2 weeks. If we knew that, people would buy 2 weeks worth and after those weeks are up, the supply would go back to normal.
If everyone bought 2 years though? It would take much longer for things to go back to normal. Additionally, people may live off those supplies for so long, that the market will underproduce when it does come back online.
I don't expect things to take more than a month. If it does go on longer, it means we're being invaded by foreign actors. Besides, if all the vaxx people die off in the next year, we can just take their food.
I see where you're coming from now fren and I agree with your perspective. I just want for those in this community to be most prepared since it's gonna be us that have to clean up the mess left. Where I do disagree with you is on the time this is gonna take to be all over with. I'm of the belief that this is going to take at least a year to get all resolved before we can begin to have something that somewhat resembles "back to normal."
Anything you can learn to make yourself will be a blessing to you and your family. Learn to make soap, or cheese, or wine, or beer, or jams, or furniture, or anything where there maybe a need and it’s something you would like to learn!
I've tossed the idea around to make a few of the items you listed but sadly never got around to making them. I guess it's never too late to start.