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posted ago by sleepydude ago by sleepydude +438 / -0

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.

...

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.