Post-Disaster Barter and Trade: What You Should Store Now To Spend Later
If, or more likely when, a national collapse occurs in the United States, the dollar will end up having little to no value. While some form of currency will eventually become universally accepted again, you need to plan ahead for how you will obtain goods and services during the interim.
When it comes to storing items for potential trade purposes, there are a few rules I suggest.
1) The items should have inherent value to you. By this, I mean the items should be useful to you whether you end up trading them or not.
2) The items should be relatively inexpensive now. Don’t go out and spend hundreds of dollars on things you are setting aside strictly for later barter.
3) The items should be easy to store and long-lasting. Nothing lasts forever but don’t stock up on consumables that will go bad in just a few months.
4) The items should be small or easy to divide up. Odds are the other person won’ t have the ability to “make change,” so to speak.
When we look at the stuff we could stockpile for possible trading, I first suggest the things we consider vices today. Tobacco will likely have a high value, especially in the days immediately after a collapse. Smokers will be going through withdrawal once their stashes are gone. Buy a couple canisters of loose tobacco, wrap them in foil, and put them in your freezer. They’ll keep for a long time that way. Don’t forget rolling papers. I suggest loose tobacco as it is cheaper to buy in that form. Booze will also have excellent trade value. There is no need to go out and buy the “good stuff” either. A few bottles of the cheap whiskey and vodka will suffice. You might consider picking up some smaller bottles to divide up the alcohol when it comes time to use it for trade.
Coffee and tea will serve you well when dealing with caffeine addicts. You might consider picking up a couple bottles of caffeine pills as well, for the same reason.
Next, look at the things that might not be absolutely necessary for survival but would serve to make folks feel human again. Soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lip balm, that sort of thing. Sunscreen and bug repellent fall into this category as well.
From there, you can add in odds and ends like vitamins, needles and thread, aspirin, and pool shock for water purification.
The basic idea is to stockpile things you might use yourself anyway, but to have extras available to trade for goods or services you might need.
Jim Cobb is a disaster readiness expert. He has studied survivalism and emergency preparedness for almost thirty years. In addition to this study, Jim has acquired extensive practical knowledge by living what he teaches. He is the owner of www.survivalweekly.com. In addition to writing on these topics, Jim is also available for speaking engagements. He was recently a featured speaker at the 2011 Survival & Preparedness Conference in Dallas, Texas. His common sense and down to earth approach to “prepping” have garnered him a substantial following. Jim is a columnist for Survivalist Magazine, writing “The Frugal Prepper.” He is also a regular guest on the Prepper Broadcast Radio Network.
By James A Cobb