Cash is Out, Bartering is King

Tess Pennington
Activist Post

It’s yard sale season now! It’s a great place and time to practice bartering skills and pick up cheap but valuable items. Part of my preps are acquiring items the majority of folks take for granted but will have huge value in an economic collapse situation. Fire, water, smokes, salt, spices, sanitation/hygiene items, etc. are just a few things that will buy me things I need and can’t produce myself in a SHTF event. Don’t think it can happen here. Look at Greece. Spain is soon to follow.

Reality tells us that we may soon be coming to a point in which cash is no longer king. The economy has been drying up for years. Over one million Americans filed their initial unemployment claim over the last month. The dollars we bring home are buying less on every trip to the grocery store.

Few of us are completely self-sufficient. There are always going to be a few things that we cannot make for ourselves. If your personal preps are in order, consider investing your prep dollars in a new way: purchase barter items!

A lot of things that are inexpensive now will be invaluable later. As the economy collapses even further, people will be focused on survival and the barter system will reignite. Barter items will be far better than cash – you can’t eat a dollar!

What kind of items will be worth their weight in gold? Check out this list for a few suggestions:

Matches and lighters
Seeds
Canning jars, lids and rings
First aid items
Tools
Water Filtration Supplies
Sewing supplies
Vitamins
Salt
Feminine Hygiene Supplies
Vitamins
Fishing Supplies
Fuel (gasoline, propane, kerosene, etc)
Sweeteners such as honey, sugar and syrup
Coffee/Tea
Carbonated beverages
Liquor
Cigarettes/tobacco
Small packages of food (baggies of beans/rice, etc)
Livestock
Cooking oil
Firewood
Farm supplies (pesticides, fertilizer, etc.)
Weapons, Ammo *
Batteries
Warm clothing
Hats/Gloves (think about those little dollar store stretchy items)
Soap/shampoo
Hand sanitizer
Dental care items (toothbrushes/toothpaste/floss)

*Caution: Exercise great discretion when bartering with weapons and ammunition. It is entirely possible that those items could be used against you to take your supplies. These are items to be bartered only with someone you trust implicitly or as an absolute last resort.

Barter items can be purchased at the dollar store, the flea market or at liquidation houses. Don’t forget yard sales – even though you already possess a meat grinder, someone who has ammo that you need might not have one. Items that you can acquire and store inexpensively may one day be more valuable than gold.

Don’t forget about the items that you can produce yourself. This goes hand-in-hand with the barter of skills. Stock up on the supplies you need to create the following items for a long-term flow of “income”.

Fresh produce
Ammunition (see *caution above)
Home canned items
Preserved meats (jerky, ham, etc)
Warm knitted or crocheted items (mittens, hats, scarves)
Yarn spun from animal fibers
Homemade candy
Homemade soap
Homemade candles
Wooden or clay bowls and plates
Herbal remedies

Use this list to get your creative juices flowing. What items do you possess the ability to make?

Which of these items will be particularly useful if the grid goes down or if the economy crumbles?

What items are you stocking up on for life in a potential barter-based economy? Please share your ideas below!

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Contributed by Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition. Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Cookbook: 300 Recipes to Turn Your Emergency Food into Nutritious, Delicious, Life-Saving Meals. When a catastrophic collapse cripples society, grocery store shelves will empty within days. But if you follow this book’s plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply, your family will have plenty to eat for weeks, months or even years.