What you're suggesting wouldn't be hard and it would make a big difference locally when shtf. I know because that's the way we live where I am

I have been homeless for 5 years,I had a job till about a year ago.

Been riding a bicycle for all that time,saved mucho dinero.

I learned to live cheaply by paying as little rent as possible in exchange for odd jobs and so on,it seems to have worked,I went out and bought an RV and only pay a portion of the electric bill at the property where I keep it,the RV is old and cost only $1000........Needs a bit of work but it has all fully functioning systems.

My next acquisition will be a sailboat.
The worse the economy gets,the less these things cost,especially the bigger 30 footers,people are dumping them for free to save on paying rent at the marinas....COOL!.

So...... when TSHTF,I can just sail away,eat clams and fish,and swim a lot.

Oh Yeah,I lost my arse about 7 years ago,and houses scare me as much as going to prison,and a mortgage amounts to just that....DEBTORS PRISON that is,and that is exactly what a house is,ISN'T IT ?.

The barter,and buying locally,I have been doing this entire time anyway,and it is the only way to fly.

You don't have to be rich to get by,don't fall for the lie,it is someone elses game.

Stop buying what they are selling,and they go out of business.

The ideas about buying local are great. I also practice them when I can. I think in this time of economic turmoil, we can save our local small businessmen, and have a direct positive effort on their livelyhood.

On a national level, I feel we have crossed the point of no return. We have gone so far that right now, before things can get better, they have to fail, as our leaders are trying to make them do. Why else would they adopt such ruinous policies? I fear that we may not even get a chance to vote out these carpetbaggers, as I consider the possibility that we may not have elections in the future as we know them now.

The "change we can believe in" has turned into unbelieveable changes,and into a nightmare scenerio. The frightning thing is, that Obama knew he was going to do these agendas all the time. His agenda was planned by the ones pulling his strings , long ago. Washington has it's citizens by the kahunes, and the only chance we have to change it peacefully , is by the ballot box. Not changing a few of them, all of them. The cockroaches that have infested Washington need to be all removed. I know this will not realistically happen. But if a few key reps were removed, ones that were deemed untouchable, the rest might get the message. after all, the ballot box is the only real power Americans have over their reps.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

Most importantly the number one way to break away from the matrix and deliver a punch to the system is to stop using credit and debit cards. On average 3 to 6 percent of what you spend goes to the conglomerate banks. Insist on paying cash for your goods, and that percentage will remain to your local merchant. A merchant can actualy stay more competitive and possibly lower their prices. It's a win win for all except bank of america and friends.

Actually, according to the IRS website "bartering exchanges" are reportable income, however,
The term (bartering exchanges) does not include arrangements that provide solely for the informal exchange of similar services on a noncommercial basis.


Source:
www.irs.gov...=113437,00.html


Fair enough. However, if you're bartering goods that would normally be bought or bartering services that you would normally sell then they are taxable.
People should know exactly what they are getting into. Giving advice that others may end up suffering for should be done with responsibility.

careful for what you wish for...if another revolution happens in this country, the wealthy elites will simply fly off to their tucked away isolated homes located in international locales, and sit it out while the chaos rages in this country, the commoners by the millions will die, and at some point the wealthy elites will come back and start all over again. it's been happening for thousands of years...the wealthy have been schooled in this for generations, they have it down and they are good at it. remember, when you are a commoner, you work your whole life on making more money....while the wealthy work their whole life on how to keep it.

Many technological advances, like this computer here today, would not exist if we did not break through the small community barrier. The fact is that in many instances big companies are a huge benefit and a big step forward.

Many small communities, and even many large ones could not afford to research and produce the cutting edge technology that exists today. Entire states by themselves probably couldn't afford to research more than 1 or 2 technologies at a time at best. Small businesses couldn't dream of taking on such a task.

The fact is, big technology takes big budgets. Figuring out how to leave our solar system, or extend the life span of humans, or any number of high level application will never be accomplished without the budgets that only a large corporation could produce.

When it comes to food, you have a point, but when it comes to technology you couldn't be further off base.

Buy processors from big companies like Intel or AMD, buy MoBo's from ASUS and BioStar, buy TV's from samsung or sony. These companies are the ones putting out big bucks for research into applications that may down the line produce technology that benefits our lifestyle needs greatly.

Big businesses are essential if we ever want to get off this rock or make any great strides forward as a civilization and species.

Originally posted by chiponbothshoulders
I have been homeless for 5 years,I had a job till about a year ago.

Been riding a bicycle for all that time,saved mucho dinero.

I learned to live cheaply by paying as little rent as possible in exchange for odd jobs and so on,it seems to have worked,I went out and bought an RV and only pay a portion of the electric bill at the property where I keep it,the RV is old and cost only $1000........Needs a bit of work but it has all fully functioning systems.

My next acquisition will be a sailboat.
The worse the economy gets,the less these things cost,especially the bigger 30 footers,people are dumping them for free to save on paying rent at the marinas....COOL!.

So...... when TSHTF,I can just sail away,eat clams and fish,and swim a lot.

Oh Yeah,I lost my arse about 7 years ago,and houses scare me as much as going to prison,and a mortgage amounts to just that....DEBTORS PRISON that is,and that is exactly what a house is,ISN'T IT ?.

The barter,and buying locally,I have been doing this entire time anyway,and it is the only way to fly.

You don't have to be rich to get by,don't fall for the lie,it is someone elses game.

Stop buying what they are selling,and they go out of business.

Sounds like you're way ahead of your time and you'll make it just fine.
We've been looking at RVs also. We travel alot with many hounds and an RV would make this much easier not to mention saving on hotels.

Great thread, Sancho!
Myself, I have been buying from the Farmer's Markets for quite a while, but much more lately.
I like the hassle-freeness of it all. I just go and tell the dude I want three green tomatoes (fried green tomatoes, people! I'm tellin' ya') give him a couple of bills and there you have it.
Plus, the quality of product is unmatched.

One other thing I would throw in for anyone who lives near the forest. Learn to forage.

Personally I pick blackberries and passionfruit whenever I run across them.

Snacks, for free. Don't have to spend a dime on cheezits.
Mushrooms to be found (morrels go for an astounding 50dollars per pound at market and if you know where to look you can find lots at a time).
The list is endless, really.

If people were to actively take a more serious approach in these ways, we would drain the fascism right out of this current mess.

What is interesting to note, is that in Melbourne, it's actually CHEAPER to buy from your local produce markets than from the massive chain stores.
Not-yet-ripe GREEN bananas from Coles supermarkets: $3.95 a kilo.
'Over-ripened' (read. READY TO EAT RIGHT NOW, not buy now and eat next week), aka. 'ripened in the sun on the way here from the farm in the last 24 hours' from my local greek fruit market: $1 for two kilos.

Yes, those are the prices, I kid you not.

Here's another example:

Standard loaf of country-style (ie. not a block loaf, a loaf with a rounded top and a good crust) white bread (white is cheaper) at Coles: $3.50.
Whole-grain bread that's a day older, made and sold in a bakery in Oakleigh (the greek area of melbourne): $1.50.

Want more?

Chicken breast fillets in 4-packs ("buy in bulk and save"), wrapped in plastic and comes with a tray, from Coles: $15 per kilo (one breast fillet usually about 300-400G iirc)
Chicken breast fillets, can be bought individually or in a 2kg lot for ~10% off, from the local halal butcher: $6 per kilo, and if you supply butcher's paper/bags and newspaper for them to wrap it in, they give you a smile and friendly service! ^_^

Here's some more!

'Fresh' salmon fillets from Coles, unsmoked, colour strangely reminiscent of Red#2: $35 per kilo.
One whole salmon from a fish market in Springvale: $20 (for about three kilos, including bone, scales, etc)

Even more!

250g bag of long white rice from Coles: ~$4 (=$16/kilo)
Fair-trade organic wholegrain (not yet de-husked) brown rice from the hippy restaurant/shop in Monash University Clayton: $6-7 per kilo, and you can buy as little or as much as you want/carry.


Oh, but don't the chain stores have buying power and can provide 'red dot dollar specials' and 'fresh food people' to the public at cheaper rates? HAHAHHAH, NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Here's my favourite one:

24-pack (slab) of cheap crap 'Victoria Bitter' beer in bottles, with plastic and cardboard packaging: $40
Homebrew that's different every time you make it: 50c per bottle to make, or you can usually buy from a homebrewer for about $1 a bottle if you return the bottles.


In Australia, you only buy from the chain stores if you're too busy/lazy to look for a local store that sells the same produce cheaper. Many people here make the excuse "oh but it's more convenient to just drive two minutes to the Coles supermarket"... or you could just WALK there and save the petrol... if you're going to drive to the supermarket, why not drive an extra five minutes to go to the local produce markets instead? I really do hate this urban sprawl we have to put up with... I'm praying for the day when we see the death of the city paradigm, and the return of the local small-town ideals.

Buy processors from big companies like Intel or AMD, buy MoBo's from ASUS and BioStar, buy TV's from samsung or sony. These companies are the ones putting out big bucks for research into applications that may down the line produce technology that benefits our lifestyle needs greatly.

I emphasise the "may" part, in the above post, because buying products from these companies is a gamble as to whether or not they MAY produce technology that 'improves' our lives. Those of us addicted to technology and it's useless consumerism that tags along, probably don't realise that our grandparents lived without all this useless crap we think we 'need'.
Computers that have streamlined accounting, manufacturing, etc, have done nothing but create further unemployment.
Oh, but people like to claim that if there are less jobs in manual labour because of technology, that we should all go back to school to get jobs that work with technology? Great, so who's going to pay for those extra three or four years in University? Certainly not our parents, who seem to be of the mentality that their baby-boomer generation had it tough.

[edit on 26/8/2009 by nrky]