Once money is worthless, what is the best thing to stock up on for trading?

I would say Whiskey, cigs/tobacco and coffee....great bartering stuff. Oh, and probably throw in antibiotics and TP. I really, really hope it doesn't come down to that though.

Ok,notice I didn't have women on my list of trades,
cause you never know you may live in a gay community!

Whats messed up is I took Automotive Technology in college but have been a general carpenter for 12 years and can build a completely self sustaining Solar/Green home And live a comfortable life with relativly no bills....BUT I slave away just to make ends meet in th Dying Economy of The Silicon Valley and will probably never have the money to do it anywhere because the cost of living is so high here and I didn't make it out before the bubble popped...So I kinda hope for a TSHTF day because I have skills to survive comfortably to where I'd have flowing water food and if my friends survived I'd have a better life with all the amenitities..Sigh so sad it takes potential catastrophe for me to live as a wealthy person

reply to post by EvolEric


Who am I to say that raping or killing someone is wrong for everyone. I am not everyone. I know my own values. Not everyone else's, because everyone has their own. Some people think it's ok to kill other people, or rape someone. You can say "I THINK it is wrong".... but you cannot say "It IS wrong" ... because obviously it isn't, or else people wouldn't do it in the first place, and it is RIGHT for them.

So you see, it's all about perspective.

But this is not a philosophy lesson, it's just a thread about what would be useful once money is useless. So lets not get more off topic here

Originally posted by Screwed
Whiskey and cigarrettes.
Not a joke.
I'll let you figure out why these are more precious thasn gold

Do you want to get shot?

Getting into bartering is stupid. With no law, no order, and spades of desperation, you think most people will subscribe to the honor system.

reply to post by Elieser

I don't know about everyone else here, but I for one will be growing penicillin with the time I have left and drying it out and grinding it down, so I believe this will be one of the most sought after things when people are finding themselves with illness or infection due to the things they will have to do to survive in the after TSHTF. Well that's one of the commodities I hope to corner the market in. I also wish to stock up a vast number of holistic and herbal medicines, My mission is to be a healer, I have known this all my life, but I couldn't in good conscience become one with the kind of system we have right now. And don't worry I will be testing out the penicillin myself first. But, of course there will be some that are allergic, and I do know some alternatives that is garlic and mushrooms and also sulfur pills if you aren't allergic to sulfur. So I will be stocking these things as well. I will probably dehydrate the garlic and mushrooms! Well that is my plan if I live even.

One of the most important thing to stock up on is courage. It will take alot of courage to try to barter in a world with no moral values. You better have an army of friends, family and more courage than the "Wizard of OZ" can grant you. It is possible to barter, but you will need serious nerves to do it successfully.

I have welding skills and I am a great Duct tape repair man.

Do not forget the Duct tape.

basically any drug would be worth its weight in gold. alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, heroin etc, etc, etc. no matter what state the world is in people will always want drugs.

The topic of this thread is Once money is worthless, what is the best thing to stock up on for trading?

Keep in mind the Terms & Conditions Of Use and Civility & Decorum are Expected.

Tampons and Toilet Paper

I'd put firearms and ammunition towards the top of the list. Couple reason:

For one, assuming nothing does happen, and you need cash, firearms nearly ALWAYS increase in value over time, and there is always a good market for them. Not only is stocking up on firearms and ammo preparing for a SHTF scenario, but it's an investment if things don't go downhill.

Second, and I know this makes you a "bad guy" but being armed means you can take pretty much whatever you want. 1 gun and a thousand rounds could get you a years worth of food, water, meds, alcohol, ciggs, drugs, etc. 1 gun is much more compact than all that stuff, too. I would never turn to such things unless the world completely fell apart into a "its either you or me" situation, but if it does you can bet it's going to be me.
For those that can't image a time when you could turn to this, watch "The Road" or read the book. It's THE most realistic depiction, in my opinion, of what would happen in a PAW.

Third, assuming your not an apocalyptic bandit, guns can still get you food. I know you could fabricate a bow and arrow, spears, etc, but they aren't going to be as effective as a firearm. Can't take down a deer at 1,000 feet with a bow. Maybe it's possible, but I doubt anyone here can/could do it.

Just like someone else said, nothing else matters if you don't have water, but someone attacking you could mean the end of your life in seconds, where as a lack of food/water takes days to weeks to end it. And you will probably find more water and food lying around than you will firearms.

Other than that, I'd assume food, water, drugs, and skills would be the most important things to have before TSHTF. And if you do have guns, make sure you know how to use them. Shooting is a skill, hunting is a skill, defending yourself is a skill. Guns are next to useless without them.

Someone mentioned reloading supplies, which I didn't even think about. Great idea! To go further with that point, in addition to lead, molds, and powder, you are going to need new primers and a bullet press. Also, right now you can find loading specs for pretty much any cartridge online, but if TSHTF you won't have that luxury, so it would be a good idea to download loading specs for various different calibers, and keep this info with your loading kit, assuming you go that route.

I'll also second duct tape. I mentioned this in another PAW thread, this stuff is gold on a roll, as I'm sure most know. I used to work some pretty tough labor jobs, and the front of my jeans would wear out and tear after maybe 4 months at the most. I repaired these giant tears with duct tape, and never had the duct tape fail. Even after going through the wash over and over the duct tape still held. Aside from mending clothes, you can dress wounds, turn it into rope, make something water/air tight, the list is nearly endless.

Anyway, I've rambled long enough, I love these kind of threads.

Fearmongers, the lot of you. Quit qatching Glenn Beck or what ever fearmongerer you adhere too. Go outside, breath some fresh air, have a walk through a park or forest. Take in the beauty of nature & say to yourself. Im a victim of the fearmongering, money is fake, politics is panto but I am real & I will always have this beauty to admire. Take a flight & go travel, please I insist you leave your house & not be sucked in by what you hear on the News

Originally posted by DarthPhobos
Fearmongers, the lot of you. Quit qatching Glenn Beck or what ever fearmongerer you adhere too. Go outside, breath some fresh air, have a walk through a park or forest. Take in the beauty of nature & say to yourself. Im a victim of the fearmongering, money is fake, politics is panto but I am real & I will always have this beauty to admire. Take a flight & go travel, please I insist you leave your house & not be sucked in by what you hear on the News

Call it fear mongering if you will, I call it being smart. Even if the world doesn't "end" I'm sure most people on this planet will experience some type of natural disaster, be it a flood, hurricane, tornado, extended periods without power. These things are very real, happen frequently, and fear mongering threads like these keep you prepared for just such an event. Hope for the best, and plan for the worst only makes sense.

reply to post by Elieser


nothing should be " stocked up for trading "

worste case senario - what if no one comes ?

stock up only what YOU need - and stock spares for everything - so that you and you alone can survive for a given timesapan totally independantly

dont make yourself dependant on this theoretical trade you hope to participate in - that sort of thinking wil leave you with 2 tons of rice and no sugar or salt

the only thing you should aquire ` for trading purposes ` is skills - like blacksmithing etc that still benefit yoo

reply to post by Elieser


non-GMO seeds, radiator, water purifier